Menu Planning Saves Time and Money

June 7th, 2010 by saving money expert

Are you looking for a way to save money and get the family to eat at home? There is always time for a meal at home when you use menu planning.

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The one thing we never seem to have enough of is time. When time gets short, the first thing that gets missed is meal time. Eating fast food several nights a week can be expensive not to mention bad for your health. If you plan your meals in advance, your family can still eat together for dinner.

Here’s the scenario: You come home and realize that you omitted to take an item out of the freezer for dinner. Rumaging through the refrigerator, you find a few bits and pieces to throw together. When the kids come in, they grumble because it’s not what they want. Your partner arrives later to find a congealed something in the pan on the stove and skips dinner.

Does this sound familiar? If it does, there is help for you and your family. Menu planning saves the headache that comes with searching at the last minute for something to fix for dinner. It also keeps you from throwing away food that no one wants to consume.

You could be one of those families who eat out for dinner because it’s late when you get home. No one wants to cook so you hit the fast food outlet.

There are many benefits to meal planning:

1. The entire family gets involved. One day a week, probably a Saturday or a Sunday, let everyone come together for an hour and decide what will be on the menu for the upcoming week. Each person from the youngest to the oldest has a say in the meals.

2. Menu planning fosters healthier lifestyles. When you have time to decide in advance, you can be sure that there is the right combination of protein, fats and carbohydrates in each meal. Eating at home means that you’ll know what is in the food that you eat.

3. You can save on the food bill. How many of us have gone to the grocery store and half filled the cart with items that we didn’t need but caught our eye? When you prepare a menu, you have an instant grocery list. Each week, you’ll shop for the items that are needed to make the meals and that’s it.

4. Meals can be fixed in a jiffy. When you are tired in the evening, simply pop your meals in the oven or microwave. Planning allows you to start the prep work the night before in anticipation of a busy day. That way, all the hard work is already done.