The best things in life are free, but sadly, groceries are not...

Surprise! You're Poor Now!
Had to take some time off from blogging when I went back to work--lots to do for a public school teacher at the end of the school year.  But now I'm back with lots more "new mommy" wisdom.  Going back to work had its own unique set of challenges, the hardest of which was adjusting to my new paycheck.  To my shock and disappointment, my paycheck for the remainder of the school year was HALF as much as it had been before I went on unpaid maternity leave.  Apparently, there were logical calculations involved and it's all perfectly legal, but the bottom line is: it totally stinks!

Never being one to wallow in self pity, I quickly regrouped and decided to tackle the now very tricky problem of adequately feeding, clothing, and providing my family with basic necessities. Of course, we did still have my husband's full pay check and I did get a part time job which was helpful but things were--and continue to be--pretty tight financially.  I learned some things about shopping and saving money that I want to pass on to new  moms everywhere.



The Roughest Toughest Coupon Clipper on the Eastern Seaboard
Coupons seemed like a logical place to start saving money.  After a feeble attempt at buying the proper amount of groceries with my new "adjusted" paycheck, I knew something had to be done. So began my Sunday coupon clipping ritual.

Every Sunday I walk to the gas station down the street from my house and buy a Sunday paper.  Then I set up my work space: all of the fliers and coupon clippers from the paper, a notepad, a pen, my mini expand-a-file, my computer, a pair of scissors, and paperclips. I page through all of the clippers and cut out all of the coupons I think my household might use (I skip anything I think is frivolous--no need to be tempted to buy it just because I have a coupon). I set the coupons aside and then page through the fliers of the three major grocery stores in my town.  I make one list for each store based on what's on sale and what we need and I match the coupons--current and previously clipped (that's where the expand-a-file comes in)--to the lists.