• Home
  • GET THE BOOK
  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • Free Resources
  • Shop TBM
  • Courses

The Budget Mom

Real Women. Real Life. Real Finance

  • Home
  • Products
    • Live Rich Planner
    • Budget By Paycheck
  • Blog
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • COURSES
  • GET THE BOOK
  • Shop TBM

A life you love on a budget you can afford.

Here on TBM®, I provide you with simple, easy-to-follow solutions to help you budget your money, pay off debt, save more, and crush your financial goals. But more than that, I give you the tools to start doing the things that matter most to you, on a budget that actually works!

August Budget Monthly Meal Plan

September 5, 2018
Food & Drink

Share7
Pin253
Share
Tweet
Email
260 Shares

Check out my July 2018 Monthly Meal Plan here.

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

August was a horrible month for meal planning. I got lazy and ended up eating cereal, frozen pizza, and Velveeta a lot of nights. The one thing that I am learning about meal planning is that you have to make the time to do it. If you don't, it just won't happen.

Even though I seemed to fall behind in the kitchen in August, I was still able to stay within my food budget. Meal planning has such a positive impact on my budget, so taking an hour every Sunday to sit down and plan out my meals is definitely worth it.

I allocate $400 in my food budget every month ($200 per paycheck), and I use the cash in that envelope for eating out and grocery trips. I have a small family, just my son, my boyfriend, and myself. I like to choose recipes with at least a 4 serving portion size, so I have enough leftovers for lunch throughout the work week.

WHY I STARTED MEAL PLANNING

Just like you, I am consistently trying to find ways to cut down on food costs and cut out extra expenses in my budget. Starting in January 2018, I began tracking every dollar that I spend throughout the month. Not only am I keeping up-to-date on my expense tracker, but I am also keeping a close watch on my cash envelope spending trackers.

If you are not familiar with my budgeting method, you can read all about the cash envelope method here. Essentially, I pay all of my regular expenses online and use cash envelopes for the rest of my variable spending. If you are interested in using my budgeting method, I have a free email course that teaches you step-by-step on how to set one up. You can see more about my Budget Blueprint Email Course here.

I started noticing that almost every line item on my spending tracker was eating out. I was spending nearly $800 every month on eating out and spontaneous Starbucks purchases. I have tried meal planning in the past, but I never lasted more than two weeks.

Seeing my spending tracker for my food budget was enough to kick my butt into gear.

It made me furious that I was spending all of this money on food, rather than on my savings or paying off debt.

I also knew that I could cut my food budget in half if I had a plan. So I developed the TBM Meal Planning Workbook.  (The TBM Meal Planning Workbook pairs well with $5 Meal Plans.)

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED SO FAR

Here are some things that have helped me save money on my new meal plan.

  • Always shop your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer first! You can cut costs by making recipes that use what you already have on hand.
  • Have a planned grocery shopping list! Use this list to see if any of the ingredients you are going to buy are on sale or can be substituted for ones that are on sale. The apps I currently LOVE using are Ibotta, Walmart Savings Catcher, and the Krazy Coupon Lady.
  • Don't be afraid to incorporate dedicated days for leftovers in your meal plan!
  • Make a price list before you head to the store. Jump online and check prices before you start grocery shopping. This will give you a good idea if you need to substitute an item or remove it completely if there is not enough cash in your food budget.

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

AUGUST BUDGET MONTHLY MEAL PLAN

For my meal plan in August, I stepped away from freezer cooking since the weather has cooled off. I get a lot of my recipes from Pinterest and try to find at least 4 recipes per week. I do all of my meal planning and shopping on Sunday, and I try to keep each trip under $75.

My saving grace has been my Instant Pot. Being able to cook dinner in under 20 minutes allows me to go to the gym at night, and still have dinner on the table by 7:30pm.

I also love how you can cook one-pot meals which allows you to cook EVERYTHING in one batch in the Instant Pot. I like to add potatoes and vegetables to my Instant Pot for my sides, and it saves me time from having to cook my sides separately.

