Menu Planning SavesTime and Money

     I used to be the Queen of Run to the Grocery Store.  It seemed like almost every day I there was something.  After I had Thing #2 going to the grocery store became exponentially more difficult.  I'm not sure how my friends with large families ever make it through the store in one piece and with their sanity intact.  There are several small changes I made to make my life a little easier.
     One thing I have done to make my life a little less complicated, and save a ton of money is menu planning.  In it's simplest form all a person has to do is sit down and spend a few minutes jotting don what meals they want to eat for the week.  I know some of our city friends don't have the ability to shop for a week at one time because public transit and a cart full of groceries to carry wouldn't work, just plan for whatever span fits your lifestyle best.  If you have transportation and the storage space by all means plan for a month.  I personally plan for a week, because that's what I can fit in my car, lug up a flight of stairs, and store in my house.  Once you have your meal plan completed you need to make a list of the things you will need to buy.  It is always good to check out what you already have in stock to avoid buying many duplicates.  The most important part of shopping with your menu plan is actually using the list you brought.  As long as you buy everything you have on your list  you will be able to avoid unnecessary trips to the store.
     Once you have mastered the basic menu planning, and you feel like you have a little more time to spend on it, you can move on to reducing your grocery budget.  Now, I know you're thinking, "I've already reduced my bill by sticking to the list why should I do any more?"  My answer is, YOU CAN SAVE EVEN MORE!  The next step is shopping sales.  If you get the local newspaper,  the Sunday paper usually has the grocery stores' inserts.  Take out the insert from your favorite store and look through it. You can start by circling things that are on sale that you would typically buy.  Don't go out and buy things that you won't use just because they are on sale, you will be wasting your hard earned money.  Finally, using these sale items build your menu.  For example: While browsing through your ads you find turkey 49 cents a lb at Store X.  You think this is a great deal (you might even buy 2 of them) and you choose this as the foundation to your meals.  One day you might have a roast turkey with the trimmings, the next day you might have turkey pot pie, another day you might have turkey stir fry, and turkey tacos, and freeze the rest for another time.  So you don't get turkey phobia you could space the turkey days out with vegetarian meals.  Pasta and beans are always a cheap way to make filling meals.  Add coupons to sales for an even bigger bang.  If you have a garden take your fresh veggies and fruits into consideration too! 
  So try menu planning!  It will save you from running to the grocery store four times a week with screaming children or pet monkeys in tow!  It might eve make you improve how you eat!  Now make sure to stick to your list and you are ready to go.

If you want a great simple menu plan printable you ca go to Organized Home .  I knwo you can also find templates to use on the Microsoft Office website.  I prefer to use a weekly planner note pad I picked up at the Dollar Store.

THIS WEEKS MENU

Dinner
Chicken Corn Chowder (using leftovers) with crackers
Three Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Shells with garlic bread sticks
Poor Man's Dinner (we use ketchup instead of spaghetti sauce and add garlic, salt, and pepper)
Hot turkey and Cheese Subs with shredded carrots
Breakfast Casserole
Grands Deep Dish Pizza
Spaghetti with meat sauce and greenbeans

Lunch (all served with fruit or veggie)
Sandwiches (PB&J, turkey)
Chicken Nuggets
Grilled Cheese
Chicken Noodle Soup

Breakfast
Cereal (I let the kids chose a box and I pick the other)
Frozen Waffles
Homemade Pumpkin Muffins

Snacks and Treats
Kroger brand cheese crackers (like Cheez it's but better)
Chex Mix
Homemade Sugar Cookies


I let the kids pick the fruits and veggies out at the store unless there is a a super deal.The current faves are watermelon, cantaloupe, bananas, apples, shredded carrots, and cucumbers(which are now free from the garden) .

     In other news my in the ground garden is amazing.  This is the haul from yesterday.  I picked 4 huge cucumbers and half enough green beans for dinner. This is from a 2X4ft garden plot!  and I pick 3 times a week.  My poor container garden is pathetic. It is so depressed it refused to have it's picture taken this week.  I'm already planning how I am going to improve the container garden next year.