I am now in the third week of my status as a “retired” newspaper editor. I put retired in quote marks because I don’t want anyone (especially, the unemployment office) to get the idea that I am not interested in future job opportunities, because I am.

   I just know that it is going to be difficult for me to find a position with the current state of the economy, my age and my occupation. There just are not that many demands for older weekly newspaper editors in Clay County. Or Northeast Florida for that matter.

      An adjustment I am having is to make a schedule and stick to it so that I don’t flitter away my time. You would be surprised at how quickly a day can just disappear before you know it. One day recently, the wife came home and politely asked what I had done. I thought for a minute, couldn’t remember anything of a productive nature, so I lied and said I was researching ideas for my web site. I could tell she wasn’t impressed.

      In reality, it is too soon to draw any conclusions about being unemployed because we have not been impacted to any great degree yet. That impact will come in due time, I am sure.

    Meanwhile, I want to thank those of you who have given me suggestions on how to save money during lean times. Many of them will be very beneficial and if any of you have other ideas, please post them to this item.

     One of the things I have to do is learn to be a better grocery shopper. I think the way you do that is to actually go do the shopping by yourself. I have always gone to the grocery store with my wife and helped but when you are by yourself it is a whole different process, like, is that bugo (buy one, get on free) a good deal or not?

     I spent an hour and a half at Publix Thursday and left with $39 worth of groceries. Mostly, I was trying to get the best bargains, but I am not sure I would know a bargain if it leaped into my grocery cart and said, “Buy Me! “

     As I was walking down the donut aisle, I thought about calling my wife for advice. She is usually very busy at work and I am sure she would have politely told me that I had to figure it out myself. (She is always polite to me, no matter what I have done, bless her soul.)

       So, I’ll have to start paying attention to what items cost and try to remember them from week to week. Checking ads in the newspaper will help. I did learn that Wal Mart sells two-liter cola products for 50 cents cheaper than Publix.

     I also know that gas is getting cheaper by the day. Earlier this year when gas was $4 plus per gallon, I wanted to fill up every other day just so that I wouldn’t have to keep paying ever-higher prices. Now I only want to put a few gallons in at a time because I don’t want to have a tank full of $1.88 a gallon gas if it is going to be $1.66 in two days.

      I understand that this is a natural stage in life. Everyone’s career comes to an end eventually, even for the 100-year-old waitress who still works one day a week. Sometimes it just comes sooner than you expect.

    If you see me wandering aimlessly around the grocery store, be sure to stop and say hello. I could probably use a couple of tips on finding good bargains.

     I’ll talk to you again next week.