• About Me
  • Disclosure
  • Shop

Making Cents Matter

  • Home
  • Resource Library
  • Budget
    • Budgeting Tips
    • Our Monthly Budget
    • Meal Planning
    • Free Printables
  • Debt Free
    • Debt Free Tips
    • Our Debt Free Journey
    • Free Printables
  • Saving
    • Ways We Save
    • DIY
    • Free Printables
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch
      • Dinners
      • Instant Pot
      • Slow Cooker
      • Soups
    • Meal Planning
    • Preserving Food
  • Garden
    • Gardening Tips
    • Preserving Food
  • Shop

October 21, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Is Meal Planning Worth My Time?

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
Click here to read my disclosure policy.

Budget· Budget Tips· Frugal Living· Meal Planning· Saving

18shares
  • 18

“I don’t have time for meal planning.  Is meal planning really worth the time and effort to help me cut my grocery bill?”  This is a phrase I see over and over again, and I get it.  Your time is precious, and you want to utelize it as best as you can.  You’re also smart, and know that in order to spend your time meal planning, it has to be worth it.  Well, you’re in luck because I’m here to tell you, meal planning is worth your time.

meal planning worth time

What if I told you that by spending an hour each month creating a monthly meal plan, you could save your family thousands of dollars a year?  Nope, that is not an exaggeration.  Since I started creating a monthly meal plan, I’ve been able to save our family over $7,000 a year!  That’s money that we have been able to put towards orthodontist care for Bookworm, towards savings and sink funds, and most importantly, that’s money we’ve been able to put towards debt.

It’s also why I share any recipes we love.  I realize that I am by no means a food blogger.  I don’t make elaborate meals, use hard to find ingredients or expensive ingredients.  I’m just a busy mom to three kiddos, who is trying to feed them healthy meals and stay within our budget.  Since these recipes help keep us fed and allow us to stay within our budget, I hope they can do the same for you.

If you’re just taking the leap from weekly to monthly meal plans, check out how I create our meal plan for the entire month in 5 easy steps.

pinterest-meal-plan-follow

So yep, you can call me a huge fan of meal planning.  But lets be honest, I’m still human and being a fan of meal planning doesn’t mean I’m always excited to sit down and create one.  Any time I get the urge to just stop meal planning, I remind myself of these 8 ways monthly meal planning is worth my time, and it’s definitely worth yours as well.

We’re Spending Less On Groceries

Like I said earlier, meal planning is an awesome way to cut back your spending and get your grocery budget under control.  When I wasn’t planning our meals throughout the month this summer, we spent an average of $715 each month on groceries.  If I go back 3 years to before I started monthly meal planning in general, we were spending over $900 a month on groceries.  Yikes!  Compared to our current $500 per month bill, that ends up being a savings of $4,800 per year just on groceries!

We Can Customize Meals to What We’ll Eat

We’re not the type to eat massive, 5 course meals that take forever to prepare.  Casseroles don’t go over well with our family, but skillet meals are usually a hit.  For that reason, most of our meals are skillet meals, or a variation of one.  Since I know what does well in our family, and what dietary limits we have, I can customize our meal plan to what we can, and will, eat.  Plus, if you get your family involved, they’ll help you come up with meals to make so that it’s not up to you to make the entire month’s meal plan.

We Waste Less Food

And less food waste means more money saved.  Nothing drives me bonkers more than buying food and then having to throw it out because it went bad.  By meal planning a month at a time, I can pick and choose the meals from the list that will help reduce food waste.

Let’s say I have a few broccoli meals that I’ve planned to make throughout the month.  I can make them all within a week.  When I was meal planning week to week, I would get a head of broccoli for the meal, wind up not using it for some reason or another, and then had to throw it out because it went bad.

On the flip side, if I’m getting a roast for our larger weekend dinner, I incorporate some of the leftover roast into another meal throughout the week.  Since I’ve already roasted chicken, I also use the bones and vegetables that roasted with the chicken to make homemade broth.  The more I can get out of it is the less I have to buy, and the less I waste.

We Don’t Eat Out As Much

Before making a monthly meal plan, we used to eat out at least 4 times a month.  Every time we went grocery shopping, we would wind up getting lunch while we were out.  Each time we ate out, we would spend a minimum of $45 if we were eating fast food.  That’s $180 a month!  And remember, that’s just for fast food.  We would spend even more if we went somewhere we could all sit down to eat a meal.

Now that I make our monthly meal plan, I do incorporate any days that we will be eating out, but for the most part, it’s strictly meals at home.  By planning for our meals, I’m saving us $2,160 a year by not eating out.

