December 23, 2024

At Home with GCH: Meal Planning Week 3

January 17, 2013 by

 

Shopping Tips & Coupons

One of the first things I do when it comes to Menu Planning is check my local grocery ads.  I have two grocery stores here in my hometown, and two Walmart stores within 15 miles of where I live.  I also have two other grocery stores I shop that are about 30 miles from where I live.  Which store I shop at depends on which store has the best deals.

At first, when I started shopping this way, I thought it was nuts to drive 30 miles out of the way to buy just a few items on sale.  But let me say this first.  I don’t drive out of my way unless it is a REALLY good sale!  Why do I do it this way?  One reason is because I am married to a penny-pincher husband.  I say that with much love!! 🙂 He will shop for weeks on end before he will purchase something.  He has turned me into a penny-pincher, too!  But, I also recognize that my time is valuable, too!  So if I’m only going to save 15-cents on one item, I refuse to drive 30 miles out of my way to save just 15-cents!  To do that, makes no sense at all.  So it has to be one really good sale before I will drive out of my way.

When I grocery shop, I will always shop the outer edge of the grocery store first.  That is where you will find the best foods for you and your family; vegetables, fruits, grains, and etc.  The inside aisles of the grocery stores are more for canned goods, and processed foods.

I have learned over the years that most times it makes more sense to cook from scratch.  It is definitely healthier for you and your family.  Processed foods were created to help you save time in the kitchen, yes.  But, when you really truly look at it, processed foods are not good for you, if you truly knew what was being used in those foods!  So, another tip I can give you is to cook from scratch when possible!  Make the time to cook this way, to offer healthier meals for your family.  Most times, cooking from scratch doesn’t take any longer than cooking from a box of processed food!  You will love it because you know you are taking good care of your family!

Another tip when grocery shopping is to look at the price per unit.  You will be amazed at how much money you can save if you compare unit prices!!  This is something I learned from my husband.  I used to be the one that would go in the grocery store, and just grab and run.  I was always in a hurry!  I just wanted to get in and out of the store, get home, get it cooked, and get it on the table.  I was not price-conscious in any way!  But, after I learned how to do this, and began to see just how much money I was saving by doing this, I don’t shop any other way now!

The next tip I will share is the benefit of using coupons.  Coupons can save you tons of money, and you don’t have to be a Coupon Queen to make that happen!

I am the first to admit that I am not a Coupon Queen.  I find them time consuming, and I always seem to forget them when I head to the store!  BUT, what I mean by this statement is that I am not a Coupon Queen like you see on the reality shows!  I just do not have the time to put into couponing like these ladies do.  But, I DO use coupons.

When I clip coupons, I only clip ones that I know I will use.  I don’t stockpile grocery items in my garage or in closets in my home!  I use the coupons for food, or items that I know I will use within the next couple of weeks.

There is a lot to learn about using coupons.  Much of it can be found on the Internet if you do a search for Coupon 101.

Here are some tips that I have learned along the way:

  • Where do I find coupons?
    • Magazines
    • Newspapers
    • Internet
    • Coupons Groups on Facebook
    • Friends/Family
    • Direct from Manufacturer
    • Weekly Grocery Store ads
    • Tear pads located in the stores
    • Peel-off’s located on the product
    • Free Samples from manufacturer
  • Keeping your coupons organized
    • 3-ring binder with baseball card holders (Wal-mart, etc)
    • Coupon caddy (Dollar store)
    • Some women use what is called a Couponizer (www.couponizer.com)
  •  Categories to include in your Coupon-holder
  • Baby
  • Bakery (I put all breads, rolls, etc here)
  • Baking
  • Canned/Boxed Items
  • Beverages
  • Condiments
  • Meat/Produce
  • Dairy /Refrigerated
  • Frozen
  • Household (things such as batteries, light bulbs, etc)
  • Laundry / Cleaning Products / Dishwashing
  • Medicine
  • Paper/Plastic (includes disposable dinnerware to toilet tissue)
  • Hair Care
  • Oral Care
  • Soap/Body Wash
  • Personal Care (Shampoo, Deodorant, Beauty, Feminine Care)
  • Snacks
  • Retail Outlets
  • How to Use Your Coupons: (Again, there is so much to learn about coupons.  I am just going to cover the basics here, today.)
    • One Per Rule – Means the coupon can be used by one customer only.  You are a customer; your husband is a customer; your daughter is a customer.  J  So remember, if you need more than one of an item, ring it up as individual customers!
    • Per Transaction:  Means the coupon can only be used for that transaction, for that shopping trip.  You are restricted by the number of times you can use that particular coupon in that shopping trip.
    • BOGO:  Buy One – Get One FREE.  Buy one item at regular cost get a second item of the same price, free.  Most manufacturers will put a limit on how many items can be purchased.
    • Expiration Dates:  You must redeem coupons by midnight by a certain date before it is no longer valid.

