3 steps to making meal planning easy and budget friendly
Happy Sunday! This week I was chatting with clients on how to be budget savy when it comes to meal planning without getting bored of what you are eating and not spending a fortune at the grocery store. This is what helps me (and helps my clients stay on track!).
Create a list in notes on your phone. In that list write out the days of the week and what your meals planned are for those days. I choose to shop for 3 days at a time. This allows me to not get bored of what I am eating and not be wasteful! If you want to keep the budget down - check what ingredients you currently have in your fridge and pantry and choose meals based off this. I have noticed this helps the budget (even if only by a few bucks, it still helps!)
On that same list create a grocery list. Write out your list as if you are walking through the grocery store (aisle by aisle). This will ensure that you can get in and out quickly and not wander the store aimlessly.
Instead of cooking extra meals for lunches (needing to cut down on time and money) buy extra ingredients for you dinners. This will allow you to eat the same meal 2x rather than 4x which would most likely be the case if you are just making one dish for lunches.
What is your biggest struggle when it comes to meal planning? Do you not know what to cook or do you get overwhelmed thinking you need to cook everything in one day (do not waste your entire Sunday cooking and prepping for the week!)
...send me an email if you need help at megdesalvofit@gmail.com
Meg DeSalvo Fit