Let me tell you, this week I think I blinked twice and it was already Thursday. :)
Not only I don't know where the week went, but it is so hard to believe Summer is coming to an end soon.
I was listening to the radio the other morning and they had a commercial talking about Labor Day sales
and my first thought was, Labor day???
And then I realized, it is only a few weeks away! WOW!
To me it seems every year Summer just goes faster and faster.
Well, enough rambling! :)
Today I am just sharing a quick post on how I keep myself sane and our daily life organized
while I save my family a little money every week.
Do you plan your meals and grocery shopping every week?
I have been doing this for sooo many years and it is so helpful to me.
I am an old fashion kind of girl, so I start by putting together a simple handwritten weekly menu.
Now, for those of you that are a little more technology shabby than me :) there is many grocery list/menu planning apps for your iPad or smart phone that you can install on your device. You can find many of these apps on Pinterest.
I do have them, but I just can not get myself used to going to the grocery store holding my iPad. :)
So, what is the best next thing? Paper and pen, of course! :)
As soon as I get a menu figured out, I start making a list of everything I will need to purchase for the week.
To keep everything organized, I have a drawer in my kitchen where I keep the weekly menu, grocery list, calendar
and coupon organizers.
Do you clip grocery coupons? I do, but only the ones of items and brands that we normally purchase.
I usually get them from our Sunday paper, and also from some coupon websites like
Once I have the coupons I want or need for the week, I clip them and store them in my larger coupon organizer and after finishing the grocery list, I get them ready to take with me to the store in my little purple coupon holder. :)
And this is what my savings look like on a regular week.
It is not much, about $30.00 a week, but when you think about it, we save about $120.00 a month
which translates to about $1,400.00 a year in coupon savings.
Every little bit counts!
It only takes me about an hour to get this done every week and it is nice to get up every day and not to have to think, "what do I make for dinner today?" :)
And this is how I stay organized.
I would love to hear how you keep up with your meal/grocery shopping every week.
Any tips or tricks?
Thank you all for stopping by.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
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Oh I am a coupon girl too and I also really shop the sales to fill up the pantry and freezer. It really does save a ton.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much how I do it too. I consider it a fun challenge to try and save about the same amount you did. I also try to match my coupons to the ads weekly. Wal Mart will match any prices..but this only happens if I can stand to go to Wal Mart. :)
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Maria Elena! I clip coupons too. Once a week, I sit down and make out my grocery list. I go around the house and check my stock on cleaning supplies, laundry items, toiletries, etc. Then I check the fridge and pantry and write down anything we're running low on. (I use pen and paper too...I've never found a grocery app I liked) Then I check to see what breakfast and lunch items we need. And finally, I sit down with my cookbooks and figure out what I'm going to make for dinner the next week and write down all the ingredients I'll need. I usually have a running list on the fridge too, so anyone can add anything they think of during the week. The only problem is that my boys are always adding things like cookies, cakes, and pies. Lol!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could plan my menu for the week ahead of time, Maria Elena. I'm sure it makes things easier. My problem is that I may say on Sunday that chicken for dinner on Wednesday would be great, but come Wednesday I might not be feeling in the mood to make the chicken. I might have a day that makes me want something a lot easier to cook so I that might make pasta instead. Or sometimes my husband has to go out of town on business and doesn't let me know until the last minute so there goes any plan. : )
ReplyDeleteI try to at least have an idea of what I'll be cooking during the week to make shopping easier, even if I don't know what night it will be. I find the electronic coupons (or card coupons) from Kroger save me quite a bit each week so I make sure to load them to my card before I head out to the store. Plus, I buy when they have specials (like 10 yogurts for $10.00). I also watch the pricing - the fat free coffeemate I like to use is a little cheaper at the store down the road from us than it is at Kroger, as well as the gluten free pizza I like. I also like to shop the local place because with their card you earn points that you can use toward certain foods. So, if I have the points I can get a quart of milk for $.49 or eggs for $.12 a dozen or bananas for $.19 a pound.