• If you're meal planning for five meals, write down a grocery list that includes everything for those five meals.
• Set a limit on how much you can spend on groceries each week and have a designated "grocery day."
• Take stock before you shop. You might still have...

• Meal prepping: The idea is you have certain meals that you want to eat over a week, and you cook them in bulk and refrigerate them until needed.
• Cooking for one: Instead of taking 30-45 minutes to cook each meal every day, you can take 1-2 hours at the start of the week...

Cooking your food is often far healthier and more effective per calorie than processed food.

The idea is to live by a schedule so you can save some money on groceries, and free up time.

Meal planning is a sort of calendar for your groceries and meals. The same way you might plan out your week or month for work, meal planning takes care of that for each meal.

• Make sure your meal plan is simple. If it is too much planning, plan fewer meals and rotate throughout the week.
• Prioritize leftovers and bulk cooking.
• Simplify the dinners themselves. Some meals can be quick and cost-effective.