How I Do Our Menu Planning One Month at a Time

Although it seems like menu planning is much more common around the blogosphere, I often have people react with surprise when they find out that I tend to do my menu planning one month at a time.

In addition to the menu planning one month at a time, I also tend to do one major grocery shopping trip per month, with minor ones for things that we have run out of (produce, milk, bread, eggs) throughout the month.

I do want to point out, however, that I came to monthly menu planning out of necessity, not because I am all that organized. When Eric accepted a promotion at work several years ago, he was moved from being paid every other week to being paid just once a month. So, it became a logical choice to plan our menu a month at a time.

I have had people ask how I manage to menu plan one month at a time, and so I thought that I would share what works for me for menu planning.

1. I look at our previous menu list and see if there are any meals that didn't get prepared in the previous month. If there any (and there often are), I verify that I still have everything I need to make the meal. I then add it on to the beginning of my list of meals for the next month.

2. I go through previous menu lists for ideas of what we might want to make. I also look through my homemade binder cookbook for ideas of old favorites as well as new things I want to try. (I may also look through recipes I have saved from blogs that I want to try.)

3. Once I have a list of around 30 - 35 meals (figuring that some will be for lunches, we'll eat out at least once a week, and then also being sure that I'm going to buy things for quick and simple lunches), I need to take inventory of what I need to buy at the store.

4. I enlist Eric to help me as I go through my list and ask him to check for various ingredients in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. I usually have a good memory about what we have, but have to ask him to verify some things. (For example, I may remember that we have sesame oil, but may ask him how much we have.) While he does this checking for me, I am writing out my grocery list.

5. With my messy grocery list in hand, I put it all into a document on the computer that is organized by areas in the store.

6. Grocery Shopping!

7. After everything is put away, I write up the official menu list.

Options Following #7:

8a. Sometimes, I use this list to plan out what we are eating on specific days one week at a time. I don't usually plan for the specific days for an entire month at once. For instance, on Sunday, I may look at the master list and write out Monday through Sunday of that next week only. Then, the following Sunday, I plan for the next week (from the master list again).

8b. Sometimes, I don't take the time to write out when we are eating what. I just post the master list, and I work from it throughout the month. I typically make a notation next to things that I have anything perishable for, so that we will be sure to have those meals earlier in the month. (And, then I can shop for perishable items for other meals later.)

My methods aren't always perfect, but it seems to work for us. I know that the months when I just go through we no plans, I often make many trips to the store throughout the month, but no big grocery trip. Invariably, I always spend much more on groceries on a month like that (which is a month like this very one!).

I would love to hear your favorite menu planning tips! I'm always looking for ways to streamline what we do!



This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Our One Month Menu Plan

This weekend, I made our menu plan for a month and went to the grocery store. Also, this past week, I visited Dream Dinners and made a few things for the freezer as well.

Here is our menu plan (mostly dinners, but some will be used for lunches) for a month (or maybe a little bit more):

• Cod
• Tilapia
• Pesto Cheese Ravioli with Chicken and Walnuts
• Cheese Lovers Manicotti (twice)
• Calzone
• Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
• Spaghetti (twice)
• Cheese Tortellini
• Beans and Cornbread
• White Chicken Lasagna
• Baked Chicken Tetrazini
• Steak and Veggie Stir Fry with Brown Rice
• Chicken Yakatori
• Southwest Chicken
• Pancakes (twice)
• Sloppy Joes
• Monte Cristo Chicken
• Chicken Parmesan
• BBQ Sandwiches
• Popcorn Shrimp
• Pizza Biscuits
• Make Your Own Tacos (twice)
• Glazed Meatballs with Brown Rice
• Gulash
• Meatball Sandwiches
• Chicken a la King (in the crockpot)
• Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta with Chicken
• Baby Back Ribs
• Chicken on the Grill
• Frozen Pizza and Breadsticks
  

Menu Plan Monday: January 26th Edition

Wow! Check it out -- I'm actually putting up my menu plan again! And, for the first time, I'm attempting to plan out breakfast and lunch too. So, it may not be exactly what we end up doing, but it's an experiment to see if it helps at meal times.

