• 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!

My Solution to Meal Planning (Free Weekly Meal Planner)

February 28, 2016
Food & Drink

Share21
Pin233
Share
Tweet6
Email
260 Shares

If you are like me, then you also struggle with sticking to a meal plan and grocery budget. Over the last two years, I have tried several meal planning subscriptions, but I could never stick to them. Here is my solution to meal planning and why subscriptions were not right for my family.

The big thing nowadays is meal planning. It’s supposed to help keep us on track with our budgets, keep our meals lively, and save us from the dreadful question “what’s for dinner?”. But is spending money on any meal planning subscription worth it?

For the last five months, I have participated in one meal planning service called eMeals. I stumbled across this service through my designation as an Accredited Financial Counselor. eMeals is endorsed by the ever famous “Financial Guru” Dave Ramsey. Well if Dave Ramsey is endorsing such a product it must be a financially sound decision right? Here is what I found out on my journey of meal planning for my family.

First, let me you give you some background on my family. From picky eaters to having kids, the meals you choose for your meal plan are going to be affected. I have been married for almost five years to a wonderful husband. He is the type of man who will devour a whole pizza all by himself and still say he is hungry at the end of the night. He is a meat and potatoes kind of person. He does not want the “foo-foo food” as he calls it. When I try to get creative and add new ingredients, such as quinoa or strawberries in his fresh green salad, he doesn’t eat it. I have an almost 4-year-old that is picky with his food. He would rather go to bed without eating than eat the food I give him at times. This is my meal planning struggle.

eMeals is an online service that will email you seven days worth of recipes, and depending on your plan, a grocery list that corresponds to your favorite grocery store. This grocery list that coincides with your recipes has a lot of useful information. From red indicators to let you know something is on sale to the price of each ingredient. There are now 50 different meal plans to choose from. From weight management plans, family inspired plans, and specialty plans, there is every option under the rainbow. So, what does this service cost? You can start with a 14-day free trial to test the waters and then the online subscription varies depending on if you choose breakfast, lunch, or the dinner menu. The price ranges from $36 – $59 for a 12-month subscription. That’s about $5 a month if you choose the dinner menu option. The best value I have found for a meal planning subscription.

There is a TON of meal planning subscriptions out there today. Blue Apron is another meal planning subscription that lets you choose from a “2-person meal” or a “family plan.” The difference between eMeals and Blue Apron is that Blue Apron mails the recipes and the real ingredients to your door. That’s right! No going to the grocery store! But it will cost you. The “2-person meal” costs you a whopping $59.94 a week and the “family plan” costs you $69.92 a week.

The downside to most meal planning subscriptions is the inability to customize your recipes. Customization was by far my biggest challenge with meal planning subscriptions. If you don’t like one of the recipes, you still pay for it. Blue Apron mails the recipes to your door, not allowing you to choose the actual meals your family will eat. There is not altering your recipes or your grocery list on eMeals, which makes you spend time scratching out the ingredients you don’t need for recipes your family won’t like.

Throughout my meal planning journey, I have discovered that meal planning does, in fact, save you money and keep you on a budget. But spending money on an online subscription for recipes I didn’t use at times was not my solution. I have found that creating my own meal plan not only saves me the money I would pay for an online subscription, but it allows me to pick recipes I KNOW my family will eat. I created my very own meal planning printout.

If you are like me, then you also struggle with sticking to a meal plan and grocery budget. Over the last two years, I have tried several meal planning subscriptions, but I could never stick to them. Here is my solution to meal planning and why subscriptions were not right for my family.

Click the picture above to printout your free weekly meal planner!

As a full-time working mom, I can choose slow cooker meals for the weekdays when I don’t have a chance to cook, and I can also choose recipes I know my family will eat.

  • Resource: $5 Meal Plans

What's your biggest struggle with meal planning?

Share21
Pin233
Share
Tweet6
Email
260 Shares

Filed Under: Tagged With: CUT EXPENSES, FOOD, LIFE, MEAL PLANNING, SAVING

Previous article:
« Medical Bills – I’m Drowning In Them!
Next article:
Other Mothers – The Power of the Quarter Sale »

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
Today, I am showing you how I use visual financial trackers in my life. I have a lot of these trackers available in my Free Resource Library (https://bit.ly/2PDmTHz), in my TBM Shop (https://bit.ly/42S0DAi), or you can find them over at DebtFreeCharts.com.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:37 Why you should use financial trackers
04:37 Savings Goals
08:32 Graphic Tracker for Debt
13:16 Lined Tracker for Debt
20:43 Tips & 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
➡️ HOW TO CLOSE OUT YOUR BUDGET: https://bit.ly/2Uz0UUW

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 Music License Code: WIKRJYHFAEB3H6B3
Load More... Subscribe
Free Resource Library

Recent Posts

  • HELOC to Pay Off Debt: Is it a Lifeline or a Trap?
  • Budget Tune-Up: Know When to Adjust Your Limits
  • Freeze Your Credit: How It Works and When It’s a Smart Move
  • Bounce Back from Fraud: How to Protect Your Family’s Finances and Move Forward
  • Unlock Hidden Health Insurance Perks: Save Money and Boost Your Family’s Finances

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