Tuesdays Tip: Menu and grocery shopping plans

Good Tuesday Morning to you all! Hope your Monday was kind to you. Mine was here. I did absolutely nothing.. Oh unless you count a trip to the store. :) LOL

Today is Tuesday Tip day and I am working on menu planning. My wonderful hubby has come up with a new budget plan for us to try out and I am in charge of the grocery buying. I always have been but we are setting up limit amounts for things and trying to be frugal and save as much as we can by Christmas.

I have to be honest. When it comes to money... I like to spend it in small amounts. My hubby laughs at me because I will spend $50.00 on things that cost $1.00 but when it comes to buying something big I will not let go of the money. I guess I don't like letting go of that much at one time. It hurts.. ;o) But I will spend money all day on small things that will add up in the end. Huh.. vicious cycle.

So we are working on this new plan that we are both excited about. This leaves me coming up with a way to fit my grocery shopping into my budget and hoping to leave a little surplus in it. I don't want to spend the amount we have allotted if I don't have to. I have actually been spending less than the $200.00 for 2 weeks we have set up already but it means that I run to the store for things I forgot on the list. Or for more milk or bread before the 2 weeks is up.

So That is what I am working on today. Trying to figure out the menu plans that work for us for two weeks. This will mean I go buy what I need for two weeks and then I don't have to run to the store a hundred times for items I forgot. I have tried doing menu plans before but they always fall by the wayside. I am trying a different method this time. I will let you know how it goes.

Do you buy from club warehouses like Sams or Costco? We do and I am going to start incorporating that into the list too. I can buy several items for so much cheaper there and that saves me some money and time. Buy it in bulk and save the hassle of running out before the next shopping trip. :)

What are your tips? Do you break it up into buying what you need week to week or do you bulk shop? How do you plan your menus, shopping and if you homeschool that too? Share your tips with me! I would love to hear them!