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MY OAMC METHOD AND HELPFUL HINTS  As my kids grow, I am seeing that our lives are getting busier and busier! Both kids will be attending preschool or Kindergarten in August (1999) and our church activities keep us hopping most months! In the first half of this year, I’ve also seen our grocery bill rise as I became more lax about shopping for our family. As we became busier, this is one area I quit working so hard on! I quit reading the sale ads and just shopped for whatever ingredients I needed in the recipes I had chosen for that week. Well, after getting fed up spending too much money on food several months in a row, I am determined to tackle some freezer cooking once again. I’ve done this in the past and really enjoyed the ease with which I could put dinner together at a moment’s notice. My cooking plan is different from many of those in the once-a-month-cooking (OAMC) books. Here’s what I do: First, I must say that I don’t mind cooking on a weekly basis, but I do not want to be in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove (smile!) every night. So what I try to do is cook a chicken dish on Saturday and a beef dish on Sunday. I make enough to ensure leftovers for two other nights and I also make enough to freeze a meal from each dish. This means that after 3 weeks, I have at least 6 frozen meals in the freezer which gives me a cook-free week during the last week of the month! This works out well for our budget also because my husband gets paid the last day of the month and so that week before payday is very tight! If all I have to worry about that week is purchasing fresh fruits and veggies, then I’m happy! Next, since I have two days of the week covered by two leftover meals, all I need to do is decide on dinner based on what I found for sale during the previous weeks. I try to fix two meat-less meals (chef salad - no meat, grilled cheese/soup, rice/veggie stir-fry, etc.) to help cut down on our meat bill and the final night is a free-for-all, clean out the kitchen/fridge night! To determine what I’ll be cooking in the coming week(s), I first look through the grocery sale ads, find those sale items that I can use in favorite recipes and shop for as many sale items as possible, stocking up on as much as I can if the price is really good. I do not work forwards from a recipe list, but backwards basing my menu on the items I can purchase on sale! My goal is to feed my family of four on about $50-60/week. That may not sound like a lot to many of you, but I currently spend $75 or more a week and am trying to find an extra $100/month to help cut down our debt load and I know that I can find some of that needed money in my food budget. One thing that I know I need to develop is a price book; all of the well-known frugal zealots (Amy Dacyczyn, Jonni McCoy, Mary Hunt, etc.) recommend this practice. To learn what a price book is and how to use it, click here! The following are sites where you'll find printable lists: For blank Printable Price Sheets, click here! If you are looking for a printable master grocery/household list, click here! Digital Women Daily Planner ~ this sites contains printable pages for grocery lists, chores, menus, to-do lists, and so much MORE! Printable Grocery List I am sooooooo happy to have found these printable pages on the net so I don’t have to type them up myself. Some other methods I use to try and save us money on our groceries are as follows:  ~ I only purchase chicken quarters (I don't purchase skinless chicken breasts at all) and only when they are 10# for 29¢/pound. I'll stock up buying 3-4 bags at a time. I can get about 10 cups of cooked chicken from a bag of chicken quarters. ~ I purchase all ground beef at 99¢/pound or less. When it goes on sale, I stock up! ~ We don’t purchase many snack foods; maybe some pretzels, chips and ice cream, but I don’t buy many convenience items at all. My kids snack on fresh fruit, yogurt, cheese, popcorn, fresh fruit muffins/pancakes, etc. ~ I don’t buy milk by the gallon or even the half-gallon. Neither of my kids will drink milk (not even chocolate milk!) and my husband doesn’t like milk, so I was the only one drinking it. Most weeks, I ended up throwing it away because it soured before we finished it. I now purchase powdered milk to use in recipes and I drink water or iced tea instead! ~ I purchase produce and meat from the sale bins whenever possible. I have a wonderful store that discounts these items and I am amazed how many people in our area do NOT buy these items! I’ve been in the store at 2pm and there has been tons of sale items still available! ~ I make all desserts from scratch, usually using in-season fruit. We do not have dessert every night, but I do try and make something special once a week (usually lasts us 2-3 days). Desserts, to me, are not a necessity, but a treat! ~ I do purchase generic, store brands whenever possible when purchasing canned items, cereals, etc. and I always check the unit price to be sure which item is the better deal. ~ I do shop more than one store usually to purchase as many sale items as possible. However, if a store only has one item I’m needing/wanting, I will NOT usually stop in there unless the price is just fantastic. My gas and time are worth money too! ~ Along that note, I will not cook everything from scratch just to save a few pennies. For example, I do purchase the taco seasoning packets because I just haven’t been able to find another recipe that we all like as much! I purchase frozen french fries, too, because my time is valuable and I don’t want to spend it chopping up potatoes to fry. Save Money on Groceries ~ some helpful hints! The Poverty Cookbook ~ has lots of good information on saving money buying groceries. She calls for a change in thinking regarding food consumption. Thirty Ways to Stretch Your Food Dollar My Review of The Freezer Cooking Manual OAMC and Related Websites  WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?
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