Main dishes only, typically, are listed. Side dishes often include fruits or veggies, or whatever else jumps out at me at the time.

Monday:

Breakfast: Cereal

Lunch: Grilled Cheese

Dinner: Sloppy Joes

Tuesday:

B: Waffles

L: Sandwiches

D: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (also deliver this to a family from our homeschooling group and church as a new baby meal)

Wednesday:

B: Cereal

L: Chicken Nuggets

D: Gulash

Thursday:

B: Waffles

L: Personal Pan Pizzas from Pizza Hut (the boys will use Book It certificates to get theirs for free)

D: Spaghetti

Friday:

B: Muffins

L: Might be leftovers (or we'll figure it out later)

D: Turkey Breast

Saturday:

B: TBD

L: Turkey Sandwiches

D: From Out

Sunday:

B: TBD

L: Fried Mashed Potatoes and Turkey

D: Shredded Turkey in BBQ

13 Random Household Tips (TT #29)

Thirteen Random Household Tips

1. Cover a pot to help water boil faster.

2. You can use a shoe organizer to help organize in your pantry, or if you don't have a door -- small baskets can do wonders for grouping together smaller items in your pantry. (We used to have a basket of oatmeal packets, rather than to have several partially used boxes.)

3. Put hard boiled eggs in a pan with filled with cold water and then keep filling the pan with ice -- this will make the eggs easier to peel.

4. Rip a fabric softner dryer sheet in half before you throw it in with your laundry. Only throw one of the halves into the dryer, and keep the other half for the next load. (This helps my box of 120 dryer sheets to last for 240 loads of laundry!)

5. If you like music, find a way to play your music in the kitchen while you work or clean. It can make the task a whole lot more fun. I have an iPod docking station in my kitchen just for this purpose!

6. Monthly menu planning can save you time and money.

7. Put meats on a plate or in a bowl when thawing them in the refrigerator. This will save a possible mess, if the packaging should leak.

8. Wear an apron to save your clothes during cooking/baking!

9. Watch your outlook on the tasks you do. If you are cheeful or think you are blessing your family with your actions, cleaning is a lot easier to do than if you grumble the whole time and feel unappreciated.

10. If you like using recipes, find a good way to organize them. What works for me though, may not work for you. Just find whatever system works well, and go for it!

11. Gardening can save you a lot of money on produce. And, now is the perfect time of year to start planning what you will do next spring. Hey -- don't even tell me you don't have room for a garden, because you probably do.

12. Did you know that you can wash Crocs in the washing machine? If you are a Croc family, this can turn out to be a tip that can save you a whole lot of time!

13. If you have absolutely no motivation to clean, throw a party or invite over house guests. That'll surely give you some motivation. I know it does it to me!

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Menu Plan Monday: October 20th Edition

I'm going to be a tiny bit of a slacker this week on my Menu Plan Monday and not assign meals to days. I'm just not sure I'm ready to commit quite yet. So...let me just post what we plan on having, in no special order...

• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (Yeah, we didn't manage to have that last week. Can I have some of that special bullion-ish stuff, Mom?)


• Crescent Wrapped Hot Dogs


• BBQ Cupcakes


• Beef Noodle Bowls


• Dinner from Out


• Roast with Potatoes and Carrots


• Grill out Chicken


• Eggs, Bacon, and Toast (weekend lunch)


• Southwest Chicken Rice (weekend lunch)

13 Ways to Save Money on Your Food Budget (TT #28)

Thirteen Ways to Save Money on Your Food Budget



1. If you want to get take out food to take home, don't buy drinks with it. Depending on your family size and where you are buying your meal, you could save a decent amount of money just by having drinks you already have at home. (Or, order water with a meal from out.)

