I read that if you make weekly menu before doing your shopping, you will save HUGE amounts of money.

Does anyone do this? Do you stick with the menu? Where do you get your inspiration for menu ideas?

I have been doing menues for over 25 yrs-

yes I think I save alot of money doing this-

I have a bunch of stand by favs and then I use my WW 30 minutes or less cook book and my new rachel ray cook book.

I think it depends if your menus are not full of odd ball things then yes it can save money since you are essentially buying things on a list and know what you need to get.
I don't make menus persay, but i do have my staples that i buy that I know will make several different meals. I have learned that planning ( as much as you can) saves you more money simply because you aren't at the store thinking about what you need only to get home and realize you got nothing. lol

I try really hard not to shop hungry either because my total will always increase.

oh i forgot to put my inspirations
allrecipes.com
here there are tons of recipes in the recipe forum.
foodtv.com

I've tried to do menus and we never end up sticking to them. I usually would forget to take meat out of the freezer. :arg

Yes I do menus & generally stick by them when I make them. Usually the days change but the food items stay the same.

I get my ideas by posting "what is on your menu" on a couple of websites like here. :D I also get ideas from The Vegan Lunchbox, Hillbilly Housewife & a few other sites.

I ALWAYS DO MENUS!! Though I dont stick to the exact day, I know what Im buying for the next two weeks...

I save so much money, its better than just going and roaming the grocery store.

I do not plan my menus cause I always buy what's on special that I know we eat and things I can make many other things with.
To save the most though I would suggest you to try to plan your meals around meats (if you eat meats) that are on special since meats are most likely to be the most expensive part of the meal.

Thanks ladies. I am sitting here now planning out my menu. Even though the year is half way over, one of my New years resolutions were to save a little money. Maybe this will help.

We have a bunch of recipes that we like and that I know what we need for them, then I buy what is on sale/special when we go grocery shopping. I try to plane what meals I would like to make for the next 2 weeks but if that stuff isn't on special then I switch it up.

I would say I cut my spending (I combine groceries, toiletries, household and pet needs) by 40% by switching to a menu plan and strict shopping list.

I do a menu and most days we do stick by it. I plan the entire month out. I stick to things that I know the kids like or I grab any of the cookbokks and try one of them. It is easier to do a menu but you have to stick to it. I also take my menu with me to the store so that if I need to change it because of a special I can. I always write at the top MENU SUBJECT TO CHANGE and the kids are alright with it. You never know how the day is going to be so I do keep things on hand for those nights. The kids' favorite for those are to take ramen noodles and mix it with leftover meat and veggies and they have dinner.

I just wanted to add that I checked out the hillbilly housewife site and it was amazing!

I can't believe the weekly menus she has for next to nothing! :wow

I don't have children and I realize that I spend entirely too much money on food...I think that next week I am going to try to map out my weekly menu and see how much I spend. :yes

I think one of the biggests savers/advantages (at least for me) is that you plan better for leftovers and using them up which cuts your food waste and, thus, your food cost.

I've tried to do menus and we never end up sticking to them. I usually would forget to take meat out of the freezer. :arg

Same here, but we've started doing it again. There's a few meals here and there that are simple in case we forget to pull out meat.

I tried to, but then somedays don't feel like cooking or don't feel like what I have on the menue and it just gets tossed away.

I read that if you make weekly menu before doing your shopping, you will save HUGE amounts of money.

Does anyone do this? Do you stick with the menu? Where do you get your inspiration for menu ideas?

I don't know if it saves money, but I make a meal planner and then go grocery shopping only 2 x's a month (each payday).

I just do the basic meat (hamburger, pork, beef, fish, etc), then a type of rice, noodle, or potatoe, and then a veg.

I think its time to invest in cookbooks for ideas.

I try to do menus, but i almost never stick to them. I just go to the commissary and buy what i need for two weeks and whatever meat i have is what i work with. I also go on recipezaar.com and find recipes that work with the type of meat and ingredients i have on hand.

I mainly cook what i have on hand and not have to run to the commissary for other things besides frest fruits, milk or eggs. I do have a budget of how much i am spending on food for that payday, so i try not to go over that limit.

I do a monthly menu.

We eat a lot of soups and save money by not having the focus be on the meats and seafood.

Shop for veggies in season

Have fillers with your meals so you can make smaller portions, we always do a soup or salad before dinner and some kind of bread.

If possible grow the veggies you use the most.
I am growing tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, zucchini and a variety of lettuce and herbs (on base housing).

Buy dry beans, but if you don't have the time a variety of canned beans are
cheap and very versatile in cooking.

I also slice those humongous sized chicken breasts in half, thinner cuts cook faster and you double the amount.

I also freezer canned fruits in seasons, usually you can get a lot for the money and instead of letting it spoil I can it.

I also make my own pancake mix, it's easy and cheap to make.

Since I used to own a meal preparation store (think Dream Dinners) I have about 600 freezable recipes.

Since dh has been gone with only 1 teenager home I don't plan menus so much anymore but occassionally I will plan 2 weeks worth, buy all the groceries and spend a sunday afternoon making all the meals and putting them in the freezer. It's too handy....

I think its time to invest in cookbooks for ideas.

