5 Lazy Meal Plan Tips That Make Groceries Cheaper

🔎 Disclosure: WE DON’T SELL ANY COURSES. Money Vice is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The ideas presented on this site are opinions and are presented for entertainment purposes only. We’re not licensed financial advisors. The information presented should not be construed as financial or legal advice. Always do your own due diligence.

1. Plan One Big One-Pot Cook Day and Relax After

I’m not going to lie, I used to hate cooking every night.

It felt like a never-ending episode of “Chopped,” except I was broke and the mystery ingredient was always rice.

Then I figured out the magic of one-pot meals.

You cook once, toss everything in, and you’re set for the next few days.

Think chili, pasta bakes, or a giant pot of chicken soup.

It’s cheap, easy, and makes your fridge look like you actually have your life together.

Have you ever noticed how much less you spend when you’re not ordering takeout at 9 pm? Exactly.

👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Choose one day a week, cook a massive one-pot meal like chili or curry, then portion it into containers using cheap meal prep boxes from Amazon.

2. Stick to Simple Meals with Few Ingredients

You don’t need twenty spices, three sauces, and an exotic vegetable nobody can pronounce.

Simple meals are the real money savers.

Eggs, rice, beans, pasta, chicken. Cheap, filling, and easy to throw together.

People get caught up thinking “healthy” or “budget-friendly” has to look like a five-star menu. Nope.

Ever eaten scrambled eggs for dinner? That’s not laziness. That’s genius.

Your wallet doesn’t care how fancy your food looks on Instagram.

👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Pick 3 to 5 go-to meals like spaghetti with tomato sauce or chicken and rice, buy the same ingredients weekly, and shop at Aldi or Walmart for low-cost staples.

3. Rotate the Same Core Meals Every Week

Here’s the thing: variety sounds nice, but it can quickly drain your grocery budget.

Rotating the same meals makes life easier and your shopping list shorter.

It also saves you from the “what should I eat tonight?” headache.

Imagine this: Monday is pasta, Tuesday is stir-fry, Wednesday is tacos.

Repeat weekly and you’ll cut down on waste and overspending.

Why complicate it? Lazy meal planning is about surviving, not auditioning for a cooking show.

👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Write down 5 cheap favorite meals and set them on repeat, then use a free app like Mealime to auto-generate grocery lists.

4. Choose Meals That Freeze Well for Later

Freezers are underrated money-saving machines.

Cook now, freeze later, and you’ll thank yourself when you’re too tired to cook.

Soups, stews, casseroles. They all survive the deep freeze like champs.

And no, frozen meals don’t taste like cardboard if you do it right.

This hack saves you from spending $20 on last-minute delivery when all you had to do was reheat.

Ever had “future you” give “past you” a high-five? That’s what freezer meals feel like. 🙂

👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Double your recipe when cooking, freeze half in ziplock bags laid flat, and reheat with a microwave or slow cooker when needed.

5. Reuse Leftovers for Fresh, New Dishes

Let’s be real, nobody gets excited about eating the same meal three nights in a row.

But leftovers don’t have to feel boring.

You can turn last night’s roasted chicken into tacos, soup, or even fried rice.

Rice from last night? Boom, breakfast rice bowls with eggs.

Leftover ground beef? Mix it with pasta or toss it into quesadillas.

Think of it as meal remixing. Lazy but smart.

It’s like Spotify, but for food.

👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Take whatever you cooked, Google “leftover [insert meal] recipe,” and use free sites like Allrecipes or Budget Bytes to find creative spins fast.

📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER, BABY! 📌

And that’s it!

Never forget it, baby… 

✌️ Your Rich Life Is Waiting For You! 

😉 Dale!