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Meal Planning on a Budget– a simple guide to help you save time and money, all while reclaiming your food budget!
Meal planning is extremely important for your budget. Outside of housing expenses, it is probably your second largest expenses. Several factors such as location or family size play a role in determining how much money you may be spending in this category.
We all have our reasons for going to the grocery store without a plan. We’re tired, overworked, and busy. For some, it seems like all we can manage is picking up random food items and making do with what we purchase.
For others, your plan may simply be to create a rough meal plan that lasts as long as possible. You just want to make it to your next payday and have enough food to feed everyone.
Then there are those amazing folks who review their sales paper religiously, carry their coupon binders with them everywhere they go, and methodically snatch up all the good deals, saving themselves a ton of money.
My guess is that you’re not one of the ladder and neither am I. You’re trying to solve one or both of these problems:
- Stop making random runs to the grocery store or the drive-thru due to lack of planning.
- Feed yourself and your family three decent meals a day without sacrificing time and a lotta money.
Well, I certainly hear you and that’s exactly what we’re going to address today. You’re going to learn how to start meal planning on a budget.Something that sounds so simple, but can be challenging for sure.
JUST HERE FOR SOME FREE MEAL PLANS? No problem, here are four sample meal plans that can help you save your grocery budget NOW!
Why should you start meal planning on a budget?
- Meal planning on a budget saves you money! Take a look at your bank statement for the past three months. If you don’t meal plan, your findings may scare you. You’d be surprised at how much money you can save on random grocery runs, drive-thru, and lunches at work.
- Creating a meal plan will save you time! You may have been led to believe that creating a meal plan on a budget will take you an 8-hour shift, but it only takes a couple of minutes once you have a process in place.
- Meal planning gives you one less thing to worry about.I can’t tell you what a relief it is to look on my refrigerator and already know what’s for dinner. I have enough things to worry about and so do you!
- You’ll be healthier and you might lose weight. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I lose plenty of weight and I maintain my weight loss when I have a plan for what I’m going to eat.
Who can benefit from meal planning on a budget?
Anyone! If you’re human and you eat every day, you can benefit from meal planning. No matter what you’ve been led to believe, meal planning is not just for families.
Singles and moms alike can benefit from meal planning on a budget. Matter of fact, I’d say the busier you are, the more you need to incorporate meal planning into your lifestyle.
Take a look at your calendar. Do you have several events where you won’t be at home?
If so, you certainly need a meal plan. Your meal plan should incorporate your schedule so you won’t spend money at the grocery store on foodthat you won’t even be home to eat.
So yes, anyone can benefit from creating a meal plan and their budget will thank them!
Guide to Meal Planning on a Budget
1. Gather the right tools to help you meal plan.
You might think you have super powers and can remember everything you need from the store. In reality, you can’t. Make it easier on yourself and gather up the tools you need for meal planning success. You can start with your calendar, pen, and paper. These are really the only thing you need to successfully create a meal plan and grocery list.
2. Pick a day for planning and shopping.
I typically do this on two separate days. I hate trying to figure out my meal plan and go to the grocery store on the same day. Drives me nuts!
Instead, I’ll like to create my meal plan and check Aldi’s store ads on Friday nights. On Saturday, I head to the store with my meal plan and grocery list in hand.
3. Plan EVERY meal for the week.
I know what some of you may be thinking — that’s 21 meals!It may seem like a lot, but you’re going to make it easier on yourself.
Simply choose 1 to 2 choices for breakfast and lunches. You can have a new meal for dinner each night. Some days you might have leftovers from dinner. With that said, you might not even need a meal idea for lunches. So be sure to incorporate leftovers into your plans.
A few other important things would be to mark off days when you won’t be home to eat. Also, plan your meals in a way that incorporates your fresh ingredients at the beginning of the week. You don’t want to buy a bunch of ingredients for six days out and have them go bad!
4. Cook extra!
If you cook extra when preparing meals, you can have food left over for lunches. I use these meal prep containers to store extra food.
If you won’t eat it within a day or so, you can always pop it in the freezer. I’ve frozen rice, soups, bread, leftover canned chili’s. I have even taken ice cube trays and frozen fresh thyme so it wouldn’t go to waste!
5. Create freezer meals.
If I know I’m going to be out of commission (code for I can’t cook), I’ll prepare some freezer-friendly foods in freezer bags. Just take one out of the freezer and throw it into your crockpot and you’re good to go.
You can prep soups, pizzas, burritos, and lasagnas for your freezer. These type of meals are perfect on days when you’re going to be too busy to cook, so be sure to incorporate them into your meal plan if needed.
6. Create a themed meal plan.
You can make things super simple and create a themed meal plan. This way you’ll already have an idea what you should have on your grocery list. You can just prepare these items differently.
For example, you could do something like this:
Sunday – Seafood Sunday
Mondy – Meatless Monday
Tuesday – Taco Tuesday
Wednesday – Air Fryer Wednesday
Thursday – Leftover Thursday
Friday – Pizza Friday
Saturday – Sandwich Saturday
7. Have backup meals in your pantry.
There will be days where you plan to drop your ingredients in the Crock Pot or you forgot to unthaw your main entree. It happens.
Be prepared and keep some backup meals like pancake mix, tuna, or ravioli. These meals should be simple and easy to prepare. They might not be the healthiest, but it will keep you from grabbing take-out.
9 FREE Budget-Friendly Meal Plans
For the sake of thoroughness, I want to be sure you leave with everything you need to get started. Therefore, I’ve scoured the internet to find some of the best free meal planscreated with your budget in mind.
These plans will tell you what you’ll be eating every day of the week and they give you a recipe for each meal (or points you in the direction of the recipe). So, let me cut to the chase and get to these meal plans with the easy, budget-friendly recipes.
