Meal Planning Time!

How many of you have had the following happen to you in the last month?

• Looked at your fridge and pantry wondering what to eat?
• Wondered how you fit that much into your shopping cart?
• Ordered out because it was just plain easier?

I have to say, I have been guilty of all these things and more, in the past. However, with expenses and home projects we want to accomplish, saving money on groceries is priority one! Especially since we have so many lovely projects in progress (such as the kitchen re-org) or planned for the horizon (master closet, laundry room, etc).

I have also been motivated by the great blogs I have been following. There are SO many awesome tips out there from people who flat out kick you-know-what at saving money on groceries and making meal planning painless. To you all, thank you!

I have pinned a lot of great ideas on different things I can do, such as:

A recipe binder for keeping our families favorite meals handy. I especially love the visual for each item, as I will rarely cook something that I can't see a picture of beforehand.

Source: iheartorganizing

A great iPhone app for electronically tracking our shopping list and keeping track of the items that we purchase. Also, it keeps us focused on what we need, not everything that looks tempting.

I also love (LOVE!) that it automatically syncs our phones so we never have to worry that the other person got items on the list AND that you can categorize all your items. Yep, it was definitely love at first site with this app!

Easy (and FREE) access to coupons and recommendations on how to get the biggest bang for the buck in the shortest time possible. I am blown away by how many great tips, tricks, and goodies are on this site. The Pinterest boards alone could keep me entertained for quite some time and the coupon database is beyond cool.

Source: Money Saving Mom



A weekly meal board to document what we are going to have for the week, which should help us avoid the whiny "But I am hungry now" and "what's for dinner?" routines that we get ALL THE TIME! I love the team color of this one from Jen at iheartorganizing, but the day icons on the board below. Might even have to go with some spiffy chalkboard paint!

Source: iheartorganizing



Source: Tip Junkie

Now that I have my ideas all rounded up, it is time to implement. What are you doing to save money with groceries and meal planning?  Let the fun begin!