Overheard someone at the coffee shop say they saved $400 a month just by meal planning

That got me thinking because I spend around $600 on groceries and takeout for just myself, so anyone here use a specific method or app that actually sticks for meal planning?

2 comments

2 Comments

briancarter1mo ago

I actually found the opposite problem with most meal planning apps they overcomplicate things to justify their subscription price. For me the trick was ditching apps entirely and just doing a weekly "whats in my fridge" challenge where I force myself to cook 3 things out of whatever's about to go bad before I buy anything new. That alone cut my waste down a ton and saved me maybe $150 a month because I stopped buying stuff I already had. The real hack nobody talks about is that meal planning only works if you also plan for the days you mentally check out and order pizza anyway so I started keeping 2 emergency freezer meals specifically for those nights. Your mileage may vary but I swear by the $5 slow cooker cookbook I got at a thrift store its saved me way more than any app ever did.

jordanc321mo ago

That "whats in my fridge" challenge makes a lot of sense and Id add that planning for leftovers is just as important.