Meal planning is something I’ve always wished I could do, but seemed too hard to actually handle. Crazy, right?
Every Sunday I do all my grocery shopping. And every week I would think, “okay I’m going to plan what I’m going to make this week.”
But it NEVER happened. I would start thinking about what to make, and quickly give up out of laziness. I would only think of one dinner idea.
I would then proceed to go to the grocery store, and go through every aisle and pick up random items that stood out to me (cue: $100+ weekly grocery bill - yuck!). And then I would put all the things in my kitchen and come up with only one meal I could actually make. Then I would go to the grocery store every day after work to buy add-on ingredients for things I came up with throughout the week.
Even Rachael Ray tried to make it easier on me with her Meal Planning Menus in Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. And I would always think: “how cool, I wish I could just go buy those ingredients and do that.” Yet I didn’t.
(Here’s a sample one from the magazine. Click to view larger.)
The reason I didn’t think I could is probably because when put on the spot for a weekly menu, I could never think of any recipes.
Then, in the last month two things happened that finally changed everything.
- I started making a list of all my “go to” weekly recipes that I like (i.e. jambalaya, chicken noodle soup, chili, anything in a crockpot, etc.) in my Notes app on my phone.
- I joined Mint.com. Which changed my life.
I’ve always tracked my finances in a spreadsheet, but Mint.com took it to a whole new level of analysis. All 16 of my accounts! I never even thought about how many different websites I have (this includes: bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and loans).
You can set budgets and goals for saving. It tells you how you’re doing, and also categorizes your spending into categories or merchants, by month. Way more anaylsis than I ever did in my spreadsheet! Here’s a sample snapshot, it’s not mine. But you can see an example of the Trends tab. There’s also an iPhone app!
What I learned from Mint.com:
- Embarrassing fact #1: 16% of my spending (this includes bills) in October was done at Target. That sounds like a lot. I need a Target intervention.
- Embarrassing fact #2: I went $200 over what I thought was a good budget ($300) for Food spending for 2 people. Two.Hundred.Dollars.Over. That’s a lot!
So, I realized I needed to stop my impulse grocery shopping habit, ASAP. That extra $200 could be used elsewhere. Enter: Meal Planning.
It’s only been 2 weeks. And I’m embarrassed at how easy it is, and am very ashamed that I didn’t start earlier.
- Step 1: I keep that list of all my favorite meals, which I sometimes mix in with some new recipes I find online.
- Step 2: I pick 4 recipes based on ingredients I already have, and write them down. I don’t assign to a day, I just like having 4 to pick from, with room for leftovers and dining out.
- Step 3: Then I write a list of all the ingredients I don’t have at home and would need to complete the recipe.
- Step 4: Mixed in with some weekly staples (milk, lunch meat, yogurts), my shopping list is done!
- Step 5: I am not allowed to go to the grocery store again until the weekend.
My shopping list is so short, because I have so many ingredients stocked up from previous overbuying trips. Short list,and we won’t go hungry. Win!
{Check out more menu planning Monday ideas at orgjunkie.com’s menu planning linkup}
Since, moving in with A.K. and trying to keep the food stocked properly I have been spending about $375-$500 on groceries every month. That seems like a lot to me and I’m hoping meal planning and my love of couponing can get me down to a more reasonable number. What’s a reasonable budget for feeding 2 people? …with wiggle room for impulse ideas/snacks, of course. $300? $350?
Do you plan your weekly meals? Do you use mint.com? What’s a good grocery budget for 2 people?
If that’s a lot then we spend a lot too. Then again, I feel like we eat a lot.
We budget $150 per week for groceries. That’s for me, the hubby, and two cats. That’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the whole week. On really good weeks we might be able to squeak by only spending about $80. On weeks the cats need food and litter and we need all of our toiletries, we have a hard time keeping it at $150. We also try to over-budget – it’s much nicer having extra in savings than having to spend extra. Keep us updated, I’d love to hear tips if you find a way to limit your grocery spending.
Keep up with the meal planning! It does make life much easier
thanks for sharing your budget! I really have nothing to compare ours to, except thinking that it sounds like a lot! I’m sure with animals it adds a bit each week. I didn’t really consider toiletries, though sometimes they are part of my grocery bill… but most of the time they are part of target or walmart {non-grocery} shopping.
I like your idea of starting high, and then seeing how much i can shave off to get lower, so that I’m not always disappointed if i miss!
I will be sure to give an update after a while to see if I’ve stuck with it!
I don’t meal plan. It is just me and my husband and eat the same exact things so I usually just make sure I have enough healthy options on hand (Costco is great for buying frozen vegetables and fish in bulk) and then I usually decide what to make for dinner right before I cook it.
