I am a busy mother of 4 littles. It was so hard to be frusterated with our finances, but be broke or over budget because we spent money on fast food! I wouldn't have a plan for meals, then come dinner time we'd be starving and spend way too much eating unhealthy fast food junk! I have now learned to plan ahead what meals we'll eat. I joined several menu planning list, and found this blog and was totally blessed with all the information and encouragement to take charge of our finances.

Now I have food prepared the night before, or early in the morning. No more mad dashes to unthaw frozen meat! The kids help me cook. I even found a great recipe for homemade playdough! Instead of that costly store bought stuff! We still have a long way to go, but we are doing so much better. All the tips on the blog have really got our creative juices flowing! Thank you for the inspiration! I can't wait to learn so much more! Alidaw4

I love the homemade play-doh! So much softer than the 'real' stuff. I also have a recipe for homemade flavored instant oatmeal - that's a big hit at our house

I'm a mom, too, and I really identify with your post. It's so easy to get lazy when you're so busy. But I'm learning, like you, that a little food prep planning can go a long way towards curbing impulse fast food purchases. You should check out recipezaar.com - I love that I can search it for recipes using lists of ingredients I already have in the pantry.