Live Blogging Session #5

When I included this on my 40×40 list, it was just a pipe dream—a vague “wouldn’t it be cool if I could help more people” kind of thing. The problem is that I can’t do it alone. The best part of what I do is being local. I can bring people the best deals and tips because I shop in their stores, dine in their towns and entertain my family in their favorite spots. If I were to simply go national by seeking out deals all over the country, I would lose that community feel that makes my site real and relevant.

Along came inexpensively” target=”_blank”>Twitter, and I began to notice followers from all over the country. I discovered that my site was already somewhat relevant to people outside of Indiana. The tips and advice I share, in addition to the grocery lists and local deals, help people live inexpensively in all aspects of their lives. I had the idea of using that niche to launch a national site in the back of my mind for months, along with a variety of related projects. One of those projects was a Facebook application—a fun way to track grocery savings and compete against your friends. We were getting close to launching it when I blurted out how much better it would be if the app were sponsored by a national site instead of just FeedIndy.

The Facebook project was immediately shelved and we set about brainstorming ways to recreate FeedIndy on a national level. I already knew I wouldn’t be doing grocery lists for other states. I also knew that I didn’t want it to be a simple link exchange. It needed to be more. It needed to be something very new—a network of people just like me who could provide deals, tips and grocery store lists that are real and relevant in their own, local communities. The next step was a domain name. FeedIndy was obviously out, but my weekly tips on saving in other areas had become such a focus that any version of Feed the World also didn’t fit.

Thus, Inexpensively was born. Our goal is to provide a whole lifestyle concept for savings. We compile weekly lists for grocery store deals, suggest ideas on living your life for less, offer tips on finding the best savings and encourage our community to be charitable even on a budget.  We connect a network of individuals from around the country to provide families with the most up to date and accurate savings tools in their own communities.  In short, we encourage families to maximize their budgets so they can use some of their savings to help improve their neighborhood.

And, that, my friends, is the official mission statement. We launch today in 4 states—California, Georgia, Tennessee and, of course, Indiana. I have partnered with The Sassy Saver, Savings with Sadie, Luv2BFrugal and IN Good Cents to expand our reach and bring that personal touch I was looking for to the grocery lists we provide each week. We are also in the process of adding 2 more states and hope to continue expansion throughout the year. In addition to providing deals for other locations, it brings new opportunities for savings as our contributing partners come with their own talents, interests and expertise.

I am excited to announce my new business venture, after months of hard work (mostly by him). Plus, I get to cross off another 40×40 item!