Saves Time

Since we live in such a rural area, it doesn’t make sense for us to drive 30 minutes one way to pick up some food.  By the time we get home, we’d have to reheat the food we just bought.  And in the time it takes to go pick up the food, drive back home, and reheat, we could have had a large meal on the table.  Plus, we’re not using up gas to get to and from town just for take-out.

Reduces Monotony

I don’t think there’s much worse than going to make a meal for the 5th time in the last 3 weeks.  That kind of stuff is the fastest way to get people in my household to stop eating meals.  By monthly meal planning, I know that the only meals I’m repeating are ones that make enough for leftovers, or ones that I put on the meal 5 times throughout the month.

Eliminates Stress

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten home and haven’t known what to make for dinner.  And it’s always inevitable the kids will ask what’s for dinner at some point.  My kids have never taken “food” as the answer either.  When I don’t meal plan, I wind up spending time scouring Google and Pinterest trying to find a meal that fits our diets and matches what we have in our pantry.

Creating a monthly meal plan eliminates all this.  You know what meals you’ll make throughout the month, you pick up what you need to make those meals, and you always know the answer to “what’s for dinner?”

Makes Shopping Easier

Ever want to get in and out of the grocery store without spending a ton of money on items you already have at home?  I’d love to do that too, and this is about as close as I can get.  Since I’ve already created a meal plan for the month, I can pick and choose what to make for a specific week based on our schedule and what we have on hand.  Everything else we need goes on the list.  Buying that tenth bottle of barbecue sauce is a thing of the past.  Or as close to that as I can get.

So there you have it.  Eight reasons why I think meal planning is worth your time.  Are you convinced yet?  Believe me when I say that monthly meal planning has been able to help us save lots of money each year, and I guarantee it’ll do the same for you!

Related Posts

  • Why We Didn’t Give Up Our LandlineWhy We Didn’t Give Up Our Landline
  • Homemade Laundry DetergentHomemade Laundry Detergent
  • How To Freeze Corn in 6 Easy StepsHow To Freeze Corn in 6 Easy Steps
  • Instant Pot Shredded BeefInstant Pot Shredded Beef
  • Homemade Banana ChipsHomemade Banana Chips
  • November 2016 Budget & Debt UpdateNovember 2016 Budget & Debt Update
18shares
  • 18
Previous Post: « Calendula Lotion Bars
Next Post: November Meal Plan »

Reader Interactions

Want access to our resource library? Sign up for our free email list!

