HOW MEAL PLANNING CAN LOWER YOUR GROCERY BUDGET

GROCERY COSTS

With the cost of groceries having risen so much recently many of us are trying to do everything we can to cut back on what we are spending on food. Even if we had a pretty good budget in place and were able to stick to it in the past, it has become more and more difficult to do so. None of us want to waste food.  But, now with the cost of groceries being so high, it is even more important to make sure that we are actually eating what we purchase.

If you are not already meal planning, there is a good chance that you may be purchasing food or ingredients that you intend to eat but end up throwing out. Every time we have to throw away food that did not get eaten, it’s like we are throwing money away. That food that could have been used as part of a meal will now need to be replaced by purchasing more food. In this post, I will share some tips on how meal planning can lower your grocery budget.

NOT HAVING A PLAN OFTEN COSTS MORE

By planning out your meals for the week and creating a shopping list off of that meal plan you can make sure to purchase only what you know you will actually be cooking this week. Purchasing extra items that you do not actually need right now can add a lot to your bill. If you are purposeful about buying additional items that you will have a plan to use, that will not cost you extra money. It’s when you purchase extra items and then do not use them that costs a lot of money. When you continue this on a regular basis you can end up stocking your freezer and pantry with items that may end up getting tossed at some point.

It’s totally fine to pick up some extra chicken because there is a great sale, but make sure to include that chicken on an upcoming meal plan so that it gets used up. Planning your meals before shopping also allows you to have more time to decide what types of foods you will cook. If you are trying to save a little bit extra in a certain week, you can purposefully choose ingredients that are lower cost.

PLAN AROUND YOUR LIFE SCHEDULE

By planning your meals, you can be realistic about what foods you can actually cook on certain nights. For example, if you buy ingredients to make meals that take an hour to prepare, but you only have about 20 minutes to get a meal together, that isn’t going to work. Part of creating a meal plan is looking at your schedule for the week to see what you can realistically plan for dinner on certain nights. If you have something going on in the evening that will take up a lot of your time, you can make sure to plan for a quick meal that night. If you know you will be going out to dinner or ordering in to celebrate a family birthday, you will not purchase food to cook for that night.

PLANNING TO USE FRESH INGREDIENTS FIRST

With one of the main goals of meal planning being that we waste as little food as possible, it is important to plan when fresh ingredients will be used. Plan to make meals that include fresh ingredients that will go bad quickly within a couple of days of doing your grocery shopping. Then you can make things that might consist of frozen or canned ingredients later in the week.

If you end up skipping a meal that would have used up the fresh ingredients, be sure to rearrange your meal plan to make those meals next and save a meal that uses less perishable ingredients for another day or move it to next week’s meal plan. This part of meal planning really does make a big difference because it is often those perishable ingredients that we end up purchasing and then not being able to use because they go bad before we get to them. So, even if the only change you make is being very intentional about using up your fresh ingredients, you will see savings in your grocery budget.

USE UP LEFTOVERS

One of the best ways to save on groceries is to buy less of them! When you are planning your meals for the upcoming week, make sure to plan to use up any leftovers that you have. These could be side dishes that can be used up. Or it could be something that you purchased but didn’t get to make. Sometimes we might end up needing to order out when a day gets crazy and don’t get to cook the meal we planned. Make sure to put that meal on your upcoming meal plan so the food gets used up. And it’s one less meal you will have to purchase. Always check your freezer and cabinets to see what you already have that can be used up. Often you might be surprised how much you already have.

FEWER TRIPS TO THE GROCERY STORE

When you plan your meals and the ingredients that you will need to make them you can be sure to get everything you need when you shop for groceries. If you go to the grocery store without a plan you can end up purchasing parts of a meal, but then later realize that there were a few other things you needed to complete it. Each time we enter the grocery store, it is likely we will end up grabbing a few more things that we would not have otherwise purchased. These are often impulse purchases and may not even end up getting used. By limiting trips to the grocery store, we can reduce the likelihood of making extra purchases. It also saves time and gas money by not having to make those extra trips.

PLAN BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND SNACK FOODS

I do not plan out what we will eat for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. But, I do take a look to see what we have on hand and make sure to purchase some items to cover these meals as needed. Pick a few breakfast food staples and keep them on hand. I often use up leftovers for lunches, but it is still important to have other things available to make if there are no leftovers available.

If you buy something like lunchmeat for sandwiches that don’t last that long, make sure everyone knows it’s there. I can’t stand when I have to throw away lunch meat because no one ate it, especially if it was because they didn’t realize we had it. You would think they could just look in the deli drawer and see it there, but sometimes that’s not the case! By having things to eat for breakfast, lunch, and snacks you can avoid trips to the convenience store or ordering takeout.

MEAL PLANNING DOES NOT HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED

Some people don’t like to meal plan because they feel like it takes up too much time. Others don’t want to meal plan because they don’t want to be committed to cooking certain meals on certain days. If you don’t want to stick to a specific meal for each night, just plan a handful of meals that you can pick from. Just be careful of the cooking times. If you pick 3 quick to prepare meals, and 2 more complicated meals, you don’t want to pick the quick ones to prepare when you have more time leaving yourself with the complicated meals to make on a night when you just don’t have the time.

And it is important to remember that meal planning does not have to involve finding new recipes to make all the time. If you have certain meals that you like to make, then continue to make those. There are no rules for meal planning. You can start small by planning one or two meals a week. If you are not already meal planning, you will be surprised what a big difference it can make in your grocery budget by purchasing only foods that you will be sure to prepare.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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