How I Plan a Week of Dinners and Save Money on Groceries
How I Plan a Week of Dinners and Save Money on Groceries
If you've ever walked into the grocery store without a plan and left wondering how you spent so much money, you're definitely not alone. I've done it more times than I'd like to admit. Wandering the aisles, grabbing whatever sounds good at the moment, and forgetting what I already have at home can make grocery bills climb fast.
Over the years, I've found that a little planning goes a long way. I don't use an elaborate system or spend hours making meal plans. Instead, I've created a simple weekly routine that helps me save money, reduce food waste, and take the guesswork out of what's for dinner.
Every week, I plan our dinners before I shop, check what we already have in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, and build my grocery list around those ingredients. It's a habit that's helped our family stretch our grocery budget without feeling like we're sacrificing the meals we enjoy.
In this article, I'll show you exactly how I plan our weekly dinners, build my grocery list, shop multiple stores efficiently, and stick to our grocery budget. While every family is different, I hope my routine gives you a few ideas you can adapt to fit your own household.
Start by Planning Your Dinners
The first thing I do every week is decide what we're having for dinner. I don't worry about planning every breakfast, lunch, or snack because dinners tend to be our biggest meals and usually require the most groceries.
Planning dinners first gives me a clear picture of exactly what ingredients I'll need before I ever walk into a store. It also helps eliminate those last-minute trips to the grocery store because I forgot an ingredient.
Here's an example of one of our recent weekly dinner plans:
Sunday: Garlic Parmesan Chicken, Rice & Broccoli
Monday: Garlic Butter Pork Chops, Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans
Tuesday: Loaded Cheeseburger Macaroni Skillet & Roasted Broccoli
Wednesday: Sausage & Peppers with Rice
Thursday: Sloppy Joes & French Fries
Friday: Homemade Pizza Night
Saturday: Smothered Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes & Corn
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends planning meals ahead of time as one way to save money, reduce unnecessary purchases, and make grocery shopping more efficient (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], n.d.).
Shop Your Pantry, Refrigerator, and Freezer First
Once I've planned our dinners, I don't immediately start writing my grocery list. Instead, I "shop" my own kitchen first. I look through the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to see what ingredients we already have on hand. Sometimes I already have enough rice, pasta, canned vegetables, shredded cheese, or frozen meat to make several meals without buying anything new.
This simple step prevents me from accidentally buying duplicates and helps make sure food doesn't get forgotten in the back of the pantry or freezer. The freezer is especially helpful because I often buy meats in bulk when they're on sale. By checking what I already have before shopping, I can build meals around those ingredients and spend less at the grocery store. The USDA also recommends checking your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer before shopping to avoid buying items you already have and to help reduce food waste (USDA, n.d.).
I Buy Proteins in Bulk
Whenever I find a good sale on meat, I try to buy extra if it fits within our grocery budget. We regularly stock up on chicken, ground beef, pork chops, smoked sausage, and other proteins when prices are lower.
Once I get home, I portion everything into meal-sized packages before freezing it. That way, I can simply pull out what I need for the week's dinners without having to thaw a large package all at once. When I sit down to make our weekly meal plan, one of the first questions I ask myself is:
"What proteins do I already have in the freezer?"
Planning meals around what's already in my freezer has helped us save a surprising amount of money over time. Instead of buying meat every week, I'm often able to use what we already have and simply purchase the fresh produce, dairy, or pantry items needed to complete each meal.
Build One Grocery List
After I've planned our dinners and checked what we already have in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, it's time to make my grocery list. As I go through each meal, I write down only the ingredients we actually need. If I already have something at home, I cross it off before it ever makes it onto the list. This helps prevent buying duplicates and keeps our grocery bill lower.
Having one organized list also makes shopping much easier. Instead of trying to remember everything we need while walking through the store, I can focus on finding the items on my list and move on. Research has shown that shopping lists serve as an external memory aid, helping shoppers stay focused and purchase the items they intended to buy (Thomas & Garland, 1993). For me, that's exactly what my grocery list is a plan that keeps me on track.
How I Shop Multiple Stores Without Wasting Time
After my list is finished, I decide where I'll shop. Most weeks I shop at Aldi and Walmart, and occasionally I'll stop by Sam's Club if there's something we need in bulk. Thankfully, the stores near me are laid out in a way that makes shopping efficient. I can start at Aldi, head to Walmart, stop at Sam's Club if needed, and then drive straight home. It creates one large loop instead of driving back and forth across town.
I know not everyone has that option, and that's perfectly okay. The goal isn't to chase every sale if you're spending more on gas than you're saving. For me, these stores are close enough together that I can compare prices without adding much extra driving.
Before I leave the house, I already know which store has the better price on most of the items I need. That helps me shop with confidence instead of trying to compare prices while standing in the aisle. Having a plan before I leave home saves both time and money, and it makes grocery shopping feel much less stressful.