This has been my strategy over the last 6 months – just buying what we usually eat. But it has not been working for me. Things just sat around and I forgot about them, a lot of veggies went bad and just spend out of control. So far, I’ve found with planning that I think more of recipes I saw on blogs, mix them in with our true and tried favorites and only buy those ingredients. I’ve been spending about $30-50/week (with tons of coupons found online for the things on my list) instead of $100 worth of random items!
Can you believe I’ve never been to a costco? i really should check it out.
I try to meal plan, but I just get random inspirations throughout the week and always go off course. But I have my list of staples I try to stick to and make sure I don’t get as crazy as I used to with random purchases that are likely to be forgotten about.
And mint.com is evil and amazing all at the same time…
Yeah I totally agree. There’s always going to be the impulse inspirations (hello, pinterest), but having a plan has changed my life! And so has mint, it’s really calling me out on everything I’m in denial about!
Oh I admire you! We don’t do this at all. I’m the main cook in the house, but am often just cooking for one, so it’s a bit hard. I do try to plan for 1-2 meals in my shopping and then I wing it.
We probably spend about $300 on groceries, but Zach eats out every day and we go out to eat 1-2x per week.
Yeah we usually go out to eat once or twice a week, so that’s why I’m trying to only plan 4. I’m going to start with $350, and see if i can squeeze it down to $300… at least occasionally!
Cooking for 1 is completely different! When it’s only going to be me for dinner, I just wing it and make a sandwich or soup and enjoy not worrying about cooking!
I try and meal plan our Monday- Thursday meals and then plan a meal for either Saturday or Sunday. Since we shop at the only organic store in our area, we spend a lot of groceries. I think we probably spend 600-800 in a typical month, but have been trying to cut that by a lot since we have a baby on the way and other expenses popping up. I think reasonably, $125 bucks for two people a week is good with meal planning. We have a tendency to go to the store and just buy a lot of random things that end up not being eaten at home.
wow 600-800! do you have a trader joe’s or farmer’s markets to help get lower prices on organic?
I used to shop just like you, except I’d stop at a fast food place on the way home knowing that I wouldn’t have anything to cook. Back then (eleven years ago) I spent $600-$800 a month for our family of 4.
And then I wanted to quit my job and stay home with my babies. I was able to reduce my grocery budget to $260 for a while. Now we eat a lot differently and I’d say that we spend $400-$500 a month.
One of the biggest ways to change your spending is to take cash to the store. If that won’t keep you on budget then nothing will!
I think meal planning is key, but I keep it really really simple now.
haha that’s exactly what i do, buy food on my way home from grocery shopping! it sounds pretty crazy now that you mention it!
wow those are huge savings you were able to make – from 600 to 260! i’m seeing pretty big cuts in my food spending so far, so i am very happy with it!
Thanks for sharing!
i always meal plan – Its a huge time/money saver! I always have leftovers for lunch too
oh yesss lunch leftovers are the best, i love when all that cooking kills 2 birds with 1 stone and i don’t have to make lunches later!
oh my goodness! i have always struggled w. this same exact problem!! but thanks to your post ~ maybe, just maybe i can get on track w. this!! one thing that saves time and money is eating “leftovers,” not many people like this idea but imo, food is actually better tasting the next day around! oh, and i loved your response on the “lazy girl french mani,” so very true, haha!!
xoxo ~ kristina
yeah I only like leftovers the next day, after that they linger in my fridge and inevitably end up being thrown away
that’s not good either… that might be my next challenge 
Let me know if you do have any success with meal planning! I’d love to hear your tips!
I don’t necessarily do weekly meal planning, but that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I don’t just go to the store once a week. I usually got twice (there’s only one of me and food goes bad if I buy it all at once) so there’s a decent rotation of fresh food and also so I can plan just 2 or 3 days in a row (I’m likely to never follow a full week of planned meals).
Yeah that’s why I only plan 4 meals. You never know when I’ll end up dining out randomly, or if there’s lots of leftovers. Definitely don’t want all my planned food going bad!
I love Mint.com!!! A little too much though b/c I will just go on there staring at whats going on with my finances and looking at charts b/c I’m a dork like that. I actually enjoy meal planning I just haven’t been the last three months b/c I’ve been traveling. I’m moving this week and can’t wait to get back into my routine of meal planning, cooking, etc.
Oh yes, the trend report is amazing! It definitely puts my spending in a different light and makes me realize no matter how i justify all my shoe purchases or random Target buys… I need to tone it down in order to save more!
Enjoy getting back into your routine!
Pingback: apple streusel muffins « Lofty Appetite
Thanks for sharing this! I used to be really really good at meal planning and some where along the way have stopped doing it. I am motivated to get back on it because it really saved me so much money AND so much stress of trying to figure out what to make. I signed up for Mint too. I’m a little afraid to see what it has to say!
