Are you recovering from the Superbowl? We are, and I made extra taco chicken yesterday so I could make chicken tortilla soup with the leftovers! Dinner, done for tonight!
The more I talk to people the more I am convinced that meal planning is probably the key for most families right now to save the most money. Maybe even more than couponing. When it comes down to it, the amount of money spent on food is the 2nd largest bill that we have next to your mortgage or lease. Obviously we need food to survive and much entertainment is centered around food, but we can all spend much less than we are.
Meal planning is KEY to saving money on food. Coupons come in a close 2nd. The more I plan my meals, the more I save. It isn’t glamours, and I know it seems like a chore, but give it a try!
Monday – Chicken Tortilla Soup – I doubled my chicken taco meat yesterday in the croc pot so that I would have extra today. You can use this meat for chicken enchiladas, soup, casseroles and so much more.
Tuesday – Baked Ziti – Using my Italian Sausage that I got from Kroger this week on the mega event. $1.00 off ONE package Johnsonville Italian Sausage is the coupon I used. I will also double this and make 2 9×13 pans. I am going to freeze one pan so that I can pull it out this weekend and already have dinner made one night.
Wednesday – Tuna Casserole – My kids might be weird but they love tuna casserole. This is another very inexpensive meal to make and you can double the 9×13 and freeze one for another dinner. I bought tuna at the Kroger mega event $0.55 off 2 StarKist Single Serve Pouch Products for $.73. If you do not like tuna, use canned chicken in it’s place! $1.00 off 2 HORMEL Chicken Breast products.
Thursday – Baked Potato Bar – From the Kroger mega event I am stocking up on Canned Chili and we will have that on the potatoes, with cheese, sour cream and green onions. $0.55 off 2 HORMEL Chili products coupon will get you a can for only $.73. This is a REALLY cheap meal!
Friday – Homemade Pizza – It has been a while since we have had Pizza and so we are having some tonight! $1.00 off 2 HORMEL Pepperoni packages or $1.00 off two (2) packages of ARMOUR Pepperoni.
Part comedian, part Dad, part athlete. He will boss around your children while they play ball.
Just as angelic as she looks, this girl could easily raise a Village by herself, and all the children would grow up to be President.
Self proclaimed, she would be a webkinz dog. Because, "they're cute, and puppies are too. And they're sweet and they always get along with other puppies."
This mini-Martha Stewart can handle ANY craft you send her way. She isn't all bows and rainbows, she's got karate kid moves!
Not "Pick-Me-Up" like caffeine, she wants you to pick her up! AND NOW!
Anything that can be destroyed WILL be destroyed!
Practically Perfect in Every Way for now! Nicknamed "The Panda" she is rolly polly and lives by the motto, "the little one, is KING!"
The resident Labradoodle, Miller got his name because Mom won and got to name the baby! Need something chewed up? He'll take care of it. Especially if it's expensive..
So two weeks ago after my husband got paid I went and got groceries, $179. I about died. It didn’t even last two weeks, I was stressed out the entire time trying to come up with meals with the food that I had bought. This last week I finally deceided to make a two week meal plan. I planned just dinners cause I figured we could eat the leftovers the next day for lunch. Guess what two weeks worth of dinners came to? $90. That’s right, $90. I haven’t been stressed out once, I know what I’m making and I know I have everything I need for it. Totally worth the time and effort to make a meal plan!!
Thank you for your comment! I can’t agree more!
As a follower, I could not agree with you more Tiffany which is why I follow you faithfully several times a day 🙂
Unfortunately, I can’t participate in your Kroger, HEB, etc savings because I live in VA. However, you are one of my favorite bloggers in showing the average family how to save money and spend those dollars wisely. I am fortunate to have a job but have not received a pay increase in 5 years. My paycheck has actually decreased this year because of additional costs coming out for social security and medical benefits. However, with a shrinking paycheck prices are increasing at a steady rate (gasoline, groceries, utilities, etc.). It is very difficult to make ends met these days for my family. The only silver lining to these hard times are your posts. They show me how to make my precious dollars and pennies stretch (along with a great sense of humor) in these hard economic times.
I am a working Mom who is out the door at 5am and does not return home till 5:30pm-6:00pm. The last thing I can think about about a long work day is dinner. Your meal planning has been vital in not only saving money but in also in saving valuable time and energy.
For the record my families loves the baby food carrot cake, Chicken tacos and then turning leftovers into Chicken tortilla soup, and the copycat zuppa toscana soup recipes 🙂
Thanks for all you do!
Denise, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comment. We are all so busy now, that comments are few and far between and sometimes you wonder if anyone is there at all. So many times my posts are just reminders for me, to keep reminding my self to make that meal plan, or take the time to cut my coupons out. But when I get home and have no idea what to do for dinner and can’t spend $35 at Chik Fil A for 9 of us, I can make what I have written down and shopped for ahead of time for always less than 1/2 the price. Plus we are always glad we ate at home. Thank you so much again, and for all you Moms who work so hard to take care of your families!
We are here 🙂 thanks to you and all you do! I too believe that meal planning is right up there in importance.
When I was growing up we had Meatloaf Monday, Pasta Dish Tuesday, Pizza Night on Fridays, and Sunday was a Pot Roast with all the trimmings. My mother planned our family meals out of routine and habit. My Mom never would have thought that turkey (or insert other protein) is on sale this week so lets plan a turkey dish. Therefore, naturally I was trained and groomed with this mentality of meal planning and cooking. Unfortunately this type of meal planning does not maximize saving money.
Fast forward to today. We have difficult economic times. So making ends meet it has become a necessity in our house. We do this by couponing, seeking sales, stockpile, and plan accordingly. So when Chex Mix, Wheat Thins, and Granola Bars goes on sale guess what the snack of week is? Yes, Chex Mix, What Thins, and Granola Bars. So while my Mom kept the standard variety of snacks in the house, I now rotate my snacks according to sales. The same is true when meat, fruits, or veggies go on sale. I now have to think of incorporating those sale items in my menu planning. Thankfully Tiffany 🙂 takes alot of guesswork and time out of the planning and shows me how easy it is plan a menu with this weeks sale items (or even something you may have lying around in the freezer that needs to be consumed). As Jamie said, I am very grateful and thankful for all you do Tiffany.
I’m fairly new to following your blog, but wanted to say thank you! I am a working mother to 5 kids, 4 teens and a 8 yr old, and now 18 weeks pregnant. Your blog is helping us save money and helping me face being home full time soon. Words cannot describe how grateful I am!