Monthly meal planning is a simple and effective tool for making the most of your family's food budget. Planning your meals ensures that you make the best use of the food currently in your pantry. It also helps you manage your food budget more effectively by giving you the opportunity to build menus around items that your grocery store has on sale. Planning allows you to serve cheap family meals that are wholesome and nutritious.
Step 1
Create an initial list of 20 to 40 meals that you know your family enjoys eating. Flip through your favorite cookbooks or recipe sites for inspiration. Keep in mind this initial list will be the basis of your meal planning for the month, so the more variety you include, the more weeks you can go without needing to repeat the same meal.
Step 2
Review your list of meals and group them according to meals that are created with similar ingredients. Use these meal groupings to make a new list that includes the name of each meal and a list of the ingredients needed to make the meal. Be sure to include quantities needed for each of the ingredients. This is your master meal list.
Step 3
Review your master meal list and create a separate list of the ingredients you would need to create all the meals. Divide these ingredients into groups corresponding to their sections at the grocery store. For example, put fresh fruits and veggies together in a produce group, meats in another group and dairy or other refrigerated items together. This will ensure you do not include duplicate items. This list will be your master grocery shopping list.
Step 4
Review your master grocery shopping list to be sure you also include common pantry items such as seasonings, cereal, rice, sugar and anything regularly used for snacks. After you're satisfied that your master list contains everything you might purchase, create several copies of it. Store the original in a safe place.
Step 5
Collect as many current sale flyers for local grocery stores as possible. Review the ads and note the meats and fresh produce that are on sale. Based on these sale items, use your master meal list to select meals for the current month that will use the meats and produce that are on sale.
Step 6
Use a calendar to list the meals you will serve each day of the month. After completing your calendar, use your master grocery shopping list to determine which ingredients you need to purchase. Remember to check your pantry for items you may already have to avoid purchasing duplicates.
Step 7
Go shopping with your completed your list.
Tips and Warnings
- To avoid impulse buys at the store, always eat before shopping. Be sure to incorporate leftovers into meals to avoid waste and save money. Cook in bulk and freeze some prepared meals to avoid eating out on days when you're rushed. Use Internet coupon sites to search for coupons based on your grocery list.
Things You'll Need
- Calendar
- Pen
- Notepad
- Calculator
- Recent grocery sales papers
- Cookbooks (optional)
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