2. Check out grocery ads (you can even see most of them online) before planning your meals for the week. Make changes based on what's on sale.

3. If you're a soda drinker (we are at our house!), stock up when they are on sale at your local grocery store. Sure...we don't NEED cans of soda. But, if we're going to drink them anyway, I would rather spend $2.00 - $2.50 per (12 can) case than $4.50 per case. Even if you are making a choice that might not be frugal, you can make that choice frugally.

4. Clip and use coupons, especially at stores that will double or triple their face value.

5. Don't buy things just because you have coupons for them though. If you won't really use it, then you aren't saving money by buying it.

6. Don't go to the store hungry. Just don't do it! Even if it means that you spend money to run through a drive through so you can eat a quick snack or meal first. Grocery shopping while hungry is dangerous.

7. Pay attention to prices on various sizes of items, particularly when one size is on sale and another is not. I have had many times when I went to buy a smaller size of something, only to see that it was cheaper to buy a larger size because of a sale. I'm not talking about cheaper per unit price, I am actually talking about final cost. (Example: the smaller box of cereal is $2.89 but the larger box is on sale for $2.50. It's a no brainer! But, it's easy to not notice, if you're not looking for it.)

8. Menu plan! Whether you plan a week at a time or a full month at a time, it will help your budget if you plan.

9. Shop from your freezer, fridge, and pantry before you shop from the grocery store. When I menu plan, I check to see what I can make from things we already have in our house. It also saves me from buying duplicates of items.

10. Buy meat in larger quantities and break it into smaller packages yourself. During my last grocery shopping trip, I bought two "tubes" of ground beef -- each 3 lbs in size. We then broke them up into 1 lb increments and put them into freezer baggies. I saved over $7 by doing this. In all actuality though, if I had purchased six packages of ground beef, all of the ones in my grocery store are actually package a bit over 1 lb. So, it saved me even more.

11. Now, speaking of meat -- it can be a great money saver to try to eat some meatless meals. Even just one meatless meal per week will save your family money. (If you can't fathom having a meatless meal, try just two meatless meals in a month, instead of one each week. Every little bit helps.)

12. Buy produce that is in season. Plan your meals around them. Your produce bill will be cheaper if you purchase produce that doesn't have to be shipped half way across the world.

13. Better yet -- start planning now for your garden for next year!


What are some of your favorite ways to save money on your food budget?

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photo by J-P F

Menu Plan Monday: One Week and One Month Edition

I have planned out what we're having this week, and then below that, I have a list of everything that I just shopped for this week to last us through the month. (Of course, some of the shopping was from our pantry/freezer, but I did a HUGE shopping trip last week!)

We mostly use leftovers from these meals for lunches (plus we'll send some of these leftovers to my grandma as well).

This Week:

Monday: Burgers on the Grill

Tuesday: Fried Mashed Potatoes and Ham (all in a skillet together with a bit of butter -- yum!)

Wednesday: Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta with Chicken

Thursday: Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Friday: Ham Sandwiches

Saturday: lunch ---> Pancakes dinner ---> From out

Sunday: lunch ---> Corn Chowder and Grilled Cheese dinner ---> Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

What we had one our monthly menu (some are for lunches, some for desserts, some for breakfast -- though we usually eat cereal or waffles for breakfast):

