April is here and when it came to meal planning there were some unexpected changes I had to make so I actually did my meal planning twice! This video is a 'VIP Early Release' video and will appear to the public some time after.
So initially when I did my meal planning I totally forgot the kids would be entering school holidays. It does make a difference to my meal planning as I am not planning school lunches and lunches at home can be a little different. PLUS everyone eats just way more when they are at home lol lol lol. The other change was that my husband has to go and do a work thing and wont be eating at home a lot for the week. So planning dinners I need to do just for the kids and I. This again makes a difference as I try and meal plan things we all will eat together and not so much of what my husband and I will eat.
So I very much made sure I used my meal planning printables when I was planning to ensure I got the most out of everything! These printables are FREE for all VIP members, by simply selecting them in the shop here on the website and then entering your special code at checkout. They are an instant download and ready for you to print once you have saved them to your computer..
My current grocery budget is $70 per person ages 14 years + and $50 under 14 years, for the main grocery shop in the first week of my fortnight and $70 for the top up shop in the second week. The top up shop I base off my budget per person in the first week. As a family of 4 that is a total of $310 for the fortnight for food, drinks, toiletries, cleaning products etc anything you buy in a grocery store. I feel no matter where you are living in Australia - city, country or coastal states - it's a fair $ goal for your budget. However if you worry about starting this low, then perhaps increase it by $10 per person to begin with and work from there to see if you can reduce in a few weeks time.
So be sure to watch the matching grocery haul to see if I stay under budget !
Some tools I used to do my meal planning were:
(VIP's use the shop code found on the private Facebook Group to download FREE)
- 7pk Monthly Meal Planner + Shop Your Pantry Meal Ideas + 40 Dinner Theme Night Idea's + Blank Family Favorite Meals Sheet - INSTANT DOWNLOAD
- A Easy Grocery Calculator - INSTANT DOWNLOAD
- 2pk Grocery List Budget + Grocery & Meal Planning Wish List - INSTANT DOWNLOAD
- Lunch Box Meal Planner - INSTANT DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE
- Daily Meal Planner For The Busy - INSTANT DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE
Print out these using the VIP shop code found on the Facebook Group!
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So that is where I'm at this week. Be sure to check out the matching grocery haul vlog if you want to see what I got and how I went with staying within my budget.