Menu Plan Monday

Because our Super Bowl party caused us to exceed our weekly grocery budget, we are going to be "shopping from the pantry" this week. I did stop by the grocery store this morning for a few fruits, vegetables and dairy items...but for the most part...we are going to get creative with what we already have (both from the pantry and leftover from the weekends festivities). Here is our menu plan for the week:

Monday
Breakfast - pancakes, fruit
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - smoked sausage, baked sweet potatoes, salad

Tuesday
Breakfast - cold cereal w/milk, fruit
Lunch - sandwiches, wheat crackers, fruit, brownie
Dinner - just found out that the free Grand Slams end at 2pm...gotta rethink this one.

Wednesday
Breakfast - banana bread, fruit
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - chicken tetrazzini, garden salad, steamed broccoli

Thursday
Breakfast - cold cereal w/milk, fruit
Lunch - sandwiches, chips, fruit
Dinner - hot dogs, baked beans, fresh veggies

Friday
Breakfast - sausage/biscuit sandwiches, fruit
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - Pizza, salad

Saturday
Breakfast - berry muffins, eggs and leftover smoked sausage
Lunch - tuna salad sandwiches, twice baked potatoes, fruit
Dinner - Sweetheart Dinner at Church (sack lunches for the kids)

Sunday
Breakfast - Caramel Apple Oven Pancake
Lunch - turkey burritos, spanish rice, lettuce/tomato/avacado toppings
Dinner - crockpot potato soup, fresh bread

For more great recipes and menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at www.orgjunkie.com.

Save Money by Preparing for the Unexpected...Today!!

Living in the Houston area, I have learned to appreciate a well stocked hurricane kit. In 2008, hurricane Ike taught us that there is no such thing as being too prepared. While we were fortunate to retain water services, we were left without power for two weeks. We were as prepared as anyone could be for that hurricane. Careful planning, months in advance, resulted in us having enough supplies for our family and at least one other until stores reopened and fuel was once again available.

While you may not live in a hurricane zone, anyone...anywhere can be susceptible to a natural disaster. My parents were without electricity over the weekend due to the ice storm that swept the central part of the U.S. Indoor temperatures reached as low as 48 degrees Saturday night....with a gas fireplace running. Preparing your home for disaster can make the inconvenience of power/water loss somewhat tolerable. In addition, being well prepared can take you from being someone who needs help...to one who can offer much needed assistance to others.

So why am I thinking about hurricane preparedness in February...when hurricane season doesn't officially start until June? Simple...it can be very expensive (especially at the last minute)!!! My planning starts this early so that I can begin the process of restocking our supplies a little at a time. By June 1st, I will have enough non-perishable food, toiletries, batteries, medicine and water for a two week period. We will also need filled propane tanks, a fully stocked first aid kit and plywood to protect our safe room. Trees will need to be pruned and important papers double checked. We will make sure that cars are well fueled, laundry is kept up and that cell phones remain fully charged. Oh...and the generator...that beautiful piece of equipment that allowed us to have ice and milk...it will need a good once over.

I would like to encourage you to consider the emergency needs that your family might have should disaster strike. Go here for a detailed listing of supplies that you might want in your preparedness kit.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday
breakfast: hard boiled eggs, fruit, toast
lunch: PBJ sandwiches, wheat crackers, fruit
dinner: pinto beans (leftover from last week), cornbread and garden salad

Tuesday
breakfast: cold cereal w/milk, fresh fruit
lunch: ham sandwiches, fresh fruit, banana bread
dinner: barbecue pulled pork over baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, garden salad

Wednesday
breakfast: homemade pancakes (made and frozen over the weekend), fresh fruit
lunch: leftovers
dinner: tacos, rice and fruit salad

Thursday
breakfast: cold cereal w/milk, fresh fruit
lunch: PBJ sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips
dinner: Easy beef stroganoff, garden salad, green beans

Friday
Breakfast: sausage/biscuit sandwiches, fresh fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Family Fun Night - homemade pepperoni pizza, garden salad and popcorn with our movie