• Roast with Potatoes and Carrots (two times during this month)
• Teriyaki Steak Kabobs and Stir Fry
• Corn Chowder and Grilled Cheese
• Cheesy Potato Soup and Homemade Bread
• Shrimp
• Southwest Chicken Rice
• Turkey Breast
• Grill Out Chicken
• Grill Out Burgers
• Chili
• Quick Chicken Teriyaki
• Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta
• Spaghetti (twice this month)
• Asian Style Chicken and Broccoli
• Beef Noodle Bowls
• Beef Enchiladas
• Egg Salad Sandwiches
• Ham
• Fried Mashed Potatoes and Ham
• Ham Sandwiches
• Loaded Baked Potatoes
• Pancakes (twice this month)
• Eggs, Bacon, & Toast (twice this month)
• Beans and Cornbread
• Spanish Rice
• Gulash
• Baked Ham Sandwiches
• Lasgna
• Steak, Potatoes, & Mushrooms
• Taco Salad
• Stir Fry with Rice
• Crescent Roll Wrapped Hot Dogs
• BBQ Wings
• Sloppy Joes
• BBQ Cupcakes
• Eggs Benedict
• Funky Chicken and Sesame Noodles
• Sesame Teriyaki Meatballs with Rice
• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins
• Better than Sex Cake
• Egg-in-a-hole
• Dutch Babies
• Monkey Bread

Menu Plan Monday: September 22nd Edition

I don't want to assign specific days to my meals this week. Usually, I end up moving things all around anyway, so why set myself up for thinking that I messed up my schedule, right?

Another thing I have going on this week is to try to use up some of the stuff we have in the freezer. Not that I mind having a full freezer, but it just seems like there are a lot of things that have been in there for a pretty long time. It's time to use some of it up, and free up our freezers for newer things.

Breakfasts: Mostly cereal with milk

Lunches: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Chicken Fries, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Pizza (? -- Frozen), Macaroni

Dinners:

1. Teriyaki Steak Kabobs and Vegetable Fried Rice

2. Spaghetti and Bread

3. Chicken Puffs (some to eat, some to freeze)

4. Biscuits and Gravy

5. Corn Chowder (purchased frozen from a local restaurant that makes it homemade) and Bread

6. Eric's Choice (I'll be out for dinner)

7. Dinner Out

Menu Plan Monday: September 8th Edition

Wow! Look at me! I am actually writing up a menu plan this week. I was so darn good for so long, and then I started just planning things once Eric got home five minutes before Eric walked in the door made Eric pick while I was out doing therapy as I went.

But, here I am, and I have a menu plan in hand!

Monday: Roast with Potatoes and Carrots (in the Crockpot)

Tuesday: Cobb Salads

Wednesday: Steak Soft Tacos and Rice

Thursday: Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta

Friday: Chicken on the Grill (plus baked potatoes and broccoli)

Saturday: Food from Out

Sunday: Teriyaki Steak Kabobs and Vegetable Fried Rice

Typical Breakfasts: Cereal with Milk / Poptarts / Cinnamon Toast Waffles (hey...I'm lucky to be up and walking around in the morning, so we go simple)

Typical Lunches (entrees listed, all lunches come with at least one side & a treat like sugar free pudding, apple sauce, yogurt, or the like): Grilled Cheese Sandwiches / Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches / Pizza / Chicken Nuggets / Mac & Cheese / BLT sandwich (Mom only -- the kids have no interest in what they call "salad sandwiches")

Saturday Night Link Round Up: September 6th Edition

Simple Mom, as always, posted an amazing resource this week -- her favorite online tools for home management. If you are not regularly reading Simple Mom, you are missing out on a lot of great content!

If you're a homeschooler (or just want to have some fun, educational things to do with your preschooler), be sure to check out Guilt-Free Homeschooling's article on Preschoolers' Educational School Time Activities. These would be great for preschool teachers as well -- be sure to go take a peek!

What does it say about me that I have never tried hollandaise sauce? Well, regardless, reading (and looking at pictures!) at The Pioneer Woman Cooks about her blender hollandaise sauce makes me think about giving it a try!

If you've ever though about making lapbooks (or just want to see what lapbooks are all about!), somebody really neat an excellent writer I wrote up a Thursday Thirteen of links to lapbooking resources this week at The Homeschool Classroom.

The Crafty Crow posted about Woodsie Robots at her site. These are a hoot, and I think they are definitely on our "to do" list for projects. I think the kids will love them!

