Meal planning? Does it work and can I do it, but most importantly will it save money

So, it's well known that I like binders and love to organize things. It brings me peace. I have many binders filled with all sorts of pieces of paper on all sorts of topics. My two favorite binders are (of course) my coupon binder and my recipe binder. 


I use to buy cook books until I realized I never use them. The only cook book I do use on a regular basis and almost never makes it back to the shelf is the Joy of Cooking. It was given to me by my extraordinary grandmother, Bebe and I will cherish it forever. (Turn the tears off) Anyway, I thought that this week I would plan my dinners and then shop for them hoping to stick to a budget, cook new things and not waste food. 


I pulled 6 recipes (we eat out at least once a week with coupons, of course) I have not tried, scanned my shelves and fridge and then made a list of what I needed. I spent $65 at the store. The more I think about it now the more I realize I didn't need to pull 6 recipes for one week. I think the 6 will last 10 days because of a variety of factors, so let's see if $65 will make 10 dinners- that's $3.25/person. I'll report back.