One of the best things I have found to help me save money is meal planning. This takes time, but I see the best results! Every Friday (or Saturday morning), I sit with the local grocery store ad and plan the meals for the next week. I look at the sale items, and match to coupons if possible.
Because I work part-time and I hate trying to think of meal ideas, I have a generic plan I follow too.
Monday- chicken
Tuesday- pork
Wednesday-breakfast
Thursday- pizza
Friday- open
Saturday & Sunday- cheeseburgers, tacos or spaghetti.
All lunch meals are very simple whether I am home or the sitter is here. Lunches consist of mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches or spaghetti-o's. (Can you tell the kids are all 5 and under?)
I make sure that I have side dishes like rice or fries, and frozen veggies to go with all dinners. Then all I have to do is change how I fix the meat and what the side dish is. We all tend to like plain things, so I don't make too many casseroles.
With the above plan, and having a freezer in the basement, I can stock up on commonly used items when they go on sale! Just 2 weeks ago, our local store had boneless skinless chicken breasts in a 3lb bag for $3.99. I bought 6 bags. Since we eat chicken weekly, this was a sweet deal for us.
Another thing I do is package all leftovers in small containers and freeze it. Both hubby and I just take a container from the freezer to work and lunch is ready! Saves on the spending as well!
I hope this will inspire you to make the meal plan, it really does help!
Let me know by leaving a comment, do you meal plan to save money?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You sure are getting organized! I don't meal plan because Tom works second shift so he is only home for breakfast so then it's either cereal or eggs. I can't wait to see you tomorrow night!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I tried the freezer cooking thing last week and haven't spent a moment thinking about food for dinner this week! Meal planning is what it is all about! Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteMuch too much organization for me!!!
ReplyDeleteI posted something a couple days ago, but I don't see it.
ReplyDeleteI think the dinner "themes" is a really good idea. That could totally work for me. Since I work full-time I don't have time to make much if I don't plan ahead (even if it is only pizza - hey, at least I planned for it).
I am going to work on a "theme" week that would work for us.