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Looking for a quick, short-term way to lower your grocery budget? Maybe you work freelance and this is a lean month, or maybe you’re dealing with an unexpected job loss or delayed paycheck. We’ve come up with a budget meal plan that covers all three meals for a week and will keep your bellies full—all for only $65!
This meal plan assumes a family of 4 with two adults and 2 children, and it does not take into account any dietary considerations. Substituting in gluten-free or keto-friendly options will increase the weekly cost, but if you’re really desperate, eating scrambled eggs with fruit or vegetables is one of the cheapest, allergy-friendly, most nutrient-dense meals you can choose!
As with all of the prices we list at Southern Savers, they are going to vary geographically and by store. In order to come up with this cheap meal plan, I tried to use a reasonable price based on our buy price list as well as the item search to see how cheaply we could get that particular item right now. In cases where an item did not appear on either of those lists, I used our local Walmart price.
Note: This is just a guide. If you hate oatmeal, then grab cereal. We are trying to focus on good food options that are filling but cheap!
There are a few items that you’ll need that you’ll use all week–milk, butter, salad dressing, and bread. I’m also assuming you have pantry staples like mayonnaise, ketchup, spices, and other condiments on hand.
Budget Meal Plan for $65/Week
Monday
Breakfast: 6 eggs scrambled, toast with butter
Lunch: Sandwiches with deli meat and cheese, raw veggies dipped in salad dressing
Dinner: Meatballs, pasta sauce, pasta, frozen vegetable
Tuesday
Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: Egg salad sandwiches (without onions/celery), raw veggies dipped in salad dressing
Dinner: Sausage egg bake, pancakes (from a mix), pancake syrup, fruit
Wednesday
Breakfast: Leftover sausage egg bake, fruit
Lunch: Boxed macaroni and cheese with frozen peas mixed in
Dinner: Hot dogs with buns, frozen french fries, frozen vegetable
Thursday
Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: Meatball subs (Meatballs, hot dog buns, pasta sauce, and sliced mozzarella cheese); raw veggies dipped in salad dressing
Dinner: Chili, cornbread from a mix
Friday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast with butter
Lunch: Leftover chili and cornbread
Dinner: Beans and rice, frozen vegetable
For the beans and rice, simply heat up the beans (drained or undrained, however you prefer) and cook a big batch of rice. Then mix them together and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, or other Mexican spices. If you already have salsa, cheese, or sour cream on hand, you can top it with those!
Saturday
Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: Leftover beans and rice
Dinner: Grilled cheese, tomato soup from a can
Sunday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast with butter
Lunch: Eat up all the leftovers from this week!
Dinner: English muffin pizzas, frozen vegetable
Budget Meal Plan Printables
In order to make this as easy as possible, I’ve got three printables to go along with this meal plan.
- $65/Week Budget Meal Plan (hang it on your fridge)
- $65/Week Budget Meal Plan Shopping List
- $65/Week Budget Meal Plan Cost Breakdown
See some of our other meal plans here.
