Menu Planning Snapshot

I recommend meal planning to anyone who is busy, looking to save money, and/or trying to get more organized.  You can see some of my past meal plans here.

This is a snapshot of what meal planning looks like for me on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

I have Pinterest up on the left side, browsing for new meal ideas.  On the left side is a Notepad file, where I’m making notes and my grocery list.  As I list items we need for the meals, I’m also adding other things that I need to pick up while I’m at the store.

This week, I’m going to make a big batch of soup for my lunch at work, saving myself about $50 every week.  I LOVE the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden, and it’s a family favorite around here as well.  I’ll be using my slowcooker a couple times, as well.  I have a big one, but I’m looking at a smaller, programmable one like this.

You might notice that there aren’t nearly as many items on my list as what those meals would require.  I shopped my house first, marking off all of the items that I already have.  Then I took a look at the grocery ads for this week.  I know we need a lot of fruit, so I made sure to pick stores that have the things I need on sale.  For this week, I only need to go to HEB and Sprouts.  Before I leave the house, I’ll double check the apps that I use to save money (Ibotta, Checkout51 and Snap) just to make sure there aren’t any other can’t miss deals.

So, that’s a quick peek at how I do meal planning.  What works for you?  Do you have a tip I missed?  Sound off in the comments!