5 steps to meal planning

Planning meals ahead requires a small investment of time, but can help you save money and reduce stress. Here are five easy steps to getting started.

1.    Find your favorites 
Ask your family to build a list of their favorite meals, including desserts and sides. Take their suggestions and build a database of meal suggestions.

2. Check your cabinets 
Before thinking about writing your meal plan, see what you have on hand. It’s possible you have full meals or even partial meals already in your cabinets.

3. Check your calendar
See what you have going on and what the weather is going to be looking like. See a rainy day? That sounds like a great day to put a soup on the menu! See a busy day? Plan to use your crockpot.

4. Plan your menu based on the store sales
The simple step of taking a few extra minutes each week to browse the store fliers and create your menu based upon what is on sale will greatly enhance your savings.

5. Cook from scratch
It's a no-brainer, but cooking from scratch with simple, inexpensive ingredients is likely one of the greatest ways to save money on your grocery budget while also eating healthy.

TIP:  Make your list by reading over your recipes and making sure you have everything on hand.
 

Sources: The Adviser