Take Control and Master Your Kitchen


Those who keep a watchful eye on where their money is spent, have long conquered the kitchen woes. No last minute panic trips to the market. No longer needing the "give-the-kids-$20-for-fast-food" solution. This is no longer a problem or even a concern for the "Kitchen Master".

You too can be a 'Master Of Your Kitchen'. All it takes is a little time and planning!

Now you might be saying "I don't have time to plan meals, let alone control my kitchen!" That's fine. Wait until you do have some time.

All you need is just a couple of hours some Saturday or Sunday where you can really "dive" into your kitchen.

Where To Start
~~~~~~~~~~~

Start from scratch. Clean out ALL those cupboards, shelves, racks, pantries, etc.... At some point, you'll want to do the same to your refrigerator and freezer. You must! This is VALUABLE storage space that will save you hundreds off your grocery bills if they are properly put to use.

Kitchens were designed to act as 'mini-supermarkets'. Everything you need to prepare meals your family can enjoy morning, noon, and night. Once it is setup, you can accommodate quite a number of meals, without having to go to the market every other day!

Once The Cleaning Is Done
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that everything is cleaned and your current supplies organized, you'll need to inventory what you have. What this means is to list out what you have, and what you need to get.

Ideally, you should have at least 2-4 weeks of meals available at your disposal. Why? This will reduce the number of trips to the market and help minimize overspending and impulse buying.

What helps is if you list foods and meals you know your family likes (and would) eat. These are the items you need to stock your kitchen pantry and frig with.

With this approach, you use your cupboards, pantries, and shelves to your advantage. Whenever you come across great bargains on items you use, buy more than usual, and store the rest. Cans of tuna for 40 cents each, buy a lot. Boxes of macaroni and cheese for 50 cents each, buy a lot.

Sugar, cheese, spaghetti, rice, pasta, bread, meat, cereal, fruit, chicken, sauces, canned foods, vegetables, boxed foods. These are just a few examples of items than can be stored in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer (depending on what it is) for a reasonable amount of time.

You know you are running low on an item by simply opening your well organized pantry and determining what needs to be restocked.

Planning Your Meals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that your kitchen has been cleaned and well stocked, it's time to put it to use.

It works best if you plan the following days meals, the night before. This is not hard or very time consuming. Five minutes before going to bed, simply open your cupboards and see what you can plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the following day.

Start off just planning one day at a time. Later, as you adjust to this style of living, you'll be able to plan the whole week just by looking at the contents within your kitchen.

What also is a must is creativity. Try to steer away from traditional hamburger and hot dog meals. Get creative with your meals. There are literally hundreds of different combinations that can be made to give you and your family the variety they need.

For example, think of all the combinations you can put together with rice or potatoes (ie: rice and vegetables, rice and beans, rice with chicken, rice and soup, rice with eggrolls, etc...) And that's just with rice! You have a ton of options. Take the time to think of, or search for some.

Here are a few websites that offer a number of recipes and cooking ideas:

http://www.notjustbeans.com
http://www.recessionrecipes.com
http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/twarda/home.html

Conclusion
~~~~~~~~

The whole goal of this exercise is to eliminate unnecessary trips and excessive spending at the market in addition to creatively using what you have in your kitchen to prepare meals for the week/month.The more times you go to the market, the more chances you have of spending your money on foods you may not need.

Organize and master your kitchen, plan out your meals, stock your storage areas, and you can save $100-$400 a month (depending on your spending habits ;-)

Best of luck mastering your kitchen!

Gregory Thomas has been writing effective money-saving tips for SavingSecrets.com for over six years. Hop on over and you'll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by! www.SavingSecrets.com">http://www.SavingSecrets.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Strands Absorbs Another Personal Finance Company
Washington Post, United States - 19 hours ago
Both are personal finance applications that Strands' wanted mostly for their human capital, but also for some of their technology assets. ...


Mutual Funds & Personal Finance
Investor's Business Daily (subscription) - 11 hours ago
BY PAUL KATZEFF "The way I look at it, earnings are what drive stocks," said Fischman, manager of $2.6 billion MFS Growth Fund. But when that broad concept ...


The WSJ Hires Zweig For Personal Finance Column
IndexUniverse.com, NY - 17 hours ago
The Wall Street Journal hired Jason Zweig, a senior writer and columnist for Money Magazine, to be its new personal finance columnist after Jonathan ...


The Consumerist

Personal Finance Roundup
The Consumerist, NY - 19 hours ago
4 Credit-Card Protections Shoppers Should Know About [Smart Money] "Thanks to some little-known credit-card protections, shoppers don't have to get stuck ...


Take Charge America Offers "Spring Cleaning" Personal Finance Tips
Market Wire (press release) - 23 hours ago
PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwire - May 15, 2008) - Take Charge America is offering consumers four easy personal finance tips and is encouraging people to put the ...


Rising interest rates curb personal finance
The Australian, Australia - May 13, 2008
THE biggest monthly drop in personal finance commitments in 15 years shows that high interest rates are taking their toll on the economy, an economist says. ...
Personal finance commitments fall Sydney Morning Herald
all 21 news articles


Mutual Funds & Personal Finance
Investor's Business Daily (subscription) - May 14, 2008
BY JESSE EMSPAK Inflation fears are pushing recession worries aside, though managers are still wary of slow economic growth. That's the picture from Merrill ...


International Personal Finance cautious on credit
CITY A.M., UK - May 14, 2008
Credit lender International Personal Finance said it has made a good start to 2008 but added that it maintains a cautious stance on credit. ...
International Personal Finance says makes good start to year Hemscott
all 4 news articles


International Personal Finance Reports Interim Management ...
RTT News, NY - May 14, 2008
(RTTNews) - International Personal Finance Plc (IPF.L: News, Chart, Quote ) announced its interim management statement from the start of 2008 to till date. ...


Wall Street Journal Names New Personal Finance Columnist
Primenewswire (press release), CA - May 13, 2008
NEW YORK, May 13, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Jason Zweig was named Personal Finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal beginning July 1. ...

personal finance - Google News

site map
Nocommentweb.com © 2000 - Partners

psychology help | snus | ekspress lån | express loan | Santander Spain | cheap insurance | snus|