A Post Patitenly Awaited

A couple weeks ago I posted about an inventory system that I was doing and a new way to buy groceries.  Well, I have changed it so much it's a whole new system.  I also said that rarely anything came from me (I usually pinterest, google, ask people, look at blogs, etc.).  This inventory/food planning/meal planning system is semi my idea... exciting right!?  Okay so here's what I do. 

I have listed out in an excel spreadsheet all the items that I have in my fridge/freezer/pantry.  I wanted to see all the food I had so I wrote each item down with how many were in there.  The problem came when I used anything out of them.  I then had to go and change it either in the computer or a piece of paper that I had printed out (finally after getting sick of running to my computer every meal).  That really didn't work for us so I decided I will inventory our food at the end of each month right before we go and buy food.  I will make a list of all the items I need for the rest of that month.  Then, I will plan my meals for THE WHOLE MONTH!  What!?  Yes, the whole month.  I did this before and it works so well for our family.  I then go to the grocery store and buy all that is needed for the month!  Except for vegetables and dairy products.  Although we now get our chicken/eggs/milk/and beef from the local farmer's market, and we get a lot of our fruit and vegetables from Bountiful Baskets (just started doing this but it is definitely worth it).  A lot of our grains and other food comes from Azure Standard.    I also grind my own wheat so I get my wheat berries from there.  What I find when we go to the store once a month and then just for vegetables and dairy products once a week is that we end up saving money since we are not at the store for so long once a week.  I also love planning the menu out a month in advance because then if Micah wants to cook he knows he has all of the ingredients ready to go and can just jump in and do it without a lot of extra work (starting with going to the grocery store).  I love how this works for our family. 

I know that there is a lot of talk about grocery prices going up so what are you doing to keep your groceries within your budget?  I love suggestions!