Mom, what’s for supper? is about the nastiest thing this mom can hear. It’s right up there with are you going to exercise today and it’s time for your root canal. Fightin’ words is what they are. But I’m learning with a little planning and a running list, I shall over come.

Since food is a necessity but eating out isn’t, it is in the top four things you should spend your money on first. Our family of four spends between $400-450 per month on food, eating out and household items (toiletries, cleaners etc.). Keep in mind we feed a lot of strays around here and  spoil our neighbors by taking them homemade goodies for all the great things they do for us.

I don’t like to shop for food so I only shop every two weeks. If you don’t have a lot of storage space or a freezer this might not work for you, so keep in mind your food availability and storage issues. Ready? Here we go.

It all starts with a list. This is the hard part. So grab a glass a whine wine and sit down with a cookbook, the weekly grocery store advertisement and clipped coupons (if you use them–I don’t) and start making a list of your family favorites. Keep in mind the food you already have and use it up first to keep things fresh.

After your list is complete grab the calendar and start making your menu. If you are busy on Monday evening with sports practice and meetings that would be a bad day to have something that takes forever to fix… like homemade chicken and noodles…right? But, it would be a great night to have pigs in a blanket, green beans, and a salad; something fast and easy.

Make a grocery list off your menu. For the pigs in a blanket example I would need hot dogs, croissants, a can of green beans and some lettuce with dressing. Boom. Done. Next.

Stretching your food budget. I try to get the most out of my money and time by making enough to have left overs or use the excess in other meals. Example. We like to have sloppy joes with rotel cheese dip and chips, a fast crowd-pleasing meal. I take a half of block of velveeta and mix with a generic can of rotel and microwave. With the left over cheese dip I can make enchiladas, Mexican pizza, burritos, potato soup, cheesy potatoes, spicy mac and cheese AND get another couple meals out of the rest of the block of cheese.

Same with a whole chicken. If I bake the chicken I can take the drippings and bones and boil them for some tasty homemade chicken and noodles, another twofer. A large roast can be up to three meals: roast, taters and carrots, hot beef sandwiches, and sandwiches (bbq, beef salad, or roast beef sub). I have a friend who dumps all of her leftover veggies (corn, green beans, carrots) into a container in the freezer and makes a hearty soup or stew with she gets enough veggies together.

Still too hard? Don’t go out to eat yet. You can pay a small price to have someone do this for you. Check out emealz.com. They will do all the planning for you. All you have to do is buy it and cook it. It’s a great resource for moms and dads on the go.

Even this frugal mom gets overwhelmed once in a while and allows herself one night a month I don’t have to cook. On those nights we go to a place where kids eat free or we have found a great coupon to use.

One last thing. Take cash. Cash envelopes aren’t just for kids, they help adults stay on budget too. Good luck.

Simply,

Sis