I agree with making a menu and sticking to it! That's helped us tremendously! PLUS, I have a few frozen dinners (lasagna, chicken parmesean, etc) that way if I'm feeling lazy or just DON'T want to cook, those are easy!

Another thing that really helped was to have dh on board! Basically we knew that if I didn't want to cook, then he could, and if he didn't then we'd be having sandwiches or frozen waffles! Eating out was NOT an option. After a couple of nights of that I got better about making the menus! We do eat out occasionally still, but it's gone down A LOT!!!

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Stay at home mom to my 3 boys... ages 5, 3 & 1!

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

1) I make a menu and post it on the fridge so I know what to cook and what to buy for every meal.

i do this too, i just started as of two weeks ago so i am a newbie too!!!!

I was told by someone to plan meals around the grocery store add and stick to it so that you are only buying stuff that is on sale!!!!!

I am such a coupon hog i write to companies and ask them to send me coupons...some do some don't oh well it has been working for me!

good luck!!!!

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Danielle

We cut way back on eating out a few years ago, and I'm always shocked these days when we do go out, because it's so expensive!!

Instead of eating out we started treating ourselves at home. We spend that money on really good food instead: organic butcher meats, organic fruits & veggies, good bread, etc. Since we are in Europe these items are readily available, they just cost a bit more. Sunday nights have become our Big Dinner night where we have good steaks or something similar, a bottle of wine, etc. For Friday night dinners where we just want junk food, I either make burgers or we make a pizza with a store-bought crust & sauce (we shopped around until we found one we like).

Penelope listed the one thing I do that probably helps the most, and that is to have a couple of good cookbooks with quick go-to recipes. I started menu planning a few months ago and that worked really well, but there are still some nights when dh gets home and doesn't want what's on the menu! Those cookbooks are a lifesaver then, with quick and easy ideas that end up tasting great!

I'm actually glad we don't go out much anymore. it makes going out a special event, saves us money, and keeps us healthier.

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~ mama abroad

"Be the change that you want to see in the world." -Ghandi

check out my culture shock blog: A View from the Outside

We scaled back this summer on eating out and have cut it out entirely now. I can honestly say it has been at least 3-4 weeks since we ate out. The money it cost is unreal. I take great pride in seeing how cheap I can make a dinner for my family while still using good products and making it healthy.

For instance tonight we are haing --

Crock Pot Roast Pork with Gravey -- Pork was free and heinze gravey jar cost me $0.25
White Rice -- Maybe $0.50 to make
Green Beans -- free from Delmonte canned good rebate last January
Lemon Cake with cool whip frosting -- Cake mix was free, cool whip and eggs maybe $1.25

Plus there is enough meat and cake to make another 2 meals for our family of 3. So you can see why it would just drive me nuts to pay $10-15 for 1 meal for a family of 3.

If we are planning a road trip we pack bologna sandwichs and a snack and bring a gallon of water and cups. It really helps with not making so many stops as well. DH is still not fond of it but the extra money is coming in handy.

I don't know if anyone else has posted this, but one of the ways that our family has cut back on ordering pizza, going through drive-thrus and going out for dinners is by making the same meals at home. (Healthier versions, though, which is a bonus )
Last night we made homemade pizza. You can pick up crust mixes at Walmart for 33 cents. We always buy our hamburger in bulk when it goes on sale for 99 cents/pound. So after making our homemade pizza, our final cost is somewhere around $4-5 to feed our entire family a huge pizza. Also, it is just as fast as ordering out, by the time you make the call and wait 30-45 minutes for your pizza. (It takes us about 20-25 minutes to make an entire pizza, which, by the way, tastes so much better than any delivered one!) And all of that for the cost of what the delivery persons tip would've been! We have made that our Friday night routine, pizzas and a movie (delivered by Netflilx).
We also do burgers, brats and fries and tacos, all of them MUCH better tasting and MUCH cheaper than going out.
Also, one of the biggest reasons why we used to go out to eat was the whole, "I don't have the time or energy to make anything..."
If you think about it, by the time you have everyone loaded in the car, drive time to the resturant or drive-thru, the time waiting, you probably could've made an entire meal and eaten by then, and even made a double batch to eat later on in the week!
We used to literally go out 6 nights a week, (before kids, of course), and it was a big weakness of ours too, but once you factor in the added time of going out, you'll probably find out that eating at home really is as fast!
I also agree that keeping a list of menu ideas will really help, then you can quick refer to the list and not waste a lot of time wondering what to make.