Meal Planning can be a great way to save both time and money. Specifically for the homeschool family whose needs are 3 meals a day for everyone in the house.

Years ago we found that meal planning (albeit somewhat annoying when you have to create the plan) was an option our house couldn’t do without.

In our house we plan for 2 weeks at a time. You could really set up any variation that works for you. That could be one week at a time, two weeks at a time, and even a month or more!

While we like to plan out our own meal schedule, you can also find many sites with free meal plans for you to use such as Enchanted Homeschooling Moms Monthly Free Meal Plans and resources.

Using a crockpot can be a huge help in meal planning and cooking for your family. You can find Weekly Crockpot Menu Plans and more at Stockpiling Moms. Also here are a few of our favorite Crockpot Meals.

Time Saving Tips

• Shop for longer periods at one time.
• Cook large quantities at once and freeze multiple meals – we do this with soups, lasagna, past sauce, and more.
• Cook enough for two meals at once. Have one that day and save the other for a couple of days later.
• Prepare food ahead. We will cook chicken for things like pot pies, tacos, and Broccoli Chicken Alfredo all at once. Then either freeze quantities or put in refrigerator if being used quickly.

Money Saving Tips

• Buy in bulk.
• Look for specials on meat when they are getting close to their sell by dates.
• Shop at a discount store like Aldi, or Shop Rite.
• Coupon
• Buy in large quantities when something you use often is on a good sale.

Meal Planning for the Homeschool Family G+ Hangout

• What is meal planning?
• What does it look like for you?
• Hoe does it help you?
• How does it differ for large or small families?
• How does meal planning save you money?
• What about freezer meals?

Other Posts About Meal Planning

1. Saving $’s and lbs. ~ Biweekly Meal Planning
2. How Meal Planning Saves Money
3. 25 Freezer Meals That Don’t Require Any Cooking Ahead of Time
4. 31 Things You Can Freeze To Save Time & Money
5. 20+ Frugal Recipes, Tips, & Meal Plans
6. 2 Favorite Meal Planning Meal Planning Tools (and a video tutorial)