Jennie Garth turns 41 today, and for her birthday, she has a present for her fans — a candid, self-penned column on RetailMeNot about growing up in a frugal family and her life now as a single mom.
The actress is the coupon website's new The Real Deal columnist and for her debut post, she opens up about being "a little less fancy—and a lot more down to earth" than Kelly Taylor, the privileged character she played for 10 years on Beverly Hills 90210. "I'm nothing like Kelly Taylor. In fact, Beverly Hills is not my scene at all. Yes, I live in L.A. but I don't live in a mansion with a cook and a butler."
She goes on to describe growing up with five siblings in a small town in Illinois. "My upbringing certainly influenced my relationship with money, as everyone’s does. We grew much of our own food, and I can still remember flipping through the tattered pages of my mom’s favorite cookbook, about feeding a family on $12 a week," she writes.
Garth, who lost 30 pounds since her divorce from Peter Facinelli last year and was recently snapped looking amazing in a bikini while vacationing in Mexico, says she's "trying to juggle everything: my kids, my career, and if I'm lucky, some sort of personal life."
"Every day, I get up and make breakfast for my girls. I sit on the rug during story time at my daughter's school; I make costumes for the first grade play; I contribute to potlucks," she details of her life as mom to Luca, Lola, and Fiona. "Every minute is precious, and now more than ever, every dollar I bring home, or manage to save, means more safety and security for my family and our future."
Garth's monthly column will appear on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.
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