We’re sharing our tips and easy-to-use printable planner to take the stress out of meal planning, and help you stop spending money on food waste!
Do you get home from grocery shopping and have no idea what meals to make your family?
You just spent $200 on what at the grocery store? Snacks, milk, bread, and eggs?
Meal planning just makes sense to save time and money, and keeps you from aimlessly buying food at the store!
Setting up your weekly meal plan just got one step easier with our new Printable Monthly Meal Planner!
Our 30+ page printable meal planner comes with everything you will need to help you:
- Create a meal plan that works for your family
- Stay on track and feel motivated with printables that suit you
- Inventory what you currently have at home to stay on budget
- Use your family’s favorite meals without getting sick of the same food every week
- and SOOO much more!!!
But first, let’s talk about what steps you need to take in order to become a master in monthly meal planning.
8 Steps To Make A Meal Plan Like A Master
1. Update Your Calendar
Place all your monthly activities and dates on a calendar first before you get started on your monthly meal plan.
There’s one included in our Savvy planner, we found this step very helpful and can’t recommend it enough if you want to stay organized.
You don’t want to plan a 30-minute meal for dinner tonight when you have hockey and dance practice on the same evening.
2. Break Out The Recipe Book
Keep shopping lists of your family’s favorite meals in your binder for when you are stuck on meals and need something easy.
In our binder, I have a dedicated section to The Classics, and I recommend you do the same. I have a few recipes I can make by memory- or flub my way through it!
But having the recipes ready is one way you remember to add in family favorites once and a while to keep everyone happy, and it’s one less step for cooking.
3. Keep Things Interesting
Have weekly themed meals (see our menu ideas below) that you can rotate through the entire month.
For example, we have meatless Monday, taco Tuesday, etc., and have those at least once or twice a month to make meal planning simple.
Also, don’t be afraid to print out recipes to try, it’s always good to try new things!
Just make sure to meal plan new recipes in the calendar well- I always seem to take more time than they say because I reread and double-check the directions so much.
4. Treat The Paper Like Sudoku
Always use a pencil because life happens and you will need to make changes to your monthly meal plan.
I usually have a small pouch of pencils, erasers, and highlighters ready to use, even in the kitchen (once a teacher, always a teacher!)- you can even find pouches that have three-hole punches in them so they plop right into the binder!
5. Visit The Farmer’s Market
Use the season to help you plan out your meals- using seasonal vegetables and fruits are a must!
We love buying local- the farmer’s market will have the freshest options to make better meals.
Not only is it great to support small businesses, but it’s usually cheaper for you! And cheaper meal planning means more money in your pockets for other things on your to-do list.
I love finding juicy watermelon on good sales in the summer and making warm, hearty crockpot meals in the fall.
6. Plan Your Lazy Days
When you sit down to get your meal plan together, you’ll be planning around some pretty hectic schedules.
Think about the days when you don’t want to cook- when the kids have activities after school, you have extra work to handle or anything else life may throw at you.
You can cook ahead to make those days more seamless!
You can make a pizza, lasagna, or casserole to freeze, then pop it in the oven and be done!
I love doing pizza and movie nights on Friday to wrap up the week, and having it ready for the oven means more time to snuggle my kiddos.
7. Don’t Be Afraid Of Repeats
Repeat some recipes each month in your meal plan, especially if they make the kiddos happy or give you leftovers for work.
Tacos every Tuesday? Sure, why not! It’s quick and easy, and you can change them up a little with toppings to keep things interesting.
For us, having breakfast for dinner is the perfect example. We can do pancakes or waffles with maple syrup every week and never be sick of it.
8. Never Forget That List!
In general, don’t go to the store without a shopping list! The more you graze, the more you buy.
Stick to the grocery list so you only spend money on groceries you know you’ll use!
Having a grocery budget is important if you want to save money.
Benefits of Monthly Meal Planning
There are SO many benefits to using our monthly meal planner, and for meal planning in general, including saving time, money, and sanity!