My Favorite Aldi App Tip
If you shop at Aldi, I highly recommend downloading the Aldi app. I don't think everyone realizes Aldi has one, but it's become one of my favorite grocery shopping tools. Before every shopping trip, I switch the app to "In-Store" mode so it displays my local store's prices. Then I use the built-in shopping list feature to add everything I need.
As I shop, I simply check items off the list. It keeps me organized, helps me stay within my budget, and gives me a much better estimate of what I'll spend before I even reach the checkout. It's a simple feature, but it saves me time and helps me avoid forgetting items or making unnecessary trips back through the store.
Don't Forget to Scan Your Receipts
One last thing I do after every grocery trip is scan my receipts using the Fetch app. Fetch is a free rewards app that gives you points for uploading receipts from many stores, including grocery stores. Those points add up over time and can be redeemed for gift cards to many popular retailers and restaurants.
It's become part of my routine. After I unload the groceries, I take a few seconds to scan my receipts before throwing them away. Since I already have the receipts, it only takes a moment and gives me a little extra value from purchases I was already planning to make.
If you don't already use Fetch, you're welcome to use my referral link below. If you sign up using my link and scan your first receipt, we may both earn bonus points, depending on the current referral offer.
My Fetch referral link:
https://referral.fetch.com/vvv3/referralqr?code=79J26
Or enter my referral code: 79J26
I Shop With a Plan, Not My Appetite
By the time I leave the house, I've already planned our meals, written my grocery list, and decided which stores I'm visiting. That means I can walk into the grocery store with a plan instead of wandering the aisles trying to figure out what sounds good.
I like to think of it as putting on a pair of blinders. I'm there to buy what's on my list, not everything that catches my eye. Of course, if I come across an especially good sale on something we regularly use, I'll adjust my plan. But for the most part, I stick to my list and keep moving.
Shopping this way helps me:
Stay within our grocery budget.
Spend less time wandering the store.
Avoid buying food we don't need.
Leave with everything I planned to buy, and very little that I didn't.
Research has found that sticking to a grocery list reduces the opportunities for impulse purchases to end up in your cart (Inman et al., 2009). While no one is immune to grabbing an occasional treat, having a plan makes it much easier to stay focused on the groceries we actually came to buy.
Meal Planning Helps Reduce Food Waste
Meal planning has another benefit: it helps reduce food waste. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average family of four wastes nearly $3,000 worth of food each year. That's roughly $56 every week that could be saved simply by making better use of the food already in your home (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], n.d.).
Knowing those numbers has completely changed the way I grocery shop. Because I plan our meals before I shop and check what we already have in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, we're much less likely to forget ingredients until they've gone bad. It also helps us use leftovers more intentionally and buy only what we realistically expect to eat that week.
The EPA recommends planning meals, shopping with a list, and using the food you already have before buying more as simple ways to reduce household food waste (EPA, n.d.). Those habits fit naturally into the routine we've developed and have helped us stretch our grocery budget while wasting less food.
Buy Food Your Family Will Actually Eat
One thing I've learned over the years is that the cheapest meal isn't always the best bargain. If no one in your family wants to eat it, there's a good chance it will end up in the trash. When I'm planning our meals, I don't try to reinvent the wheel every week.
Instead, I build our menu around meals I know my family enjoys and ingredients I already have on hand. That way, I'm not spending money on food that ends up going to waste. Saving money on groceries isn't just about finding the lowest prices, it's also about making sure the food you buy actually gets eaten.
My Weekly Grocery Planning Routine
Over time, this routine has become second nature. It only takes me a few minutes each week, and it makes grocery shopping much less stressful.
Here's what my weekly routine looks like:
Plan our dinners for the week.
Check the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.
Build one grocery list.
Compare prices between Aldi, Walmart, and Sam's Club.
Shop the stores in one efficient trip.
Stick to my grocery list.
Scan my receipts with Fetch after unloading the groceries.
It's a simple system, but it's one that's helped our family spend less, waste less food, and avoid those last-minute trips to the grocery store.
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Final Thoughts
Meal planning isn't about being perfect. It's about having a plan before you walk through the grocery store doors. For our family, that means shopping our freezer first, buying proteins in bulk when prices are good, comparing prices between stores, and sticking to our grocery list once we're in the store. It's a simple routine, but it's one that has helped us stretch our grocery budget, reduce food waste, and take the stress out of deciding what's for dinner each night.
Every family and every budget looks a little different, so don't be afraid to make this process your own. Even small changes, like planning a few meals ahead, shopping your pantry first, or sticking to a grocery list, can make a big difference over time. I hope sharing my routine has given you a few ideas you can use to simplify your grocery shopping and save money along the way.
References
Inman, J. J., Winer, R. S., & Ferraro, R. (2009). The interplay among category characteristics, customer characteristics, and customer activities on in-store decision making. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.5.19
Thomas, A., & Garland, R. (1993). Supermarket shopping lists: Their effect on consumer expenditure. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 21(2), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590559310028040
U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). MyPlate: Grocery shopping on a budget. https://www.myplate.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Preventing wasted food at home. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/preventing-wasted-food-home
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