Don't waste your time, you won't make half the stuff in cookbooks, look online for recipes, specially those reviewed by regular people.

To be honest I have 50 plus cookbooks and the only one I use is the Silver Spoon.

I get 90% of my recipes from cooking light magazine and recipezaar.com

I think its time to invest in cookbooks for ideas.

cook books not needed there are tons of recipes on the web. I usually spend a few hours once a week looking thru recipes. I find one that can be added to or detracted from and worked for our family.

I do a monthly menu.

We eat a lot of soups and save money by not having the focus be on the meats and seafood.

Shop for veggies in season

Have fillers with your meals so you can make smaller portions, we always do a soup or salad before dinner and some kind of bread.

If possible grow the veggies you use the most.
I am growing tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, zucchini and a variety of lettuce and herbs (on base housing).

Buy dry beans, but if you don't have the time a variety of canned beans are
cheap and very versatile in cooking.

I also slice those humongous sized chicken breasts in half, thinner cuts cook faster and you double the amount.

I also freezer canned fruits in seasons, usually you can get a lot for the money and instead of letting it spoil I can it.

I also make my own pancake mix, it's easy and cheap to make.

Great Tips, Thank you

Don't waste your time, you won't make half the stuff in cookbooks, look online for recipes, specially those reviewed by regular people.

To be honest I have 50 plus cookbooks and the only one I use is the Silver Spoon.

I get 90% of my recipes from cooking light magazine and recipezaar.com

One more thing that I get and its great is kraft foods recipe mags. They are free and have great everyday recipes

cook books not needed there are tons of recipes on the web. I usually spend a few hours once a week looking thru recipes. I find one that can be added to or detracted from and worked for our family.

thank you....See are only making me love you more!!!!

thank you....See are only making me love you more!!!!
i live to serve. :giggle

Since I've been out of work, I've been very carefully planning our menus and it has saved a lot of money for us. I was able to feed our family of 3 (with DD and I eating every meal at home and DH eating just supper on the weekdays) on $100 for 2 weeks. Admittedly, I got lazy a couple of days and we had hot dogs and mac n cheese or fried burritoes, but for the most part, my meals were healthy and balanced. (BTW, that $100 didn't include diapers or additional milk, which we go through about a gallon every 2-3 days).

I would save my leftovers and either have them for lunch the next day or incorporate them into the next night's meal (like we had ham one day and then a few days later I made a ham and potato casserole that also had leftover broccoli in it).

It helps that DH is NOT a picky eater, his mama taught him well :D

i live to serve. :giggle LOL you are loving this :teehee

Since I've been out of work, I've been very carefully planning our menus and it has saved a lot of money for us. I was able to feed our family of 3 (with DD and I eating every meal at home and DH eating just supper on the weekdays) on $100 for 2 weeks. Admittedly, I got lazy a couple of days and we had hot dogs and mac n cheese or fried burritoes, but for the most part, my meals were healthy and balanced. (BTW, that $100 didn't include diapers or additional milk, which we go through about a gallon every 2-3 days).

I would save my leftovers and either have them for lunch the next day or incorporate them into the next night's meal (like we had ham one day and then a few days later I made a ham and potato casserole that also had leftover broccoli in it).

It helps that DH is NOT a picky eater, his mama taught him well :D

My dh is great also. My son is the worse. I am really trying to learn how to get this budget thing down. I appreciate all the advice ladies.

www.allrecipes.com is a great site you can search by ingredient. i also love foodnetwork.com they have soooo many recipes i have so many recipes that i can make thru them. One magazine that I really like was called quick cooking, but now i think it is called Taste of home. they have sooo many recipes and usually they are simply with no crazy ingredients.

www.allrecipes.com (http://www.allrecipes.com) is a great site you can search by ingredient. i also love foodnetwork.com they have soooo many recipes i have so many recipes that i can make thru them. One magazine that I really like was called quick cooking, but now i think it is called Taste of home. they have sooo many recipes and usually they are simply with no crazy ingredients.

Thats what I need. Sometimes ingredients can blow the budget for one meal. Geessshhh!!!!

Thats what I need. Sometimes ingredients can blow the budget for one meal. Geessshhh!!!!
or its some weird ingredient that you can't even find it. ( i love watching rachel ray and she will say you can find this in any grocery store. i'm thinking yea right which store is she talking about lol)
I also like making things that I can double up and freeze the other portions. like lasagna i usually get enough to make at least 2 and make it all at the same time and freeze the second one. that way I kill 2 birds with one stone and it only takes about 10 extra minutes to make the second.

or its some weird ingredient that you can't even find it. ( i love watching rachel ray and she will say you can find this in any grocery store. i'm thinking yea right which store is she talking about lol)
I also like making things that I can double up and freeze the other portions. like lasagna i usually get enough to make at least 2 and make it all at the same time and freeze the second one. that way I kill 2 birds with one stone and it only takes about 10 extra minutes to make the second.

I thought I was the only one to notice that she will tell me to look in my local grocery to find certains. I am like look chick, I dont know where you shop but the people in mine havent even heard of the stuff.

The freezing thing, I do when I am pregnant. So I dont have to cook when the babies get here. I dont know why I dont did it know. :nutts