Good change brings good outcome.

Yesterday I briefly mentioned how things for the Miller family are always changing. Well, today I really want to share with you more about one of these exciting changes.

I remember a time when change, all though inevitable, was something I struggled with. Maybe it was the uncertainty of what the outcome would be after the change. Or maybe it was a lack of confidence. What ever it was, its gone now. I guess I had to learn that change can be a good thing. Good changes bring good outcomes.

One of the small changes we made recently has brought us peace of mind, organization and time. This change has also become another facet of budgeting our income and spendings.

The problem:
Ryan and I like to eat home cooked meals for breakfast lunch and dinner. But, all of a sudden we were finding ourselves running to the grocery store a couple times a week for the main ingredients of what we finally decided sounded good at the moment. These trips were costing us more than just a couple dollars. We would make spontaneous purchases, grabbing wine, chocolate, extra this or that because, oh "it was on sale."

But just because it was on sale doesn't mean we were saving money. Technically, we were still spending. These trips were costing us, not just money but time as well.

Watching Ryan always on the go was driving me nuts. After a long days work I wanted him to be home for the night. And I wanted to spend time together. That's when I realized we needed a change. Here it comes...

The change:
I sat down and made a menu for 7 days a week, 3 meals a day. I then wrote down all the ingredients for each meal (my grocery list), making sure to exclude items we already had. With each item on my list I would try to make last for a 2nd or 3rd meal. For example; serving 2-3 people a 1 lb of chicken can be used for chicken quesadillas, white chicken chili and chicken alfredo. Not all of which we have to have in one week. (...because you can freeze the chicken for next week.) And believe it or not we ALWAYS have left overs.

The outcome:
Our meals cost a little over $1 per person! And that's not skimping on the brands and flavors we love.

Now every Saturday I take 5-10 minutes to plan our meals for the week. We make 1 trip to the grocery store and only purchase the items on our list, which takes 45 minutes. And we don't go back til next week.

This might sound crazy and a bit over the top but its not. I really enjoy making the menu and not having to rack my brain for something to eat every night. I also like seeing my husband more in the evening and I'm sure he appreciates staying in relaxing instead of running to the store.

In the end have more time to enjoy a hot home cooked meal.