Saving Money on Food

One of the first things I focused on when trying to tighten the budget was FOOD. When I think about food and saving money it's all about KEEPING it SIMPLE and MAKING A PLAN!

I've tried a number of different things...

I did the whole crazy couponing thing for a while... it was fun to get a box of Cheez-It's for 25 cents and seeing my receipt show that I saved double what I spent, BUT it was a LOT of work, and I ended up with a LOT of food my family really SHOULDN'T be eating anyway.

I tried the freezer meals for a month thing... again, a lot of work, a lot of buying and I don't think it saved me any money.

The thing that I find works the BEST for me is MEAL PLANNING! I did an old post (HERE) on our Illiteration Menu (i.e. Macaroni Monday) that I've used for the past couple of years to spur my meal ideas, but really, we do a lot of repeats. It's easier keeping the pantry stocked that way and we've been able to fine tune it to where I get less complaints about "What disgusting dinner are we having tonight?" Yes, that's actually what my 7-year old says to me before dinner :S (How did I get such picky eaters?!?)

I plan my Meals ONE WEEK at a TIME. I "shop" from my pantry first for meal ideas, then buy whatever else I need. I do NOT plan lunches, only dinner, and we do rotate through different breakfasts, but they all take the same ingredients, so I just keep us stocked on eggs, milk, flour and syrup ingredients.

Here's a page that I got some good ideas from and she also did this handy Monthly Meal Plan. You don't need to fill it out for the whole month, just ONE WEEK at a time, that way you can make sure you're not repeating too frequently. I usually keep my plan after the month is over to spur ideas for 

the next month.

 

Having a plan brings peace of mind and just remember to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid ;) 

More Menu & Chores

More about cooking and cleaning, right... just what we all need, because they are a couple of the things that NEVER stop! So I am thrilled to report that the new chore system we are using is working REALLY well... kids know what's expected and there are clear consequences that do not involve me being the screaming bad guy. I still find myself wanting to squeak and give them their star for the day even if they didn't finish everything, but I'm working on not bending the rules ;) The kids have had a few good learning experiences too as they realize to get privileges they have to complete their responsibilities, and we've already done most of their "special dates". A couple chose a movie night with mom and dad, and the others chose walks, and Tally has the next 5 of her dates nights already planned out ;) It's so nice getting that one-on-one time with them.

I listed a bunch of our main menu items a couple blog posts back, but I had to share our new spin on it. I've always wanted to have "Taco Tuesday". Can't remember where I first heard it, but it was catchy and fun, but I always tended to miss it by a day or two. So one day, on the way to softball practice I told the kids about it, and since half of them have or are learning about alliterations in school they thought it was fun and started spouting off ones for other days. So now we have an alliteration menu plan with dinner as follows:

Macaroni Monday (Italian)
Taco Tuesday (Mexican)

Wonton Wednesday (Chinese/Asian)

Thankful Thursday (Just be grateful for whatever you get)
Fast Food or Fish Friday (Fast meaning home-made flatbread pizzas or something we buy pre-made)

Soup or Salad Saturday

Simple Sunday (a reminder to me that it's supposed to be a day of rest and not an elaborate feast)

We've had so much fun with it that we branched out to breakfast too:

OatMeal Monday

Tiny-Pancake Tuesday

Waffle Wednesday

Thankful Thursday (why not carry it out the whole day, right?!)

French Toast Friday

Cereal Saturday

Special Sunday (this is the day I like to take a little more time and make something special, like crepes or ableskivers; or if I'm really lucky and get to sleep in, German pancakes are great time-saving treat)

So there you have it... it makes me smile and since today was Tuesday we tried out our tiny pancakes and they were adorable! Better yet, I didn't have 4 kids waiting for me to cut their pancakes up... who doesn't love finger food :)