Budget Boot Camp Challenge #2 - The Grocery List

So this week our Challenge is to create grocery list & STICK to it & I am ready to go!!  I have created our weekly meal plan & than created our grocery list from that menu............I should be able to stick to this one pretty easily.  Thursday & Fridays meals are already thing that we have in the pantry/fridge because I am not going to be able to get to the store until Saturday afternoon (I am going to my cousins wedding in VA Friday).  I have my list all set & Lance & I both sat down & decided everything on the menu together so that should help tremendously as well.  I have things that he has suggested & wants so that should help denture him (& me) from eating out.  This week I am also going to give Brayden more of the things that we eat to cut out the pre-made toddler meals which will in turn cut of grocery budget as well.  I am jumping ahead a bit challenge wise but I have also collected a few coupons & am hoping that I will be able to us them for the household items on our list.

Week 2 Meal Plan

Thursday

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Chicken & Dumplings

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Eat Out/Chicken & Dumplings

Brayden: Cereal/Taco/Chicken & Dumplings

Friday

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/out of town - Wedding in VA

Lance: Egg Sandwich/Chicken & Rice/Frozen Pizza

Brayden: Waffle/Chicken & Dumplings/Ravioli

Saturday
Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Grilled Chicken & yellow rice

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Work Lunch - Eat Out/Grilled Steak & yellow rice

Brayden: Oatmeal/Hot Dog & Carrots/Grilled Cheese & Peas

Sunday

Mitzi: Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits & Gravy/Sandwich/Pot Roast, Potatoes, & Carrots

Lance: Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits & Gravy/Sandwich/Pot Roast, Potatoes, & Carrots

Brayden: Try Eggs Again - Cereal/Chicken Fingers & Veggies/Pot Roast, Potatoes, & Carrots

Monday

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Grilled Salmon, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, & Corn

Lance: Biscuits & Gravy/Pot Roast, Potatoes, & Carrots/Grilled Chicken Salad

Brayden: Oatmeal/Pot Roast, Potatoes, & Carrots/Graduates Meal

Tuesday

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Tuna Sandwich & Tomato Soup

Lance: Egg Sandwich/Grilled Salmon, Loaded Mashed & Corn/Turkey Breast, White Rice & Peas

Brayden: Waffle/Grilled Salmon, Loaded Mashed & Corn/ Turkey Breast, White Rice & Peas

Wednesday

Mitzi: Yogurt Salad Egg Salad & Tomatoes

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Turkey Breast, White Rice & Peas/Beef Tips & Loaded Mashed & Creamed Corn

Brayden:Oatmeal/Turkey Breast, White Rice & Peas/Beef Tips & Loaded Mashed & Creamed Corn

From this meal plan these are the things that I need from the store:

Salmon Fillet

Beef Tips

lunch meat (chicken & turkey)

Pot Roast

Chicken Breasts

Eggs

Turkey Breast

Chicken Fingers

Bacon

Bread

Saffron Rice

White Rice

Biscuits

Milk

Yogurt

Shredded Cheese

Brayden's

Yogurt

Puffs

Cheerios

Mandarin Oranges

Bananas

Avocado

Mushrooms

Cucumber

Tomatoes

Carrots

Potatoes

Dried Cranberries

Almond Slivers

Creamed Corn

Peas

Black Beans

Chick Peas

Corn

Sausage Gravy

Plug Ins

Razor

Face Powder

I will let you all know how the grocery shopping goes after I hit the store Saturday & hopefully I will not have to go any other time during the week either!!

Successful Failure???

Does that title even make sense????

I have never actually written down our weekly meal plan; I have decided in my head a few times what I wanted to make & asked Lance what he feels like for dinner next week but had never put it down on paper & honestly I really did enjoy doing it.  I thought that after the hard task of getting it written, printed & posted in our pantry that it would be easy to follow & stick too but at the end of day 6 of our 1st challenge & after 6 breakfast, 6 lunches, & 6 dinners The Goodson Family has failed at only one of each!!  You would think that to be good right??  NOPE; the ratio of 3 to 18 is pretty damn good but the saving over spending is where we failed so I would have to say we failed this challenge!!

