Thrifty Thursday: Use a Menu Planner to Save on Groceries

Groceries are probably one of your largest monthly expenses, next to housing and transportation. So it stands to reason that saving money in that budget category could have a big impact on your bottom line at the end of the month.

But how do you consistently save money on groceries without skimping on the items your family needs? One way to save what could be a significant amount of money each month is to create a written menu planner each week. It can be as simple as writing your menu planner directly on your weekly grocery shopping list, or as sophisticated as using an online menu planner that you can create once and set to repeat every two or three weeks. But the bottom line is that when you intentionally write down the meals you're planning to make each night, you become much less likely to rely on expensive, last minute options like take out and home delivery.

If you're looking for a printable menu planner, try:

• Free Printable Grocery List and Menu Planner
• Weekly Meal Planning Worksheet
• More Printable Menu Planners

If you prefer an online menu planner, try these options:

• "My Menu Planner" Tool From About.com
• MyPyramid Menu Planner

More Thrifty Thursday Blog Posts From the About.com Parenting Channel:

• Single Parents' Thrifty Thursday Blog Archive
• Tips for Saving Money on Summer Camps
• Saving Money in Pregnancy
• Finding Money for College
• Free Audio Books
• Inexpensive Ways to Say Thank You at the End of the School Year
• Singing Science Records
• Make Saving Money a Game
• Summer on a Budget
• Creative Adoption Fundraising Efforts

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