  • Read: A Meal Plan Solution for My Food Budget Problems

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

AUGUST (WEEK 8/1 – 8/5)

  • 8/1: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/2: Honey BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs
  • 8/3: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/4: Honey Sesame Chicken
  • 8/5: James's Birthday Dinner

We were huge fans of the Honey Sesame Chicken. I had a lot of frozen chicken in my freezer for the beginning of August, so I made sure to build recipes around what I already had on hand. Before I sit down to meal plan, in addition to creating a monthly inventory list, I check my freezer to see what meats I have already in my freezer. Meats are a huge cost for my budget, so I always like to make sure I don't have any laying around before I plan my meals.

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

AUGUST (WEEK 8/6 – 8/12)

  • 8/6: Cereal
  • 8/7: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread
  • 8/8: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/9: Mongolian Beef and White Rice
  • 8/10: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/11: Country Steak & Mashed Potatoes
  • 8/12: Creamy Thyme Chicken

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

Our favorite recipe from this week was the Mongolian Beef. I have never had flank steak, but we ended up eating this for a couple of nights. I got all of my recipes for this week from OnceAMonthMeals.com which shows you how to create a freezer meal from each recipe. If you want to save even more prep time in the kitchen, having the freezer meal option is amazing!

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

AUGUST (WEEK 8/13 – 8/19)

  • 8/13: Cream Tuscan Garlic Chicken
  • 8/14: Chicken Fajita Pasta
  • 8/15: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/16: Pizza Pasta
  • 8/17: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread
  • 8/18: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/19: LEFTOVERS

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

AUGUST (WEEK 8/20 – 8/26)

  • 8/20: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Soup
  • 8/21: Tangy Beef Stroganoff 
  • 8/22: LEFTOVERS
  • 8/23: Velveeta
  • 8/24: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread
  • 8/25: Frozen Pizza
  • 8/26: LEFTOVERS

I only made one entire recipe during the second to last week in August. We choose to make one of our favorite meals from last month since we knew it would give us at least two nights of leftovers. The rest of the month was scrounging around the pantry. When I don't have time for meal planning, I always make sure to keep extra cans of tuna, Velveeta, stuff to make Spaghetti, and a frozen pizza in the freezer. This keeps me from going out to eat, and still gives me options for finding something quick and easy.

Are you looking for some easy freezer cooking recipes? Here is the entire list of recipes I used for my July monthly meal plan!

AUGUST (WEEK 8/27 – 8/31)

  • 8/27: Dinner Date with Tina
  • 8/28: Pork Chops & Mashed Potatoes
  • 8/29: Red Pepper Chicken & White Rice
  • 8/30: Honey Garlic Chicken
  • 8/31: Chicken Tacos & Instant Mexican Rice

If you are struggling with your food budget, I highly recommend starting a meal plan. It doesn't take a lot of time but could save you a lot of money in the end.

I plan on posting my meal plan updates every month. So be on the lookout for those updates!


DO YOU WANT MY ENTIRE MEAL PLANNING WORKBOOK?

GET IT HERE >>

A simple meal planning solution I'm using to tackle my food budget problems. If eating out is killing your grocery budget, it's time to create a plan with the TBM Meal Planning Workbook!

Looking for meal plans? Try $5 Meal Plans >>

Share7
Pin253
Share
Tweet
Email
260 Shares

Filed Under: Tagged With: AUGUST 2018, INSTANT POT RECIPES, MEAL PLANNING, MONTHLY MEAL PLAN

Previous article:
« How to Use the Cash Envelope Method When Your Income Varies
Next article:
Need More Money? Options That Could Get You into Trouble. »

Comments

  1. f says

    September 5, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    Hi Miko, thanks for linking up to my Instant Pot Pork Chop & Mashed Potatoes Meal the last week of August!

    Mollie

Hello, I'm Kumiko, but everyone just calls me Miko. Welcome to my blog, The Budget Mom. I am an Accredited Financial Counselor® , and mom to a rambunctious boy. Come along with me as I strive to live a life I love on a budget that I can afford. Read more about me.

