Aside from buying ingredients for the various items I cooked for our three Thanksgiving dinners and purchasing a few other staples, I took the week off from my usual shopping. In fact, I didn’t even plan a menu–something that is incredibly uncharacteristic of me.
I’m not even exactly sure what I was thinking. Well, come to think of it, I don’t know that I was thinking at all! Let me tell you, I learned very quickly that skipping menu planning is not a good idea. We ended up going out to eat more than I care to admit and spending some money unnecessarily because of my lack of organization and preparation ahead of time.
We did have some extra money in out “Dates and Eating Out” envelope and we did have some extra money leftover from some other categories that we used to fund these “splurges” this week, but still, I know that even just a little bit of time spent to prepare at the beginning of the week would have saved us a nice chunk of change.
I learned my lesson and I’m hopeful I will remember this week if I’m ever tempted to “play hooky” from menu-planning again. Maybe it can be a lesson to the rest of you all, too. Learn from my mistakes: don’t skip the menu planning–it’s a very important part of keeping the food budget low!
How’d you do this week? Post about the deals and
bargains you were able to snag this week or other ways you saved money
on your blog (with pictures, if possible!) and then come back here and
leave your link below. **To make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.**
During the month fo November and BF especially I also took an advantage of all free or almost free after ecb deals. I paid with accumulated ECBs too, so now have about $100 in ECBs expiring in one day. I do not need any diapers, toiletries etc. or holiday decorations – what will I do with all this “paper money”? Buy whatever and ship to charity? I will be thankful for any ideas.
I didn’t plan a menu either. I knew we would be out of town for several days, so I didn’t think it was necessary. I snagged a few deals before leaving just b/c they were great deals! Now it’s Monday and I’m not sure what lunch and supper are going to consist of for today until I go grocery shopping tomorrow. I guess I’ve learned my lesson too!
We had one of those weeks as well. It didn’t help that we all got sick!
Hi–just wanted to let you know there are double coupons at Kmart in SC:)
just a bit of encouragement to Davonne…I went yesterday to CVS to get a lot of great deals and they were out of a lot of them…no rainchecks on the 3 day sale either.
I know what you mean, Mommy Snacks…menu planning is so beneficial. And, for me, it’s more than just saving money. Though that is important, it’s also great to know what you’re fixing for dinner, when, and that you have the ingredients on hand. In a busy life with 4 children whom I homeschool, it’s one way to focus on what’s really important!! Thanks for exalting Jesus & will be praying for you and your baby!
I am very new to budgeting and the world of free-b-ing! :0) I absolutely love this site and the many examples of how other moms are successfully staying at home! It’s incredible learning from other’s experiences! I truly enjoy providing my family with necessities although I provide very little income for our family. I have also noticed a new sense of appreciation from my husband when he realizes how much I love him and respect his hard work and the income that comes from his labor! Thanks everyone for teaching me the ropes! I am excited to finally be able to share a success story with others! XOXO Kass
I have yet to get tired of shopping this way! We have been so blessed this year and have learned so much! As always love https://www.moneysavingmom.com! It’s a great resource for saving and ideas for the home! Keep up the great work Crystal and thanks for the links to the other sites as well!!!
I had a huge CVS plan (was going to get about $90 and only pay tax oop), but I was so sick that I didn’t go anywhere 🙁 I hate knowing about the huge savings I missed out on, but I’ve decided that what’s done is done and I’m not going to add insult to my injury by reading about other people’s great CVS deals this week, haha! I guess there’s still next year…
I wasn’t planning on going out yesterday but, I saw something in the Target ad online. My daughter likes the Gilmore Girls and we have all but the last season and I saw that Target had it for $13.98. So,I decided to go to Target at about eleven thirty. I couldn’t get it but, I remembered that Wal – Mart was price matching. So, off to Wal-Mart we went. First, we actually got a handicap parking spot(for my husband). We never get handicap parking. So we go in and not only find the Gilmore Girls but we found another DVD that Target had on sale but did not have. The Gilmore Girls was selling for $15. but they price adjusted to $13.98. The other DVD was selling for $44.99 and they price adjusted it to $13.98. So all in all for not planning on going out on black Friday I did a pretty good.
Have you ever considered keeping several of your weekly menus and rotating them from time to time?
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Money Saving Mom here: Yes, I have, but since I plan menus based upon what is on sale at the store and what I already have on hand, it is less expensive for me to plan a quick menu based upon that. However, I do often serve similar things from week to week, as you’ll notice from my menu plans.
Loved all the free CVS stuff! Amazingly, ours still had everything in stock Friday around noon. I used some of my coupon overage to buy that nice rival crockpot they had for $9 after ECB, and I still have plenty left to roll on upcoming deals! I’m feeling very blessed and satisfied – thanks for all the info, because we didn’t get the flyer!
Glor
I found great deals at CVS and Walgreens on Thursday. I earned about $100 in Extra Bucks at CVS. My son and I used part of the Extra Bucks to buy some of the CD players that were on sale for $8.88. We then went to Wal-Mart and searched the wish tree for the names of older children that wanted CD players. We donated the CD players and batteries to these children. It was a wonderful lesson in giving for my 4 year old son. He really enjoyed this activity and it teaches him the true meaning of Christmas. It is all about Jesus!
It can be challenging to menu plan during holiday weeks, especially if you’re traveling.
Unless, of course, you’re cooking the bird {like moi!}.
I haven’t linked up to this in a while; glad to see you’re still doing well! Congrats on your pregnancy!
😉
Thanks for letting me post (#31)
I have a question and I’d greatly appreciate if someone could answer. I am in Northeast Ohio with an Acme, Giant Eagle, Marc’s, Super Walmart, Aldi’s, and Save-A-Lot all nearby. I am very blessed, I know. But you always talk about markdowns and I almost NEVER see them. Sometimes at Marc’s on produce early in the week, but never Giant Eagle. I think maybe I just don’t know the right time to hit the stores. Does anyone out there have any experience with markdowns at these stores? Thank you for any help!!
I am new to following your blog and love it. I did my first trip to CVS for black Friday and it turned out great! Thanks for all the tips and tricks…it makes shopping like a puzzle and actually fun! (I love puzzles!)
Katie
I don’t usually participate in this, but my deal this week was pretty awesome, so I just had to join in!
Blessings!
Brandi
We skipped the store this week too. And, just like you, went out to eat way more than I want to admit 🙂 I guess it happens every once in a while so I can’t feel too bad about it!
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