It's no secret that in spite of my financial education and background, I'm budgetarily-challenged.  We tend to spend what we spend and then lament it after the fact rather than plan ahead about what we want to spend and stick to a budget.  We budget in reverse basically, which really isn't a strategy I'd ever recommend to anyone.

One of our biggest weaknesses is food.  We spend anywhere from 50-100% more than the average family of four.  In real dollars that means during a good month, we spend over $700 per month at the grocery store, which, I know, is completely ridiculous.  It's even more ridiculous that most months, our spending is closer to the thousand dollar mark.

My big financial goal for this year is to get our grocery spending under control and to hopefully do so without it FEELING like we're scrimping on the things we love to eat.  I'm basically trying to come up with a repertoire of recipes that we love and that aren't too expensive.  I'm also packing my husband's lunch with leftovers instead of buying extra lunch food for him.  So far it's working pretty well. 

Last week, here's what my meal plan looked like:

Sunday - whole roasted chicken with basmati rice pilaf and frozen green beans
Monday - meatloaf (made with leftover rice from Sunday) with instant mashed potatoes and a salad
Tuesday - roasted pork tenderloin with roasted cauliflower and basmati rice pilaf
Wednesday - meatloaf (it was so good on Monday that I made it again two days later)
Thursday - crunchy mustard-wine covered chicken breasts with broccoli
Friday - hamburgers with roasted cauliflower
Saturday - lasagna (we had friends over who brought salad and bread)
Sunday - chicken thighs with green salad and rice
Monday - bowtie pasta with meat sauce, green salad, crab-stuffed mushrooms

Tonight I made the meatloaf again, which is probably my cheapest meal and the one everyone likes the best.  I think this is the most days in a row I have ever cooked dinner in my life.  Usually I start a meal plan really well, but I never end up sticking to it for very long.  I already have my meals planned out for this week too!  Hopefully I'll see a big change in this month's bottom line.