Two Royal City mothers are hoping to make coupon clipping and saving money cool again.

Heather McGrath and Danielle Connelly are the co-owners of Mother of a Deal, a deal-hunting website with a local bent.

Since Connelly started the company in 2009, the little company has grown to having more than 1,500 subscribers to its regular newsletter and more than 10,000 visitors per month to the company's website, www.motherofadeal.com.

"We've also got more than 1,500 followers on Facebook and Twitter," said McGrath, who used to work for a local credit union before deciding for a better work-life balance with husband Patrick and daughters Leah, 3, and Neve, 21 months.

In fact, McGrath's involvement in Mother of a Deal came from an e-mail Connelly sent out earlier this year.

"I'd been using the website to find deals, and Danielle sent out a note saying she would probably be scaling back and trying to spend more time with her own family," said McGrath. "I thought this was such a great service that I had to help where I could.

"We got together for lunch, and we hit it off, and that's how I got involved."

For Connelly, McGrath has been a breath of fresh air.

"My father had just passed away, and I needed the time to spend with my family," said Connelly. "When Heather e-mailed and we met, it really did breathe new life into this business."

Even better for the new business partners was the fact they lived only five blocks apart.

"We were literally neighbours," said Connelly.

McGrath's involvement has allowed Connelly to spend more time with her sons, Colburn, 5, and Evan, 3.

The partnership became official on April 1, and the partners are under no illusions that they'll be getting rich any time soon.

"Danielle is in charge of the daily editing on the site, and I'm doing the sales and marketing," said McGrath. "We get some revenue from sponsored links and contests, and our ultimate goal is that we'll be able to make this into a part-time job that pays us a bit. ... We're not in it to make gazillions of dollars."

Even if that pot of gold never comes, McGrath is happy she can help other mothers save a little money.

"I think what's great about our site is that it's a one-stop place for busy mothers," said McGrath. "I know that time is so important, so to be able to go to one place and find out where diapers are on sale or baby clothes are on special, that's something that has some value.

"We know that mothers are the CEOs of the home, so if they can get a good deal, they'll share it with other moms."

And it was that idea of sharing that caused Connelly to start the business in 2009.

"I'm known amongst my friends as the one who's always saving and who always knows where the best deals are," said Connelly. "And I was getting tired of calling 20 different people whenever a great deal came up."

When friend Louanne Midgley prompted her to do something that was more efficient, so began the Mother of a Deal journey for Connelly.

"I was looking at the self-employment program at Douglas College, and I had to have a case study for my application," she said. "Going through the process of putting together a business concept showed me this could be done."

Connelly slowly built up the business in 2009, but when family tragedy hit, the business took a back seat.

Enter McGrath, who said her history of saving goes back to her university days.

"I was a poor student once," she joked.

"I remember eating noodles and having to really stretch the food budget. ... That was when I was bit by the bug and started loving saving money."

Where McGrath draws the line is when you're spending more money than you're saving.

"I've heard of people who will drive across town to save a couple of bucks," she said. "And they don't factor in their gas and time costs.

"For me, the savings have to be convenient, and that's why we've tried to make our site as local as we can."

Connelly credits her mom Joy with getting her into the saving frame of mind.

"I think it has to be genetic," she said with a laugh. "My mom always told me to be thrifty and smart with money, and that's something I'll be teaching my kids as well."

A recent look at the www.motherofadeal.com website revealed a Lower Mainland-only sale at Gap stores, half-price Starbucks frappuccino drinks from 3 to 6 p.m. and a note about a 20 per cent off sale at Marks Work Warehouse.

McGrath pointed out that saving money became very fashionable in late 2008, just as the global economic depression hit.

"The 'cheap stigma' that was associated with coupons in the past is quickly turning to pride and bragging rights, she said, referencing a television news story about an Edmonton woman who used coupons to turn a $200 grocery bill into a $3 bill.

McGrath said no matter how good the deal they find, it gets shared with all subscribers.

"We don't hold anything back," she said. "The better the deal, the faster it goes up on the site and the more people will see it," she said.

"This started as a community for moms and that's why we don't keep anything back," said Connelly. "We're all trying to help each other save a little money and save a little time.

"I enjoy the hunt of finding a good deal but I also enjoy sharing it with others so they can benefit."

And the future, with a bit of sweat equity, may be even brighter for the Glenbrook area residents.

"We've seen a huge response from the community, Lower Mainland and Canada. We even have newsletter subscribers from as far away as Australia, Europe and the Middle East," said McGrath.

"I think with Heather on board, we will see a lot more growth in the next year or so," said Connelly. "There's a lot more we've got planned for the future."