Meal Planning

  I think it's pretty well known, especially since the big coupon bang, that meal planning makes things much simpler.  Knowing what you are having for dinner to being able to get a grocery list down in six seconds flat really does make it nice.  Today I thought I would share with you how I make my meal plans and grocery list.  Really it's common sense but sometimes it is an overwhelming task so it's nice to share ideas.  Our household consists of two of us but I have to say that meal planning saves us money (even without using coupons).  So this is how I do it.

1.  I take one day of the week to sit down and figure out what we want for dinner.  Obviously I take into consideration if there are any special events, or certain dinner parties planned for the week. Lately I have been getting a lot of good recipes off of Pinterest but usually I sit down with my cookbooks and get ideas from there.
2.  I section my grocery list off into produce, meat, dairy and misc.  As I go through the meals I write down everything I need onto my grocery list.  Simple as that.

   One of the best things about meal planning is that you get familiar with what is in your pantry and what you can stock up on.  Like I said before this has saved us a lot of money because we are not spending $20 to $30 every other day and not really getting anything besides what we need for just that meal or that day.  There you have it.  Happy shopping!