Budgets

After my shopping trip Monday, I decided I'm going to keep track of what I'm spending at the grocery store.  One of my new goals is to try and limit my grocery store trips.  I think for us, this is going to be VERY difficult.  It seems to me that when I was a kid, my mom didn't run to the story every week like I seem to do (or more often).  I don't know if I have no self discipline, poor planning skills or what, but we'll see how this goes.  Taylor and I planned our menus for the next two weeks (we'll share our next one again on Sunday).  By doing this, I knew what I needed at the store and then planned for that little bit of  'extra stuff' that always seems to get in my cart.  You know, the sale items you missed in the ad or the 'oh, I forgot to put that on my list' stuff.  Yes, there's always the 'that just sounds good right now' purchases too.  I'll let you know how I do after the next couple of weeks (if you read my post Wed, you know I'm not off to a great start).  I gave John the "We are not running to the store for extras and if we do run out of milk or bread then that's ALL that we are buying" lecture.  I think he really enjoyed it! :)  So, I'm curious, how many of you have a monthly food budget?  Can you stick to it?  Please tell me your not one of those crazy couponers that can feed a family of 6 on a budget of $250.  If you are, we really should must talk!  My goal is $500, that's just food.  I couldn't tell you what I usually spend (hence the not a great budgeter concept), but I would guess it's more than that...totally a hunch though. 

Here's a good article on cutting your food budget in half:
http://money.msn.com/shopping-deals/c_article.aspx?cp-documentid=250281833)
Here's another great article on when to buy what:
http://www.livingrichlyonabudget.com/grocery-sale-cycles-when-do-things-go-on-sale
One of my favorite go-to-sites:
http://freebies2deals.com/
And lastly, I've used this one off and on for years, but it'll depend on where you're located as to how much it'll help:
http://www.grocerysmarts.com/

Happy Budgeting!!