$100 Budget Weekly Menu (for six people including three teens). My two main strategies for saving money are:
(1) to make a weekly menu plan based on the sale items in my area;
(2) to buy multiple sale items when they are at their lowest price.
Instead of deciding my menu first, I look at the sale items plus what I have in my pantry, fridge and freezer, and then make my menu based on those items. (Read here how I do this step-by-step).
You may not be able to get the same kinds of deals that I do (check back later today to see this week’s shopping), but you can save simply by making a menu plan. Use my menu as a starting point, or check out eMeals menu plans. They start at just $5 a month and my readers can get an additional 10% off the already low prices by using promo code PEACEFUL!
Read more about how I stick to a $100 a week budget in my e-book Save More-Clip Less.
Print your own customizable menu planner form here.
*Items marked with an asterisk were purchased in previous weeks in the $100 Budget and are in the pantry, fridge or freezer.
Click purple links to go to recipes!
BREAKFAST
Egg and Cheese Bagels*
Fried eggs, toast*
Oatmeal* with cinnamon and raisins*
Cheese Toast, banana
Cereal with milk
Yogurt, banana
LUNCH
Banana Berry Smoothie*, popcorn*
Turkey Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese
Nachos, avocado slices
Quesadillas, carrots* with ranch dressing*
Ham Sandwiches*, green pepper slices x2
PBJ*, tortilla chips
DINNER
(We have a couple of repeats from last week because I left town to visit friends and family and we didn’t eat these meals.)
BBQ Chicken and Black Bean Tostadas*, rice*
Garlic Shrimp Radiatore*, romaine salad, garlic bagels
Breakfast for Dinner: Scrambled eggs and bacon*
London Broil*, steamed green beans*
Roast Chicken*, Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Chicken Enchiladas (with leftover roast chicken), rice*
Beef Roast, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli
Read what we do about snacks here.
What are you eating this week? Leave a comment or link. 🙂
Please Note: I post my weekly menu to encourage menu planning and to give meal ideas, not as a nutritional standard. You should feed your family based on your priorities and values.
If you would like menu planning help, check out eMeals*–weekly menus based on your local store’s sales including recipes and a grocery list! Click here and use promo code PEACEFUL for a 10% discount off of eMeals already low prices!
*affiliate link
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For more menu ideas, check out OrgJunkie Menu Plan Mondays.
LOVE your site. I have a new friend in my corner!! 😉 Your menu’s are really going to help me learn to work with our drastically reduced food budget. Oh well, I needed to lose these extra 20 pounds anyways…lol. Bye bye convenience snacks; hello do-able budget!!
Welcome Ronee! You can do it! 🙂
Hey, I keep seeing you reference your ebook as free, but everytime I click on the link it says it’s $5…I don’t mind to pay when I decide to get it, but I also want to make sure i’m not missing out on a good deal somewhere 😉 ? Can you help me out 🙂
LOVE your blog btw…My husband and I were recently married, and due to other issues, have found ourselves in major debt and barely skiming by to make ends meet…I found your blog yesterday and it has really motivated me to take a TRUE look at our finances and our groceries and start making small changes now that will help us dig out of this hole were in. I also aspire to eventually become a stay at home mom again (I have an older daughter and was previously married and stayed home with her and my step-sons) when we decide to have our own children, which is also on hold until we are “dug” out! Thanks for all your inspirations and wonderful ideas!!!
Hi NikKi! I’m glad your found a little inspiration here. Yes, the ebook was free for all of 2012, but it is for sale now. For a limited time, you can use promo code SaveMore to get $2.00 off so you will only pay $3.00. I promise you, you will save much more than that by implementing the ideas in the book. 🙂
Hi Kimberlee! I just wanted to THANK YOU!!! for writing this blog. It has truly inspired me SO much to be frugal, and take control of our money. We are on an income currently of about $3,000.00 a month, with two large debts to pay monthly, and a baby on the way! Our goal is for me to stay home when the baby is born, and right now, we are trying to figure out the best way to prepare for that. With one income, we will be living on around $1800.00 a month.
Do you have any ideas on how to eat for two for around $60.00 a week? We haven’t quite gotten the hang of budgeting our grocery money wisely, so i want to see if we can do it for this amount in order to SAVE SAVE SAVE!
Thank you ahead of time for any help!!
And God bless you 🙂
Hi Courtnie! You can check out my FREE ebook here for lots of ideas to help you save money on groceries. 🙂
Just found your website! Love the $100 menu plan idea. It’s just me and my husband right now but hopefully we will be blessed with a little one soon. This will help our situation!
Thanks for inspiring me to find ways to cut our out-of-control grocery bill! Here’s our meal plan for the week – everything is gluten, dairy and egg-free (as always!). http://notmissingathing.blogspot.com/2012/08/meal-plan-monday-august-20-2012.html
Thanks, Paige
Thanks for linking up Paige!
do not have a cool link to my menu – its just on my fridge…lol. Our breakfast menu has shifted AWAY from cereals. We do have cereal once per week… but we rotate fresh muffins, oatmeal, breakfast ‘cookies’ and hash browns. A staple is a ‘green’ smoothie. General recipe is frozen banana, coconut milk, flaxseed, frozen fruit of choice, fresh spinach and agave. Our menu is vegan – and this is something the kids REQUEST… we alternate fruit options to avoid burn out. We have added cacao powder a few times as a real treat…
We were non-cereal eaters for a while too, but I have had less time to bake lately so the cereal has entered back into the menu as a convenience. I hope to start baking more this fall.
It was thanks to reading your blog that I started thinking ‘outside the box’ – pun intended – for breakfast items. Cereal was getting pricey with 4 kids (as you know) and I was trying to add more nutritional foods. This morning was fresh apple walnut muffins. The menu idea has been a HUGE help – and I am working towards making larger batches and freezing… the warm weather isn’t helping me motivate to bake AT ALL!!
I love reading about your meals! It is almost my favorite part of your week, lol. My favorite is the grocery savings!
I am so glad Bobbi–it’s good to know someone enjoys what I’m doing. 🙂
Love seeing what’s on everyone’s menus for the week. Just settling from moving so I made simple meals this week http://www.elenisavesu.com/2012/08/tasty-thursday-simple-5-ingredients.html?m=1
Thanks for sharing! Here’s our meal plan: http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/05/14/our-512-meal-plan/