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Who doesn’t want to save money? One of the best ways I’ve found to easily save money, while at the same time make my day run smoother, is meal planning! Sounds easy enough, and it technically is! However if you are someone( like me) who is less than organised by nature it can seem like a daunting task to take on. Don’t let that stop you, because if I can learn to meal plan, anyone can!!
Meal planning looks different for every family. Some people plan for one week at a time, some people for two and some people know what they’re going to eat for an entire month! When I started meal planning I only planned for a week ahead, and as I got more used to doing it I worked my way up to two. It’s really important to do what feels right for you and your family.
The Part I’ve always found the most challenging about cooking is deciding what to actually make, so when I started meal planning I asked my husband and my two children to make a small list of some of their favourite meals, and I did the same. From the list we compiled I chose six different recipes for the following week and left one day free to eat up any leftovers. This made writing my grocery list super easy.
Knowing what we are going to eat ahead of time has taken the guesswork out of meal time, which was my goal. There were three things I noticed as my meal planning journey continued and these things happily saved me money!
1.We eat less take out. I’m not against eating out, but I like to save it for a special occasions, not just splurge on it because we’re hungry, it’s getting close to meal time and I have no plans and no clue what to cook.
2. I make fewer trips to the grocery store. Knowing what I was going to make for the week, and knowing what ingredients I needed meant I could go just once, pick up all the ingredients and I was good to go. Before I started meal planning I would run to the grocery store multiple times a week picking up ingredients but also spending more on impulse items. Cutting down on the number of trips I made also cut down on those impulse items, in turn saving more money.
3. Less wasted food. I’ve found planning what we are going to eat has made it so I actually use the food that I’ve bought. I’m no longer cleaning out my fridge and finding that the lettuce in my crisper that I was going to make a salad with( but forgot about) is half rotten and only fit for the compost! Throwing out food is a terrible waste of resources and money, especially when being a bit more organised is all it takes to fix the problem!
When I first looked into meal planning it felt overwhelming, and kind of impossible, however with a bit of practice and determination it has made a wonderful difference in my stress levels, my schedule and my bank account. Give meal planning a try today!
With Love, Elizabeth
Mercedes says
What a good idea to have everyone in the household compile ideas! Meal plan fatigue is real enough without feeling like you are making things no one wants! This is such a good way to keep everyone happy and take the pressure off one person! And it becomes a family thing as a bonus!
Ellen&Elizabeth says
Exactly! That has really helped us too!