I never realised how expensive living was until I had to live on my own- when you move out of home, there’s suddenly so many little costs that up, and if you are like me and move to a new country, you can’t just pop over to your parents house for laundry powder or eggs! One of the biggest costs for me is food, and because I’m training I have to pay attention to what I eat. I thought at first I would just be able to basically live off brown rice, oats and legumes, but that didn’t really work out so well (I ended up spending more at expensive cafes when I got really hungry). So now I am trying to balance budget, nutrition and enjoying foods I like- basically fueling my body and mind. I’m also a self confessed foodie, so there’s a bit of that too! I’ll show you what I do, but most importantly I will show you how to budget your own personalised meal plan that incorporates all your needs!

It is crucial that you make a meal plan, and that you budget it carefully according to what is cheap or expensive where you live. Ideally you would also factor in other things, like if you have a long lunch break, a microwave at meal times, your freezer space, how long you have to eat, your nutritional needs (for athletes etc) and of course, the foods you like! It sounds like a lot, but don’t worry! We will get there together!!

So I like to base my meals off cheap things I can get in my area: oats at breakfast, brown rice or pasta and lunch and dinner, and dried legumes. These things are also filling and healthy, which is a great bonus! I’m going to do a whole post on cheap recipes, but for now, here’s some ideas:

Breakfast with oats could be:

• Porridge with cocoa powder and sugar -I have a recipe- and I eat this almost every day!)
• Porridge with cinnamon and sugar
• Porridge or overnight oats with yoghurt
• Baked oat bars if you are short on time (although I personally like a big bowl of something in the morning)

The way I cook the oats means I don’t need milk, but if you want that then add that of course! It’s just an extra cost. Check out my recipe if you want to sidestep that!

Lunch and dinner ideas:

• Brown rice with beans, canned tomatoes and Mexican spices with veggies
• Brown rice with beans, a curry base packet, canned tomatoes and canned coconut milk or cream with veggies
• Pasta, one can of pasta sauce, canned tomatoes and lentils with veggies
• Instant noodles, pork mince, veggies and soy sauce
• Brown rice, beans, teriyaki sauce, lettuce and cucumber

Tip: I use frozen vegetables from a bag a lot, because they are usually cheaper than fresh- I can get 1 kg for $3!! That lasts me a week of meals with a pretty big portion. Sometimes fresh is cheaper though, like broccoli when it’s in season. When it’s cheap sometimes I buy it fresh and freeze it so I can have it for a few weeks- I love broccoli!!

Snack ideas:

Cheap muesli bars: $2-$3

Yoghurt: $4 for a week of 100g portions

Pretzels: $2 for a week sized bag

Microwave popcorn: $2 for flavoured kernels to pop

Unbranded biscuits: $1 for 10 in my area!

In season fruit: I can get a honey dew melon for $3 in my area at the moment!

Once you have decided what to eat, write it out clearly on a meal planner. I have a great one that sticks to the fridge, and I have linked one from Amazon I love right here! They are so handy. Then write a clear list of everything you will need. 

I often like to look online when I’m planning to get an idea of how much things will cost, and if I need to switch things up or if I have some extra to buy something else. To fit my budget. You don’t have to do this but if you are a planning freak like me, feel free!

Something to remember is that different supermarkets have different prices- I have a lot where I live, so I sometimes go to Coles, Woolworths and Aldi all in one day to get the best! I have learner what is cheap in each shop. If that’s too much of a hassle for you though, I would say Aldi is the cheapest overall in Sydney, it just has a slightly smaller range. 

Remember to compare the per unit or per 100g price- that has saved a lot of time and money for me! I also can’t stress enough how important it is to not grab the first yoghurt or rice or whatever you see- look at the price, think if it’s reasonable, look for the off brand version, or the specials- they often save lots, but sometimes the off brand is still cheaper! 

Then it’s time to prep- I shop on Saturday because it is my day off at the moment, and prep then too. I always buy my beans and legumes dry because it’s a lot cheaper, so I either soak them and cook them or just cook them, (depending on what’s going on that day) for about an hour. I cook a weeks worth of rice and freeze half, a weeks worth of my main, prep any snacks, prep a few days worth of porridge and the first few lunches get put in containers. 

You do need to be careful about food safety- you can’t keep rice or pasta in the fridge for more than about two days, so I usually freeze or wait to cook that. Anything with meat as well- that can’t be kept in the fridge for more than about two days. I found it really helpful to get some good food storage containers- there’s a link here to my favourite ones on Amazon that are BPA free, microwaveable, and a great size!

Now that I have explained the planning and shopping and prepping I do, here’s a practical example of what my week looked like this week. My lunches this particular week were built off wanting to use my beeswax sandwich wrappers, and also trying to incorporate more snacks, especially sweet snacks! I really love my beeswax wrap because it keeps the sandwiches more secure and less squishy than glad wrap and of course they are eco friendly. They are a bit hard to find so here’s the link for some beautiful floral ones from Amazon that come in three sizes!

Once you get into the rhythm of things and you build up a pantry, you don’t have to buy everything each week. When I shop I take stock of what I have, because things like oats, brown rice, cocoa, dried beans, spices and coffee I only buy every 3 or so weeks. That makes the prices down below a little hard to calculate but I’ll do my best! It means that some weeks are a little more expensive and some are cheaper, but it more or less rounds out in the end.

The prices I am writing here are per week. 

Breakfast: 

3/4 cup oats $1

Big spoon cocoa powder $2.5

About a tablespoon brown sugar $1

One coffee sachet $2.5

A drizzle caramel sauce $0.25

Snack one: 

Peanut and chocolate muesli bars $3

Lunch:

Hummus sandwiches 

Bread $1.5

Lettuce $3

Carrots $1

Hummus $2.5

Microwave popcorn $1

Rock melon $1.5

Snack 

150g Strawberry yoghurt $4

Dinner Mexican beans

Beans $1

Canned tomatoes $2

Rice $1

Spices $1

Frozen vegetables $3

Rockmelon $1.5

Total: $33.5

This fits my budget of between $30 and $35. I do eat a lot of snacks though, and in a pinch I could definitely cut them out and do it for $20, or just wouldn’t be very pleasant. 

Hopefully that has given you some ideas! It might a few weeks to get into a rhythm- I am also still learning, but those are my top tips so far! Hope you enjoy 🙂 

~Hannah xoxo

Disclaimer: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifiying purchases.