How to Save Money on Groceries with Meal Planning

Learn how to save money on groceries with a few minutes of meal planning each week. Learn why it works, how to do it most effectively, some cool websites and apps to help, and grab your FREE Meal Planner printable at the end of this post.

 

 

How to Save Money on Groceries with Meal Planning

Last month, when I asked you on Instagram what your biggest hurdle was when it came to sticking to a budget, over 50% of you pointed to groceries, food or eating out. After housing expenses and childcare, food is the largest item in most family budgets - this also makes it your one of the largest areas you can find savings! And meal planning is the most effective way to do it.

How to Save Money on Groceries

In 25+ Way to Save $500, groceries was an entire category of its own. I shared 7 different ways to reduce your grocery bill:

• Consolidate your grocery trips
• Meal plan
• Make a list
• Buy whole foods
• Shop seasonally and specials
• Buy in bulk
• Make your own cleaning products

Effective meal planning actually allows you to incorporate 6 out of the 7 ways to save money on groceries. Here's how it works...

How Meal Planning Saves Money on Groceries

Right now, your food routine goes something like this. You go to the grocery store for one big trip once every week or two, and then when you actually think about what to cook on a given day, you have to make an extra trip for an ingredient or two you're missing. You waste time and money, because of course you don't only buy the couple ingredients you need.

Or maybe, you don't bother making the extra trip at all, and just throw in the towel and order take out. This costs about twice as much as cooking at home, plus the cost of the food in your fridge now likely to end up in the trash.

Meal planning eliminates all of the above. By sitting down for 15 minutes each week, you can plan out a week's worth of meals that use what you have on hand first, generate a list to fill in the missing ingredients, and make one trip to the store for all of it.

Not only do you save money, you also save time, brain power and maybe even a few extra pounds.

5 Steps to Efficient Meal Planning

You want to establish meal planning as a regular, weekly habit. Set a specific day of the week and time you will sit down to make your plan. Set aside 15-30 minutes to plan. Then follow these 5 steps to meal plan and save the most money on groceries.

Check Your Inventory

Before you do anything else, survey your fridge, freezer and pantry for what you have on hand. Use what you already have first to eliminate waste.

Check Specials

Most grocery stores distribute weekly circulars either via the local newspaper, mail and most also post them online. They list the best deals available each week. When getting ready to meal plan, focus on the week's meat and produce specials.

I'm also a huge fan of online grocery ordering - whether you do delivery or pick-up - because it makes shopping specials so easy. They are often called out for you separately.

Know What's in Season

While seasonal produce is often what's on special, in-season produce is in overall less expensive that produce imported over long distances or grown in greenhouses offseason. Not only is it less expensive, it also has higher nutrition content. The USDA provides a great seasonal produce chart you can reference for this purpose.

If it's not in season, buy frozen. This is a great money saving tip shared by one of my followers, Nourished with Emily, who is also a registered dietician:

Buy frozen fruits and vegetables to save money on produce when they aren't in season. Frozen produce is picked at the peak of freshness and has higher nutrient content than the out of season produce, as well as being cheaper

Plan Your Menu

Now, after taking into account your existing inventory, online specials and what's in season, it's time to start looking for recipes. It's also advantageous to your budget to look for recipes that use similar ingredients you can combine in different ways so you can buy in bulk.

As an example, you might make bolognese sauce one night, and use the leftovers to make lasagna the next. Or consider having the same side grain or vegetable a few nights each week to buy large quantities for less.

You don't have to cook every night, if your schedule doesn't permit for it. But by thinking ahead, you can plan meals to have leftovers for nights you are short on time, or batch cook things like protein and produce to make for quick meals later in the week. It's also perfectly fine to plan a night you eat out every week - but the key is to plan and budget for it, so you don't leave food (and money) to go to waste.

Many families start just by planning out dinners, but you can also do the same process for all three meals each day.

Make Your Grocery List

As you add meals to your weekly meal plan, add the ingredients you don't already have in inventory to your grocery list. I like to make my list by category, so I don't miss anything as I walk through the store.

With your menu made and your list complete, it's time to head for the store.

Meal Planning Resources

To help you plan your menu, be sure to grab your free weekly menu planner and grocery list below.