2012 Menu Planning

I blog for Pinching Your Pennies and this month I am doing a series I am calling the 2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan. Here is what I am doing this year to cut down on my grocery bill:

CRACK-DOWN PLAN
1. I would like to spend no more than $300 per month for my family of 6. We are starting to eat more fresh foods so I am leaving my budget flexible at the beginning until I see how much we eat and how much things will cost. I will adjust if necessary.
2. We will eat out no more than once per month. That includes Little Ceaser’s Hot N Ready Pizza (which has become too much of a friend to us).
3. I will plan my menus out a month at a time. I would like to get 6 months at a time if possible. Meal planning always helps me spend less at the store and takes the headache out of the end of the day.
4. Cook from scratch as much as possible.
5. Start couponing again as much as possible for the foods we eat.
6. Use supplies from my food storage and stockpile to fuel my meals. This will get us used to the food I store as well as rotate what I have.

In case you are interested, here is my January Menu Plan. It is a pdf file in Google Docs. I am starting to plan out my menus a month in advance. I have already done January and February! It feels so good.

You can follow along if you like. Through the next  month I am posting about my progress, if I am staying on budget or not, and lots of tips and helpful hints. Here are the posts I have made so far.

2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan
2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan: Menu Planning
2012 Grocery Budget Crack-Down Plan: Menu Planning Binder