If a printable monthly meal planner is not for you there are plenty of awesome meal planning apps you can use.
Say goodbye to the days of stressing out over last-minute meals and trying to hastily throw dinner together.
Spend Less, Eat Better
One reason to make meal plans a part of your routine is to save money!
When you have a meal plan for your food, your wallet will thank you in many ways.
You are less likely to impulse buy at the grocery store- no more spending money on random groceries.
As soon as I started using our binder, I saw a huge difference in my grocery bill- I spent so much less and had better meals!
I stopped impulse buying at the grocery store because I learned how to meal plan and I really stuck to my grocery list.
Plus you’ll eat out less because you have all your options picked out and ready to go- so meal planning can help you eat healthier at home and save money from cheap eats!
Prevent Food Waste
The amount of food waste the average house creates is shocking! Research shows that Americans throw out a whopping 32% of food they buy.
That means if you spend $400 on groceries in a month, as most Americans do, then you may be throwing out almost $130 worth of food!
With a built-in day to eat leftovers, I have been saving money on food waste too because we make sure not to let food go bad.
Plus the kids don’t complain about leftovers when they’re super tasty- don’t worry we’ve got some recipes to keep you covered!
Efficiency At Its Finest
I love how a good plan comes together and makes my life easier– making our meal plans for the whole month is the perfect example!
We may switch things up now and again depending on added plans, but typically we can stick to what we pick, get dinner cooked quickly, and move on with our evening.
If we have things cooked ahead of time, I can just pull it out of the freezer and heat it- making my weeknights smooth sailing. We get to spend less time in the kitchen and more time together as a family
And it makes me so happy- the meals are laid out and nobody has to ask me the dreaded question: “Mooooom, what’s for dinner?”
How is a monthly meal planner different than meal prepping?
These are really only different in execution- based on the words “prep” versus “plan.” That is it!
One is a plan for your meals in advance while the other is preparing your meals ahead of time.
First comes the meal plan to save time and money, then comes the prep to make your nights faster and less hectic.
Our monthly meal plans will get the ball rolling, and here’s a step-by-step guide for the “prep” side of your meals.
Meal Prepping and Grocery Shopping
Now some people on monthly meal plans will shop just once a month and do batch cooking.
Batch cooking means cooking large quantities of food that freeze well- it will save time and effort each night of the month!
Shopping in bulk for the whole month can save you money, which is another waller saver in the long run and helps you keep track of your grocery budget too.
You can easily double recipes without taking more time to cook, and freezing is easy peasy to save you time on those busy school nights.
But I know not everyone can do just one large trip to the store and cook everything at once- don’t worry, we still shop weekly at times too.
Shopping weekly can save money too if you make sure to check grocery ads for good deals. And don’t forget about Ibotta– they’ll pay you extra cash just for buying your groceries!
You can always buy bulk non-perishables like brown rice, pasta, sauces, or canned goods to prep for batch cooking for some main dishes and go out weekly for meats, fresh fruit, and vegetables.
Sample Themes For Meal Planning
Here are some of our Savvy ideas to get started on your own meal plans.
You can repeat these themes and others in your meal plans through the whole month, and swap things up as much or as little as you like! When you monthly meal plan, you can either serve side dishes your family will love or switch up what’s on your plate to suit your family.
Our monthly meal plan changes month to month, but yours can look however you want- and our Savvy monthly meal planner makes organizing it easy and simple.
Meatless Monday
- Vegetable Barley Soup
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
- Portabella Mushroom Burger
- Fettuccine Alfredo With Broccoli
Taco Tuesday (or Mexican Martes)
- Tacos
- Enchiladas
- Mexican Pizzas
- Mexican Stuffed Shells
- Chicken Quesadillas
Wednesday Hump Day
- French Toast
- Pancakes
- Breakfast Sliders
- Biscuits and Gravy
- French Toast
- Oven Fries
Thursday Toss Up
We make Thursday an easy one-pan dinner night, where we make casseroles.
