I have been planning to write this post for a couple of weeks now, but just haven’t had the opportunity. I had already decided to get it written today, and coincidentally, just a few short hours ago, someone left a comment on my last post that relates to this very subject. So, perfect timing. Here we go.

At the end of January, I was on a message board when someone started a poll–“How much money do you spend on groceries per week, and for how many people?” It was at that moment, as I read through everyone’s responses, that I realized I don’t really know.

The reason I didn’t know how much we were spending was because I was usually in the grocery store 3-4 times a week, picking up whatever was immediately needed for that night’s dinner, or whatever we were out of at the moment (usually milk and cereal). And with so many little trips throughout the week, it wasn’t like I had ever really added up how much it all cost.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to change. I actually enjoy grocery shopping (if you had Wegmans, you’d enjoy it, too), but even I could admit that the frequent trips had become a bit annoying. Not only that, but I was sure that we were spending extra money because we were at the store so much. I had a hunch that if we could reduce the amount of times we were in the store, we could also reduce our grocery budget (whatever that budget even was).

Yet ANOTHER reason (like I needed an additional one) I thought this all sounded like a good idea was simple: MEAL PLANNING. More than anything, I was tired of panicking at 4:00 p.m. at work, realizing that I had no idea what I wanted to make for dinner. I’d search frantically for something I was in the mood for, something I had the patience to make that night, and then I’d jot down whatever I needed from the store and stop there on the way home. ANNOYING.

After thinking all of this through, I decided to establish a new rule: Grocery shopping? ONCE A WEEK.

A week before we left for our vacation in Las Vegas, I planned a trip to the store and told Michael that we weren’t allowed to go to again until we got back from Vegas. So we planned our meals, estimated how much of the staples (cereal, milk, yogurt, fruit, etc.) we go through a week (since we didn’t even really know!), and I went to the store armed with my list. And not only was my big shopping trip successful, but we succeeded in not going back to the store before Vegas.

And we’ve been sticking to the once-a-week trips ever since.

Sure, we’ve had to “cheat” a couple of times and run into the store for an item or two if we forgot to add it to the list, or if I decided to make cupcakes on a whim. But we’ve been pretty good at avoiding those little trips. Plus, when you plan ahead, you can pick meals based on ingredients that are on sale. Every Sunday, I look through the circular to help me come up with ideas for that week’s meals.

I go shopping every Tuesday on my way home from work. Monday nights, we stand in the kitchen, check out what we have and what we don’t, and we make a list. We map out the week and figure out how many meals we are going to be cooking, and then we formulate our menu. I pull up the recipes to determine what ingredients need to be added to the list, and then it’s done. I know exactly what we need from the store, and I don’t need to think about what to have for dinner again until the next week. IT. IS. GLORIOUS.

It’s not to say we don’t have flexibility. There are still nights when it turns out we don’t want to make or eat what we planned for. Luckily, we usually have ingredients for a few extra meals on hand as well. But so far, we really have done a pretty good job at sticking to what we plan. I actually look forward to the meals we make, and it’s so much less stressful when it is already determined in advance.

OK, I think I may be rambling a bit. The whole point of this post is to say… if you’re like the “old” me, I urge you to try out the way of life of the “new” me. It’s good for your sanity, good for your appetite, and most of all, good for your wallet.