Meal planning is hard work. There are so many different things that go into meal planning, and it can take hours of your time to do. However, if you are making these meal planning mistakes, you could be losing money to plan your meals! Here are the top meal planning mistakes that are costing you money.
You are blinded, about where to start
Not starting can be just as bad as planning a lousy meal plan. If you are so blinded by where to start that you’re stuck in a meal planning paralysis, then this could end costing you money. You’ll be hesitant to make decisions and end up second-guessing everything. Focus on one thing and work through your meal plan in chunks to avoid overwhelm.
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You don’t make a plan for leftovers
You will always have leftovers! This could be leftover food scraps, full meals, or just food you didn’t feel like eating that night. If you don’t make a plan for those leftovers, you are essentially throwing that food away! Leave at least one night of the week to use up those leftovers. If you have nothing left, use this night to order pizza. Or, keep frozen meals handy for nights when you’re out of leftovers, so it’s just as easy!
You have too many or not enough recipe ideas
Not having enough recipe ideas will leave you scrambling to throw together a meal plan each week. However, having too many recipes to look through can make you default to meals that won't save you money. You’ll end up bypassing the foods that incorporate seasonal fruits or food that is on sale because you can’t find them in a mess. Keep your recipes together organized by protein in a recipe binder so you can easily use your flyer to help you find the meals you’re looking for.
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You don’t use weekly flyers or what you have to make your plan
If you aren’t looking at what you have at home or using your weekly flyers, you leave money on the table! Knowing what you have at home will keep food from going bad and save you a trip to the store! However, looking at your flyer can help you make the most of your meal plan by planning meals around cheap ingredients.
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Your meal plan is entirely made up of homemade ingredients
It’s okay to commit to making your own homemade pizza dough. But if your entire meal plan consists of you having to make something from scratch, you’ll never stick to it. After doing this day in and day out, you’ll quickly get burnt out. Instead, opt for some things that are easier while others can be made from scratch. Don’t depend on your willpower to make everything from scratch!
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As you can see, there are plenty of ways that meal planning could end up costing you money instead of saving you money. If you learn from these mistakes, you’ll never lose money from your meal plan again!
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