Saturday
breakfast: homemade cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit
lunch: tuna salad sandwiches, chips and guacamole
dinner: smoked sausage, baked potatoes, grilled veggies, garden salad

Sunday
Breakfast: hard boiled eggs, toast, fresh fruit
Lunch: Baked potato soup, homemade rolls
Dinner: Superbowl party - we're bringing hot dogs, sauerkraut, condiments, cookies and a platter of pigs in a blanket

I will add recipes as time allows during the week. For more great menu ideas, go here to visit the Organizing Junkie.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

Over the past several years, I have tried just about everything in attempts at reducing our monthly grocery budget, but I always find myself returning to the simple, common sense methods that would have been utilized by my grandmothers, if they hadn't grown most of their own produce and cooked completely from scratch all the time. This style of grocery shopping actually combines three popular methods used by many shoppers to maximize savings.

Buy on Sale - Almost every single item that I purchase each week can be found listed in the sales circular. Now, I do have the luxury of living within 2-3 miles of 5 different grocery stores...o I can choose to shop at several in order to get the best deals, but usually I select the one store that offers the most that particular week. Occasionally, I will shop at Walmart or Target to take advantage of their price matching policy )just make sure you have your ad in hand't). Both of these stores will match the current competitors advertised price on major and generic brands - they do not, however, honor BOGO or % off sales. The buying on sale method alone can cut your weekly spending in half.

Use Coupons - I always advise new couponers to be very careful here. While it is great fun to save money using coupons, it is too easy to overspend because of the great deals. I have pretty much limited my coupon usage to 2 situations: the coupon will allow me to get the item free or for pennies on the dollar or the coupon is for an item that I already planned on purchasing. Using coupons this way, allows me to truly save money without exceeding my budget. Go here to learn more about using and locating coupons.

Stockpile - You have probably seen stores, like Kroger, occasionally offer their brand of block/shredded cheese for $1/8 oz. package. Most grocery stores offer major and store brand items at lowest possible pricing once every 8-12 weeks. It makes sense to stock up when these items are at rock bottom prices. CAUTION!!!!...like couponing, stockpiling can be another spending trap. If you want to become a serious stockpile shopper, you're going to have to start off slowly. My suggestion - reserve $5-$10/week solely for the purpose of stockpiling items that your family frequently uses, when those items are on sale. For example, on Friday nights, I make homemade pizzas for our family fun night. The mozzarella cheese pepperoni and tomato sauce are all items that are stockpilable. While I am needing to replenish my cheese stash, I currently have enough pepperoni to last 5 weeks and enough tomato sauce to last 6 months.

As you continue to employ these shopping methods, you will see your fridge and pantry fill up and your grocery bill go down. Menu planning will be simplified as you "shop your pantry" first, then head to the store to complete your grocery list. Another word of warning...watch expiration dates closely. Never buy more than you can realistically store or use.

So...what is a serious stockpiler? After several months of building your stockpile you will get to the point where I am. Each week, I spend about $20 on fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. The remaining $30 goes to stockpiling 1-3 items. Some weeks, grocery shopping is nothing more than a 10 minutes pit stop to purchase milk and product...everything else comes from the stockpile. Those weeks allow me to spend a little extra later in the month

This Weeks Menu....

Here is this weeks menu:

Monday:
breakfast - sliced apples, pumpkin bread
lunch - ham and cheese SW, carrot sticks, apple
dinner - spaghetti w/venison meat sauce (thanks to a co-worker of my husband), steamed broccoli, garden salad

Tuesday:
breakfast - cold cereal w/milk, fresh fruit
lunch - various leftover for adults/sandwiches, fruit, fresh veggies for the kids
dinner - roasted chicken, garden salad, steamed carrots, green beans

Wednesday:
breakfast - pancakes, fruit
lunch - various leftovers for adults/sandwiches, fruit, wheat crackers for the kids
dinner - crock pot pinto beans cooked w/ham, dinner salad, cornbread

