Money Saving Meals {Week 3 Budget Meal Plan}

We’re on to week 3 in my Money Saving Meals series, where we’re bringing you a month of detailed budget meal plans so you don’t have to do the thinking of ‘what’s for dinner’ every evening.

You will find everything you need to follow for an easy, flavour-packed and healthy ease into the New Year – including a full FREE shopping list, additional notes and a breakdown of cost.

On these freezing days of January, there’s one thing we need, and that’s hearty and delicious home cooked food that doesn’t break the bank – right?!

I got you my friends!

This is the THIRD budget meal plan in our Money Saving Meals series, where we bring four weeks of family friendly midweek dinners that tick all the boxes. Here is the first of my budget meal plans if you haven’t seen it yet.

About this budget meal plan

We have concentrated here on bringing you a collection of recipes that strike a balance of prioritising price and value, while also making sure you get: 

A full meal for 4 people

A balanced plate of carbs, protein and vegetables

A variety of ingredients and dishes

Things to note

You may want to add some side dishes to some of these recipes, which we will outline in the notes below

Please be aware that any suggested sides have been added to the shopping list but are NOT included in the costings breakdown

I’ll be sharing this meal plan on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, so watch out for the videos so you can cook along.

For reference, I shopped for this Meal Plan in December 2023 at Aldi and it cost £31.86

Why use a budget meal plan?

Knowing exactly what food to buy for avoids food waste, saving you money

Having a plan for dinner avoids the mental load of “what’s for dinner?” question every night

The printable shopping list can be found here.

You can find more Meal Plans here:

Meal Plan 26 – Slow Cooker Saviours

Meal Plan 25 – Easy Midweek Winners

Meal Plan 24 – 5 Brand New Recipes

Some tips for using a budget meal plan:

Check for any items on the shopping list that you already have in your cupboard

Maybe think about doubling up and freezing a recipe or two where the recipes are suitable, so save cooking another day or for the weekend

Remove ingredients for any meals that you don’t want to cook

The shopping list includes the cheapest version of each ingredient. Obviously if you want to buy lower fat mince or free range etc, that’s personal choice

All of the recipes are to serve 4, so if you’re cooking for 2, simply halve the ingredients

Please remember, all prices included in this meal plan are correct at the time of writing, but are subject to change.