RECENT YOUTUBE VIDEO

The Budget Mom

The Budget Mom
It’s time for another Real Life Budget. I asked my readers to submit their REAL information. Real spending, real debt, and real savings goals.

I am taking those real-life numbers and showing you how I would organize and budget that information using my Budget By Paycheck® Method.

If you would like to submit your budget information to possibly be picked for a Real Life Budget that we will show on YouTube, please reach out to budgets@thebudgetmom.com.

Diane is a single mom who is a Database Administrator for an IT Department at a local college. She lives in Queens, NY, and eventually wants to move to a lower-cost of living area in the future. 

Diane submitted her information because she is struggling to organize and tackle all of her larger short-term goals.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
02:15 Why & Personal Story
04:20 Income 
04:37 Fixed Expenses
05:48 Variable Expenses
06:31 Debt
07:53 Savings Goals
10:18 Budget By Paycheck Method
14:51 My Recommendations

➡️ HOW I TRACK MY SPENDING: https://bit.ly/3aIe89I
➡️ HOW TO USE A BUDGET CALENDAR: https://bit.ly/2IzF2Vj
➡️ FINDING YOUR WHY: https://bit.ly/3aJUryj
➡️ THE BUDGET MOM'S FINANCIAL FREEDOM STEPS: https://bit.ly/3cfJXsp
➡️ HOW TO GET STARTED WITH THE CASH ENVELOPE METHOD: https://bit.ly/2vQJaO5
➡️ HOW TO CREATE A PLAN OF ATTACK TO PAY OFF DEBT: https://bit.ly/2wDETxF

ABOUT ME

Kumiko Love is a single mom who empowers women everywhere to regain control of their financial lives. An Accredited Financial Counselor with over nine years of experience in the finance industry, she founded The Budget Mom, a community of millions of women on a path to financial fulfillment.

She's also the creator of the wildly popular Live Rich Planner® and Budget by Paycheck® Workbook. Love has been featured on Good Morning America, the Today show, CNN, CBS, ABC and in USA Today, US News, World Report, Huffington Post, Money Magazine, Parents Magazine, the Washington Post, and Real Simple. She lives in Spokane Valley, Washington.

YOU CAN FIND ME AT:

📝 WEBSITE: https://www.thebudgetmom.com
📘 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thebudgetmom/
📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thebudgetmom/
📌 PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/thebudgetmom/

GET STARTED

➡️Start Here: https://www.thebudgetmom.com/start-here/
➡️Courses: https://courses.thebudgetmom.com/
➡️Free Resources: https://bit.ly/2PDmTHz
➡️GET 10% OFF my popular Budget-by-Paycheck Workbook - Coupon Code TBMYOUTUBE https://bit.ly/3FEdZFp

Soundstripe License Code: LBWMAQPEPWYVFKT3
Load More... Subscribe
Free Resource Library

Recent Posts

  • To Pay Off Debt or Not to Pay Off Debt: The Pros and Cons of Using Home Equity
  • The Secret to Personal Finance I Never Learned About in Business School
  • Don’t Overpay for TV and Internet: How to Shop Around for the Best Deals
  • 4 Simple Tricks to Stick to Your Grocery Budget
  • Celebrate Without Breaking the Bank: How to Save for Special Events

Blog Categories

Amazon Associates Disclosure

The Budget Mom, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

  • Cart
  • Shop Policies

Start With My Friday Newsletter

Every Friday I send you a short helpful email with my popular Friday freebie. Join my 500k+ subscribers!

About

  • Home
  • ABOUT TBM
  • Contact
  • Start Here

Important

  • DISCLAIMER
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Subscribe

Favorites

  • YouTube
  • Blog
  • Live Rich Planner
  • Budget by Paycheck

Start With My Friday Newsletter

Copyright ©2023, The Budget Mom®
This website contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I may receive a commission. This website is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program where I earn advertising fees by linking to amazon.com.
  • How financially fulfilled are you? Take this 2 minute quiz to get your score!
    Click Here to Start