Money Saving Tip of the Day

Menu Planning

Plan ahead, think ahead and be prepared saves money and time. A menu plan for the week is so helpful in saving time and money. Having a menu plan keeps you from making multiple trips to the grocery store, thus wasting money on gas, buying unnecessary food items, or wasting money on deliver or takeout. A menu plan doesn’t mean you can’t eat out, just plan ahead for it. Because I work, I mainly only plan for dinners. Here is a sample plan I have used:

Sunday- Roast
Monday-Chicken, mac-n-cheese
Tuesday-Frozen pizza (This is the night I have a Ladies Bible Study, so it has to be quick.)
Wednesday-Chic-Fil-A (This is church night, so we do Chic-fil-a, if you buy the calendars you will save money.)
Thursday-Ham, green beans, corn
Friday-Spaghetti, toast
Saturday-Pork chops
I usually do not feel the need to include all my side dishes, because if you coupon and stockpile you will always have something on hand. So I just fix whatever I feel like having for the night. So you might ask, how do you do a plan? First scan your calendar to see what events are going on for the week, this way you will know if you need something quick or maybe even if you are eating out. Then scan the ads, coupons, blogs, and look for the best deals. Before you go shopping look to see what you have in the pantry. Check out your pantry see what ingredients you have, then go to Allreceipes.com and put the ingredients in to see if you can find a useful recipe.
Post your menu on the refrigerator, if everyone can see it then your children will less likely ask to go out to eat because they will already know what the plan is for the night. We still eat out; the menu is not set in stone. Life happens, sometimes that meeting runs too late or the baby is sick so it is okay to deviate from your plan.

(PS-I posted this for myself because I have slacked in this area over the last couple of months. I'm trying to get motivated again.)