Meal planning is simply the quickest, easiest change you can make right now to cut your grocery bill dramatically.
We all know that shopping with a list is absolutely mandatory if you’re working to stay within a budget. But, unfortunately, many people leave it at that and, thus, fail to really maximize their savings.
Not only does meal planning save you money, but it also saves you time and stress.
You know the stress I’m talking about. It’s the oh-crap-it’s-5 o’clock-and-nothing-is-thawed-out stress. We’ve all been there, but with meal planning, we always know what needs to be thawed out and what needs to be placed in the Crock-Pot before rushing to work.
It only takes a little bit of time to meal plan, but the savings can be huge.
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How I make meal planning work for me
First, I plan for about 2-3 potential breakfast meals. I might buy cereal and milk, or pancake mix and syrup, or eggs and bread for toast. Obviously, breakfast (unlike dinner) is often the same thing day after day. Odd how most people eat the same thing every morning but scoff at the idea of eating the same thing every night. (Things that make you go Hmmm.)
Second, I plan for about 3 different lunch options. I might buy bread and cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, or frozen veggie burgers and buns, or salad fixings and dressing. I will typically also have chips or carrots and hummus for a side. Odd how most people need almost no variety in the morning, total variety in the evening, but only tend to need a little variety for lunch. (Once again, Hmmm.)
Third, and here’s the big one, I plan for 6 dinner meals a week. I plan on the seventh meal to be leftovers. I keep a 3-ring binder full of recipes I print from online. Some tend to be in the weekly rotation more often than others, but I do try to branch out and make one new recipe a week. Before I sit down to make my grocery list, I decide on the 6 meals I will make that week and plan my list accordingly. Every dinner in my house must feed four people and I aim to keep my average cost to $7 a meal. Some meals will cost more than that and some will come in under that $7 mark. I’m aiming for an average.
Last, I also plan for snacks and drinks. Having just a few options is plenty. I might buy some apples or oranges, crackers and peanut butter, or popcorn for those rainy afternoons when we curl up to watch a movie. I don’t like to keep too many really awesome sweet snack foods in the house, because they all get eaten within a couple of days. Then, I’m stuck hearing “There’s nothing to eat” every afternoon for the rest of the week when the munchies hit the kiddos. Those snacks are not worth the money or the headache. Keeping it simple saves money. Also, I make sure we have water, lemonade mix, tea bags and coffee. If I buy sodas, everyone knows that when they run out, they run out. I don’t make sodas a staple at my house. They are too pricey and bad for you anyway. (Full disclosure: I wrote that last sentence with a Diet Coke by my side. I’m only human and we had some wiggle room in the budget this week. So… yeah. Moving on.)
How to maximize savings with meal planning
- Make sure to take inventory of what you have on hand before making your meal plan and subsequent grocery list. If you have ground beef in the freezer already, then you have most of what you need for an awesome Taco Tuesday. Now, you might only need seasoning and shells to go with it. Make sure to take inventory for all the meal categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks. Plan as many meals as you can using what you already have on hand as a guide.
- Include one or two (or more!) casseroles in your meal plan. Casseroles are not only easy to make, but they also tend to use less meat which saves you money in the long run.
- Plan a vegetarian meal for one night. Breakfast for dinner such as pancakes or french toast is one option. Also, vegetarian pasta with french bread, or a big salad night might work for you and your family.
- Use store circulars to see what is on sale and plan around that.
- Along the same line as number 4, look to see what coupons you have on hand or that you can find online to help with planning. Just don’t get suckered into buying all the extra junk food that is advertised through coupons. Also, if you have the ibotta app on your phone, check to see what rebate deals they have for your preferred grocery store this week.
- Make your grocery list to include only the items you need to complete each of the meals you have planned.
Putting it all together
After taking inventory, perusing circulars and recipes, it’s time to decide on your meal plan for the week. Make sure to write down at least your dinner meals and place it on your fridge or somewhere handy so you can organize and know what needs to be rotated out of the freezer and into the fridge to thaw.
If you’re super diligent, go ahead and write down every day of the week and exactly what will be served for every meal each day. Imagine not having to stress about the lunch menu on a random Thursday, or what snack you’ll have on Monday afternoon.
If you’re a super-hyper diligent mega-mom, go ahead and take a half-day to cook your meals ahead of time and freeze them for even more ease and simplicity later in the week. (Then, come to my house and do that for me, too. You know… if you have time.)
Final thoughts
Sometimes (most of the time, actually), we tend to just get into a groove of buying the same things at the grocery store every week without really putting much thought into it. Before we know it, ranch dressing has become some sort of subconscious staple food, but there’s never really anything to put it on. Then, one day, you open your pantry and realize you have 8 bottles of ranch dressing and you have absolutely no memory of purchasing any of them.
By being more intentional with our grocery shopping, we save ourselves a lot of stress, we save time and money, and we become better stewards in the process.
Do you have any meal planning tips or tricks you want to share? Please comment below. I would love to hear how others make meal planning work for them!
Be sure to check out these posts in Homemaking:
How to Be a Good Homemaker When You’re Not Very Good at Homemaking