Menu Planning Meals

I used to do a lot of menu planning and got out of the habit awhile back because I claimed to be "too busy."  The fact is that menu planning has a lot of perks and I'm trying to bribe myself to get back into it.  Here are the perks that I can see with it........

Menu Planning Makes me make a list  Menu planning forces me to make a list to make sure that  I have the ingredients.  When I have a list, I'm more inclined to stick to it instead of making impulse buys; thereby saving me money.

Menu Planning Helps Me Be More Decisive As much as I have to think a little about what to cook, I spend once a week/every two weeks sitting down and planning what to cook.  After that, it's just a matter of taking out what I need.

Menu Planning Helps Me Be More Healthy Instead of slipping into the "just have a bowl of cereal" mentality, menu planning helps me have the stuff on-hand to make a healthier option.

Menu Planning Helps Me Use Coupons If I look at the coupons I have, I can menu plan meals that allow me to use those foods, thus allowing me to save money.

Menu Planning Helps Me Know Ahead if Friends Can Stay This is particularly helpful when the kids ask, "Can ___ stay for dinner?"  If I know what I'm having, I know that there's enough (more often than not, spaghetti nights have enough while steak nights don't.

I need to get back into a few organizational habits to help me save cash.  I'm holding myself accountable and saying I'll be doing it.  Updates coming :)