Meal Plan to Stretch to the Finish Line

My meal plan while I was gone went a little kaplewy. DH got frozen pizza one night and somehow spent $25 but I don't know on what. I asked him to stop on his way home yesterday for cheese for grilled cheese, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and oyster crackers for chili. Well a deal on cheese and he bought a combination of 6 packages, upping the spend to $17. I thought I was going to have nearly $60 for the week, but I'll need to keep under $27 to meet my $400 October challenge. I had actually hoped to skinny it even further and have a bit to roll into November when I'll be buying more for my Thanksgiving contributions. I'm going to channel all my meal planning muscle and see if I can keep a reserve of $10. The cupboards are not bare and we have all that cheese now so this shouldn't be an austere exercise but a rather dull menu.. 

• Saturday-Homemade pizza (need to buy pepperoni)
• Sunday-Tuna hot dish and vegetables with apple crisp for desert
• Monday-Turkey meatballs in mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes
• Tuesday-Baked Penne pasta with mixed vegetables topped with assorted cheese
• Wednesday- Hot dogs or chili dogs with cheese (reserving a bit of Friday's chili), French fries (I need to buy hot dogs, buns, and fries unless I just do more roasted potatoes) This has been our Halloween meal for decades. 
• Thursday-chicken (need to buy) of some sort for crock pot, cheddar broccoli rice
• Friday-Goulash with corn and garlic bread (need hamburger and can of crushed tomatoes)

We'll also need bread and eggs. There's plenty of fruit, though I may add a few bananas to my list. I have nearly a full 1/2 gallon of milk and pancake mix, some cereal, and oatmeal for breakfast. I should be able to cobble together lunches with canned soups, leftovers, and miscellaneous finds. 

Thursday is November 1 and DH's day off. He may see that as a sign that he should do our first big shop of the month. If he does, I'll figure out how to make his shop work. I have work meetings Thursday night, so perhaps if I leave him careful instructions, he might stay out of the store. I can't fault him too much as he really does think he is getting good deals and helping the cause. 

Sunday morning edit: I learned DH actually spent $25 on pizzas and an additional $7 on other items. I may rethink this plan to use more of what we have in house. I spent $1 on pepperoni, but if I am to leverage $10 to roll forward for November, I need to stay to $9 this week. This counts $2 from last week not spent. Game on!