Saturday morning we were supposed to have breakfast at home but I had to run out for milk & went right past Chick fil a & I swear that damn cow called out for me to drive thru.....it really did & it was the damnedest thing I have ever seen!!  Saturday night Brayden stayed the night at his JuJu & PaPa house since we had plans to go to the lake so instead of pizza we went out to dinner & pick a place we hadn't been in forever but love & ended up spending WAY TO MUCH; it was so nice to have a dinner with my hubby but Lord have mercy it was kind of steep!!  Lastly, Lance failed to grab his leftovers in the fridge so he ate out for lunch on Monday!!

When I added up what I spent at the grocery store for this weeks meal plan PLUS what we spent on eating out it is way above what I had planned for & so I will say it again we FAILED & I am pretty disappointed in us.  It seems that every weekend our spending gets away from us & we really need to reel it in......ASAP!!!  I am hoping that this week might be a bit easier since the 2nd challenge is to make & stick to a shopping list; I think that with the 2 combined we will have better success.  I have already started next weeks meal plan & am hoping to save on the grocery list because alot of the stuff that is on it we already have it in our pantry or freezer............Wish us luck!!

Here is our posted meal plan:

1st 90-Day Budget Challenge!!

Our first challenge starts today & it is to create & STICK TO a meal plan; easy right????

Not as easy as you might think!!!

Week 1 Meal Plan

Thursday

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Sandwich

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Leftover Stroganoff/Sandwich

Brayden: Oatmeal/Leftover Stroganoff/Graduates Meal

Friday

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Spaghetti

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Chicken & Rice w/Corn/Soup & Sandwich

Brayden: Waffle/Chicken & Rice w/Corn/Graduates Meal

Saturday

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Cereal/Salad/Pizza

Lance: Cereal/Work Lunch/Pizza

Brayden: Oatmeal/Leftover Spaghetti/Graduates Meal

Sunday (Lance & I are going to the Lake for the 4th)

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits & Gravy/Hamburgers & Hot dogs/Sandwich

Lance: Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits & Gravy/Hamburgers & Hot dogs/Sandwich

Brayden: Oatmeal/Mac & Cheese & Fruit/Graduates Meal

Monday

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Yogurt Salad Chicken Salad & Tomatoes

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Leftover Spaghetti/Chicken Breast Salad

Brayden: Oatmeal/Leftover Spaghetti/Graduates Meal

Tuesday

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Taco Salad

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Tuna Salad Sandwich/Taco Salad

Brayden: Waffle/Spinach & Cheese Ravioli/Graduates Meal

Wednesday

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Mitzi: Yogurt/Salad/Tuna Luna Sandwich

Lance: Slim Fast Shake/Taco Salad/His Choice (his night to eat out)

Brayden: Oatmeal/Chicken Pasta & Veggies/Graduates Meal

Brayden also has 2 snacks each day which are a banana & puffs/cheerios plus a milk bottle at 10am & one right before bed.

Lance, Brayden & I all eat, get up & want different things; I am trying to combine everyones meals when at all possible but it is pretty darn tricky!

I prepare Brayden's lunch's but not a lot of his dinners because of the time crunch & because he is still not eating everything we eat but I think as the weeks pass this will become easier.  Brayden is slowly starting to eat more of what we eat & I am really looking forward to not having to buy the pre-prepared meals for him.

Lance's schedule & the fact that he is a picky eater will always cause our meal plan to be somewhat of a challenge but I am getting new recipes together to get him more of a variety in the hopes that it will help.

My meals may seem boring but if you ever saw one of my salads you might think differently.  I throw what ever I can find on them & that varies each day depending on what I feel like plus I will & can eat whatever & don't really care to much about it!!

I will keep you updated on how it is going & you can also follow me on twitter @ goodsonfamily07.