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What is Budget Meal Planning?

When someone hear the words “Budget Meal Planning”, they think they’re deprived of the food they love. No, budget meal planning is supposed to help you manage your resources more effectively and still get to eat what you love while saving money. If you’re someone that’s trying to be more intentional about your spending, avoid impulse buying then budget meal planning is the way to go.

Below are several ways I save money while I’m shopping for food, sticking to a budget and planning for a month. I’d like you guys to know that you can do all these and still eat healthy balanced meals;

• TAKE RECORD OF WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE:
  Before you start planning, have a look to see what you already have.

• CONSIDER YOUR FOOD BUDGET:
  You’d have to calculate how much you’re willing to spend on food items for that month to avoid spending too much. The amount doesn’t have to exact, you can just make an estimate. Also try to be realistic with prices, most times inflation plays a big role in this.

• CREATE A SHOPPING LIST:
  Create a comprehensive list of items you need, to avoid impulse buying or just throwing things into the cart while forgetting to get the important stuff.

• GROCERY SALES AND MARKDOWNS:
  It’s important to browse for stories that have grocery sales within your area. It’s also good to take a look at markdown tables in grocery stories, in that way you can stock up but at a cheaper price. You might as well choose to shop at multiple stores that are on sales in order to maximize your savings. A word of advice; try not to overdo it, most people tend to take advantage of sales and then loose sight of other important items to buy.

• SEASONAL FOOD AND FRUITS:
  It’s cheaper to buy food and fruits that are in season and build your meal plan around it. This is very cost effective.

• USE OF COUPONS:
  Using coupons are very cost effective as well. They help you save money without sacrificing quality.

• CHOOSING A BEST ALTERNATIVE:
  This usually applies to proteins. Meat is usually one of the most expensive items while shopping. Why not add meatless meals to your plans. Substitute meat for other proteins like egg. You can try cheaper types of meat too, for example chicken is a lot cheaper than beef and turkey. Chicken wings are a lot cheaper than chicken breasts. Make protein smart choices.

• BULK BUYING:
  Buying in bulk costs way less. It’s also to buy non-perishable goods in bulk like canned foods,eggs, snacks, drinks, staple food like rice, yams etc

• COOKING IN BULK:
  It’s advisable to cook stews and soups in bulk, in that way you can store them in the freezer and use at your will.

• USE LEFTOVERS:
  Instead of throwing them out, make plans to reuse them. For example using left over fried chicken to make a chicken salad. Most leftover veggies can be turned into stir fry.

• MULTIPLE MEAL INGREDIENTS:
  Ensure you buy veggies, fruits and ingredients that can be used for more than one meal within a week. For example; onions, spinach, carrots e.t.c

• AVOID EXPENSIVE INGREDIENTS:
  Before buying an expensive ingredient you should ask yourself if you really need it, if there’s a better alternative as well. Yes you can use an expensive ingredient but once in a while not always.

• NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF THE FAMILY:
  This is very important in grocery buying. Families that have babies and toddlers usually buying a higher quantity of milk than those that don’t. Families that have vegetarians buy less meat than families who aren’t vegetarians.

Doing all these has helped me save money when it comes to food shopping.

This is my answer to the second question asked on #Kiss blog ideas this week. I’m also inviting @theawesononso to share a #KISS Blog with us.

Thank you for reading