For an embarrassingly long time, Sunday evening would roll around every week and I would say to myself, “Huh. I have no idea what we are going to have for meals over the next week. I’ll deal with that tomorrow.”

Then Monday would come, and I would argue, “It’s Monday. I don’t feel like meal planning and grocery shopping. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.” We would then order a pizza or do some scrounging in the kitchen for a make-shift meal.

Tuesday would come, and I would begrudgingly stop at the grocery—without a plan—and impulsively buy whatever the heck I felt like cooking throughout the week. Because my weeks are crazy busy, my meals mostly consisted of pre-made food that I could pop in the oven or cook up quickly in the skillet.

Truth be told, this method of meal planning worked for the most part, but I didn’t eat well, I didn’t really enjoy the foods that I did eat, and I spent way more money than I should have. (Think of all the Hazelnut Lattes I could have had with those funds!)

In an effort to break the cycle, I decided to make a serious effort toward changing my meal planning habits.

Here are seven things I learned about meal planning:

1. Make a list. 

Not a grocery list. Make a list of every single meal you can think of that you enjoy. I keep a running Evernote file that contains every meal we eat on a regular basis, have tried and enjoyed, or want to try. When meal planning day comes around, I just open up my list and include what sounds good on the menu.

2. Designate a meal planning day. 

Setting aside a “due date” for your weekly menu ensures that you won’t run out of food during the week, leading you to overspend by eating out or ordering in. I’ve found that Sunday works best for my family as our meal planning day because I can plan for the week ahead.

3. Take advantage of grocery pickup. 

This free service is a Godsend. Seriously. Not every store offers the service, so you may have to check what is available in your area. Here’s how it works: you order your groceries through your store’s website, schedule a time window to pick up those groceries, pay online, and roll up to the store like you’re the queen of the world while the employees load your groceries into your car. This saves so much time, and it has saved me money because I’m not tempted to purchase all of the delicious things in the center displays.

4. Try to plan meals using many of the same ingredients. 

I’ll give you an example: potatoes. If I plan a series of meals that all use potatoes, I can save on potatoes by buying in bulk. So, Monday I might make shepherd’s pie, Tuesday I might make pork chops and mashed potatoes, Wednesday I might make a ham, cheese, and potato quiche, you get the idea.

5. Buy more meat than you need so you can freeze the extra.

I can’t tell you how much money I have saved just by buying the large packs of meat and divvying the servings up into gallon-sized freezer bags. It also helps me decide on my menu for the week when I can open up the freezer to see what meats I already have on hand.

6. Embrace your leftovers. 

Somewhere along my meal planning journey, I realized that I could reheat whatever I had for dinner for lunch the next day. So, I started cooking 1 or 2 more servings of food than we would need for dinner so that my husband and I could have lunch taken care of during the next day.

7. Don’t forget breakfasts and snacks. 

Often, while meal planning, it’s easy to forget that you will also need breakfast and snack foods. Add on those breakfast bars, coffee, eggs, fruits, yogurts, and break-n-bake cookies (a staple in my husband’s diet) to your order so you won’t have to make a last-minute trip to the grocery during the week.

There you have it—my seven tips to successful meal planning. What would you add to my list? Share your tips with me!