Amazingly, with a little planning ahead, it's been really easy to cut back on what I spend at Wal-Mart. So much of what I bought before were impulse buys that I didn't really need, so now I make sure to go in with a list. This last trip to the store, I was able to spend almost a hundred dollars less than what I'd budgeted, and I think the only place we'll really notice the difference is in how much clutter we have around the house and in how much less spoiled food we're throwing out!
One other thing I've started doing that I think will help a lot is to not just make a mental menu for the week, but to actually print out a physical menu and hang it on the fridge. This way, when I got back from the store, I was able to immediately freeze any meat that wasn't going to be used by its expiration date so that none of it goes to waste. It's also nice to see the menu printed out and feel like I have a plan for the week. It makes me feel more organized, which means that it puts a little smile on my face every time I see it! Here is our menu for this coming week:
I put the chicken in the crock pot this morning, and let me tell you, it smells delicious! Now off to wrap up some coffee table books to ship out. Today is a great, productive day!
I do this too, and it is so helpful! We have ours written on a chalkboard in our kitchen. It's so much easier to just look at the board every evening and make dinner that way instead of opening the fridge and staring into it waiting for a meal to pop out magically. :-)
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