Have a favorite children's story book? Make some of the illustrations into Storybook Puzzle Blocks (or maybe her homemade puzzles are more your speed)! And, as long as we're talking about fun things at Chasing Cheerios, be sure to check out the Shoe Wash as well! We had planned to do this, but then threw all of our Crocs in the washing machine instead.

Does menu planning leave you scratching your head? Be sure to pop over to A Simple Walk and check out both of her posts listing her master menu plan. You'll get amazing ideas for everything from breakfast to your late night snacks.

I can't imagine there is anything funky about this chicken. Maybe it's describing the way my stomach sounds as it growls while looking at the picture! If Funky Chicken with Sesame Noodles sounds like something you'd like, go visit Divine Domesticity.




Photo by A.H.1987

Menu Plan Monday: July 28th Edition

Monday: Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta

Tuesday: Steak and Crash Potatoes

Wednesday: Roast (crockpot)

Thursday: Spinach and Egg Fettucini Noodles with Chicken

Friday: Macaroni and Cheese (I'll be out with a friend)

Saturday & Sunday: To Be Determined Due to Family in Town, etc.

Finally Getting Some Things Done (Tackle It Tuesday #14)

I didn't have one great big tackle this week, but we did get several things done. Some of the things that we got done were:

-Tilling and raking out all of the dirt from where the yard got torn up from building on our new screened in porch. (Yes, I know I still haven't shown it off. I'll post pictures after we paint it.) I, of course, didn't actually do this. But, Eric did.

-Eric also managed to get all the grass seed mixture stuff laid down. We used almost THREE whole 15 lb bags of this stuff. I did manage to talk to Eric while he did some of it. Of course, I also got horribly stuffed up, and we were thankful that Eric had sinus surgery in May.

-Made my grocery list to fill out what else I needed for planning our menu for a month. Did the grocery shopping.

-You know what else Eric did? He picked a big bowl of veggies from the garden, and then took down the junkie fence we had around it. We've decided to go fence free, since we don't think it's actually keeping out any animals anyway.

-I went through our bank statements for the past ummmm...six couple of months. I found several things that either Eric or I hadn't written in. I was not pleased.

-I visited the bank with print outs of a check that was cashed in both March and May. Same check. My account had $21.50 deducted from it twice. The branch manager thought it was odd. "I'm surprised this was able to go through twice," she said cheerfully. I replied, "Yeah, I was also kind of concerned that my bank let the same check go through twice." I was not cheerful.

-Closed my post office box that I can never manage to remember to check anyway.

-Had a fun-filled 90 minutes or so at Chuck E. Cheese with my kids on Monday morning to celebrate Noah & Jack's birthdays. Really...it wasn't too bad. But, I'm still including it as a tackle, and every mother reading this can understand why.

-Finally registered my kids for Religious Education for next school year. Also tucked in a note that I have prayerfully decided that I can't commit to being catechist this year. I'm hoping that they forgot that my friend Angie had convinced she and I to do it. So, maybe they weren't counting on me anyway. (It's only a month away from starting now, and I hadn't heard a peep about my involvement. So, hopefully when we talked to the Director in passing one night about it, then he forgot about it later. I hope.)

-Sent out emails to everyone who said they might be interested in being a contributing member of the new homeschooling group blog that I will be launching by September 1st. I kept meaning to get around to emailing everyone, but just couldn't manage to get around to it. I'm glad to have sent it out now! If you thought you were supposed to get an email but haven't yet, let me know. I might have accidently left you off the list to send to. If you are interested in learning more about being involved, drop me an email: homeschooling (at) comcast.net.

Whew -- I *have* been busy the last few days! Poor Eric probably thinks he has been extra busy. What a guy!

Menu Plan Monday: The One Month Edition

Okay, so this isn't going to be what we are going to eat this week, because I'm not entirely sure what we're going to eat this week. I haven't planned out what will go on what day, and at this point, I really need to balance my checkbook tonight instead of planning for the week's menu.

