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.
5. Make A Grocery List
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.
Great and simple tips!
Thank you.
Meal planning can be hard when it’s not planned out well. Love the tips, especially listing out the dinner.
Thanks. I had never seen that tip before when I first started with meal planning.
Great and useful article. I do almost all those things using a meal prepping app and it definitely saved me time and money
Thanks. I’ve tried an app before, but I’m a paper and pen or spreadsheet kind of girl.
i love how simply you’ve set out the steps. great article!
Thank you. I’m all about simple.
Perfect tips on meal planning. Having everything mapped out really helps with budgets. Thank you for these great ideas.
You are so welcome. And thank you for the kind words.
Thanks for sharing! These are the tips that I definitely need in my life.
You are so welcome. I hope they help you out.
Great post. I have never list my dinners. I am going to try that to see if I can come up with 50 dishes.
I was shocked I came up with that many just off my head. I have added lots more to the list.