Steph's Pick - Menu Planning

Upon getting married and moving to Arizona I started getting in the habit of going to the grocery store at least 4-5x a week. I'd decide each day what I wanted to make that evening and I'd stop by Basha's to pick everything up. Although the grocery store was literally across the street from our first apartment I felt like I spent more time at the grocery store than doing things that I loved to do. After about 6 months of this and a thorough analysis of our budget I knew I needed to make some changes to my grocery shopping plans.

Since then I go to the grocery store once a week (generally on Sundays) and I always bring my list in hand. My list is formulated as I sit down that day and plan my menu for the week. This has helped me tremendously in multiple ways. First, I spend far much less time going to and from the grocery store (you know time=money). Second, I feel more prepared to cook for our family when I know what I've planned for that evening's meal. Finally, we are saving way more money - and in these economic times that is something to celebrate!

So ladies, it's as simple as that! I realize this may not be revolutionary to many of you - but it was to me! I'm appreciating the benefits of this specific home-tip more than I'll probably ever know.

For the very cute Menu Planning document shown below Click Here.