Monthly Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

There were several people who reached out to me asking questions about my monthly meal planning and once a month grocery shopping haul. So, I thought I would share what I have decided to do.  I am by no means an expert, but have been doing monthly meal planning for awhile now. (Although the once a month grocery shopping is new to me!)

First of all....Why??
     When I first told Mark of my plans, he said...."Why?  Won't that be more work for you?"  The short answer. Yes. But you guys....it saved me so much time and headache!  I don't think I will ever go back.  It is definitely more work and planning up front, but then you done and don't have to worry about it for four whole weeks!

Who hasn't felt this way at some point! 😉

How??

1.  I started with a blank calendar from word that looked like this:  

The first thing I did was fill in the dates that we had special things going on that would conflict with dinnertime. 

I then added my Wildtree Meals that I already have prepped and ready to go in the freezer. I give myself Friday and Saturday "off"  by making either pizza or breakfast one night and eating out or having leftovers the other night.  Then it was time to go to pinterest for some inspiration to finish out the month.   

2.  After my menu for the month was done I started filling in my monthy grocery list sheet, with estimated prices.  It looks like this:  

3.  I am not a fan of frozen or canned fruits/veggies.  I know they are inexpensive, but I just don't like them.  So, I decided a quick weekly grocery run for fresh produce and milk was no big deal.  (and it really wasn't.  I only ended up going 2 times, in addition to my monthly trip.)  To keep track of what I needed for my weekly groceries I used this document:   (it seems like a lot of steps, but it really just takes a minute to look in the fridge and jot down what produce is needed for your weekly meals)  

So...How did it go?? 

      Monthly Haul Budget:     $130                What I spent:    $113.01

      Weekly Shopping:           $80 ($20/wk)   What I spent:    $62. 53

                                             

       Total Budget:               $210.00              What I spent:  $175.54

Before our monthly haul we budgeted $240 a month for groceries.  We saved almost $65!!

Here is my menu for January:  

(With the holidays, we didn't get to all of our meals.  So, I was able to carry several over to January. Score!) 

Let me know if you have any questions :)  I love this sort of thing!  :)

~Katie~