Thursday:
breakfast - yogurt, toast, fresh fruit
lunch - various leftovers for adults/tomato soup, sandwiches and fruit for the kids
dinner - tortilla soup, garden salad, homemade bread

Friday:
breakfast - biscuits, sausage, fruit
lunch - various leftovers for adults/sandwiches, fruit and fresh veggies for kids
dinner - homemade pizza, dinner salad

Saturday:
breakfast - hens in the hen house, fruit, ham
lunch - chef salad
dinner - salmon croquettes, homemade bread, garden salad, potatoes

Sunday:
breakfast - pancakes, fruit
lunch - chicken enchilada casserole, spanish rice, garden salad, pinto beans
dinner - frito pie, fresh veggies, fruit

As the week progresses, I will add as many recipes as possible. The great thing about this menu is that I already have 90% of the materials needed to prepare each meal. I may even make several fruit purchases...without a sale!! For more great recipes and menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at www.orgjunkie.com.

Saving Money Through Home Organization...The Weekly Menu

The Weekly Menu

For many families, the monthly grocery bill is one of their largest, reoccuring expenditures on the budget. It is not uncommon for a family of 6 to spend up to $1000/month...just on food....that's almost a mortgage payment!! With a little planning, any shopper can cut their monthly grocery budget dramatically (don't have a budget...we'll get to that soon enough). Allow me to introduce the weekly menu!!

I have been menu planning for over 10 years. In addition to saving us money, this method of meal planning prevents waste, minimizes eating out, saves time and eliminates much of the chaos from my kitchen. I rarely find myself wondering "what's for dinner?", making extra trips to the grocery store and my husband can assist with meal preparation (without my help) anytime he should feel the need. For us, the weekly menu is a life saver.

Just how much money can be saved by creating a simple menu? Well...I almost hate to tell you how much I spend/week on groceries, but I will. First, let me give you a little information about our family...my husband and I have 2 young daughters, ages 3 and 6. We have no major health issues or food allergies, although Jonathan and I are trying to lose a good amount of weight. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and have meat with almost every meal. I do a lot of cooking from scratch and try to avoid processed foods whenever possible. We are diligently working to get out of debt and are willing to make some sacrifices until this goal is achieved. I use coupons whenever possible, stockpile whenever I can and always shop the sales. All that said, we spend $50/week for all of our groceries, cleaning supplies and toiletries. What's more...I have been spending the same amount/week for the past 4 years...even when we had a baby in diapers. There is no way that I could do this consistently without menu planning. Now let me say one thing...this amount works for us, right now. You will need to determine a grocery budget that fits your family. (I will post our weekly menu, this afternoon.)

For those of you who are new to menu planning, let me give you a few pointers.

• Plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Be sure to include any special occasions.
• At first, keep your menu simple.
  
• When creating your menu, start off by shopping your pantry, fridge and freezer. This type of "grocery shopping" gives you a head start at saving money.
• Supplement the foods that you already have with others that are on sale at your local market.
• Use your menu to create a complete grocery list. Be sure to include condiments and baking goods.
• Post your menu and all recipes that you will be using for the week. Mine stays on the refrigerator.
  
• Include leftovers in the menu (if you think you will have them).
• Shoot for one grocery trip. Use more perishable items (such as avacados) at the beginning of the week.

If you're looking to save money at the grocery store, the weekly menu is a great place to start. Over the next several days, I will also be addressing coupon shopping, stockpiling and more. I also welcome your comments....it helps to know you're out there.

Let's Share...

As I mentioned yesterday, I originally started blogging because I wanted to create a forum where home economists could share money saving ideas. Why don't we get to sharing....here's what I would like from you: How do you save money by substituting for ______? Think of something that you no longer or rarely purchase because you have gotten into the habit of substituting another, less expensive item.

Let me have your responses by Thursday...and I'll include them in Friday's post. Your idea just may help someone else save big!! You can email me at mrssherwin@hotmail.com.

Have a wonderful Sunday afternoon and may your week be filled with blessings!