My budget has been extremely out of control lately. I feel instead of me controlling my money, my money has been controlling me. I decided to change this. Friday I worked on the budget. It is looking pretty good. Some things might need to be changed but all in all, I believe it is workable.
One of the biggest areas I believe the money is just being eaten up (figuratively and literally) is groceries. Not being prepared for meals and therefore too many stops to the grocery store really does and up!!!
So Saturday, I spent most of the afternoon working on preparing a menu for the next too weeks---breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Then I spent 3 1/2 hours, and 3 different store grocery shopping with my oldest, CJ. I am at the point that pushing a carriage full of groceries for 7 to 8 people (mom is staying with us this week) is too much for me. Chris also did 3 stores for me on his own. He hit the meat market and Stop and Shop on his way home from work Saturday to pick up sale items. On his way home Sunday, he went to BJ's to get a handful of bulk items I needed. CJ and I hit Wal-mart, Target and Shaw's. The majority of my shopping is actually done at Wal-mart. Target is right across the street from Wal-mart and I pick up a few items there that Wal-mart either runs out of or doesn't carry. At Shaw's I picked up some sale items and a few fruits and veggies. I have a HUGE farmer's market order coming in on Thursday so I only wanted to get F & V to last me until then.
So without further ado----My Menu (which is, of course, is subject to change : )
Monday--(B)Bagels with catalope, (L) Pasta Fazole, (D) not sure yet
Tuesday--(B)Waffles (frozen), (L) PB & J sandwich, (D) Fajitas with rice
Wednesday--(B)LaMuffins, (L) Chicken patty sandwiches w/ fries, (D), American Chop Suey
Thursday--(B) Oven Omelet , (L) Dad's Choice, (D) Homemade Pizza---this will be my first attempt at this.
Friday--(B)Blueberry muffins, (L) Mac and Cheese, (D) Chorico and Fries
Saturday--(B) Pancakes, (L) English Muffin Pizzas, (D) Grill. Steak (chicken for me), corn-on-cob, watermelon, chips, potato salad and 4th of July cupcakes---yummy.
Sunday--(B) Cereal (recovering from the night before), (L) OYO (own-your-own) lunch, (D) Chicken Pastina (new recipe)
I have a long list of snacks available to the kids over the next 2 weeks:
yogurt, yogurt smoothies, fruit (usually their morning snack), cheese and crackers, fruit grain bars, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, granola bars, brownies (Emily LOVES making these with me), chips w/ salsa, pudding, popcorn, and mixed nuts
That about sums it up.
Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.
2 comments:
Oh, I love your enthusiasm. It is inspiring. I totally agree about the menu planner. I was faithful with that last fall until the holidays hit. I never got back to it. I NEED to. It makes life so easy on a daily basis. Just knowing what's for dinner and that I had all the ingredients was great. Keep up the good work!
Regarding budget...I've recently started using www.quickenonline.intuit.com
it automatically tranports all your bank account info. It categorizes stuff and is really an eye opener as to see where your money is going. Best of all the service is free.
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