1. One Week $50 Meal Plan For a Family of 4 – Don’t Waste The Crumbs
If you’re interested in eating a 100% real food diet, this meal plan is for you. What I love about it is that it’s truly designed for the family of four in mind. And for $50? Yes, please!
Some of the meals included are:
Chicken Salad w/ Bacon
Veggie Fried Rice
And more!
Grab your copy of this weekly meal plan here.
2. Budget-Friendly Meal Plan for 2-Weeks of Dinner Under $75
You’ll need a crock-pot (a cheap one like this one will do) for some of these meals, but other than that, this is a decent dinner meal plan. I love that it’s super affordable too.
Some of the meals you’ll enjoy are:
Smothered Pork Chops
Sloppy Joes
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
And more…
Grab this 2-week budget-friendly meal plan here.
3. Free Weekly Meal Plan to Print and Cook
The recipes included in this meal plan are awesome! Plus you just print it off and you’re ready to go. It includes a soup, casserole, side, dessert, and meat dish.
Here are some of the meals you’ll delight in:
Basil and Garlic Chive Lasagna
Cheddar Cheese Soup with Zucchini, Carrots, Broccoli
Easy Garlic Breadsticks
And more…
Grab this free weekly meal plan here.
4. Plant-Based On A Budget Challenge — Family of 4 — Week 3
Of course, being vegan, I’m going to look out for those of you who are looking for a free budget-friendly meal plan that’s also vegan! Meatless meals are a great way to save on your food budget. I chose the meal plan that is for a family of 4; however, they do have meal plans for singles, two’s, and three’s!
Here are some of the meals you’ll enjoy:
Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers
Sweet Potato Fries
And much more…
Grab a copy of this free plant-based and budget-friendly meal plan here.
5. Vegan Grocery List on a Budget
Here is a meal plan and grocery list I prepared for my family of 4. Also, this meal plan only cost me $100 for the week.
Some of the meals we enjoyed were:
Taco Buddha Bowls
Portobello Stir Fry
Sweet Potato Tacos
And more…
See what else we had in this post.
6. The $1 Per Person Meal Plan and Shopping List
If you want meals that are quick and simple, this is the meal plan and shopping list for you. How could you not love a $1 per person meal plan!
Here’s some of what you’ll enjoy:
And more…
Get the rest of this free budget-friendly meal plan here.
7. 30 Days of Dinner for $248
If you decide to use this meal plan, you’ll only have to fret over breakfast and lunch. There’s a grocery link and links to each recipe included on the 30-day calendar.
Here is a glimpse of what you’ll enjoy:
20-minute Korean Beef and Rice
And much more…
Get the rest of this 30-day budget-friendly meal plan here.
8. The $30 Weekly Meal Plan
This meal plan was created using items from my favorite store, Aldi. Yep, that’s my A-1 and when you see those prices, you’ll understand why.
Now, this meal plan is very basic. It will feed you and there’s nothing fancy about it. It appears that the meals are the same throughout the week. If you like simplicity this will be a good one for you.
Here’s some of what you’ll get with this plan:
Tacos
Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Spaghetti
Check out this meal plan here.
8. $85 Weekly Meal Plan for 8
This meal plan was created for a real family of eight! And I must say, they are eating really well for just $85 for a week.
If you have a larger family, this meal plan is perfect for you. You’ll get a lot of variety and you’ll do so on a tight budget.
Here’s some of what you’ll get with this plan:
Check out this meal plan here.
For more meal ideas, check out 23 Quick and Cheap Meals To Feed The Family For Under $6.
Meal Planning for The Lazy
Okay, so you might not be lazy. But you wanna be and don’t want to feel bad about it. Trust me, I get it.
Luckily, you can do absolutely nothing and still start meal planning on a budget. How? You can pay other people to do it for you.
Yep, that’s right. Allow me to introduce you to the Five Dollar Meal Plan.
These good folks will create your meal plan and your grocery list for you. Then they will deliver it to your inbox every Friday. All of this for only $5 per month.
It’s perfect for the carnivore, vegetarian, paleo, gluten free folks too. If you’re interested in trying the service with no commitment, grab a 14-day trial to Five Dollar Meal Plan here.
Other Helpful Tips For Meal Planning on a Budget
- Shop your pantry as you create your meal plan.Don’t create a meal plan without using the things you already have in your home. Plus, this will keep you from buying something you already have!
- Look for budget-friendly recipes. I’ve already given you a list of budget-friendly meal plans above. Always keep a list of recipes that are easy on your budget so you can just pull from them when you create your plan. Here are 22 meatless meals that are budget-friendly.
- Save your receipts. Your receipts will come in handy and you can use them to redeem cashback offers. Ibotta is a money-saving app that helps you save money on your groceries, clothes, and so much more. If you’ve never used Ibotta before, sign up using this linkand you’ll receive a free $10 welcome bonus when you redeem your first cashback offer.
- Get those fancy, expensive ingredients online. Sometimes you can’t avoid it – you just need one of those fancy (and expensive) ingredients to complete a meal. This is why I love Thrive Market. You can save in between 20 to 50 percent off some of those fancy things you avoid at the grocery store. If you want to give them a try, here’s a link for 20% off your first three orders.
Wrapping Thangs Up
Meal planning on a budget doesn’t need to be super complicated. Create a simple plan that will work for you week after week and you’ll be saving money in no time!
Try some of these ideas and the free budget meal plans provided to help you get your food budget in check. Starting today means you’ll have extra money tomorrow to do something you really love (think big like a vacation)!
Do you think you handle meal planning on a budget? Let me know in the comments!
