My name is Karen Hoxmeier. I own and
operate MyBargainBuddy.com. As a stay-home mom with 3 kids, I've
always been a bargain hunter and a coupon clipper. When I got my first
computer in July of 1999, my "hobby" spread to online
shopping. I was surprised by all of the great deals I came
across, products marked down 90%, coupon codes for $20 off $20 or more,
etc. I passed these deals along to my friends and family via email.
In November of 1999, I came across a place called
Homestead, that allowed people to build their own free websites. No
programming knowledge was required! If you could "drop and drag" you could
have your own website! I thought it would be fun to
post my "finds" on a webpage. I named my site "Karen's Finds". It
had about 4 pages of deals and coupon codes.
After a couple months, I discovered that Homestead sites were not compatible
with WebTV and certain other web browsers. Another problem was that the pages looked different,
depending on what browser you were using. A page that looked ok
to one person, would have pictures or text overlapping to
another person. I decided to learn html code and move my site off
Homestead.
I bought an HTML "how to" book and did a little research online. After lots of trial and error, I made my own website! In January of 2000, I registered the name MyBargainBuddy.com. As time went by, I added
more categories, pages, links, and offered a free
email newsletter to my visitors. I never imagined my site
would grow as much as it has. MyBargainBuddy.com has been featured on TV, radio and in several
newspapers and magazines.
Seven years later, I still love finding bargains. Helping others do
the same is very rewarding. I enjoy hearing from people who use my
website. That's what keeps me going! If
you have a question,
comment, or suggestion, I'd love to hear it!