About Frugal Families and Tammy Paquin

I never thought in a million years, that I would be the owner of a website, much less a frugal website! Although I grew up on the apron strings of my mom and my Great-Gram, who had both learned to use it up, wear it out, make do or do without, I had never fully embraced the frugal life. I was a mom to two great boys, a wife to a great man, and I worked almost full-time as a dental hygienist. My husband and I “thought” we needed my paycheck. I “thought” we couldn’t make it without my working almost full-time (even after daycare expenses), and I prayed that somehow I could stay home and stop having to leave my boys, near tears, at the daycare center day after day. I never dreamed that God would answer those prayers in the form of a surprise. A surprise pregnancy that is!

We were expecting our third child and the decision to stay a working mom was taken out of my hands. Somehow we would have to make it with a serious cut in my income, as it became quickly clear that daycare for two children and aftercare for the oldest, who was ready for school, was going to eat up too much of my pay to make working outside the home a wise decision. I put my faith in the Lord and then told my husband that if I was going to be home, I wanted contact with the outside world in the form of a computer! So, shortly after our third son was born in November of 2001, my husband hooked me up to the World Wide Web for the first time!

It didn’t take me long to figure out that surfing was fun! I still laugh at the memory of doing my first “searches.” I was amazed that you could type in a word and make your way to thousands of sites! Suddenly, though, I realized that this computer could SAVE us money! I started searching words like “frugal” and “frugal-living,” “budgeting” and “simple-living.” I figured if I couldn’t increase our income, I could slash our expenses! Thus, my frugal journey began. It didn’t take me long to find Frugal Families. I quickly found the forums and this wonderful group of frugal women (well, mostly women), eager to help me on my journey. There was frugality and tons of money-saving information there, but there was also support. There were days that my transition from “busy super-mom, professional" to "full-time stay-at-home mom” was hard and they were always there.

As my frugal tendencies and habits grew, so did my responsibilities at the site. During the summer of 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina, the former owner asked me to become a “supermod” and help manage the “Hurricane” forum. This incredibly caring and generous community were pulling together to raise money for six members who were hit very hard by Katrina. I eagerly accepted the job! Helping these six members over the next months was truly a blessing in my life!

When the site was offered up for sale in December of 2005, I discussed the possibility of buying it with my husband, and he supported me fully. I jumped at the chance to own Frugal Families because I couldn’t imagine my beloved community coming under the ownership of just anyone. Thus began my role as the editor of Frugal Families.

You might find me in and around Northeastern Connecticut, where we live; hiking, biking, camping and fishing with my family. I also enjoy quilting, reading, baking and cooking, not to mention eating! I love being an active member of our church community and helping others. I also love my husband, who looked at me like I had three eyes when I told him I wanted to buy a website, but told me to go for it anyway!