Monthly Menus

Do you plan monthly menus for supper or for lunch?

You know, being a teacher, I've always been a planner.  Spontaneity in certain situations can give me anxiety at times, but up until I started staying at home, I had never really been a menu person when it came to preparing food in my home.  For some reason my planning didn't carry over to my home life!

Sure, I had ideas about what I might make during that week, but I remember going to the grocery store, picking out some staples and maybe some stuff in particular that I was thinking about cooking, going home, and still feeling at times like I had nothing to eat.  Sometimes I would come from school and wonder, what are we going to eat tonight?  Sometimes I would have what I wanted in order to cook a certain meal, and sometimes I did not.  It became very old and stressful to think about cooking supper!

I was missing something - a plan!  AND I was spending way too much money!

Well, enter the stay-at-home-mama stage on my life, and all of a sudden a plan was needed. Money doesn't grow on trees, and we don't need to overspend on groceries or anything for that matter.  Gone are the days of casually going grocery shopping and putting whatever I want into my cart only to figure out meals later.  No, that will not do!

Turns out that we spend about the same amount of money, or even less now, on groceries than we did before Callie was born or about the time she was born, which was 5 years ago.

This amazes me!

What is the difference?  Planning out a menu and putting thought and time into what I will buy, how much of it, and staying OUT of the grocery store!

Some women are tempted to buy clothes every time they walk into a department store.  I fall into that category too, but I am the same way at the grocery store!  If I am not careful, it can become a shopping spree.  Am I alone in this?  I see buy one get one free deals, and I feel like a kid in the candy store. LOL

Anyway, so here is my challenge to you.  If you are concerned about how much money you spend out of your monthly budget in groceries, stress out about what you will cook for supper every night, or just casually grocery shop like I used to do, then I challenge you to develop a supper menu for your family.  It can be a monthly calendar or even 2 weeks at a time or even just for one week.  I guarantee you that you will spend less money and feel less stress about what you are going to cook for supper every day! 

I have attached a couple of menus that I have used in the past and still use.  I did NOT come up with these resources!  They come from www.moneysavingmom.com.  Enjoy!  Let me know how your meal planning goes if you try it!