Guest post by Clair Boone
This is part 3 of Clair’s series, In the Land of No Double Coupons. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
4. Plan a Menu
It’s 5:00 p.m. and your husband is due home in half an hour. The kids are going crazy, the baby is crying and you have spent the day cleaning up toys. Just when you think things can’t get worse you realize you have no dinner planned.
Although you could convince your husband to eat cereal or frozen pizza, is that what you want? Or what you want the kids to eat? With the way our lives are nowadays, we run around like headless chickens and try to fit in eating healthy.
If you want to eat healthy and live frugally there’s only one thing to it — you’re gonna have to start meal planning.
Meal Planning Defined
According to the Meal Planning Mommies, meal planning is “creating a flexible, livable schedule of family meals.”
Meal planning is:
- Meant to take the stress out of dinner time and put the fun back in cooking family meals.
- Going to help you plan a variety of healthier, cost-efficient meals based on your family’s needs.
- Going to save you MONEY and TIME.
- Individual to your family.
Meal planning does not have to be:
- A rigid calendar of meals.
- Meals that don’t suit your family’s tastes/lifestyle.
- Costly.
- Time consuming.
- Stressful.
My Meal Plan
My meal plan is really simple. At the beginning of each week or sometimes every couple of weeks, I look at what’s already in the stockpile. My stockpile contains items I got for free, cheap or things that I already have on hand.
If we only have chicken in the freezer then I’m going to get creative. If I’ve got a variety then we’re in luck.
Once the meal plan is written using those ingredients, I write a list for the things I need to actually make those random ingredients into meals and then I run out to the store. Not before. Running into the store without a list will end up in copious amount of impulse buying, regretful decisions and the grocery budget up. I know it and I’m guilty.
So make a list and don’t back out.
Sometimes You Just Need to Improvise
A few weeks ago we were having friends over for dinner and I decided I was making chili.
As it was time for a grocery shop anyway, I wrote a list of everything we needed that week. We had ground beef around (hence my decision to make chili) and so I knew I needed chili seasoning. I went out, came home and started to cook.
About two minutes into it I realized I was missing a key ingredient: tomatoes! My friends were arriving in half an hour, I didn’t want to go back to the store and risk impulse buying so I can now attest to the fact that tomato sauce, tomato ketchup and a dollop of BBQ sauce makes a great chili!
In other words, if you forgot it at the store, improvise.
Stay tuned for Part 4 tomorrow…
She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack prompting her friends to ask her to start www.mummydeals.org to teach others how to save money. She loves to use her couponing powers to buy things and donate them. Originally from England, Clair Boone is wife to an amazing man, Mum to a toddler and lives near Chicago.
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andrea says
A can of Campbell’s tomato soup works for chili, too. Found that out when the chili was already started and this was the closes thing resembling tomatoes in our house.
Heather T. says
I used to be soo good at meal planning until I had a third child, I cant seem to get back into the swing of things, and he is 2, but I am pretty quick with whipping up a meal with what we have on hand, I have my dad to thank for that, and we always have stuff from the garden canned or frozen and some kind of meat in the freezers, but having that plan down is still by far the best time and stress saver.
Sarah says
Thanks for including us in the post, Clair! That’s awesome. I just ran into a super cute crafty blog called “Little Birdie Secrets.” This week she has a super cute, easy and CHEAP craft idea for a Menu Board. You can put it on your fridge, or on your counter- it is great! Check it out here:
http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2010/09/weekly-wipe-off-menu-board-magnets.html
Sarah says
meal planning is the best! it’s so helpful and my husband loves it too cuz then he knows what’s for dinner 🙂
Catherine says
Husband home at 5:30?? That would be heaven! Around here, 8:30, if we’re lucky lol!
I like to make a casserole in the afternoon when the baby naps. That way I don’t have to do anything but pop it in the oven when my crazy evenings roll around.
