Weekly Menu Planning

For a long time I have been trying to get more organized. It was my New Years resolution.  I have done research on organizing pictures, books, files, and life in general.  Now I am working on organizing our weekly menu.

I will admit, in the past I used to make whatever we felt like for that day. But it is time for a change.  Gone are the days of Mommy the Short Order Cook.  Starting this month I will from here on out be known as, Mommy the Amazing Chef.

I have looked at many free printables from multiple bloggers, but I never came across one that I really liked.  So, being the creative gal I am, I made my own.

Down the left side I put the meals of the day.  B for Breakfast, L for Lunch, S for Snack, D for Dinner, and of course D² for Dessert.  The reason for D² is because everyone always wants seconds.  See how clever I am. Tee hee. 

I also have another list for the groceries I will need for these meals.  It is a little extensive, this being because I am a couponer and like to know what I am paying for everything I am buying. 

{Click here to download for FREE}

I scoured my cookbooks looking for recipes to switch up the every day meal we usually go with, that being spaghetti.  Mind you I still have put spaghetti on my new menu planner, only because it is an AWESOME family meal. I love how it brings us all to the table. 

My next venture will be creating chore charts for myself and the kids, because this summer I will be needing all the help I can get. Thankfully they are both old enough to start helping around the house.

Again, I have found some very cute templates, but in the end i will probably end up making one myself.

Well, that is it for me today.  Do you have any awesome templates or Menu Planning tips to share? Leave a comment.

RAWR!

I am a couponing MONSTER!

Last night I stayed up super late to get all of my deals in order, my extensive shopping list together, my transactions separated, and my coupons divided up.

I woke up at 7am ready to tackle the day.

My first stop Walgreens. OOP (out of pocket) was $16.42. But, I saved $20.23. A 55% savings! WOOT!!

Next stop was Publix. I am in LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, with Publix. Their Buy One Get One Free deals are outstanding and I absolutely adore (as Fancy Nancy would say, adore is fancy for really liking something), pairing those deals with coupons. So, OOP there was $69.52. I wasn't planning on spending that much and I stuck to my list, however, I made a fatal error and forgot a few coupons at home. My reaction was as follows, "Aww, Poopstick!" This outburst was then followed up with a few strange looks from other shoppers. I gave a big smile and a slight nod and kept walking. Anyways, as I was saying... I saved $33.84. A 32% savings. I know I would have done better had I not forgotten the blasted creamer coupons. Blarg. Oh well. On to the next store.

Last but not least, Kroger. I love Kroger when they have their awesome Mega Events. This week it was buy 10 participating items and get $3 off instantly at checkout and save $2 on your next purchase. So of course I made my list out to where I would have 4 transactions and get to use 3 $2 coupons off my purchase.

I started off with my 10 Totinos Party Pizzas. They were on sale for $1.29 and I had coupons for $1 off 5. So I rang all of my pizzas up so I would have my 10 items and $2 coupon. After I paid I noticed that I didn't get my $2 Catalina coupon. "Uh... excuse me? Oh no you didn't!", is what I said to the self check out machine. I spoke with the self checkout register assistant came over and asked if I needed help. I said, "Yes sir. I scanned my items for the buy 10 item get $2 back deal and I did not receive my coupon." He looked into my bags and said, "Ma'am, you only have 9 items in here." OH MY GAH! How embarrassing? I was so mad at myself for not double checking to make sure that transaction was complete before paying for it.

After kicking myself in the ass, which is hard to do and looks silly when you are doing it in the middle of the self check out lane, I sorted out my remaining items and placed them neatly together so I knew what went with which transaction and this debacle would not happen again. The rest of my orders turned out like I had planned. My OOP for Kroger came out to $72.20. I saved $35.67. Drum roll please.... My savings was 33%.

It wasn't too bad of a day. I got a good amount of groceries, though I wish I had spent a little less. I still came out on top. I love when things go right.

Next week I will make sure to have every coupon with me before I leave and I will double and triple check every transaction before paying. I still can't believe I did that. Grr.

Now time to spend a little cuddle time with the babies before we head off to the basketball court.