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

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Start from scratch. Clean out ALL those cupboards, shelves, racks, pantries, etc.... At some point, you'll want to do 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 market every other day!

Once The Cleaning Is Done

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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 number of trips to 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 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 rest. Cans of tuna for 40 cents each, buy a lot. Boxes of macaroni and cheese for 50 cents each, buy a lot.

How often have you heard:

"I want Luchables because EVERYONE eats them at lunch!"

"Come on mom, these cool pants only cost $80."

"Dad, everyone has a Playstation II, I need one too!"

"I need 2 sodas and 2 bags of chips everyday!"

Certainly, we as parents want to make our children happy and not deprive them of a delightful childhood, but who's to say that you must give in to every one of your child's requests.

Why must you work twenty overtime hours just so your son can have a new video gaming system? Why must your grocery bill be over $200 just so your children can have latest cereal, ice-cream, snacks, candies, and sodas available?

Truth About "Brand Names"

Brand names cost money. Quite a bit of money. Especially when you add them up over time. The reasons these brands must charge more money is to cover their enormous advertising and marketing costs.

Since children are constantly bombarded with advertisements on television and amongst their peers at school, they are most likely going to ask you for these same products.

No one really enjoys telling their children they can't have something they want, however looking at bigger picture, what lesson are we teaching our kids if we simply give in to their every request? For one, they are not learning value of money and role it plays in our lives. Secondly, they are not learning about importance of conservation and how to properly budget their money.

Learning to budget and save money at an early age will really come in handy especially as they grow older, start driving, and get offered tempting pre-approved credit cards through mail. If they are not careful and able to budget their money effectively, this new found freedom may drain all money from their pockets.

Teaching The Importance of Conservation

Not only is this perfect opportunity to get your children "Brand Free" and away from expensive, trendy stuff, but it's also perfect opportunity to teach them value of money.

Here's one way you can approach this.

Explain to your children that money you spend on clothes, food, toys, etc, depletes amount you are able to save for future needs.

Explain that starting today, only NECESSITIES will be purchased. No more ice cream, chips, soda, candy, lunchables, except maybe on special occasions. Toys and games will need to be earned and will no longer be given away for free. Etc...

For example, you could state that you will only be purchasing Cheerios (or another low priced cereal). If your children want to have Captain Crunch or Cookie Crisp, they will have to buy them using their own money.