About a month ago, Colin and I did a budget and found out we were spending FAR too much on groceries and eating out. Something had to be done. We are frugal! We can't overspend!!
I was reading a post in December on American Girl in Canada's blog called Mrs. Domesticated and she mentions that she always plans out her meals for the month to save money on groceries. So using this as a cue, I got working. And thanks for that suggestion, by the way!
I printed out a monthly calendar and planned out every meal 2 weeks or more in advance. I keep it on the fridge so it's easily accessible.
Here's how it's helped us in the first month:
1. I don't have to go through the daily struggle of "what am I going to make for dinner"
2. Expanded variety of meals! We don't eat the same 5 or 6 meals over and over. We've only eaten each dish twice at the most.
3. Your grocery list is easy to prepare.
4. Your grocery bill is WAY cheaper.
5. We try lots of new recipes, most which have been sitting untouched in various cookbooks. Others we find together in http://www.allrecipes.com/
6. I don't think I've thrown out even one expired piece of produce.
7. It makes making dinner enjoyable.
8. We only eat out when we PLAN for it (not when I don't feel like cooking). Saves a lot, and I eat less fries.
I've passed this on to one friend who now does it, and she says it has the same benefits for her.
This it's too structured? Don't want to have chicken florentine for dinner tonight? So swap 2 nights this week. You've got all the supplies in your house already! It seems like it would take too much time, but in 5-10 minutes I've planned half a month or more. It's way faster than peering in the fridge, freezer and pantry every day with a question mark hanging above your head.
Give it a try, I HIGHLY recommend it.
And I'll share some new "gem" recipes I've found soon, as well as some other grocery bill cutting tips I've learned.
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2 comments:
you could join me and Deni in our quest to find the best deals on everything-I swear we are becoming those crazy coupon ladies!!! but hey it saves us tons
oh and I've got to do this too
Hey no problem! We found that it saved us ton of money and I, like you, was so happy when I discovered i wasn't throwing out produce. It killed me to throw out those moldy, soft, $2 or $3 peppers! :)
I often go through my Kraft Canada magazine when planning out the month and pick two or three new recipes from it to try. They are all so easy to fix. You can also go on line and find "healthy" recipes from Kraft. It's great!
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