* indicates required

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube





makingcentsmatter

This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid model, and your house does not have unlimited space. I was standing in our kitchen when I took this picture, the kids behind me making lunch.
.
Our district is carefully monitoring our local infection rates, and we are currently in a hybrid form. That means they divided the district into two groups; half are in school on Monday and Tuesday, the other half on Thursday and Friday. They are offering an all remote option, but Verizon for some reason supplies our house with speeds so slow that it would shock a tortoise. Remote was a no-go.
.
This set-up has taken some trial and error to get to where we currently are. Because no matter how prepared you are and how much you've planned, once you're in the weeds, actually doing it, there is no telling how your best-laid plans will work.
.
Our home is a 1800sqft one-story, open living area, 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom, ranch-style house in a very rural area. It has no home offices. No guest bedrooms. Yes, that is a desk in the corner of our dining room. 🤣
.
Each kid gets their own color bin for their school work. This includes school-issued Chromebooks and other standard items they need to get work done - headphones, pencils, and so on. When we are done for the day, we clean up everything, place them neatly in these bins, and place them in cubbies (on my current left) at night while the Chromebooks charge.
.
I do NOT bother to clean up at lunchtime. It would take us more time to clean up and reset everything than it takes us to eat lunch. So we only pack it all up for the day and call it done.
.
During the day, I sit between my younger two and field any questions they may have, troubleshoot technical issues we all have, and be the overall bouncer when things get off-topic. My high schooler will occasionally emerge from his bedroom, which opens to the kitchen. So he is close by when he has questions.
.
Please remember that with all things in life, you need to work with what's available to you. And there is no shame in that. Don't ever feel like you're not doing good enough because it's not picture perfect. Work with what you have available to you, and you'll do amazing things.
School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I’ve finally realized I haven’t shared our payoff numbers for July or August. Yeah……
.
Please keep in mind, we are paid monthly on the 15th, but we don’t go by a “monthly” budget. So I have to go back and look at these numbers based off their due dates in the calendar. Because our pay falls in the middle of the month, I can’t tell you what portion of our income went to debt. It’s going to vary paycheck to paycheck anyways because our priorities vary with each check. Nothing is ever the same month to month, and pay to pay.
.
That said, inJuly we paid off $2,694.43.
In August we paid off $1,673.40.
.
The difference here is that our priorities shifted between the two months.
.
During August, we were doing more prep for whatever school would look like this year, and we had some savings goals make their way to the top of the list as well.
.
Of those goals, in August we made progress!
EF Reimbursement: $146 / $1,200
Checking Buffer Reimbursement: $227 / $500
Vet Sinking Fund: $40 / $200
.
Remember this is a journey, not a race. There is no point wearing yourself ragged and still making no progress. Make progress where you can, and celebrate it. Even if it’s $5.
.
It’s progress, and that’s what matters!
While I wait for the canner to finish the last rou While I wait for the canner to finish the last round... I rearranged our recipe binder. It's only taken me 8 or so years. 🤣😶😭
.
I miss the days when zucchini was my problem. Now it's tomatoes. I can only find so many ways to use up spaghetti sauce! So the next 50lbs or so will be chili base and unseasoned sauce.
.
On top of this school is starting with a hybrid in building & online system. And I'm seriously slacking on some things I need to do. I'm not good at juggling multiple things and the balls are falling. But I keep reminding myself... be patient. This too shall pass. This is only a phase. So I pick and choose what's the most important, focus on that and go from there.
.
So if you feel overwhelmed with your current phase, remember, this too shall pass. It's okay to rearrange priorities. It's okay to take a breather.
.
This too shall pass.
If you didn't start finding interesting ways to ge If you didn't start finding interesting ways to get rid of the squash, can you say you even planted any?
.
Good news, I'm almost caught up! Bad news, the garden has more.
Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins can come in super small packages. I thought I'd spend $380 to clean the band instruments in this house. I ended up spending $234. So the remaining $146 can go to reimbursing what I pulled from our EF.
.
No matter the win, celebrate it!
.
What are some wins you have had lately?
In total we have 15lbs green beans, 10lbs cucumber In total we have 15lbs green beans, 10lbs cucumbers, 5lbs blueberries, and countless zucchini and squash with more on the way! My weekend is spoken for... and this isn't all of it. 😳
Rather than looking back through all our non-month Rather than looking back through all our non-monthly bills for the year and try to remember what I paid and when I paid it, I make a note of how much it was on our bill pay tracker. That way I can easily tally it up at the end of the year, set our sinking funds next year accordingly, and not spend more time than is necessary on this... because kids and all.⁣
.⁣
Anyone else do this? Do you have a different method of tracking these expenses?⁣
.⁣
This particular printable is in my Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MakingCentsMatter⁣
It's also part of my budgeting workbook, also in my Etsy shop.⁣
Good news though... there's a very similar free version in my resource library as well. Links are in my profile.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
⁣
#budget #budgeting #sinkingfund #savingmoney #savings  #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #budgetprintable #personalfinancetips  #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #bs1 #bs2 #bs3  #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
Probably an unpopular opinion here... but these tw Probably an unpopular opinion here... but these two things are NOT the same to me.⁣
.⁣
𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 paycheck to paycheck means that you're using all of your money for expenses with none left over for savings. This usually happens when you're not aware of where you are spending your money, and how much you are spending. For us, this happened in the form of those tiny expenses that can add up to even larger expenses, and then an unexpected bill comes and you have nothing left to cover it.⁣
.⁣
𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 paycheck to paycheck means that you are giving every single cent you earn a job to do that aligns with your priorities - like in sinking funds, savings, expenses, debt payments, etc - until the next paycheck. You have the money on hand to cover some unexpected expenses, and you are mindful of your spending so that you're not leaking money through small purchases.⁣
.⁣
This doesn't mean that there still aren't bad months. Murphy's Law does happen. But you are aware of the spending, aware of the priorities, and where your money needs to be allocated.⁣
.⁣
So... just because you're budgeting paycheck to paycheck doesn't mean you're living paycheck to paycheck.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.
June's paycheck was a doozy! I haven't looked forw June's paycheck was a doozy! I haven't looked forward to a paycheck since we first made the switch to monthly pays. It was so bad we've got a new order to things.⁣
.⁣
Good news is that if our state keeps closing things down, we should hammer this out in no time!⁣
.⁣
To see the full breakdown of how bad June's paycheck was, check out the June 15th Budget Review on our YouTube channel here https://youtu.be/gXoEo33hIYQ. Link is also in the bio.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.
Load More... Follow on Instagram


Gymboree Sale On Now!

Copyright

I love it when you share our content! Please keep in mind that all content, images and text on this site are property of Making Cents Matter. Feel free to use no more than two photos on your own site, provided that a link back to my original post is included. Do not crop, edit, or remove any watermarks from any of my images without obtaining written permission from me first. Thank you!

Copyright © 2021 · Captivating Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in