Can you Save with Meal Planning?
January 31 2011
On Wednesday of this week I will be doing an interview with an Ottawa radio station. The theme of the interview is about cost savings with a meal plan. Basically, they want to know if a person can really save money by planning their meals.
It seems an obvious enough answer to me…anytime you plan you end up saving money. Whether it’s planning a vacation or planning a family outing; the more thought you put into it, usually, the more you save.
When it comes to meal planning, the cost savings can be astronomical! Most people don’t realize how much money they spend on lunches. Hey, it’s only $6 for the burger combo at the local fast food joint but you probably could have made your lunch for less that $2…that’s a difference of 300%!! Imagine if you bought your lunch every work day. Let’s say an average of $7 per day…that’s $35 per week…which is $1700 a year! That’s a big chunk of change.
As for dinners, lasagna at your typical big box eatery will run you about $12.95. With that you get Caesar salad and “unlimited garlic bread”. You could easily make a lasagna at home for under $2 a portion…that’s a whopping 600%!!!
Sure, not everyone eats out all the time and the occasional restaurant meal won’t break the bank, but planning your weekly meal schedule will also help decrease your grocery bills. Using the MealEasy grocery list that automatically compiles all the groceries you’ll need to make the scheduled meals, you will easily cut down on “impulse buys” and food that ends up going bad.
And we’re only talking cost savings here. We’re not even talking about your health and well being. Eating homemade food simply makes sense and saves!
