It's the end of September and we are going into school holidays, but that's not the best part .... WE ARE OUT OF LOCKDOWN 2.0 !!!!!! - well in regional Victoria at least :)
So with that in mind, as soon as we got news of our lockdown 2.0 release (yes that sounds like we got released from prison, but I promise you it really wasn't that bad lol) we jumped online and booked a short vacation away! So in today's video you will see I didn't meal plan for those days we were going to be away. In all, minus my 'FREE' days, I only planned specific cooked meals for 8 nights. I had plenty in my fridge, freezer and pantry so I could put dinners together without actually having to purchase much else. That has saved me $$$.
If you you have been following along and seen my budget update since COVID hit. So my general rule is now $70 per adult (persons aged 14yrs+ because we all know that teenagers eat as much as adults at this point!) and $50 per child (under 14yrs) in the household is the main grocery shop budget for a fortnight. For us that is $240 for the main shop in the first week. With then a flat $70 for the top up shop in the second week of the fortnight. So in total that is $310 for the fortnight for my family of 4.
Keeping all this mind my budget for my main shop is $240. I’m currently estimating that I will spend around $211, 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)
- 4pk 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.