My Adventures In Couponing

I have a nice stockpile built up from great deals. Everything from food to dog biscuits to bath products. I stock up on stuff that has a long shelf life. By doing this we never run out of items we constantly use. The other advantage is I rarely ever have to pay full price for these items.

Here are photos of my pantry.
(I’m a little OCD and like things organized so I can find them easily.)

Pasta & Baking Shelf

Canned Goods Shelf

Boxed Goods Shelf

 Bottled Goods Shelf

Cereal/Breakfast Shelf

It’s so easy and cheap to have well stocked cabinets. It really helps to plan meals according to what you already have. This saves money by eating out less and just using what you have at home to plan a meal or two. 

I have a calendar designated to meal planning. I write it out two weeks in advance. By sticking to a meal planner it helps us stick to our diet! (In other words we don’t just order pizza or skip to the nearest restaurant.) This really saves the budget. I also feel like I’m not cooking as often since we eat leftovers more.

When making my calendar I “grocery shop” my own cabinets and freezer. Our freezer is full of frozen veggies so we can always have something different each night.  Luckily my husband loves to grill and it’s healthy! This is a nice treat for me since it gives me the night off in the kitchen.

Meal Planning Tips:

1. Use what’s in your cabinets. Don’t go out and buy other things to fit your planning. Plan according to what you have.

2. Get those recipe books out or search online for new stuff. You’d be surprised at what you can find!

3. Come up with your own recipes! Don’t have what a recipe calls for just use a substitution. Be a little creative!

4. Don’t want leftovers two nights in a row? That’s okay. You can eat them for lunch the next day. (This means making a new dinner each night.) I like to save them for the day after tomorrow. Most dishes you make are good for 2 days so just save them for later!

5. Make stuff you can freeze. My personal favorite: Lasagna! I usually make a HUGE dish of this and it last 6-8 meals. Plenty of leftovers and plenty to freeze for later!