Thought meal prepping would cut my food budget in half, it actually went up at first

I jumped into meal prepping hard last month, bought $80 worth of containers and a big pack of chicken breasts. Turns out I was tossing like $30 of wilted veggies every week because I overbought without a real plan. The first week I spent $120 on groceries when I usually spend $75 just grabbing stuff day to day. I finally got it down by week three when I started using a simple spreadsheet to match portions to actual recipes. Now I'm hovering around $60 a week but man, that learning curve stung. Did anyone else blow their budget the first time they tried to get organized like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_carter2d agoMost Upvoted

Blew $50 on weird containers I now use for cat toys. Worth it?

lee6272d ago

Depends on the containers. If they're those little glass jars with cork lids that you can't fit your hand in to wash properly, no. If they're those stackable plastic bins that look like they belong in a futuristic kitchen but actually just hold a dozen jingly balls and a half-eaten mouse, then yeah, you're fine. Cats don't judge your spending habits. Or maybe they do. Mine gives me a specific look when I buy a $15 bag of toys and he just wants a cardboard box.