Storms & Spreadsheet Giveaway!

(Please note this post was originally written on Wednesday.) So this morning about 3:30 a.m. we were awaken by a giant bolt of lightning and the loudness of a thunder-roll. Freaking out we came into the living room, both the hubby and I were half asleep and the power went out. With no way of checking the radar I called my mother. She wasn't happy but thankfully she answered. After checking the radar she assured me it was just a thunder-storm and I finally was able to go back to sleep. The hubs fell asleep on the couch and I made sure to set the alarm on my phone so that he would not be late for work. About 4:30 Jay woke-up scared from the thunder and climbed in the bed with me. The alarm went off at 5:30 and the power kicked back on while I was on my way to wake Michael up. So this morning was a long and restful morning! This afternoon we had another line of thunderstorms that rolled through and there is still more to come! Don't get me wrong i'm loving the rain and the heavy rain; just not all of the loud thundering and tons of cloud to ground lightning.
Anyways in other news:
THE MONTHLY MENU:

At the end of each month I sit down to make a month long menu. I'm not going to lie there are somethings that we don't stick to (Example: We may trade the ham sandwich that's supposed to be for lunch on Wednesday for the Ramen noodles on Tuesday.)
Here is a preview of my spreadsheet in excel:

After creating my menu I then create my grocery list.
Here is how I do it:
1- I count up all meats (This is the most expensive item in each meal. )

Example of my list:
Hamburger- 8 nights
Chicken Breasts- 6 nights
Pork chops- 7 nights
TIP: I split my meats into different nights using ziploc bags. For example One large family pack of ground chuck is four nights of hamburger meat for us. There will not be any leftovers but everyone is satisfied and we have enough to last a month. 

Do this for each day. If you are having spaghetti for dinner 5 nights out of the month this is how your list should look:
Hamburger Meat- 5 nights
Spaghetti Noodles- 5 nights
Spaghetti Sauce- 5 nights

TIP: Every month my hubby takes a trip to the local Aldi and grabs alot of items there. This saves us about 100 to 150.00 every month! For example they have a LARGE box of spaghetti noodles that easily is three nights worth for less than 2.00. Their vegetables are half the price of the *OFF-BRAND* at say walmart. If you have a local Aldi and don't mind using off brand products I Highly recommend making a visit! 


If you are familiar with excel it should be very easy to fill the template out and get your menu going! 


The Giveaway:
Starting today and ending on August 10th you will be able to enter to win a copy of this spreadsheet for free! Follow the mandatory entry methods in the Raffle-copter widget below. There will be only 10 winners selected, after that the spreadsheet will be available for the price of $1.00. (Please remember that ALL required entries must be met or you will NOT be eligible to win!) Terms and Conditions are below as well. So without further or do here it is:


a Rafflecopter giveaway