Hi there! I’m Crystal Paine, wife to Jesse, mom of three kids (Kathrynne, Kaitlynn, and Silas), New York Times bestselling author, speaker, business consultant, and founder of MoneySavingMom.com and YourBloggingMentor.com.
My Blogging Journey
I never set out to be a blogger. In fact, this whole blogging journey has been quite a surprise — and a wild and unexpected adventure!
Let me tell you a little about it for those of you who are new here and wondering what qualifies me to be a “blogging mentor” (I certainly wouldn’t have ever guessed I’d someday hold that title! Life has a way of surprising us all, doesn’t it?).
Back in 2005, when my husband and I first married and were living on a beans-and-rice budget in order to stay out of debt while he went through law school, I started a small mommy blog as a way to chronicle life as a new mom, share things I was learning and thinking about, and just have an outlet for my writing (I’ve always been someone who processes best through writing!).
I never really expected that many people would show up and read that blog — after all, I hadn’t gone to college, I didn’t have any credentials as a writer, I was only 23 at the time, and blogging was this very new thing.
But pretty soon, people outside of my mom and my sister started showing up and reading there. And then many of them kept coming back!
One day, on that first little blog of mine, I shared about our grocery budget — namely that we rarely spent more than $30 per week for groceries for our little family of 3. People were astounded at this and begged for more ideas and information.
Over the course of the next year, I started sharing my tips and tricks for keeping our grocery and household products budget to $35 a week, taking couponing to a whole new level, and playing the “Drug Store Game.”
As hundreds of people continued to expressed interest in finding out how I was keeping our grocery budget so low, that I decided to start a blog dedicated to helping people save money and find great deals. So in 2007, MoneySavingMom.com was born!
I started MoneySavingMom.com expecting that it would just be a little side thing that I did. But it quickly took off and then mushroomed far beyond my wildest imaginations thanks to the many wonderful readers who spread the word about it and shared the link with friends.
By 2009, we were making a full-time income from blogging — something I would have never dreamed would be possible! During the next few years, the business expanded even more and we added on contractors and then a few full-time employees. In 2014, my husband came home full-time so that we could have a lot more flexibility as a family and spend more time with our three kids.
In all honesty, I feel like I have the best job in the world (well, most days! On the days when there’s a huge technical issue that requires me to stay up too late, I might envy those who are working an 8-to-5 job!)
But on most days, blogging is an incredible gig! I love that I have the flexibility to go on field trips with my kids, have a lunch date with my husband, take the afternoon off to hang out with a friend, go for a run mid-morning, or take my computer outside to blog from the patio on days when the weather is beautiful.
I love that I get to set my own hours, can blog from anywhere in the world where I can get an Internet connection, choose which opportunities I’ll pursue, blog about topics I’m intensely passionate about, meet so many amazing readers, and get to use my talents and gifts to impact and inspire other people.
Why I Started YourBloggingMentor.com
Over the past 12+ years since I’ve been blogging, I’ve loved getting to help friends, family members, blog readers, companies, and ministries start blogs, learn more about social media, and learn how to make money blogging.
More and more, as I’ve seen the opportunities that blogging has allowed our family and many other families, I’ve come to believe that blogging is such an amazing way to not only be able to make an income online, but also a fantastic way to be able to use your passions and gifts to impact and bless others.
It’s my hope that through YourBloggingMentor.com, I will help thousands of beginning and intermediate bloggers learn how to make a part-time to full-time income from blogging. I want to empower you and equip you with tips, tricks, and techniques I’ve discovered to help you be more successful as a blogger and a business owner.
More than making an income, though, my heart’s desire with this site is to challenge you to use your gifts, your talents, your story, and your own unique perspective to bless, inspire, and impact others in a profound way. Because the world needs your gifts, your talents, your story… the world needs YOU!
-Crystal Paine, April 2017
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In the past few years, I’ve been honored to be featured in Woman’s Day magazine and All You magazine, appear on Good Morning America and FOX Business Network, and have been mentioned USA Today, Shop Smart magazine, Real Simple magazine, and numerous other local and national newspapers, radio, and television stations.
I have also had the privilege to publish a few books, including: 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, the Choose Love Journal, Choose Gratitude Journal, and Money-Making Mom.