Planning is essential to meet any budget goals – and advance meal prepping can help you meet those goals by saving you money on food.
It only takes a few minutes to plan your meals a few days or a week ahead of time. It may be intimidating at first, but you’ll soon get used to the routine and will be amazed at how much time and money you’re saving.
Imagine not having to think about every meal you’re going to have to prepare and rushing to the store to grab last minute ingredients. It can become a time-consuming and expensive process.
Food calendars that you can print and fill out before shopping are a handy tool as are various meal prep recipe management systems, calorie counters and calculators for how to divide your meals into portions.
Buying in bulk is also a good option for planning meals ahead of time while sticking to a budget by purchasing food items on sale or in bulk.
Check your pantry and refrigerator to see what you already have on hand before grocery shopping. This prevents items from having to be thrown out and keeps you from over-buying.