2020 has been a year like no other bringing shock after shock after shock. It really makes you sit down and evaluate everything. It really doesn’t give you a choice. Covid 19 swooped in and took away everyone’s financial stability, making people re-evaluate what was essential and what was not. I know here at Coupon Nannie, this has been a drastically different thing year compared to when we started in 2012. When I started in 2012 the purpose was just to have a place to list the coupons and offers I found and to share them. I never used the term or ever thought of myself as an “influence” until companies started contacting me asking to try their product or promote their brand.

One thing I have always stood firm on is honesty. I have always told brands up front that if I do not like the product or it does not do what it says, I am not just going to write something nice because I was given a product or service for free or/and was paid to write an honest review unless the brand and/or service is in fact a good product. I also wanted to ensure there was some sort of benefit for my readers. It could be a coupon, discount or even a giveaway, something they get a benefit of as well.

My niche is money saving and coupons and it is something I have become very good at over the years never giving things a second guess. A niche is simply the way of saying a subject. There are many great influencers in various niches including mommy blogs and reviewers. Leah Jackson is one of those moms that does Youtube reviews and has been doing this long before social media was a big thing. This year was changing for everyone and that includes us influencers. We know so little about Covid 19, simple things we did before such as sending out packages, going to stores, and using coupons just stopped.

Our finances have directly been affected by this year. My husband and I are both on disability; I have PTSD and he requires double knee transplants so neither of us could work. We were not eligible for the CERB, our disability did not go up however our expenses did. The most significant increase was in groceries. Not only did the price of groceries go through the roof due to supply and demand but stores stopped accepting coupons and in some cases cash! I heavily relied on coupons to bring down our bills, it was included in our plan. Every time I would go into a store I was used to using between $5-$25 in coupons and now I couldn’t use them and couldn’t find any new ones. The once stocked-up pantry was beginning to go bare. I realized just how important my niche had become in my life. We relied on all the freebies, samples, coupons and reviews and now they were gone.

SECRET WORD 2: DOVE. I am thankful we live in Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada where things are easing up a bit and we can now start to see coupons in stores and the stores are starting to keep them. I have been starting to stock up on as many natural and healthy products as we can in the house to keep us healthy at the lowest possible cost. I’ll continue to do my very best to bring you all the possible savings I can find so that we can get through this together.