Trying to meal plan during the holidays can be extra challenging. Especially when you are looking for quick and easy recipes on a budget. How do you know how many meals to plan for when there are so many unexpected parties and get togethers?
The last thing you want to do is plan meals and purchase groceries only to let them all go to waste because you ended up going to your friends house for a last minute Christmas game night.
In this month’s meal plan video (you can subscribe to my YouTube Channel) I share with you the tips used this month to make sure we have enough food at home for the entire month but also leaving room for unplanned fun.
Also don’t forget to watch my grocery haul video below. Not only will it give you ideas on new items to buy at Costco and Target, but you can get a really good idea on what grocery items to put on your grocery list to help you eat delicious on a budget.
Our Family’s Monthly Grocery Budget
If you are new here, hi! You are probably interested to know what we set for our monthly budget. This is how we work it.
$300 for consumable goods for our giant monthly grocery haul. $160 for non consumable goods. In addition to that, using our cash envelope budget we use $25 each week for fresh produce and milk.
In order to be able to take advantage of sales throughout the month, we budget $40 each month to use when I see a super great deal. We will then freeze or store that food and use it in planning the following month’s meal plan.
My Favorite App for Grocery Shopping on a Budget
No mom has the time to spend continuously scanning apps looking for the best rebate offers and sales. Which is why I have minimized my rebate strategy to help maximize my savings in the smallest amount of time.
My very favorite app to us is Ibotta! I have done an entire tutorial on how to use the app to maximize your savings. But in a nutshell this is how I do it, I do my normal grocery shopping first.
Then once I get all my groceries home, I will quickly open the app and search the two stores that I just went shopping at to see if there are any rebates that apply to my groceries. There are usually 3-4 that I can claim. This saves me around $5 each time I use the app.
If that doesn’t sound like much, trust me! The three minutes that it takes me to save $5 is 100% worth it! These small savings add up quick and once you hit $20 you can cash out in PayPal or Venmo, or choose from a bunch of really awesome gift cards! I usually choose Target and treat myself to a well deserved “mom’s only” snack!
If you are new to Ibotta, sign up using this link or the code: qybjrj and you will automatically get $10 after you claim your first rebate! So easy!
December 2017 Monthly Meal Plan – 21 Quick and Easy Recipes on a Budget
You can download this month’s meal plan by clicking the image below. In the free PDF download, each of the quick and easy recipes on a budget are actually clickable links once you open the file.
Also available for free, is my Meal Planning on a Budget Toolkit. It’s broken down in a unique way to help you stick to your budget and avoid last minute surprises at the checkout!
Here is a tutorial on how to maximize your savings with the meal planning toolkit.
December 2017 Grocery Haul
I didn’t get to try out too many new items this month because we had to stock back up on some basics. I’m excited for next month to try some more new and healthy foods.
What are your favorite foods to get at Costco? I would love to chat about it in the comments below!
Thanks for stopping in and I will talk to you soon! Xoxo
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About Brittany Cooper
My name is Brittany and I am devoted to saving our family money in everything we do. Yes I do coupon but that is not the only frugal thing I do. I'm a bargain hunter, tester of all things DIY, trip planner, our family’s chef, and lover of all things chic. I may be obsessed with being frugal but I still love to add bits of beauty to our home. Decorating on pennies works, it just takes a little patience. I am a firm believer that with a bit of planning you can save your family a lot of money.
