I meal plan and shop accordingly once a month. The 30/31 meals I plan are easy meals..i can't be bothered spending over 30-45mins in the kitchen. More often than not, dinner takes me about 15mins. I get no enjoyment/pleasure from cooking. But we love to eat good food. I allocate $360 per month for food and put it in a 'food' envelope (this is for a baby on formula, nappies & 2 adults). All leftover money from the one big per month shop is put back into the envelope and used throughout that month to replenish milk, bread, fruit and vege. I shop at Aldi for about 90% of our things. The only reason this meal planning has worked is because of my motivation to do it and the fact that the meals to cook are not labour intensive. Otherwise, it would be out the window in a second.
Re shopping, I just avoid the on line sites and the shopping malls themselves. Makes it so much easier when tempation is not looking you in the face! I can shop til I drop but now that we have a budget and big financial goals, it makes it so much easier to avoid spending on clothes etc. Especially when you see your hard earned $ working for you every single day, by paying down debts and increasing savings. Now that's happiness that no shirt or dress could buy me!! plus, at the end of the day, when I really really really want clothes, I tell myself that I have so many wonderful things in my wardrobe that are crying out to be worn. And I always ask family members for gift certificates for my favourite shops at xmas and birthdays.
So my advice would be to put things into perspective. Work out your goals, what you really value in life and what really matters to you. And have a plan of action. It may take a few months to get it just right. But it'll be worth it. Then, it's so much easier to curb you're spending and increase you're happiness by getting so much more value in your life by focusing on the things that are really the most important to you. At the end of the day, clothes and on line shopping are right near the bottom of my value list, even though once they were at top. Family and life is what matters.
Good luck!