However...

I can post what my plan is for the month (for dinners, and an occasional lunch), after having gone on my monthly big grocery trip...

• Eggs, Toast, & Bacon
• Quick Chicken Teriyaki
• Beef Noodle Bowls
• Teriyaki Meatballs over Rice
• Chicken Potato Bake
• Teriyaki Steak Kabobs (twice -- since I bought a box of them from Market Day)
• BBQ Pork Sandwiches
• Spaghetti (twice)
• Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
• Cheesy Potato Soup
• Corn Chowder (twice -- bought this homemade from a local restaurant, and it's in the freezer)
• Turkey Breast
• Spinach and Egg Fettucini Noodles with Chicken
• Beans and Cornbread
• Club Quesadillas
• Pancakes
• Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna
• Wild West Baked Chili Mac
• Lasagna
• Baked Honey Mustard Ham Sandwiches
• Honey Chicken Sandwiches
• Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta
• Veggie Kabobs on the Grill
• Steak (on the grill) and Crash Potatoes (from Pioneer Woman)
• Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken
• Roast with Potatoes and Carrots (crock pot)
• Mushroom Cavatappi
• Chicken on the Grill
• Hamburgers on the Grill
• Chicken Puffs

For more menu ideas, be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday!

13 Things We Had at Our "Party" Last Night (TT #19)

13 Things We Had at Our "Party" Last Night Okay, so, it wasn't really a party, per se, but as far as I'm concerned, when I spend about eight hours preparing for a meal and have 15 people in my house, it's a party.

At our faux party, we had: my family, my parents, my oldest sister and five of her six kids (hubby and their oldest son didn't make the trip from New Jersey for a week long visit), and my brother, his wife, and their daughter.

It was certainly an extensive meal preparation (we had never made kabobs before!), and I don't think I've chopped that many vegetables at one time in my life, but it was worth it once everyone was over having a good time. (And, it didn't hurt that I got lots of compliments on the food either!)

1. Macaroni Salad

2. Broccoli Salad

3. Crash Hot Potatoes

4. Vegetable Kabobs with Italian Marinade (Vegan Friendly)

5. Kabobs with Stew Meat and Vegetables (also with Italian Marinade) -- veggies/fruit on the kabobs (both) consisted of: zucchini, yellow squash, green bell peppers, orange bell peppers, mushrooms, and pineapple

6. Corn on the Cob

7. Artisan Bread (I made it from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book)

8. Hot Dogs (mostly just for the kids)

9. Cheetohs (again...mostly for the kids) & Doritos (the new spicy sweet chili ones -- yum!)

10. Lemon Pie

11. Rice Krispie Treats

12. Fresh Cantaloupe and Watermelon (cubed together)

13. Chocolate Cake with Strawberries & Cool Whip -- made by my sister for the birthday of one of my nephews

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Monthly Menu Planning (WFMW)

To read tips and ideas from other bloggers, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!


Menu planning is really wonderful way to help stretch your budget, as well as hopefully saving some sanity so that you aren't always scrambling around at 5:15 pm thinking, "What are we having for dinner?"

Menu planning works for lots of families -- but what works best for us is monthly menu planning.

For many years now, my huband has just been paid once a month. That was a huge adjustment for us, and I have to admit that I probably still wouldn't be use to it, but thanks to my working a few hours a week (and being paid weekly), it helps us out. When Eric moved to be paid only once a month, we did realize, however, that what would work for us was to plan our menus an entire month at a time.

To do this, I do the majority of my shopping all at once, after planning out about 32 meals or so (and then figuring in things for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks), I head out for that one major trip. I do, however, make smaller trips to the grocery store throughout the month for things like milk, bread, and produce.

When I plan our meals, I make sure to plan some things that will throw together easily and other things that may take longer.

After I have my large list, I work from that to plan exactly what we'll have each week. (This also helps to occasionally add in things that go on sale, or perhaps I put off actually buying steak until they go on sale at Kroger, and then put in my steak meals after that point in the month.)

