We are heading into Easter and school holidays so this fortnights meal plan is going to be super simple and super flexible because it just has to believe! I'm planning main meals purely from the food I have in my freezers already and I'm also doing a few 'meatless meals', just for something different, healthy and to cut costs down even more. We tend todo these anyway on free nights a lot of the time so it's not really that different, but I will be adding in more days from now on.
My general rule for setting a grocery budget is $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. I feel no matter where you are living in Australia - city, country or coastal states - it's a fair $ goal for your budget. For us that is $240 for the main shop in the first week - BUT personally I am trying to hit $200 if I can. I wont feel too bad though just as long as I'm under my $240.
I then have a flat $70 for the top up shop in the second week of the fortnight. I base that off what ever I set per adult. 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 $179. 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!
.
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.