The menu is planned so we went to purchase groceries for the next two weeks.   With my shopping list in hand, we headed off to Aldi’s for the first round of purchases.  I will not go grocery shopping without my menu made and list in hand.  If I do it is disasterous.  This week we were a little tight on the budget so we tried to purchase only what we needed.  I am hoping to have a pantry week for the third week and use up alot in our freezer, etc.  So hopefully the groceries I bought today will last for three weeks  With maybe only minimal purchases to make meals the 3rd week. 

If you do one thing this year to help with your monthly budget, menu planning is well worth the time.   We have decreased our food budget back down to $100/ week vs $120/week as two members of the family have moved into their own home.   Every night I feed 5 people (4 adults and 1 kid) and we eat a sit down meal each night.   It is a great time to connect as a family. 

The Website “I’m a Organizing Junkie” is where I got started on meal planning.  I still find the Menu Plan Monday posts very helpful each week to plan my menu. 

Grocery Shopping for 1/16/12
Walmart                $ 49.05
Aldi                      $ 158.29  (minus 16.99 for Fan heater which was not food)

Total Spent for 14 days – $207.34 – 16.99 (Groceries and Paper products Total 190.35)   = $13.59/Day or $95.18/ week

Happy Savings!!