One area of housekeeping that can cost lots of money is feeding your family. Especially if you don’t have a plan. I find that if I just have a general idea of what I’m going to make for the week I spend much more money at the store than if I have a plan.
It’s a bit more work to make a plan but really the money you save makes it worthwhile. The first thing you need to do is check the sales. There are some great sites that will match coupons with the sales for you to help you save even more money.
Once you know what is on sale, pull out your favorite recipes and see which ones can be made using the sale items. Write down your menu for the week, I know this sounds like over kill but it helps.
As you write each meal down add the ingredients to your shopping list, indicating in some way if the item is on sale or if you have a coupon. I like to cook things that can do double duty. For instance if you make a roast on Sunday you can use the leftovers to make beef stew later in the week.
I also like to make things that will leave enough leftovers for lunch the next day, then I don’t have to buy things specifically for lunch.
Don’t forget things like shampoo and laundry detergent. If there is a good sale and you have a coupon sometimes its better to buy it when you don’t need it than to wait until you run out and its not on sale.
Finally, don’t shop hungry and stick to your list. Don’t put things in your cart because they catch your eye, stores know what they are doing with their displays, those things are they to catch your eye and rarely are they a good bargain.
Once home the more prep work you can do now, the less you will have to do when you make dinner. If you are having a lot of ground beef, brown it all when you get home and store it in meal sized portions in the freezer. One less thing to do after work means dinner is on the table faster and you have more of your evening to enjoy.