I hope you have found these Extreme Couponing 101 lessons helpful so far.
The next lesson I want to share with you has nothing to do with couponing, but I assure you it is a vital step in the process of becoming an Expert Couponer! I want you to learn to become a menu planner!
Now, this may not be much of a big deal for some of you naturally organized people, but if you are like me I understand if you are feeling a bit of hesitancy at the thought of planning out every single meal.
I remember before I started a few years back, I thought the idea of menu planning seemed so rigid. I am the kind of person that likes to be a bit spontaneous so I tend to feel rebellious whenever the idea of a schedule comes along.
But I was desperate back then to get our out of control spending under control so I was willing to try just about anything.
I had read somewhere that menu planning could help me not spend as much in the grocery store so I thought I would give it a try figuring it wouldn’t really save me that much and I could say I tried it and move on complaining about how much our bill was each week.
But after sitting at the kitchen table for about 15 minutes I not only had a menu plan, but I had a grocery list too!
Having a plan makes it so much easier to make a grocery list of only the things you need. I took my list to the store that week and saved almost half of what I was used to spend!
After that very first week, I was hooked.
Not only has menu planning helped me keep a $200 a month grocery budget, but knowing what’s for dinner each morning and not having the chore of deciding makes life so much less stressful around here especially on our super busy days!
Tips to make menu planning easier and less intimidating:
If you ever check out any of my menu plans you’ll see that we have the same basic foods for breakfast and lunch.
Also I leave Sunday open because I know my family and we rarely stick to a schedule on that day for anything.
This has made menu planning so much less stressful because I only need to come up with six dinners each week.
The first thing I do when I sit down to make out the weeks menu is look through the freezer to see which meats I happen to already have available.
I try to build my weeks menu around what I already have on hand. This also helps when I grocery shop for the week because I usually only need one or two ingredients for each meal.
I should also add that as I am writing out my menu plan I am also writing out my grocery list at the same time.
One thing that is very important to successful menu planning is a great cookbook!
I have my Betty Crocker Cookbook and it has been a huge help to me.
I can always find something great and super easy to make and that keeps me from giving up on menu planning. It has all kinds of great cooking information too!
We love variety and so I also send for every FREE cookbook offer I can find. Don’t worry I share every free one I find here too!
Maybe you are so overwhelmed by the idea of menu planning, but that is no reason not to do it.
In fact, it is very tempting to just overlook it, but I can tell you from personal experience that my life runs smoother when I know what’s for dinner each day and my grocery budget thanks me each week I take the 10 minutes to write out a plan and a list.
Lastly, I want to say that menu planning works for me and I am confident that it can work for you too!
I challenge you to grab a piece of paper or print a menu planning sheet here, and jot down just 6 dinners and see how long it takes you.
Next week I’ll start sharing about coupons and the special lingo that every Expert Couponer should know.
I was NOT a planner either. I remember how weir it felt the first few weeks. But Just start with 6 dinners. You don’t even have to stick to certain days. It does get easier!!
I was NOT a planner either. I remember how weir it felt the first few weeks. But Just start with 6 dinners. You don’t even have to stick to certain days. It does get easier!!
I want to be! I just am not good at planning a menu. 🙁
I just found your site, so I missed the lessons before this one! Please if there is any way that you can tell me how to get them I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks so much!
I have never done this but I’ll give it a try! I would like to actually use the stuff I have in the pantry, so I know this will help! Thanks for doing what you do!!
I love menu planning! It definitely saves me time, stress, and money. I’m not as good as you though – it takes me about an hour to plan my meals, write my grocery list, and coordinate all the coupons and store circulars. Hopefully I’ll get faster.
I recently started doing this and it has helped me a lot! We don’t have kids, but it’s still frustrating to not have a meal figured out when I get home from work/the gym and I’m tired and don’t even want to cook! So I found an undated calendar with a tear off list pad attached to it at Big Lots for $1. I use that to write in what I’ll cook for dinner that week (we do breakfast on our own and lunch is leftovers) and as I’m figuring out my meals I make my grocery list. We don’t stick to a certain meal each day..I just know what we are having that week and each night I’ll look at the list and decide what we’ll have the next day. It helps to have the meals figured out, knowing I have what I need and then we can decide what we’re in the mood for out of that list. It’s made life so much easier! 🙂
People are always surprised when I tell them I spend less than $500.00/month to feed my family. I have 12 children and currently 9 at home. I don’t plan that rigidly, but I do try to use mostly what I am able to buy on sale or with coupons.
Buying ahead and rotating things through my huge food storage (pantry) makes it much easier to feed many people for pennies a day.
Sandy
http://www.twelvemakesadozen.blogspot.com
Solid advice. I couldn’t agree more.
There are times when I just get tired of menu planning, though. Here’s what I do to keep me on track: if you have a family, let each member pick a meal for the week; half the work is done for you!