Save Money on Your Grocery Bill by Planning Ahead...Make A Grocery List and Weekly Meal Plan

Meal planning can really go a long way. It can save you time, money and space in your kitchen. Sit down the day before you plan on going to the grocery store and plan out your meals for the week or for the next two weeks depending on how often you go to the store. Make a menu similar to the old school lunch menus that you used to bring home from school. It really can save you a lot. Plan out breakfast, lunch and dinner and even a snack if you like. Some families make something different for each mean and then do a leftovers day. Some make one large meal and have the leftovers for the next meal. Some make multiple meals in a day and serve them up over the course of the week. Whatever your system is, planning it and putting it on paper is key. If you take a half hour out of your week and plan your meals and shopping list you can save yourself the headache every day of trying to figure our what to make. Microsoft Office offers great templates. Click here to get my favorite meal planner file that you can download for free.

Here is link to all the meal planning files that they share: Microsoft Meal Planner Templates

Planning your meals will also help you make a good shopping list that will include only items that you need to make the meals plus your basics and snacks. This will also save you money because you are not over buying or buying things you don't necessarily need that week. By not over buying you save space in your pantry and freezers. I have found a great excel spreadsheet online at Microsoft Office templates gallery. Click here to download my favorite grocery list file for free.

However, there are many grocery list files that you can choose from and download for free: Microsoft Grocery List Templates.