For those who caught my article on PennyPinchingDiva.com, you know that one of the things I touched on as a way of saving time and money was to PLAN your meals and buy accordingly. I planned out my meals for this week last night and finished up my grocery list today. The steps involved in my process are:
1- Decide what we are going to eat this week – breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner – for each day.
2- Create a detailed list of all the ingredients I will need to make each meal, then compile that into a clean grocery list.
3- Cross off the grocery list all the ingredients I already have in my cupboards and refrigerator.
Once I’ve completed these steps, I have an accurate list of things I will need to cook for the next week. I can then check my Sunday newspaper for coupons as well as print coupons I’ve found online for the items I will be purchasing. The best part: there’s no question as to what we’re having for dinner… no standing in the kitchen looking around wondering what I should cook… no taking “family polls” interrogating my husband and kids about what they want to eat! We can look at the menu plan and we know what we’re having for every meal until next weekend! PRICELESS, especially in a family this size!
The main thing is: STICK TO THE LIST! This week, I went $29 over my $140 food budget. That’s okay… I’m still working on perfecting my grocery shopping {on a budget} skills! This week, I will be collecting the store sales papers that come in the mail on Wednesday so that I can maximize my coupon savings by ad-matching so that I get the low prices of the local supermarkets while still being able to take advantage of WalMart’s convenient shopping experience!
Click here to download my meal plan and grocery list for this week as a sample … let me know if you have any additional tips! (Leave a comment below!)
I need to follow these steps..not like I cook much now anyway but they could potentionally be helpful! Sticking to the list is something I need to work on…shoot, I need to start making a list! Im notorious for going in w/o one & just shopping. Then get to the checkout & have the nerve to be shocked at the total lol. Thanks honey!
I used to be the same way – when I was working as an accountant, I was much less limited in “funds” so I would go in and just pack my cart with “stuff” then throw meals together and often have to go back to the store for various things throughout the week. Now that I am working at home, I’m not making nearly as much as I was before and I’ve have to make some adjustments to cut corners and mind my nickels! :)
PLANNING has definitely helped me to cut out some chaos while also saving some major bucks. I knocked almost $90 off of my weekly food budget just by planning my meals. We used to spend around $250 per week. Now, I am able to *almost* stick to my $140 weekly food budget!
Great tips Kat! Excellent resource for a working single mom like me! We end up eating fast food when in a pinch for lack of planning! I will be trying this, and will share how it affects my budget.
Daphne
I hate to even admit this but Daphne, we used to eat out at least 3-4 times per week… for the same reason – lack of planning. I would get home from work and not even want to think about what we wanted to eat. It’s SO much easier to have it already planned out, and have all the ingredients already at my house. It definitely cuts the temptation to do fast food. We were spending an astronomical amount every week (around $90-120) on just 3-4 meals … looking back, I cringe thinking about it because now, we eat for an entire week (21 meals and 7 snacks!) on not much more than that. It makes a HUGE difference at the bank!