One Week of Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner for less than $85
I’m back with another budget meal plan!
Cutting our grocery budget has been a main point of focus for me in 2024. I have been trying to be more intentional in our grocery spending and trying to use what we already have at home. I have really started to enjoy meal planning, and we have also significantly cut down on our eating out, so that’s another win!
If you want more meal plan inspiration, check out my previous meal plan.
A few tips for meal planning:
- Shop your pantry first
- This is the first thing I do before I make my meal plan for the week. I plan my meals around what I have in my refrigerator, pantry, and freezer.
- Decide on your meals for the week
- I keep a list of all the meals my family likes, and I rotate them. I also keep a list of meals I want to try and as we try them, I will make a note of whether that makes it to our regular meal rotation or not. This saves you from having to ask everyone, “What do you want for dinner?”
- I compare my meal rotation list to what I have in my pantry and build my meals from there.
- Make a list
- I personally keep a running list going on the Walmart app. This helps me not to forget anything, but it also keeps a running total, so you know how much you’re spending. Keeping up with your grocery list on the app helps you save time and money!
A few notes before I get into the meal plan:
This is a complete meal plan that will feed a family of four for a week. You could probably stretch this meal plan to 5-6 because most of the dinners will have leftovers.
I have included most everything that will be needed with the exception of basic pantry staples, seasonings, condiments, etc.
For this meal plan, I have priced everything from my local Walmart. We live in a rural town and Walmart is the closest grocery store. Also, I have priced all the beef you will need, but I will say that we buy a ¼ of a cow each year and this is much cheaper than buying beef at the store. If you have this option from a local farmer, I would 100% recommend it.
I keep breakfasts and lunches very simple. My kids are still young and go to daycare, so I do not have to prepare breakfast and lunch for them during the week. For my husband and I, we will eat leftovers if we have them for lunch, but I keep a few freezer items and salad on hand for quick lunches. I have still included a few items in the meal plan below for breakfast and lunch.
Also, these are the prices from my local Walmart, so they might not be exactly what you are paying. However, this is a frugal meal plan and it should definitely help you save money on your grocery budget!
Meal Plan:
Monday: Taco Rice
Tuesday: Sweet Baby Ray’s Crockpot Chicken, green beans, macaroni and cheese
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Chicken and Noodles, crescent rolls
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Frozen Pizza, French fries *this is our go to on Friday nights
Saturday: Mini Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, sweet peas, crescent rolls
Sunday: Eat out for lunch / Whatever you can find for supper
Grocery Breakdown for these meals:
Breakfast/Lunch
Bananas, 5 – $1.20
Great Value Vanilla Greek Yogurt, 32 ounce tub – $3.54
Great Value Oats & Honey Granola – $2.67
Great Value Personal Size Pizza – $2.34 X 2
Romaine Lettuce – $2.50
Dinners
Instant White Minute Rice, 14 ounce box – $2.46
Ground Beef Chuck – $5.63 X 2 *(1lb each) will use for 2 meals
Taco Bell Taco Seasoning – $2.98
1 can Great Value Rotel – $0.96
Shredded Colby Jack Cheese, 16 ounce – $4.22
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (frozen) – $13.94 (5 lbs) *will use this for 2 meals
1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, 40 ounce bottle – $3.98
Great Value Light Brown Sugar, 32 ounce – $2.22 *will use this for 2 meals
1 can Great Value Green Beans – $0.64
Great Value Elbow Macaroni, 16 ounce box – $0.98
Great Value Velveeta, 16 ounce – $3.98
Great Value Cream of Chicken Soup – $0.68 X 2
Great Value Chicken Broth – $1.37
Great Value Extra Wide Egg Noodles – $1.48
Great Value Crescent Rolls – $1.98
Frozen Pizza – $4.97
Great Value French Fries – $2.97
Great Value Eggs, 6 count – $2.17
Instant Mashed Potatoes – $1.44
Great Value Sweet Peas – $0.64
Crescent Rolls – $1.98
Total = $82.57
I am super happy with this $83 grocery list for the week.
I hope this meal plan gives you some ideas for your family! I know how important it is to save money in this economy. I plan to start doing these meal planning posts weekly so I can offer more inspiration. I know I am always looking up easy, cheap recipes to try!