Meal Planning
| |

5 Easy Steps To Meal Planning On A Budget

Meal planning doesn’t have to be difficult. When you are starting out, it can seem overwhelming. I’m going to walk you through 5 easy steps to get you started. Make sure before you start that you set your budget. There will be some weeks that you will have to tweak your dinners because it isn’t budget-friendly.

1. List Out Dinners

This step is crucial. Sit down, think of all the dinners you cook, and write them down. When I did this step, I easily came up with 50 dinners off the top of my head. After I wrote them down, I took it a step further and sorted them by the meat. What I mean by that is I separated them by chicken, beef, pork, and other.

2. Decide How Many Dinners

This step is the easiest. You decide how many nights you are going to cook that week.

3. Look At Sales Ads

Check out the sales ad for the grocery store you want to shop at. You want to check what meat is on sale first since it is generally what costs the most. Then you can see what sides are on sale. For example, if the chicken is on sale, you would get that and then pick a couple of chicken dinners for that week.

4. Pick Your Dinners

Now that you have written down all your dinners, picked how many nights you are cooking, and looked at the sales ad. You are ready to pick your dinners. Here’s a free printable to help you out.

Free Weekly Meal Plan Printable

    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

    5. Make A Grocery List

    Meal Planning Pyramid

    Add all your dinners and sides to your grocery list. See where you are budget-wise, then start adding additional grocery items. I look at it like a pyramid.

    It truly is just that simple. As you start to get more comfortable with it, you will be able to do it quicker each week. And eventually, even start doing it for the entire month. That’s what I do.

    Keepin’ it real,

    Magan O.

    How To Save Money Using These 3 Apps

    How To Feed A Family of 5 On A Budget

    Similar Posts

    14 Comments

    1. Perfect tips on meal planning. Having everything mapped out really helps with budgets. Thank you for these great ideas.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *