How can I prepare better before going to the grocery store?

this is what i have done. i went through the cook book one day while my child was playing and found some receipies. then i wrote them down. checked to see if i had the ingredients to make it. i started out with 5 new reciepes, that way you had something new for each night of the week excluding sat. & sun. i wrote down everything that i needed before heading out to the store. i also made a calendar for the month and believe me this works. i wrote down every day what we would have for supper. so one week say - monday - hot dogs/mac n cheese tues - chicken , wed - hamburgers thurs - pizza friday - pot roast.. see what i mean. do this for about a month and see what happens. you will be amazed how long you can go without having the same thing over and over. it worked for me.