The MomSpeak

Thanks to a bunch of sick kids and way too many work deadlines to count, I’m still holiday shopping for a few friends and their kids. And while I generally do everything online, I’ve hit the point where shipping something will now cost me my first born child. Not to fret, however, because sometimes the simplest gift, like a book, can be the best.

That being said, a wrapped up book or one stuffed in a gift bag can sometimes look a little chinsy. So along with giving some of my favorite books, all of which I can grab at my local bookseller, I’m adding a little something extra that’s inspired by the words themselves to make it personal and a bit more special.

For the little one

Kit Allen’s adorable “Long John’s” board book is a fave in our house. Pair it with a fun pajama set from Old Navy.

For the princess obsessed preschooler

We always get a hearty chuckle after readinng Robert Munsch’s “Paper Bag Princess.” Pair it with a tiara and a wand.

Confession: coupons make me nervous.

Not AS A CONCEPT or anything. I’m not scared of barcodes, like this one kid I knew in high school whose mother was convinced that stuff like credit cards and supermarket scanners were predictions from the Book of Revelations about the End Times. He seriously was scared of barcodes. And his mother, frankly. I think we all were.

No, coupons make me nervous because of all the fine print. All the expiration dates and exclusions and limitations. I read and reread them, convinced that I’ve missed something.  THEY FREAK ME OUT, PEOPLE.

My current anxiety about coupons most certainly does NOT come from my childhood. My mother was the best coupon-clipper I have ever known. She dutifully went through the paper and the circulars every week and clipped clipped clipped and filed them neatly into her wallet-like coupon organizer. I used to beg to help her, and I’d sit at the kitchen table scanning the pages for grocery items I recognized, proudly announcing each relevant coupon I found as I neatly cut it out and filed it into the appropriate category in the organizer. At the store, it was my job to go through it and find any coupons we could use, and double-check the expiration dates. I would hand them to the cashier with confidence. Coupons were easier, back then, somehow.

My little sister had her first baby a few months ago. I flew across the country to visit her recently, and did all the things you do with a new mom: showed her how to put whiskey on the pacifier, locked her in the garage while he “cried it out,” encouraged her to give up breastfeeding because it was so inconvenient.

And on the second day, we went to The Great Big Baby Supply Store and spent too much money buying baby clothes at the retail price.

If there’s one lesson I taught her, it was to never buy clothing or other children’s supplies at the retail price. There’s no need. Not with all those sales, end of season clearances, coupons, giveaways, and discount codes out there!

With grocery prices at record levels, we’re all looking for ways to save money on our food bills. With just a little bit of forethought and common sense, you can lower your grocery budget while still eating well. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Plan your meals. This one’s obvious, but may feel overwhelming if you’re not one who likes to cook (or plan). Any meal planning you can do — even if it’s for three dinners during the week — will help you buy only what you need, and, in the process, save you money. You can also build in time to defrost meats you’ve purchased on sale or cook dried beans (rather than having to buy more expensive canned beans). Another option: sign up for a meal-planning service such as savingdinner.com or thescramble.com. For a subscription fee, you’ll get meal plans and grocery lists emailed to you each week.

My kids’ outgrown clothes seem to multiply in their dressers. One day all is well — people are getting themselves dressed just fine — and the next, we’re all pawing through the drawers looking for something that fits. That’s the cue to head over to the resale shop.

With a little preparation and attention to detail, you’ll sell more of your clothes at potentially higher prices, leaving more in the kitty for back-to-school shopping.