Family Meal Planning And Grocery Shopping On A Budget - A Beginner's Guide

By Author: Jamie Hanson
Total Articles: 3534
Comment this article

The initial thing you need to know about consuming on a budget is that it's not really about what you eat. It's more to do with how you plan. You see, every time you go to a grocery store you are fascinated by things on the shelves that don't fit into your budget. The grocery shop has put in too much time and money into knowing how to place things in their store so that they'll be the most fascinating for anyone, but not the tight budget disciple! If you're grocery shopping on a budget, you have to schedule ahead so that you don't fall into one of these marketing ploys; otherwise you are nearly guaranteed to spend minimum a few dollars more than you expected!

The first thing you need to do is cut your visits to the grocery store down to once a week if possible. Things happen, milk does get spilled, or ferment, but for the most part the less times you go by those grocery shops, the better. This implies that you should set aside a couple of hours every week for family meal budgeting and forming a comprehensive grocery shopping list.

Begin with a list of meals you have to provide for your family over the course ...
... of the next week. Make headings for each day of the week on a bit of paper and under each day write what meals you need to offer. This can be as easy as breakfast, lunch, supper every day, or complex to record that one of your kids has a party, or that you've been requested to a make-and-take supper, etc. Once you're happy that you've recorded for every meal needed all through the week, then think about what your food choice will be. Keep it specific. Generalities are where things start to go wrong with the budget †grilled chicken breast on rice with sliced red peppers and zucchini is going to indicate you actually what you will buy: chicken breasts, rice, red peppers and zucchini. Otherwise chicken and vegetables means that you can buy any kind of chicken, not be sure on how you're going to prepare it until the day of the meal, and then a selection of vegetables which will possibly be more than you need as the best way of keeping your grocery purchasing on a budget is to buy in bulk where possible. If you prearrange your family meals to use a small choice of fruits and vegetables in meals all through the week, you'll be able to gain from buy purchasing more quantity of whatever's in season or on sale at the grocery shop. By purchasing fruits and vegetables in excess and on sale, you'll be proficient to provide your family with nutritious meals on a budget.

Work through your week, meal by meal. This might take you a couple of sessions especially the initial few times that you're doing your grocery shopping on a budget with this method. Once you're done, create a grocery shopping list. Put a mark near each article as you note down it from the menu to the list, then you assure that nothing is elapsed. Once your menu items for the next week are accounted for, check your cupboards for any basic staples such as flavoring agents, flour, oil, grains, etc that you require for the items on your menu. Note any items that you're running short on to the grocery shopping list. Lastly, add any essential basics like drinks †such as milk used for drinking, individual side drinks for bagged meals along with household goods like detergents, hygiene goods, etc. Now you're all set to go grocery shopping on a budget!

As you become more capable in this you can even know how to work your menu planning in to take advantage of coupons and weekly saver deals that your grocery store presents. Family meal planning takes time, especially in the beginning, but it pays big dividends for anyone with a limited budget and a family to provide for.

Daniella King loves to share her online family articles and tips with other families. In addition to family budget tips, she also specializes in family city guides.