Thanks for the information!
Yesterday I planned meals and wrote down what I needed for each. I then went to pantry and freezer to see what I had. I made my list and today shopped. I went to Aldi and bought things on my list there. Hit Sam's and Meijer. A weeks worth of meals plus 14 precooked lunches (frozen chicken taco soup and white chicken chili) was $117. That included cat sand and dish soap that I normally don't buy weekly.
great!
now-as you start doing this keep track of which meals are hits with the family then when the non perishable or able to be frozen items for them are on sale you can grab them to set aside for the next go round of that dish.
btw-unless i'm absolutely planning on using a meal for leftovers the next day or night, if they are freezable i throw them into a small container, freeze them and then maybe once a month we have a 'potluck nite'. i pull out and defrost all those partial leftovers to reheat and serve it with a simple salad. it's a great go-to for a known busy nite (like when the kids have activities that will run late) and much less expensive than going to fast food.