How I Save Time, Money, and Even Lose Weight with This Simple Weekly Habit
Discover how a simple weekly habit—meal planning—has helped me save time, cut grocery costs, and even lose weight. In this post, I’ll share how my wife and I plan our meals efficiently, reduce food waste, and make healthier choices without the hassle of traditional meal prepping. Whether you’re looking to improve your diet, simplify dinner decisions, or stick to a budget, these practical tips can help!
HEALTH AND WELLNESSPHYSICAL HEALTH
1/30/20252 min read
One simple habit has helped me save time, money, and lose weight: planning meals with my wife every week. Every Sunday afternoon, when we both have some free time, we sit down together to plan our dinners for the next seven days. This small effort has had a huge impact on our budget, health, and overall well-being.
How We Plan Our Meals
Choose a Time and Research Meals
We set aside time each week to plan our meals. During this session, we also take the opportunity to research new meal ideas, which we’ll soon be sharing on our blog in the nutrition section. If you’d like regular updates, consider subscribing to our newsletter!Write It Down
Once we decide on our meals, we record them in a shared calendar. This could be a physical calendar or a digital calendar like Apple Calendar or Google Calendar—we’ve used both.Create a Shopping List
After planning, we make a grocery list. You can use an app, a physical meal planner, or even the Walmart app (or wherever you shop) to create a pick-up order. We go through our meal plan one dish at a time, listing every ingredient we’ll need for all seven meals.Buy Only What You Need
By following this system, we ensure that we have everything necessary for at least 7 dinners. If you’re a college student, you can double ingredient quantities to have leftovers for lunch, effectively planning 14 meals. For breakfast, we keep it simple—smoothies, eggs, yogurt, or a variation of these options.
The Benefits of Weekly Meal Planning
Reduces Food Waste – Buying exactly what we need minimizes waste and ensures we use what we purchase.
Eliminates Daily Stress – Deciding what to eat after a long day is hard. Having a plan in place makes dinnertime easier and more enjoyable.
More Flexible Than Meal Prepping – Unlike traditional meal prep, which often leads to food fatigue, planning meals lets us cook fresh, diverse, and nutrient-dense meals while still maintaining structure.
Encourages Cooking as a Hobby – I used to struggle with eating the same prepped meal every day. Now, I love cooking, and it has helped me eat healthier than ever before.
How Much We Save
By planning our meals, we’ve reduced our weekly grocery bill to just $100 for the two of us. That includes 14 meals, breakfast, and occasional snacks purchased in bulk at Costco. Our monthly grocery spending averages around $450.
I know some people might say, “I can spend only $50 a week,” while others with larger families might think, “$400 a week would be amazing.” The key takeaway is that this isn’t just about saving money—it’s about improving health as well.
Health Benefits
We aim for at least two, sometimes three, vegetables in every meal. While we’re not perfect, increasing nutrient-dense foods has led to fewer cravings, less snacking, and more energy. Whether your goal is eating better, reducing waste, or saving money, I believe these principles can work for you too.
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