Meal Planning and Shopping from the flyers ;)

Couponing for me saves me a TON of money...but there is another BIG way that I save even more!!!!

Every Thursday when the flyers come (usually at night when my kids go to bed so I can THINK lol) I sit down with my coupon binder, paper, pen, flyers and a cup of tea.  I start by doing my coupon match-ups to see what I can get for the best deal at which stores, and what I can price match at Walmart.  **I don't buy everything on my coupon match list...I simply make a note, not only for our loyal followers but for myself as well.  This helps me to remember what coupons I have in my binder, when they expire, and whether or not I am ever going to use them**

Once I have all my coupon match-ups done I make a simple chart starting from Friday-Thursday (you can pick any days of course, I just prefer Friday-Thursday because I do my shopping the day after the flyers come out to ensure that I get the products I want).  I don't bother with breakfast because we usually eat cereal...but I do make a plan for lunches and dinners.  I go through the flyer and make a note of the cheapest way I can make meals out of what is on sale.  For example...this week Walmart had ground chicken and sour cream on for a great price...and Food Basics had their flour tortiallas on sale for $1.00....see where I am going here?  Yup...quesadillas :)  This is also a really great way to get your family to try new foods :)  I use up some freezer foods, some pantry, and the rest I try to buy on sale :)

This way when you go to the grocery store you are armed with a list...a very strict list that you can adhere to, to stop from making impulse buys on stuff you don't need or even want (we have ALL done it lol).  Combine this with couponing (which allows us to stock our pantries and freezers) and we can maximize our savings!!!

Of course vegetables and fruits and milk and eggs hardly ever go on "sale" but if we can save money on the rest of our groceries then it's not soo bad :)

I challenge you this week to try making a meal plan for one week, shop from the flyers and use as many coupons as you can in your meal plan :)  Please send us your success stories...we would LOVE to share them on the blog!!!

Happy planning everyone!!
~*Sarah*~