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! http://www.SavingSecrets.com

---

Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Saving Money - The Magic 20 Percent

Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult... Read More

Creating A Household Budget

Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although... Read More

10 Tips to Make Sure Your Financial Budget Will Succeed

You've analyzed your past expenses, put them into spreadsheets, loaded... Read More

Avoiding A Nightmare On Renovation Street

You've decided you want a bigger, better and more desirable... Read More

Top 10 Ways Managing Your Money Is Just Like Riding a Bike

An avid cyclist and bike racing fan, I sit transfixed... Read More

Affording a Home

Can you really afford a house? If so, how much... Read More

Vesting and Your 401(k)

Do you have a 401(k) retirement account? Are you vested... Read More

Reduce College Debt with Scholarships

Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an oval table. Forms... Read More

Reporting Identity Theft

Would you know what to do if you suspect that... Read More

Save Money on your Clothing Budget. Tame the Closet Monster!

Reducing the clothing budget was a serious challenge for me.... Read More

Personal Finance - Have Consumers Had a Belly Full of Personal Debt?

For months, we were trigger-swipe happy, putting our groceries, clothes,... Read More

Want Your Savings to Earn a Higher Rate of Return? Try Internet Banking

Doesn't it seem like the only impressive numbers we've seen... Read More

Bank On It: Places to Hide and Invest Money

Today I passed a thermometer at a bank that read... Read More

10 Steps to Take if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft

There have been an estimated 9.9 million victims on America... Read More

Resources to Help You Learn About and Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

There is a new bill that is being passes, it... Read More

Government Grants - Beware of Scams

As the saying goes: "Buyer Beware". If you see ads... Read More

Organizing Your Finances - Thinking Outside the (Shoe) Box

If you're like most people, your personal financial records are... Read More

Saving Money On Gasoline For Your Automobile

The gas that we fill our tanks with every week... Read More

How to Choose the Right Bank for Your Online Business

You should thoroughly consider your business needs when selecting a... Read More

Is There A Retirement Crisis?

When people speak about the increasing age expectancies, they generally... Read More

The Origins of Check Writing

People haven't always written checks to buy goods and services.... Read More

How to Attain Your Dreams on a Single Income

If you recently became a single parent and see your... Read More

Personal Checks ? Extreme Benefits

Millions of people have a checking account and many people... Read More

Financial Security

1) HOW TO LOOK FOR A JOBA) The Chronological Curriculum:1.... Read More

Ways to Save Energy and Slash Electricity Bills

1. Lighting & Light Bulbs Install low energy light... Read More