 

Next, I want to take you through the steps of using a Shopping List.

A shopping list is a must if you want to save money with Meal Planning!  There is no way around this!  A list is your lifesaver when shopping.  Never leave home without it!

How many times have you gone to the grocery store to buy a gallon of milk, only to come home with over $100 in groceries?!?!  It used to happen to me all the time!  Why?  Because I didn’t plan ahead!  My lack of planning cost me extra money every time I go to the store without a list!  So the BEST advice I can give you is to never ever shop without a list and to STICK TO YOUR LIST!

As we learned last week, we must first plan out our meals; checking food pantry and freezer to see what you have on hand first.  This is a definite must before going grocery shopping.  I used to always go to the grocery store, without my list, and pick up things that I just knew I was out of, only to find that I had that exact item on hand once I arrived home!  Grrrr!!  More money that I did not need to spend on that trip!

God calls us to be good stewards of what He has provided for us, and each time we shop without planning ahead, we are disobeying God’s command to be good stewards of His provisions.

So here is my first rule:  ALWAYS SHOP WITH A LIST & STICK TO THE LIST!

First check your pantry and freezer.  Next plan your meals for the month, and then break it down to a weekly menu.  Then decide what groceries you need to prepare the meals on your Menu Planner for that week.  What you don’t have on hand is what will go on your list.

I have some favorite grocery lists that I have found on the Internet.  I would like to share those links with you, so you can choose which one works best for you.  These sites offer FREE printables.  Remember, just a simple piece of notebook paper will work, too!

This will give you a good start.  You can find more by doing an Internet search.

I will conclude this week’s blog here.  Just remember …. TIME IS MONEY!  Make time to save money!  Plan ahead to save money!  Use coupons to save money!  Never shop without a list!

Next week, we will talk about food preparation.  I will share some tips for preparing your meals ahead of time to save time, and money!  I hope you are enjoying this series, so far!  If you have questions, please feel free to post them below.  I will be happy to answer them myself, or find the answer for you!

Until next week,

Christi

A Virtuous Woman plans ahead before making purchases and spends money wisely. She is careful to purchase quality items which her family needs. (Proverbs 31: 14, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 18, 1 Timothy 6: 10, Ephesians 5: 23, Deuteronomy 14: 22, Numbers 18: 26)

If you would like to send Christi a personal email in regards to this blog, please email her at: Christi@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Meal Planning 101 – Week 2 – Meal Planning Binder & Menu Planners

January 11, 2013 by

 

Hello!  Welcome to Week 2 of Meal Planning 101!  I’m glad you decided to come back and learn more about being successful in Meal Planning!  Meal Planning takes some effort, and that effort takes some organization.  Once you have a “system” in place, it’s just a matter of input from that point on!  So this week I want to talk about creating a Meal Planning Binder and Menu Planners.  This binder will help get you and keep you organized in your meal planning efforts.

My Meal Planning Binder is something that I look at least a couple of times a day!  I know… I get little nuts about it… but I am always looking for new recipes to add to my binder.  I love to try new recipes!  I have discovered some amazing meals by experimenting with my own created recipes, along with ones that I have been given by family, friends, and those I find right here by our “GCH:What’s on Your Plate?” page, and Pinterest.

Instead of giving you directions on how to make my own binder, I’m going to reference a couple of Pinterest links that will give you all kinds of binder ideas!  It’s really up to YOU how you want your binder to look and feel.

For my own binder, I include sections that include my Menu Planner for the Month, and for the Week, along with a Grocery list, Pantry/Freezer List, and a Recipes section.  I also keep a zippered pencil holder (like they use in school) to keep all my coupons in.  Personally, I am not a big coupon person!  I like them, but I do not go crazy with them!  I pick out a few that I know I will use, for products that I know we love and use on a regular basis!  You may be different than I am.  I have seen women who have coupon binders that are in 3-inch 3-ring binders, and it’s loaded with baseball card protector sheets that hold their coupons.  Way more effort than I want to put into my grocery shopping!  We’ll talk about this further in a later blog!

