Too busy to be frugal  

I've done that more times than I can count! My answer is to keep my cupboards and fridge as empty as possible. I have emergency supplies in the basement so it's not like I'll ever run out of things and get in trouble and go hungry, but if I can't see what I have it will go to waste.

I hate it when good food goes to waste!

No you're not alone. I actually do that quite often, not just when life is hectic. I'll just buy stuff and forget that I got it. I also tend to forget about left overs and other such things. Once a month or so I'll go through the fridge and throw out a lot of things that have gone bad and grown fuzz all over it.

I've had the same thing happen with bagged lettuce. I bu a few of them (.99 cents) with the hopes that we'll have a huge salad with lots of yummy extras and it never happens. One bag got shoved so far back in the crisper drawer that it was completely rotten by time I found it. For me its not a matter of not having enough time, its getting everyone together for dinner at the same time.

Yes it gets really hard to keep track of everything when life gets busy. I go through my fridg once a week before shopping and make sure I don't buy stuff that I already have. Also if there is fruit that I bought a few days before, such as berries I either have them for breakfast or as dessert.
All we can do is trying.

We've started the habit of putting a note on the fridge door of the things that are likely to go bad - It helps who ever is looking to snack or help prepare a meal remember to use perishables up. I suppose visitors would guess ti was a grocery list. I can say it has helped with our family

Oh, I know exactly how that is. I just pitched some stuff from my veggie tray. I try to not buy them unless I will use them right away. I do find myself doing more impulse shopping, more eating out, and less healthy eating right now. I am very busy with my job, and then I have also been sick. Not a good combination for saving money.

that has happen to more more times then i care to mention. i know what you mean about wasting really good food and money. i love fresh fruit and veggies, but damn i always forget to eat them. and as soon as i think about it they are no longer any good.

what i have started to do so that i don't waste them. is to buy them and then take them to work with me so i can have them for lunch so this way i don't have to buy lunch and i don't waste good food

I've lost heads of lettuce before where i swore I was going to chop up and store in a container for a quick salad. And of course even if I did that I forgot it in the fridge and found it all soggy mess.....so it happens. Now I try to just make sure I keep a close eye on the fridge, make up containers with lunches for my work or my mom for a quick lunch...things like that that take a few extra minutes during the clean up after dinner helps me save time and money....because I get mad too when I have to throw food out...or give it to the dogs.

I have found myself slipping a lot lately too. Between being busy with the kids' activities and Easter, not to mantion my normal everyday have-to-do's, I have found myself not being as frugal as I like to be. I get very frustrated with myself when I end up buying something that I know I can make a lot cheaper just because I am in a rush.

I agree entirely about being to busy to save money. It seems to me that when I work overtime most of the money I earn goes to thing like food because I am too busy to do anything else.
Perhaps it's just me but stress makes me spend money on luxuries I don't need when things are going better and that causes more stress.