• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Tidy Up With Dani

Conquer Clutter. Eliminate Overwhelm.

  • Home
  • About
  • Tidy Tips
  • YouTube Channel
  • My Favorites
  • Contact
  • Nav Widget Area

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

5 Easy Ways To Save Money Meal Planning On A Budget

By Dani Skeaton | Leave a Comment

11shares
  • Share
  • Email

When you have a family to feed, buying groceries every week can get expensive. As moms, we want to feed our kids the best foods—even if they hate it.

But you don’t have to go broke in the process.

There are plenty of ways you can shop AND save to feed your family! In fact, if you’re anything like me and you can’t afford to keep eating all of your money, learning how to meal plan on a budget will be a game-changer for your finances.

But it won’t happen overnight. You need to give yourself time to make weekly meal planning a habit. Because you can’t just go grabbing random ingredients from the store and expect to stay on budget.

You have to be intentional about the meals you serve your family. And once you do, you just might cut your grocery bill in half (like we did!).

Related content:

  • Our Cheap $50/Week Meal Plan For A Family Of 5
  • 5 Smart Ways We Reduced Our Grocery Bill Without Clipping Coupons
  • This FREE Grocery Savings App Will Save You More Than Coupons

So if you need help with getting your grocery bill under control, here are five easy ways to save money meal planning on a budget:

1. Plan to eat the same meals.

You probably don’t notice that when you eat the same budget-friendly meals in rotation for breakfast, lunch, and dinner it keeps your grocery bill under control.

Now, our grocery bill is pretty predictable at around $100 every week because we plan to eat a lot of the same things. Then for dinner, we try one new recipe at a time so we don’t get sick of our favorites.

2. Plan to eat from your pantry.

If you need meal ideas, start with the ingredients that you don’t need to buy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found items like noodles, sauces & condiments, or rice buried in my cabinets that I turned into easy meals!

So check your pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what meals you can make from what you already have! Sometimes those ingredients will help you put together meals you would’ve never thought of, which will save you time and money as you’re meal planning.

3. Plan to eat less meat.

The biggest budget buster for groceries is always buying meat. So to offset this cost, I recommend you have a meatless day on your menu once a week.

You can make homemade pizza or find kid-friendly vegetarian recipes on Pinterest to try with your family!

But if you prefer to make meat the star of every meal, chicken is definitely one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy. And there are SO MANY ways you can cook with chicken—from pulled chicken sandwiches to chicken tacos, homemade chicken nuggets, and southern fried chicken (yum!).

(I cook with chicken a LOT and my kids don’t complain!)

4. Plan to eat leftovers.

Once or twice a week I will plan to make a Stretch Meal—which is one meal intended to stretch over two days!

It gives me a break from cooking and it helps our grocery budget stretch further.

When I make these Stretch Meals, I always store the leftovers inside food storage containers (these are the ones we have!) to keep it fresh to eat the next day!

But you can also use the leftovers from your Stretch Meals to pack lunches instead of ordering food.

5. Plan around sales.

Some moms plan their ENTIRE menu around what’s on sale every week! (I have to admit, I’m not that creative.) The best way to do this is to grab the sales ad from your favorite store before you go shopping.

Then, you can plan what you’re going to make for dinner during the week using the ingredients that you find from the sales ad!

Plus, planning your menu around sales is a smart way to save money on meat and other groceries without using coupons. Because you can stock up and freeze it for later, or treat your family to a steak or roast beef dinner without going over budget!

So what’s next?

You certainly don’t have to use all of these methods to stay on budget. You can try a few at a time and or mix and match until you find the right formula that works for you!

These days, I primarily plan to eat the same meals, plan to eat leftovers, and plan to eat from my pantry because combining all three is helping me kill it! I’m sure if I also started planning around sales, I could save even more money on groceries, but I supplement this by shopping at grocery stores that already have very low prices (Walmart and Aldi are my fav!).

So now that you know how to successfully meal plan around your grocery budget, here are more tips to reduce your food spending even more:

  • 5 Smart Ways We Reduced Our Grocery Bill Without Clipping Coupons
  • This FREE Grocery Savings App Will Save You More Than Coupons
  • What To Do When You Hate Meal Planning
11shares
  • Share
  • Email

Filed Under: Managing Money

Reader Interactions

Previous: How To Clean Your House Fast When You’re Expecting Company
Next: 6 Time Hacks For Moms Who Hate Grocery Shopping

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Primary Sidebar

Hey, there!

I’m Dani. Wife + Mom of four sharing real-life cleaning & organizing tips because and I know what it’s like to struggle with a messy home. Read my story →

Follow & Subscribe

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

browse the blog

Amazon Associate Disclaimer

Tidy Up With Dani™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Footer

KEEP IN TOUCH

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Disclaimers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

RECENT POSTS

  • My Small Linen Closet Organization From Dollar Tree
  • Building Our Home: Model Walk-Through
  • 6 Quick & Easy Ways to Refresh Your Linen Closet This Spring
  • How To Organize A Messy Bedroom Closet Step-by-Step: Our Closet Reveal!

Amazon Disclaimer

Tidy Up With Dani™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2020 Tidy Up With Dani™

50%

Almost there! Please complete the form and click the button to gain instant access.

Enter your email below to subscribe and get my Weekly Laundry Schedule FREE for a limited time.

By clicking the button above you will be signing up for our email list! Privacy policy: we hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.

50%

Almost there! Please complete the form and click the button to gain instant access.

Enter your email below to subscribe and get my Quick Bathroom Cleaning Checklist FREE for a limited time.

By clicking the button above you will be signing up for our email list! Privacy policy: we hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.

50%

Almost there! Please complete the form and click the button to gain instant access.

Enter your email below to subscribe and get my Daily Chores Checklist FREE for a limited time.

By clicking the button above you will be signing up for our email list! Privacy policy: we hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.

50%

Almost there! Please complete the form and click the button to gain instant access.

Enter your email below to subscribe and get the Reclaim Your Home: 3-Step Guide to A Cleaner House In Less Time & Effort FREE for a limited time.

By clicking the button above you will be signing up for our email list! Privacy policy: we hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.

[INSERT_ELEMENTOR id=”28325″]

[INSERT_ELEMENTOR id=”28113″]