- Tuna Noodle
- Cream of Chicken
- Million Dollar Spaghetti
- French Onion Beef Casserole
- Tater Tot Casserole
Fun Day or Favorites Friday
Any day can have fun recipes, but this is the time to shake it up with cool new recipes or have the kids pick a yummy favorite to celebrate the weekend starting.
- Pepperoni
- Supreme
- BBQ Chicken
- Hawaiian
- Spinach & Artichokes
Slow Cooker Saturday and Sunday
- Chili
- Orange Chicken
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Pasta Fagioli
- Beef and Broccoli
Other Meal Options
Now a monthly meal plan doesn’t mean you have to cut out fun food plans! You can still treat yourself to dinner out or grab fast food now and again.
We add this to our monthly meal plan besides regular meals because we can pick a day- once every week or once a month depending on our budget- and budget to save up for whatever takeout we wind up eating.
It especially helps to include it just so I don’t buy food that I never wind up cooking.
Then there are the meal options that get a bit fancy and expensive– we want to do something special for birthdays, celebrations, and holidays, and thinking about it ahead of time makes sure we stay within the budget for the month.
We can still have some great steaks for a cookout or some lobster for a nice date night, without breaking the bank!
What is The Savvy Couple Monthly Meal Planner?
Our monthly meal plans are an excellent tool to get yourself organized to meal plan and take back control of your family’s meals.
It doesn’t hurt that you’ll also be saving money by buying the meal plan papers!
It’s a printable and digital binder that you can mix and match pages to make the perfect binder that works for you.
You can head over to our shop to check out our Monthly Meal Planner now or grab a free meal plan template.
What is Included in The Monthly Meal Planner?
All of the following pages are included in the binder to get your meal plan started, plus more! And you get lifetime updates to anything we make changes to or add in the future.
Check out some of our offerings in our monthly meal plan:
Savvy Meal Plan
We’ll tell you five ways The Savvy Couple stays on a budget for the whole month with meal planning, and still have delicious meals and side dishes we don’t get sick of.
Dinner Meal Plan
See our example of what a rotation calendar would look like for a monthly meal plan with “themed days” throughout the week.
Weekly Meal Planner
You can write down your plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week. Along the side, you can record down snacks by using budget-friendly snack recipes. Also includes the weekend because we often forget about Saturday and Sunday when meal planning.
Grocery List
Print the grocery list out and fill it up before you head to the store. Keep it handy every week to add things as they come up so you don’t forget. Hopefully, it will save you time in the store as well based on how it is organized.
Daily Meal Planner
Throw in a plastic page protector and reuse this page with a dry erase marker if you do not want to print off 365 {Haha}. You have each of your meals to plan out, your daily exercise, and a notes section. On the right-hand side, you can shade in your daily water intake and record the number of servings of your fresh fruit, veggies, protein, grains like brown rice, and dairy.
What Supplies Do I Need for My Meal Plan Binder?
Not much is needed once you have your meal plan papers! Just a simple 1-inch binder from Amazon will do the trick. It never hurts to have some colorful markers and pens either.
Supplies
Get Free Monthly Meal Planner Printable
If you want to give monthly meal plans a try, feel to head over to our shop now and download it. It is three pages from our meal plan binder to give you an idea of exactly what you will get.
We highly recommend you purchase the entire monthly meal planner to give yourself all the tools you need to start organizing your meals and save money while doing it.
Is The Savvy Planner Digital and Printable Format?
Of course! Some people like to print the meal plan papers out and use pen and paper, while others like to keep it digital and fill it out on their computers.
No worries, we have you covered either way!
Where Can I Get a Copy of The Monthly Meal Planner?
Head over to The Savvy Couple Shop and add the meal plan to your cart. You will get instructions on how to download The Monthly Meal Planner Binder and you will be well on your way!
