Editor’s Note: Shop Talk is a new blog at LJWorld.com, featuring Julie Anderson and Jenn Hethcoat. Check out more entries and join in the conversation at LJWorld.com/blogs.

Jenn: A little over a year ago, I found myself a stay-at-home mom of two kids, in charge of our household finances and watching our money slip out of our hands. We were in debt on credit cards that we hadn’t used in years, and we were living paycheck to paycheck and NOT moving forward.

I had to find a way to make our family budget work. I started looking at coupons. Then I started looking at coupon blogs. There were apparently a LOT of people who knew things I didn’t know. Maybe I could make this work for me after all. And so it began.

One year and three months later, here I am, writing on four blogs and sharing what I know with you, trying to help you save money for your family and have a little fun doing it, too! I’ve reduced my family’s grocery and supply budget from $900 per month to $300 per month. That is a $600 difference!! What could you do with an extra $600 every month? We paid off our credit card debt!

It takes some time to learn and it takes time to execute, but it is worth it in the end. I’m hoping that Julie and I can help you along the way. As the weeks go by, I will be sharing with you not only some of the best deals your shopping buck can find you in Lawrence, but tools and tricks that will stretch your money and your coupons just a little bit further.

I had planned to share some of this knowledge of mine with you today, but as you may have read, I got busy having a baby Friday night, a little earlier than planned! Be sure to check back next week. I’ll introduce you to a whole new “frugal mindset.” In the meantime, start clipping those coupons!!

If you just can’t wait and you want to read some more of my thoughts on couponing, recipe planning and general musings, hop on over to SuperJenn (www.SuperJenn.com) and see what’s happening there.

Julie: How do you teach an old chick new tricks? I’m a 47-year-old wife and mother working a part-time job and juggling two teenage kids’ activities. The trick — learning how to reduce my household expenses with the help of my friend, Super Jenn. After all, our oldest son, Eric, will be starting college next fall, and as we count down the days during his senior year, saving is the name of the game.

In this blog, I will report on my progress as I learn the ropes of clipping coupons and shopping the sales. Jenn tells me there is a science to this activity. I’ll be doing this in between working, carpools and running to the boys’ sporting events. That includes two weekly trips to Kansas City for son Thomas’ hockey practices.

Note to Jenn: You’ve got your work cut out for you, but I’m ready and a fast learner!