Meal Planning DIY Style

I have a written a meal plan every month for years. It works so well for us. I keep mine flexible. If I don’t want to make something or we are too busy, I just look at the week and figure out what works for that night. So easy. But, I already have the ingredients on hand for each dinner.

Here are three of the reasons I like to make my own.

1. My family is TOO picky. Let’s be honest, I’m picky, too. So, I look at those meal plans and while they look good most of the time, my family wouldn’t eat half of the meals. So, I’d be constantly looking for things to add in, anyway.
2. My family mostly rotates through the same meals. The meals plans need to come up with new and exciting recipes all the time or what are you paying for. All I do is copy the same menu from last year this month. So, I copy over the current month from a year ago. I look it over and make sure that it still matches with things we like to eat. I add in any new recipes we have found that we like. I also add in a few tryout recipes to see if my family will eat them.
3. I would rather spend the money on actual food. A quick search through my pinterest page can find great pictures of food my family will enjoy. I would rather have the money I would spend on a meal plan to purchase the food I want and know we will eat.

Making a meal plan is an essential part of budgeting. It keeps you from last-minute grocery store purchases and eating out all the time. My family rarely eats out because it can be very expensive to take out a family of six including two teenage boys. When we do it is very intentional and already figured in the budget.

I have a free printable meal planner for March. Look at your calendar and start filling it in. Once you’ve filled it in with your regular dinner items, you can look on pinterest to add in a few new things.