This Week's Menu Plan

Friday:

Breakfast - Cereal, fruit
Lunch - Sandwiches
Dinner - Homemade burritos

Saturday:

Breakfast  - Blueberry muffins, fruit
Lunch - Potato Soup
Dinner - Parmesan chicken strips, salad, bread

Sunday:

Breakfast - Oatmeal
Lunch - Sloppy Joes, french fries, carrot sticks
Dinner - Salads/Sandwiches

Monday: 

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs, toast
Lunch - Peanut butter & banana sandwiches
Dinner - Chicken Enchiladas

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Waffles
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Wednesday:

Breakfast - Oatmeal
Lunch - Cheese crisps, chips & salsa
Dinner - Pinto beans and corn muffins

Thursday:

Breakfast - Cereal, fruit
Lunch - Vegetable soup, crackers
Dinner - Shepherd's Pie, veggies, bread


I grocery shop on Fridays so instead of doing my menu plans from Sunday to Saturday, I've decided to do them Friday to Thursday.  It makes more sense for me to do it that way. 

One of my goals for the New Year is developing and sticking to a budget.  My husband and I are trying to see if we can keep grocery costs at $200 per week.  ( Remember I'm feeding my husband, 3 teenage BOYS, 3 other children, and myself!)  I feel that to keep the groceries under that amount I really have to simplify my meals.  I have to P-L-A-N.  My youngest gal is drinking formula now and is no longer nursing.  We are spending quite a bit of grocery money on baby food and on formula.  Once she can eat from the table we should have more breathing room in the grocery budget.  When I talk about groceries I am talking about only FOOD.  There is another part of the budget for toiletries and cleaning supplies, pet food, and diapers, and other things. 

I'm curious to know if you have a grocery budget and what your best tips are for saving $$$ at the grocery store.  Do you have a great inexpensive recipe?  Do you make a meal plan each week?  PLEASE SHARE!  Leave a comment or email me.  I will happily post your info here and put a link to your blog.

I'm no expert but here are my best tips for saving money on groceries. 

Shop only once a week.  The more often you go to the store the more you spend overall.

Never shop without a list.  Wandering around aimlessly will certainly mean spending more.  A meal plan and list are a must if you want to save money.

Pay attention to unit prices.  Sometimes a "deal" is not a deal.

Never, ever shop when you are hungry.  You are going to buy more if you are hungry and you will probably buy more junk food.

Send hubby to the store if he's willing.  If your honey is game, make him a list and send him to the store.  Men are not usually tempted to buy things other than what's on the list like we women are.  

Simplify meals.  Make a big pot of soup for dinner and serve with bread.  

Try to make as many things from scratch as you can.  Bake your own bread, make brownies for the kids instead of buying pre-packaged cookies.  Cut up your vegetable instead of paying extra for the ones already washed and cut up.  This can save quite a bit of money.  Think carrots.

Learn to use coupons well.  BOGO sales combined with coupons can mean some really great deals.