What's For Dinner?

How many times have you heard that question?  Countless I'm sure, I know I have many times over.  Imagine the average mom (working and stay at home), who's tired and either just got home from work or the daily grind of the after school craziness.  Kids are doing homework or running around and you've just realized you have no idea what you're making for dinner.  You ask the kids, "What do you want for dinner?"  The kids look at you with that look that only kids can have, shrug and go back to what they were doing.  You think to yourself, that's so not helping me.

Does this sound like you?  It was me for a long time until I made a plan that works!  What is that plan, I'll tell you don't worry.  A lot of people waste a lot of money at the grocery story.  Why?  Because it's hard to juggle being Susie homemaker if you're working or at home and have kids, sports, doctor appointments and whatever else there is filling up the day.  And top that off with the fact that everyone else is eating something different.  You're on a diet, you're younger one doesn't like asparagus, the older one doesn't like meat and so on.  So you end up racing to the store for last minute meals or worse take out.

When you were food shopping you had really great intentions of making meals and using all the food you purchased only to end up throwing 1/2 of it away because it's gone bad.  So how do we remedy that and what's the plan that I spoke of earlier.  It's being consistent, realistic and making sure you really plan your dinners for each night.  Meal planning, although at times can seem consuming at first, in the end will save you dollars and cents instead of throwing that money in the garbage.  Detailed grocery lists where you go in specifically just for those items and some essentials that you need weekly.  Planning ahead and even making 3 days worth of meals on Sundays and the other 3 on Wednesdays.

It does take some due diligence on your part but it's worth it in the end.  Not only will you save money but you'll also be eating better and most likely will lose some weight.  I started doing this awhile back and it's the best thing I've ever done.  I sit down with my pen and paper (old style) and write down exactly what I need for each night and each meal.  The extra time I take to do this saves me countless trips to the store, money, forgetting about or letting old food go bad and most important it saves me all that stress!

If you want to develop a real plan for your money, start with a food budget!  And include everything, not just the grocery store.  Make sure you add in take-out, Starbucks (that adds up), lunch out, gas station snacks, the sandwich shop and so on.  All those trips you make during the week because you didn't plan ahead will add up quickly.  Let's budget that food, plan ahead and save some money in the process so we can live the lives we were meant to live...debt FREE!

Peace out,

Jenz