I am inspired by Crystal at the blog Money Saving Mom to try my shopping and menu planning in a new way. She spends $35 per week on her groceries to feed two adults and two babies. Wow! I don’t know what part of the country she lives in, but I hope prices here in Pittsburgh will be kind to me on that endeavor.

What we eat:

Breakfasts are simple, usually a bowl of cereal or toast and milk.

I pack my husband’s lunches for him five days out of the week. For one thing, they’re way cheap, and another, I can make sure they’re healthy. He tells me every time he opens his lunchbox, he feels loved. Aww :)

These days, I eat lunch at home. I tend to be a grazer, so I don’t end up eating large meals–just lots of small meals and snacks.

I try to make more of a fuss about dinner since we eat it together. I usually make enough for leftovers or for freezing for another time.

Here’s my strategy:

• I’m taking a careful inventory of my pantry and refrigerator to find out what I already have and what I need.
• I have the weekly ads (in paper or online) for Giant Eagle, Kuhn’s and Shop n’ Save. I’ll also visit Aldi.
• I’m armed with my coupon file and price book (more on those later) to get the best deals. Oh, and a calculator for sure!

Using all the info I can gather, I’m going to hash out a shopping list and menu for seven days. I hope it will add up to $35 or less.