Yes that’s a good point, not only does it save money, but it saves that additional “i dont know what to make” worrying after a long day of work that only creates recipe failures! Let me know how you like mint!
This is a great post! Believe it or not, I don’t think you are spending too much. Eek, what does that say about us? We really believe that it’s important to spend money on food, as long as the food you buy is healthy and your body benefits from it.
Keep us posted on how the meal planning goes.
We do a lot of meal planning. I pull out a lot of recipes from magazines and keep them filed under categories (chicken, beef, meatless) which makes it easier to pick things out. I also have a binder of already cooked recipes that we can pull from. Now that I am also recipe testing for a cookbook, that helps with our planning!
What I need to do is make a list like you have with go-to meals.
What we have also found that sometimes it’s easier to have a list of recipes that you will make that week rather than assigning it to a certain day. We keep the list of meals/baked items on a wipe away board on the fridge. Whenever possible, we ‘shop’ from the pantry and freezer. Here is a post I did on how we organize the pantry to make that as simple as possible, http://learntocookbadgergirl.com/?p=1374.
Good luck! Keep us posted!
That’s exactly what I’ve been doing, just making a list of 4 and choosing what order I want to make them in by my mood that day. I also make my list based on items I already have and want to use up, but may need a few extra ingredients to complete!
I need to get better at collecting recipes, like you mentioned. I bookmark, I email them to myself, i cut them out, I pin them on Pinterest, but I don’t have them all in one spot for easy access, they’re just all over the place! I need to work on that… thanks for the tips!!
I need to reconnect with mint.com, especially after spelling out just some of the stuff coming my way next year. I am also horrible at meal planning, so add that to my list of things to do to help me save money, haha.
Yeah realizing where I spend the most money has helped me see that food is a priority that I need to get in line… shoe shopping may need to be put in place next… but not yet
I need to start using Mint.com… my bank account could definitely use an intervention.
lol, you should give it a try, it really is a big eye opener!!
Love this Mila!! I am so trying to be better about meal planning and save money on groceries. I don’t know why I never do it (especially with our Rachel Ray magazines
), but you make it look so doable and easy! I spend about $150-200 per week on groceries for Todd and I and I’d really like to get that down to $100. It’s the hubby’s expensive taste I tell ya 
Ha just kidding. It’s actually me and my spontaneous purchases at Trader Joe’s that get me every time!
Yeah that’s my goal too. no more than $100 per week. and Trader Joe’s is partially to blame for my random non-list impulse purchases that stack up each month! I also like having a lot of fruits and vegetables around the house at all times, which adds up… although my bf says I should cut that out
Obviously that won’t be happening!
Seriously…why do fruits and veggies have to be so darn expensive?! I’ve thought about cutting down on that a bit but it’s just not happening, I love my veggies and fruit – and obviously they’re healthy for us!!
Haha that’s funny your bf told you to cut them out – seriously though if I did I’d probably be saving a lot of $$!
Such a great post, Mila! Seriously, how have I never heard of Mint.com before? And for a person who is crazy about lists and organization I can’t wait to look into this. Plus, I totally feel the same- figuring out what to eat last minute (i.e. me most of the time) wastes so much money in the long run. Plus having everything planned in advance is sort of soothing haha or maybe that’s just me
xx
Yes not only does it save money but it saves that hectic “I don’t know what to make for dinner” panic after a long day of work! Not fun…
Mint.com is awesome. It completely changed my perspective on how I’m spending. Let me know how you like it!
For 6 months of this year I was on food stamps, I was allotted $200 a month, and what i didnt use rolled over. Which was very nice. I’m also an avid couponer so i got a great deal out of that $200. Although it was just me in the house for those 6 months. However when i did have an extra balance I would splurge on some good steaks or even crab legs once.
Luckily in Denver we have quite a few natural food stores and farmers market stores like Sprouts and Sunflower Markets, their fruits and veggie prices are TOTALLY reasonable and manageable.
This week I bought our thanksgiving meal items for about $50 at target w/coupons and awesome sales going on.
wow $50 for thanksgiving is very impressive! between good meal planning and couponing, you can save so much money! it’s so worth it!
Alright, you sold me on Minted and while I’m a little floored by how much information about me they have in their hands, I’m incredibly impressed by how helpful this looks. Guess I won’t be living a Walden existence anytime soon, but at least I’m getting my finances in order before the wedding. Thanks for the suggestion!
Oh I know I was nervous about joining too! They have a lot of our info but I did my research and read the fine print and so far they seem legit and very popular. It is scary how much we are in denial about our spending until you see it in pie chart format staring back at you!