Once a month grocery shopping

At the end of March, I decided that I was tired of going to WalMart every week & wanted to attempt shopping once a month. I came up with the plan to make a meal plan for the month along with a grocery list & shop once at the beginning (or end...for the coming month) of the month. Several people have asked how I did, so I thought I'd blog about it.
I made our meal plan for the month & Hannah Kate & I headed to the store. It took longer than normal & the buggy was very heavy by the end of the trip! Our meal plan had me cooking two-three times a week, allowing us to eat leftovers, eat out once, & eat at Wesley's parents on Wednesdays. I also put any church events on the calendar for which I would need to prepare food. I think the first two weeks went well & I went at the end of the second week for milk & produce. After that, something happened & I needed something else from the store. Anyhow, I went shopping more than once & our planned produce & milk trips BUT it was much better than our normal trips & when I had to go get a few things, I went to Aldi or another grocery store instead of WalMart. I totaled up the grocery receipts at the end of the month & I was $30 under budget. I hadn't kept good track of what I was spending before, but I know it was over budget or close. That, combined with the fact that we ate better because our meals were better planned & I only went to WalMart once a month, makes me consider this a success!