Monday, September 2, 2013

Menu For September

As part of my goals for September's Low/No Spend Challenge I made a menu for the whole month in hopes that it will help us cut our grocery bill.  My goal is to cut our budget by $150.  This would help us to increase our ER fund.

I have planned dinners before for a month at a time and wrote about my process here.

I only plan dinners and side dishes.  My husband takes leftovers for his lunches at work.  We always have sandwich items and easy breakfast items.  I also always have pantry items such as flour, sugar, oatmeal etc.... Also every Friday we have "snack night and usually make appetizer type items to eat.

Here is my list

1. Grilled chicken, brown rice and salad
2. Hamburgers, buns, chips and coleslaw
3. Meatball subs, ( crock pot freezer item) buns, chips and  cut up veggies
4. Balsamic chicken -( crock pot freezer item), rice, salad
5. French toast, sausage links, eggs
6. Snack Night

7. Hot dogs, buns, pork n beans, cut up veggies
8. Spare ribs, BBQ sauce, baked potato, green beans
9. Fajitas
10. Hash brown pork skillet ( new pinterest recipe)
11. BBQ chicken sandwiches, buns, chips
12. Crispy Chicken Wraps ( new pinterest recipe)
13. Snack night

14. Pepperoni Tortellini Pasta Salad
15. Sausage, potato, mushroom, onion, green pepper foil packs
16. Taco Salad
17. Lasagna Skillet meal, green beans, salad
18. Teriyaki Chicken and Rice ( crock pot freezer items also new pinterest recipe)
19. Leftovers
20. Vacation to Michigan

21. Vacation to Michigan
22. Vacation to Michigan
23. Pork Loin, salad, mashed potatoes
24. Sub Sandwiches, chips, cut up veggies
25. Chicken Alfredo, noodles, Salad ( crock pot freezer item)
26. Goulash, green beans
27. Kid # 5 and I will be out of town, will leave things for hubby

28. Kid # 5 and I out of town, will leave things for hubby
29. Fish, rice, salad

So there is my menu in a nutshell.  I am hoping to only spend $250 on groceries for the month.  So far, I have spent $100.  So that leaves me $150 to go.  My biggest shopping trip will be Aldi.  I have my list all ready and have estimated I will spend about $100 there. 

Wish me luck :)
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8 comments:

  1. Out My windowSeptember 2, 2013 at 11:42 AM

    This will be tough but I bet you are close!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 2, 2013 at 4:08 PM

    I agree its going to be tight. I have budgeted 175.00 this month since we do have items in the freezer and the pantry but I am going to sit down and plan out my meals out tonight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MelissaSeptember 2, 2013 at 8:58 PM

      Most of the meat on the menu is from our freezer. I am really hoping I can come close. Our biggest hurdle will be snacks!

      Delete
  3. LisaSeptember 2, 2013 at 7:35 PM

    The menu looks great. Good luck!! I need to whittle down my grocery bill.
    Lisa@ Cents To Save

    ReplyDelete
  4. SharonSeptember 2, 2013 at 8:26 PM

    Thanks for listing your menu! I completely forgot about french toast!! We LOVE it and it would make a great Friday night meal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MelissaSeptember 2, 2013 at 9:01 PM

      We love French toast also but hardly ever have it. I am trying to do a few more breakfast for dinner meals since they are cheaper to have.

      Delete
  5. Elisabeth AKA The School Nurse MA Ed BSN RN PELSeptember 4, 2013 at 9:04 PM

    HI!Last weekend me and my husband made a ton of breakfast burritos to freeze and egg only muffins with cheese and onions in my cupcake pans to also freeze! This has been a huge help now that everyone is in a rush in the morning! Good luck on your dinner menu, planning, and budgeting! I miss kid #3!

    ReplyDelete

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