Helen Mendler says
The newspaper ads, come on a Thursday here, with Saturday and Sunday, and sometimes Monday being extra bonus savings days, meaning greater savings. Some stores have coupons, and others take manufacturer coupons, the choice is mixed. I try to shop at the stores that feature the most items that are on my list. Even being handicapped, I too have to make the most of the little amount of money that I have for food and the extras for my kids. List in hand, I try never to pay full retail prices for anything.
Emily says
I plan one month at a time. At the end of each month, I sit down and plan the entire next month worth of meals. I love cooking and baking, but I don’t necessarily enjoy coming up with what to cook and bake! If I don’t have a menu, then I spend half the day wondering what to make! With a month’s worth of menus, that eliminates that problem. And, if I plan spaghetti for Monday but would rather have chicken & rice (which might be on for Thurs. night), then I just flip flop meals! And if we get a dinner invite, then that night’s meal gets shelved til next month! It has been a lifesaver for me!!
Liz says
@Emily, I also prepare a monthly grocery shopping list. I’ve found this enables me to do a “once a month” huge grocery order. Then, on the off weeks, I go to the store only for the basics (milk, eggs, produce, etc). My once a month grocery shopping trip takes me about 2 hours…and trips in between take about 10-15 minutes. Being so organized has helped me reduce the time shopping!
Beth says
@Liz, On your off weeks do you hit up the sales or only on your monthly shopping trip?
Liz says
@Beth, I usually hit CVS on a weekly basis (if it is a good sale week). That is how I buy most of my family’s toiletry items. Also, I will buy sale items on my weekly trip – but mainly only if it is advertised in the weekly flyer and I know it is a great deal (close to free).
Andrea says
I always make my meal plans for 2 wks worth of food! saves me time and money! I don’t coupon and i still save tons for my family of 4 doing this.
Amanda says
I was hoping to read the first parts to this series, but the links do not work. Anyone know where to find them quickly?
Crystal says
They should be fixed now; my apologies on that!
Charity says
Smart advice! Meal planning is *such* a must for me, and I couldn’t imagine life without doing it this way!
Christie says
I’ve used salsa, too! Anything tomato based works.
Clair @ Mummy Deals says
@Christie, oooo, what a fab idea!
Tawra@Living On A Dime says
Tomato soup makes good chili too!
Elizabeth says
Sunday is when ad’s come out here and I always sit down then clipping my coupons, going through my cabnets, asking the family if there is any requests within reason and making out a basic meal plan from that. Having a menu saves time, money and stress! I always keep one or two extra meals on hand around the house incase something comes up where our time is limited or we all look at what we though we’d have and go ‘eh that doesn’t sound appealing’ most those meals are frozen or a quick box meal so it helps buffer my pantry.
I’m loving the suggestions given and very sound advice from our guest author 🙂
Sylvia says
@Elizabeth,
I do the SAME exact thing as you 🙂
Catherine says
@Elizabeth,
Grilled cheese with tomato soup is one of our go-to meals when things get crazy. As an added bonus, my other half is the grilled cheese maker around here so I get a break in the kitchen!
Marisa Stone O'Brien says
Hello,
I just thought you might want to know that the link to the prior articles do not work. They take you to an index page.
Baby Coupon Mom says
I completely agree. Going to the store with a list and stick to it is the best way to minimize impulze buying!!
Jan says
I am really enjoying this series! I am so bad at menu planning I need to do better!
Clair @ Mummy Deals says
@Jan, It’s a challenge isn’t it Jan but i promise it gets easier!
Ellen says
I am loving this guest post!!!! I am not in a region with no-double-coupons, but her advice is still hitting home. Thanks for sharing it!
Clair @ Mummy Deals says
@Ellen, Thanks Ellen! Glad to help! This frugal thing is not an overnight fox but a journey of making right decisions. Crystal and I wanna help you do that!
Alisha Hughes says
Absolutely! Without a meal plan I end up stopping at fast food several times throughout the week. Two of my momma friends join me in doing a meal planning site for moms. It’s called mealplanningmommies.com. Hope this helps someone.