When it became clear that we were going to be a one-income family for at least the next several months, I realized that our grocery budget was not only out of control, it was non-existent. I had never even made a grocery list before, at least not a well thought out one. Everywhere I looked, the advice was the same: MENU PLAN! So I decided to give it a shot.
I searched online for several templates to help me get started, but all of them seemed extremely complicated. Finally I found this one for Excel, and it is SO easy. I spent maybe 30 minutes planning 2 weeks worth of meals, and then another 30 minutes clipping coupons.
I was still a little skeptical at how much I could REALLY save by doing this. But we are on our third week now, and I have managed to cut our grocery budget down to $30 a week! And that's not even the best part. There's no more staring in to the fridge and complaining about there being "nothing to eat". Now that I am planning, there's always HEALTHY snacks, and always something for dinner. We've gone out for fast food once in the last 3 weeks, and that was only because we had a buy one, get one free coupon for Chipotle(my weakness!). Before, we would end up in the drive-thru 2 or 3 nights a week.
I think out of all of the changes we have made in the last 3 weeks, this one has had the most impact by far. If you aren't already, I highly recommend you give this a chance!
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