Saving through Menu Planning

Do you Menu Plan? I'm not great at it but I do find that when I have a solid plan my dollars go a lot farther at the grocery store.

I menu plan by Paycheck. We get paid twice a month so I do two week menu's at one time. You can do one week at a time or an entire month if you would like. My menu is mainly for dinner but you can adjust your menu to fit your needs.

Where to start? I start with my pantry and freezer. This paycheck specifically I wanted to try to cut our grocery bill down so I could pay another bill with some of those funds. So I took survey of what I already had in stock and went from there. I had pasta, Mahi Mahi fish, Tilapia, Mac & Cheese, Lasagna noodles and lots of seasonings. I started my menu with these items first. Then I filled in with our favorite dishes.

Above is the menu I came up with. I pick between 10 - 14 meals. I do not assign them to a day until a day or two before hand. That allows me some flexibility. Then as I make each dish I cross them off my list. But again if you need more structure than that feel free to take a calendar and pluck in those meals on the exact day you want to make them. Make your menu plan your own! Work with it change it and after a few times you will know what works for you.

Also on my list I have placed what side dishes I will be serving with that dish and the page number where the recipe can be found if it is in my cookbook.

My ideal and goal is to have a box on the side of my refrigerator that will hold all my recipes for that menu. However, I don't have that yet so this is what I did. I pulled all the recipes that were chosen and I just put them in the front of the cookbook that has a few of the recipes in it. This way they are easy and fast to find.

After you have your menu written down. Go through each recipe and write down all the ingredients that you do not have in your home to create your grocery list.

By using what we had in the house and being creative I was able to cut our grocery budget to $170 for two weeks. Now I won't be able to do this every paycheck but when your wanting to cut back try using more of what you already have in your pantry. I'll bet you'll be surprised what you can come up with.

My list gets hung on the front of the refrigerator where it's easy to see and it can't get thrown away or spilled on. My list is as simple as it comes. A piece of lined paper and hand written. But you can use spreadsheets, word documents, or even purchase menu planning kits online or in the store. Another idea I saw recently was to buy a dry erase board and use that to list your meals. Be creative and make it fun!

So what is on your Menu this month? And what creative way do you keep track of your meals?

Good resources & Tips
- Make your own marinades (we search allrecipes.com)
- Cookbook ~ Healthy Meals for Less by Jonni McCoy (Great-Tasting Simple Recipes for Under $1 a serving)