by planning a whole week's or month's menu and shopping to fit that menu??

I'm playing with this ides; at the very least, it'll give me a little more control in the kitchen and leave dh complaining less about what is/isn't for dinner.

We always use all over our leftovers, unless it was really bad the first time, which is unusual b/c we're both pretty good in the kitchen.

So, would it really save a good amount of money? What are some tips/tricks to creating a menu, when you've never done one before/aren't used to doing one? I was thinking I'd start out weekly and work from there. I have to shop weekly for the fresh stuff anyway.

I haven't really calculated how much $$ it is saving me to plan my menus, but I know that it really helps me control impulse spending. Before I started menu planning I would make several trips to the grocery store, which led to alot of impulse purchases. I always start by scanning the sales ads to see which meats/produce/dairy etc..products are on sale. THen I try to work my menu around those items. I also try to plan what things I can make for breakfast during the week. I usually plan for 2 weeks at a time, but that is only because my dh gets paid that way. I think planning for 1 week at a time is easier.

i get the grocery flyers then i make a menu plan for one week and get as much as i can on sale.

to start i had everyone write down what they like to eat that i have made, then i made a menu list from those and added a few more they did not think of and once every two weeks one of us picks from the recipes we have not tried yet for something new to try( cookbooks from the library). we have been doing this since january and so far we have added 18 meals to the menu plan master list i just rotate them all when they have the stuff on sale( if its non-perishable i buy it and hang onto it until it comes into rotation again.)
i figure i save about $20-30 per week doing this.