Planning the meals before the store

Howdy Y'all!

I do not know about you but when I go into my local grocery store I can't help but sigh at the end of each transaction. It is so expensive when it comes to buying food that will last about a week. And if I go into the store hungry or tired I am more tempted to buy junk food that may last me one night.

We go to the grocery store once a week for milk, bread, and other small items that our son manages to devour. It gets crazy between gas and time spent at the store. So I have learned through trial and error the best thing to do, at least for us, is to plan our meals ahead of time.

I plan for 8 days worth of meals. And yes, I know there is only 7 days in a week but with that extra day it saves me in case we do not feel like having a certain meal or if something happens where I can not go to the store. I plan for meals of all different cuisines and meats.

I also make sure to look at all sale items. We go through a LOT of meat and dairy products so I make sure to always go into the clearance sections for the best deals. Currently we have enough meat to last us a month but that was because it was on sale. I also make sure to get can goods on sale because they have a longer expiration date and I can find recipes to match what ever canned good I have.

If you also plan ahead you know what coupons to get to save even more money. ( I plan to go over coupons in a future post!)

Make sure to always go to the grocery store after you have a meal and well rested. If you go hungry your more likely to let your cravings take over and buy things you do not need. If you can buy things that you can use for multiple meals that will help as well.

For instance; my son eats eggs almost every morning so I just need to make sure to have a huge carton of eggs for his breakfast. I also make sure to make plenty of the other meals so we have left overs. Left overs are a great way to make sure you have snack food, late night snack, or back up in case you do not feel like cooking one day!

People are more likely to go out to eat when they do not feel like cooking so if you can make sure you have left overs in the house you are less likely to go out to eat for that reason.

Stay tuned for other meal budget topics and make sure to comment below to give me some feedback!!

Thank you!