Here is an example of what is on our latest monthly list (sometimes there is a notation behind it that indicates we'll have it more than once in the month):

Teriyaki Chicken (x 2)
Teriyaki Steak Kabobs (x 2)
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Spaghetti (x 2)
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Spanish Rice
Cheesy Potato Soup
Corn Chowder (x 2)
Turkey Breast
Spinach and Egg Fettucini with Chicken
Beans and Cornbread
Salads with Chicken, Hardboiled Eggs, and Bacon (we had this tonight -- we picked the lettuce and spinach right out of our garden just before dinner, and then I made artisan bread this afternoon as a side)
Club Quesadillas
Honey Mustard Ham Sandwiches
Pancakes (x 2)
Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna
Mushroom Cavatappi
Grill Out (one time chicken, one time burgers)
Eggs, Toast, and Bacon
Steak (we cut it up, so Eric and I shared a steak), Pioneer Woman's Crash Potatoes, & Mushrooms
Roast
Steak Stir Fry with Rice
Quick Chicken Teriyaki (from Kraft.com)
Beef Noodle Bowls (ditto from above)
Creamy Rice, Chicken, & Spinach Dinner (yep...Kraft.com again)
Chili Cheese Hot Dogs
Steak Soft Tacos
Meatloaf

Photo from WayTru

Thirteen Ways We're Trying to Save Money (TT #17)

Thirteen Ways We're Trying to Save MoneySome of these are just small ways, and some of them are kind of unconventional ways to "save" money, but here goes the list...

1. We have gone to mostly having our thermostat set at 75 degrees for the air conditioning. We normally were keeping it at 72 or 73 last year.

2. We started giving our boys each an allowance of half their age per week. (So, the six year old gets $3.00.) After starting that, they pretty much buy their own toys/games that they really want. It has given them a whole new perspective on what they *really* want, and it saves us because we tended to be pushovers about buying things for them before they had their own money.

3. We have invested money over the previous two years in putting together a raised bed garden, and then putting an addition onto it. This year, our only money spent was to buy the vegetables, some new fencing, and pots/potting soil for a few things. Still -- all that being said, we have had an abundance of fresh vegetables (and strawberries) in years past. Already this year, we have had tons of lettuce, spinach, and strawberries. By the end of the summer, we will have grown a whole lot more food for the money, plus we can feel good about having grown our own food.

4. Theoretically, keeping track of a budget should save us some money. I think that it does help to see it in "print" when we are spendng too much in one area.

5. Eric and I tend to give each other things for holidays that involve gifts that we really would have went out to buy anyway. For example, he and the kids had the garden plants be my Mother's Day present. We would have bought them anyway, of course. Likewise, we'll be buying a grill that will be for "Father's Day," but we would have bought it anyway.

6. Speaking of the garden one more time, sometimes a garden creates an overabundance of items. So, the last couple of years, we have saved money in buying things for the garden (additions, as well as plants, etc.) by having my parents pay for half of those expenses. In return, we provide them with all the veggies they want. This is good for us because it saves us money, and good because we might end up having some things go to waste otherwise.

7. Meal planning saves a lot of money over eating meals out often, or even over stopping at the grocery store several times a week! It helps us, though we admittedly still eat too much from out.

8. Oh, and as far as the grocery store goes, I try to send Eric when I have only a couple of things to buy. Whereas I end up picking up lots of extras when I run to the grocery store, Eric is more apt to buy exactly what I have asked for (if he can find it!), and nothing else.

9. We tend to buy a lot of our clothes (for us and for the kids) second hand. As the kids get older, it might be a little harder, but right now, we have an excellent consignment sale twice a year in the area that I go to, as well as a Once Upon a Child. We also have a nice second hand shop for women in the area, and then Eric has done well a couple of times at Goodwill for clothes for work. We still, of course, buy new clothes, but it has saved us a lot in what we haven't had to buy new.

