This week's menu plan

So far I have spent half of this months grocery budget. I can't believe I have spent that much already. It's quite disappointing. My excuse is that I needed to stock up on some basics. Hopefully that means the rest of the month will easily be within budget. I am making menu plans to help. Here is this weeks plan:
Monday - Beef tator tot casserole
Tuesday - Veggie/beef soup in the crockpot and homemade bread
Wednesday - Hash and apple cobbler
Thursday - left over soup
Friday - homemade pizza
Saturday - marinated/grilled chicken on rice with veggies
Sunday - dh's day to cook!!!
Menu planning helps so much! It helps with budgeting and I never fret over what to make at 5:oopm. I really want to work on more crockpot meals. It is helpful in this season of my life. Baby could need a feeding right when I need to make supper and the crockpot could be cooking for me.

Making a grocery budget

I can't believe it's already November! Where does the time go?! Christmas is next month!!! The weather is finally starting to act seasonal around here. So glad to get rid of the heat, but not looking forward to snow and freezing cold weather.
Anyways, I have been working on budgeting and planning ahead with our finances. I have myself set to a grocery budget of $200 per month to start out. This will includes toiletries and other such supplies. I know I can do it, and if I'm real smart and frugal, I know I can whittle it down to about $140/month (or $35/week). This is my goal anyhow. So right now, I'm working on menues based upon what I have on hand plus sales. For anybody that has a Community Market in their area, they are having some great sales now thru Saturday. They also have Great Scot, Sack 'n' Save and Fulmer listed on their website, so I would think all these places run the same sales. If you have one of these stores nearby, it's worthwhile to go to their websites and sign up for their weekly emails. There is always a coupon in the email. Each week you can vote on which coupon should be in the next weeks email. Sometimes, there are great deals to be had with these coupons. Then again, some weeks I don't print out the coupon because it's an item we don't use. If you can get to one of these stores, make sure you bring your coupons! They are having a super double coupon event. Coupons up to $1 are doubled. Coupons between $1-$2 are worth $2. Then coupons worth $2 and up are face value. Top that with the sales, and you could really make out this week!
I am also working on a price book so that I can quickly compare prices between stores and know if it's a good deal or highway robbery.
So between making menues based on whats in-stock in my home and current store sales, using a price book and using coupons; I believe I can start the month out right and keep within my grocery budget! On top of that, I am trying to learn the CVS extra bucks program. So saving money, here I come!