Things I Learned In January - and Plans for February

I have learned that shopping the sale - the ad from your grocery store is key to savings. Couponing is like a bonus, if you focus your efforts and follow through you will benefit - that said, if you are just starting out in the sale shopping world, are short on time, or are uncertain you will have success - shopping the ad is step one. I could not have had any success like I did without GrocerySmarts.com - thank you Kat for all your guidance and support in my grocery shopping, I made more than one confused plea for her help, she always has excellent answers! Her code is g84akg - I have it memorized now, I use different computers... I know I am not at the maximum savings point, I have a hard time shopping at different stores. I really like going to stores I know and am familiar with (employee discounts help too!)

One thing with coupons and sale prices - check the store brand, many times the sale price even with a coupon can still be more than the generic - I am totally fine with lots of things generic. Not everything though, but its worth trying it. Also, make sure you know EXACTLY what your coupon is for, ie - ounces, buy 2 get 1, certain varieties.

Success for the month
1/27 - 79.27
1/20 - 92.44
1/13 - 77.04
1/6 -  141.58
Total: 390.33
So we are still over budget but its so much better than it could have been! If it sounds like scary expenses to you, just know it is better for us, and we had lots of household things we needed - and still need, I am hoping I can really get those in the budget and start stocking my pantry so its not buying staple goods every week. Even at 390.33 that is 12.59/day for a family of 3! Pretty good!

I also have things that we haven't used, 2 lbs of lunch meat, a pork roast, bag of frozen chicken, box of frozen sausage, case of flour, case of beans, case of pears, lots of chili, paper towels, dish soap, laundry detergent and more I am sure - so we may have spent more than we wanted as a per day or week goal, but the things we got are lasting longer than expected! 

Goals/Plans for February:
1. Meal Planning - this is a struggle, when I would get to the store with my list of what we were out of and what was on sale, I still didn't have a clear plan of what we would eat... This month I am going to improve, I think it will help!
2. Less eating out - we did better than we have in past months, but we still spent 120.47, granted most of that comes out of a different budget category - entertainment or blow money. Its still too much, not good for our wallets or our waist lines! That averages out to be about 30 per week, goal is to reduce by 10 per week.
3. Less Coke/Diet Coke - I will admit it I am addicted to Diet Coke, its the first drink in the morning and last drink at night, and unfortunately sometimes the only drink in between, I know its bad and that I need to drink water, but the water in Herriman sucks, and its not cold, its not fizzy, and not delicious. And it doesn't seem to help me keep up with or be patient with my energetic Nathan!  Reasons to cut back, health - obviously - Budget - of course, but mostly - Nate. He wants to be like mom and dad, and is constantly asking for soda, sprite, root beer, mommy's coke, daddy's coke. No Milk, No water, No juice. He doesn't need my bad habits controlling his young life, and I don't need him revved up on sugar and especially caffeine. So the goal is to cut back - I don't think cold turkey is right for me. My plan is to have one less soda tomorrow than I did today. So like today I had 1 in the morning, 2 at lunch, 1 before work, and 1 after work. Well yikes, that cuts it out in 5 days... Probably not a realistic plan. Hmmm, what would be better? Suggestions? Also what do you drink? I can't have apples, red food coloring, or very much citrus, also too much plain water gives me heartburn... I will have to see how this week goes and come up with a plan and a reasonable goal for the month. I am for sure not saying that I will eliminate it, just that I need to be more moderate in my consumption.

I have one other question for all you working mom's or just busy ones- what do you do? I am only home 3 nights MWF to cook for my family. How would you make meals for the week work out when not home to prepare them from scratch?