10. We used to buy tons of books. I am a sucker for books, and so is Eric. We now live not too far from a very nice library (from which we can also request movies through inter-branch loan), and we definitely utilize it a lot! Not only does it save us from buying books, but we also tend to borrow about five kids DVDs every time we go. Occasionally, we still find books that we love and want to buy (usually after we have rented them, to be sure, first) and sometimes the kids fall in love with a movie that we have borrowed, and so we buy it. But, the number of books and movies we actually buy now is only a small portion of what we used to buy.

11. We spend about $10 per month to be members of Netflix with their one movie out at a time plan (unlimited per month). We only get movies for us (since we get movies for the kids through the library), and since turn around time has us having a new movie in our hands just about three days after mailing the last one in, it's plenty for us to have only one movie at a time. We used to be HORRIBLE with late fees at the rental place, so Netflix really has saved us a lot of money. Now we just pay for movies that we want to have, not late fees because we couldn't be bothered to take it back.

12. I own an iPod because I am a huge music lover. I definitely feel it saves me money too, because I used to go out and buy all kinds of CDs. If I really loved something, I went out and bought the CD if we had some extra money, even if I only loved a song or two on the CD. Now, instead of buying that $15 CD for two songs, I pay about $1.98 on iTunes and just buy those two songs.

13. We own both a minivan and a compact car. We cannot fit all of our family in the compact car at this time, since two kids are still in car seats/booster seats. However, because the compact car gets better gas mileage, it has been a decision on our part to just figure out logistics when needed and save money over having two larger vehicles. We use the compact car for when each of us goes to work (since I only work a few hours a week, and only tend to do that when Eric is home). It would be a lot easier for us if we had two vehicles that were larger, but it saves us a lot of money to have the economy car. (Perhaps, it would save us even more money if we hadn't just had to spend $400.00 to replace the starter on it this week, but what can you do? It's 9 years old, so those kinds of things happening are expected, but since they rarely happen, it's still a savings to keep the vehicle.)


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Menu Plan Monday: May 5th Edition

Monday: Honey and Herb Chicken (prepared at Dream Dinners)

Tuesday: One pan chicken and potato bake

Wednesday: Frozen Pizza

Thursday: Beef Noodle Bowls

Friday: Meatball Subs

Saturday: Dinner from Out

Sunday: Cider Braised Pork Chops (prepared at Dream Dinners)

Menu Plan Monday: April 21st Edition

Simple menu this week!

Monday: Creamy Risotto and Chicken (prepared at Dream Dinners)

Tuesday: Meatballs (crockpot) and Rice

Wednesday: Frozen Pizza

Thursday: Baked Chicken Tetrazzini (prepared at Dream Dinners)

Friday: Pancakes

Saturday: Spaghetti with Meatballs

Sunday: Food from Out

Check out other menu ideas at Orgjunkie's Menu Plan Monday (link above through graphic)!

Menu Plan Monday: March 24th Edition

Monday: leftovers from Easter dinner

Tuesday: Pesto Ravioli with Chicken and Walnuts (assembled at Dream Dinners)

Wednesday: Biscuits and Gravy

Thursday: Three cheese tortellini

Friday: Pancakes (and other breakfast stuff)

Satuday: lunch ---> sandwiches / dinner ---> From Out

Sunday: lunch ---> BBQ sandwiches / dinner ---> One of the Chicken dishes I have in the freezer from Dream Dinners

Menu Plan Monday: March 10th Edition

Monday: Potato Soup and Beer Bread

Tuesday: Spiral Pasta and Veggies with Alfredo Sauce

Wednesday: Homemade Cheese Pizza

Thursday: Crockpot Beef Stew (that I assembled at Dream Dinners)

Friday & Saturday: Eric's Choice

Sunday: Food from Out (lunch) / Pancakes & Other Breakfast Goodies (dinner)