A Week of Meals on $120

With meal planning, up-front preparation is key — but it’s also the most challenging thing. Here are a few tips and tricks that I use each week:

1) I pick recipes with ingredients that can be used for multiple meals (and in multiple ways). This also includes getting creative with leftovers. Sometimes, eating leftovers all the time can get old, but I try to remember that I can always use different components of my leftovers to create new meals.

2) I prioritize what’s on sale. I switched out a few things this week to optimize my savings and make my money stretch for certain recipes. I was able to save almost $20 this week just by utilizing the sales my store was advertising. One of the best marketing strategies grocery stores use is having great sales, but then anticipate you spending more on non-sale items once you’re in the store. The key is to play into these sale items, stick to your plan, and don’t fall for the trap of buying/spending more than you need.

3) Clip your digital coupons. You can find lots of additional savings by clipping digital coupons (found on store websites or apps). Some items may not be on sale, but they could have great savings with a coupon. Conversely, some of the advertised sales state that you need the digital coupon to take advantage. This is easy to miss, especially if you’re shopping in-store. When you look at the fine print, you often see that even though the item is advertised as “on sale,” if you don’t have that digital coupon clipped, the price can be a lot more expensive!