Planning Ahead Series {Part 1}: How I Meal Plan & Grocery Shop Just 2 Times A Month

Why I Learned to Plan Ahead Living in the Country

It’s true — I chose country life, making the conscious decision to live outside the bounds of urban living. In doing so, I had to learn some tough but valuable lessons. One of those lessons is the heart of this article: planning ahead.

Because the nearest grocery store is far away, I had no choice but to rethink how I approached food shopping. Instead of making frequent trips, I began mapping out meals and groceries well in advance. Surprisingly, this strategy didn’t just work for rural life — it became a system I now consider essential.

Even if I moved back to the city, I’d do everything I could to keep using this planning method. It saves time, reduces waste, and eliminates the stress of daily “what’s for dinner?” decisions.

And I’m sharing that system with you today. You, too, can benefit from the grand idea of planning ahead your meals and grocery shopping, whether you live an hour’s drive from the nearest grocery store or have one just down the street.

With that said, welcome to my OCD, list-making, and future-planning world.

Why Shop Less?

Ever heard the phrase, time is money? It’s true, and the first reason to shop less. Sure, there is some additional front-end time invested when planning, but you still save time in the long run.

Time spent running over to the grocery store for the second time in a week because you needed something you forgot to buy.

Time wasted waiting for checkout during the busiest hour of the day for the umpteenth time that month.

Time in the car as you run errands between stores. Again and again.

With this system, you’ll drive to the store two times a month, and that’s it. Two days out of 30 each month. That’s two times you’ll wait in line for checkout. That’s two times you’ll plan meals and go over a shopping list.

Just two.

The second reason to plan ahead meals and shopping is to save money. For me, after my career shift, planning meals and reducing grocery trips became the number one factor in reducing our household spending.

Don’t keep track of your spending? Do me a favor and tally your grocery bill for the month. I can guarantee you’ll be surprised. I know I was when we first started a budget in our household. For some reason, it simply never occurred to me that food and groceries would be one of our biggest expenses.

Every extra trip to the store meant more money spent. But with our twice-monthly shopping system with no additional grocery runs, I managed to immediately eliminate the impulse buys that got to me every time I went to the store.

My family plans our budget, so we have a set amount we have to stay under for our monthly grocery bill. This cap on our grocery spending helps me avoid additional trips to the store. Whenever we start getting near the end of that budget, I start being creative with meals using what we already have on hand instead of going to the store to grab something new.

And the final reason to shop less is if you, like me, don’t enjoy shopping all that much. I don’t like to shop, and I especially don’t like grocery shopping. Doing less of something I don’t like doing and tend to stress about? Definitely, a plus as far as I’m concerned.

Planning ahead is a major stress killer. Having my meals decided ahead of time and knowing I have everything I need to make them is a huge win against last-minute dinnertime angst.

Are those enough reasons to give shopping less a try? I sure hope so…

How Do You Do it?

Well, now that I’ve convinced you to hear me out on this whole concept of twice-monthly shopping, I can practically hear the questions through the computer screen.

“What about fresh produce? How do you manage your fruits and vegetables if you only go to the store once every two weeks?”

“What about dairy products, lunchmeat, bread, and eggs?”

“How do you manage to eat real, healthy food when grocery shopping only two times a month?”

Well, over the years of trial and error, I’ve learned some things. And I’m sharing these tips below:

• • Fresh Produce: Fresh produce is a bit of a tricky topic. My family grows what we can, so we have plenty of fresh produce available during the harvest of our garden. I also plan my meals taking fresh produce into consideration. The first week of my 2-week meal plan always has the freshest fruit and vegetables. I center the second week around hardier produce that lasts longer, like iceberg lettuce, potatoes, other root vegetables, some citrus fruits, and apples or pears, filling in the gaps with frozen produce as required.

• • Freezer Inventory: Our freezer was our greatest aid in longer-length meal planning and grocery shopping. You would be surprised at all the stuff you can freeze. Most meat freezes well, and plenty of dairy products freeze fine too. But that’s not all. Produce, bread, broths, sauces, and soups can also be frozen. Whenever I have produce about to go bad, I cut it up and toss it in the freezer for the next meal plan. Frozen leftovers make great quick meal options, along with lunchmeat, sliced and shredded cheese, and various forms of bread. Once, I even froze several gallons of milk I picked up on sale (making sure to use at least a cup of the gallon before freezing so the container doesn’t crack).

To get your very own Freezer Inventory sheet, click below:

• • Make Your Own: Once you shift to a real food-based diet, you realize how easy it is to make most of the things you typically buy and store in the pantry. Now, I often make my gluten-free bread, salad dressings, healthy snacks, and other condiments. I can easily make these anytime I need them as long as I have the ingredients on hand and they are healthier.

• • Buy in Bulk: Another tip is to buy dry goods and non-food items in bulk. For me, this means a once-a-month trip to Sam’s Club to stock up on household items and pantry staples. I also scroll through Amazon or Walmart for non-perishables now and then. And when I buy something, I purchase a quantity that will last for at least a month, if not more. This online shopping reduces the amount of stuff I have to buy on my twice-monthly trip to town.

• • Stock Up on Protein: Surprisingly, eggs can last a whole lot longer in the fridge than you think. And they last even longer if you get them fresh from the farm, so they don’t have to endure any transit time to the grocery store.

My family buys our beef in bulk and picks up large quantities of pork, chicken, and/or bacon on sale. After getting married, one of our greatest investments was the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System. This was a game changer in how long freezer foods lasted without getting freezer burnt.

Some More Tips

1. 1. You gotta know your prices to shop in bulk while still saving money. Try to find a local blogger that lists all the local grocery ad’s sale prices each week. Then make a list with the quantity, price, and store to make it easier to shop around sales.

1. 1. To prevent running back and forth between aisles on your twice-monthly shopping trip, organize your list by what’s closest to each other in the store. Your feet will thank you.

1. 1. You might be tempted to always shop at the closest grocery store, but it pays to put a little more effort into finding better deals, especially when buying in bulk. Wholesale clubs like Costco and BJs are great for this.

1. 1. When buying in bulk, you’re going to need sufficient space in your freezer or pantry. Have a good idea of how much space you really have. It’s better to lowball rather than highball this value when you first start out.

1. 1. Grocery shopping isn’t just about food; you also need to buy enough household products to not run out before your next trip. And since toilet paper and soaps are made to last, it’s better to purchase extras.

1. 1. Stock your fridge, so no items end up hidden and forgotten, and track expiry dates where applicable. This way, when you know something is nearing its expiration date, you can change how it’s stored or plan to use it soon.

1. 1. Having the ingredients for at least one extra meal at hand is a lifesaver in case you forget something or miscalculate. You can cook it and then safely store it in the freezer as a backup meal, where it can last up to 3 months.

I hope you find my tips helpful and can use them to suit your family’s needs and budget. I honestly can’t imagine going back to when I didn’t meal plan, and I love that I only have to go into town twice a month for groceries.

Join in on the conversation by commenting at the bottom of the page!

• • How frequently do you go grocery shop in a month? Would you like to do it less?

• • Do you meal plan? If not, what is holding you back?

• • What made you interested in shopping less and/or meal planning? Do you have any tips you would like to share?