But before I forget, here are the Pinterest links to the Menu Planner binders: 

http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=Meal+Planner+Binders

http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=Menu+Planning+binders

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Now, let’s start with the first things that will be placed inside your binder:  Monthly Menu, Weekly Menu, Freezer / Pantry List, Grocery List, and of course, your coupons.  But for now, let’s talk about your Menu Planner.

In looking through tons and tons of Pinterest links for the perfect Menu Planner, I stumbled across one located at: www.amybayliss.com.  She offers customizable Menu Planners such as the one below.  I love this because I can type this up on my computer and make it look nice and neat!  I can change it anytime I want, and create new meals each month.  Sometimes, I leave certain meals on the menu planner because they are some of our favorites!  So this is really a convenient planner for me to us.  You may choose the planner that allows you to write in the meals for the month, or the week.  Again, it’s just a personal preference.  There is no right or wrong way to do this!  It’s all about doing it, and then finding the system that works for YOU!

Monthly Menu Planner

This exact form was found on: http://amybayliss.com/2011/08/planners-goals-calendars-church-and-ministry-sections-part-2/.   I just used the “Calendar” download.  You can change the name of the month, so you have a new form to use each month.  Amy’s site offers a lot of awesome free printables!

In my meal planning, I always start by making a list of what I have in my pantry and freezer.  That way I know what I have on hand, and what I will need to purchase.

My next step is to make a list of all of the meals that we love.  Each week, I also include a “Leftovers” night and I add this to my Menu Planner!  I hate to see food go to waste!  Nothing gripes me more than to have to throw something away just because I didn’t add it into a new meal!  So I plan at least one night a week for leftovers!  Some people don’t like leftovers…again, personal preference!

We also plan for at least two nights a month for going to a restaurant.  This might include our Date Night meal, or a meal out with friends; whichever one it happens to be, it gets put on my Menu Planner.  So what that means is that I have to plan ahead for these nights.  My husband has the craziest work schedule where he works 3 days on, and 3 days off.  So we never have a normal weekend like most couples do!  We take our weekends as we can get them!  So I take his work calendar and sit down and choose one night a month for our Date Night, and leave room for at least one more night for eating with friends.  Again…put it on your Menu Planner!!

Once I have my list of groceries on hand from my pantry and freezer, and I have written down all of my favorite meals, I start making my menu for the month!  My freezer, pantry, and favorite meals lists can just be updated as I go!  This is the first time-consuming activity that you will have, but once it’s done, it’s pretty easy to maintain!  We’re getting you closer to Menu Planning success!   Trust me, once you make your binder and a monthly menu, it will make your life so much easier for the remainder of the month!  No more planning for another 30 days!

After you have completed your Monthly Menu, your next step is to break down the Monthly menu into a Weekly menu.  Here is where you will see just seven days of menus.  Write out a Weekly menu for every week on our Monthly menu.  Once you do it, it’s done for the month, and for each week; then it’s just a matter of grabbing the next weeks form to see what’s on the menu.  You can even just use a simple piece of notebook paper to do this, if you wish.  You really don’t need any special forms, etc.  You’ll be glad you took the time at the beginning of the month to do this!  Trust me!

For Meal Planner forms, do a search on Pinterest for “free weekly meal planner printables”; there are many of them out there.  I use a lot of Amy’s forms from her site because they are customizable!  I just love the way she has formatted them, and makes it so easy for me to input my own information!  Again, you will want to search for forms that are going to work for YOU!  If they don’t work for YOU, you won’t keep up with it!  So find something that works for you and one that you enjoy working with!

Now that we have our meals planned for the month and week, it’s time to put together our Shopping List.  We’ll discuss our Shopping List and coupons next week.  You will store all of this inside your Menu Planning Binder, in the proper sections.

I hope you are enjoying this series.  If you want, please share a link to the Menu Planner that you use!  You never know if someone else will find your Menu Planner convenient for them, as well!

See you next week!

Christi

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A Virtuous Woman uses her time wisely. She works diligently to complete her daily tasks. She does not spend time dwelling on those things that do not please the Lord. (Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 19, Proverbs 31: 27, Ecclesiastes 3, Proverbs 16: 9, Philippians 4:8)

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If you would like to send a private message to Christi in regards to this blog, please email her at: Christi@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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