Save Time-Save Money with Meal Planning

So since our move almost 4 months ago we have been kind of in a cooking funk! Maybe it’s because we don’t feel truly settled in yet or maybe it’s because we live in a big city now with limitless food options to choose from?! Who knows, but we’ve got to figure it out and stop spending so much time/energy and money on food & food options! I have thought lots about meal planning but just haven’t really taken the time to get it all together but then I came across Annie’s meal planning calendar that she shared on her blog and she so graciously agreed to share it with us!! Yay! Y’all head over to Annie’s blog, she has such great stuff and has the cutest little family! I adore her! You can also find her on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook…so go show her some love!

I wanted to share my meal planning calendar for July. In June I started meal planning and am TOTALLY loving it. I had been wanting to do this forever because coming up with the ideas for dinner is always the hardest part for me. I also would start thinking about dinner about 3 pm or later and it was too late for so many things. Now I look at the next day or so and see what I need to pull out of the freezer. I’ve been doing this for about a month and I’m working out some kinks but making great strides. It took me quite awhile to plan out the whole month of July because I’m not just randomly putting meals in a slot. For example, I have pulled pork sandwiches and hamburgers in the same week so I buy buns once and they will still be good two days later. In the past it always seems like I buy buns, we eat a few and then throw away the rest. Another example of taking meal planning one step further is taco salad and beef tostadas. I will make a lot of taco meat ahead and use it for both the salad and the tostadas. I also know that I will be gone one night so it’s leftovers for the girls and Kevin that night. I also planned out BBQ chicken one night where I will bbq tons of chicken and then use them the next two nights for Chicken Carbonara and Fiesta Ranch Chicken. I also made some hot pot soup for dinner, perfect for the rainy season. This has also helped with grocery shopping. I went to the grocery store at the beginning of the month for the majority of the items. Of course I can’t buy everything at the start of the month because they won’t last but this has helped so much for planning for the store.

Let me know if you have any ideas on improving meal planning.

For a blank calendar check out Pink Pickle Studios.

Hope you enjoyed this post from Annie! Let me know if you have any tips/tricks for meal planning! I wanna give it a go, surely I can get out of my funk right?! Financial advisors need a financial advisor business coach so they are pushed to be held accountable because being accountable is key to achieving any goal.