A great way to save money is by using a budget meal planner; it reduces the chance of impulse buys and makes the most of the ingredients you already have. You can either follow the plan as it is, or use it as a guide and adapt it to suit your family's food preferences.

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When you're trying to stick to a budget, meal planning and cooking at home for the family can help you save some serious cash.

What's more, it helps you make better food choices and feel fuller for longer, instead of binging on takeaway food, ready meals and snacks.

Check out our month-long budget meal plan for ideas of cheap and easy meals you can cook at home, featuring plenty of ingredients you'd have in your cupboards already, making some of these dishes free to make.

Don't forget to make large portions where possible so you can save them for leftovers or freeze the rest. That way, when plans change, you've got a meal ready to defrost.

Main meals – four week budget main meal planner

Below are recipe ideas for four weeks, you can of course adapt these any way you see fit, switch days, and add extra sides if you like:

We recommend you keep track of your meals to avoid repetition AND it will be helpful to cut down on excessive snacking if you're trying to lose weight.

This clever notepad with shopping list and weekly menu planner is just what you need! Plus, it comes with a handy clip-on pencil and pocket for storing receipts and vouchers. You can find it here at Amazon for £7.99 .

Download a printable version of this meal planner here

Handy tips

Stock up on extras for lunches, snacks or treats

Fromage frais, yoghurt pots, salad or vegetable sticks, fresh, tinned or dried fruit, tinned rice pudding, jelly and ice cream, value crisps, biscuits etc.

Look for special offers on breads

Freeze on day of purchase and only take out what you need to defrost each day.

Homemade puddings and treats

Make a double batch and freeze half.

Batch cook

Make big one pot meals like chilli , lasagne , spaghetti bolognese or a stew , then freeze some and defrost whenever you haven't the time to cook. A slow cooker is a great way to do this.

Go meat-free a few times a week

Going veggie a few times a week is good for your health, your wallet and the environment.

Sneak in veggies in clever ways

It’s can be tricky getting the kids to eat certain foods like vegetables and fibre-rich grains, but our recipes use clever ways of incorporating them.

Make cheap healthy swaps

You can still keep the family healthy when you're on a budget; just make simple swaps like semi-skimmed milk instead of whole milk, wholegrain bread instead of white, brown pasta and rice instead of white and so on.

Buy a couple of big bags of frozen veg for the week too, instead of fresh which may go off quickly. You can always bulk out dinner with vegetables if you haven't got much meat.

Budget breakfasts, lunches and puddings

Download a printable version of breakfast, lunch and pudding suggestions here .

More tips

• Remember that you can chop and change the day's menus around.
• If you have a veggie in the family, most of our recipes can be adapted by using a meat substitute (eg: Quorn or soya) or by adding an alternative source of protein such as eggs, cheese, beans or lentils.
• The meals work on the assumption that you have already got some of the basic ingredients such as vegetable/olive oil, stock cubes, mayonnaise/salad dressing, sauce, spreads for sandwiches, mixed herbs, chilli powder etc.
• You may well already have other staple ingredients like pasta and rice, so the price of your weekly shop may be lower than we've estimated.
• If you have any spare money, use it to stock up on staple cooking ingredients such as flour and tinned tomatoes, or buy bigger bags of rice and pasta which will last for a couple of weeks.
• You can cut the cost of your shopping further if you choose foods on special offer, cheaper cuts of meat and use dried pulses instead of tinned.

Here's what some of you are saying over on our forum:

'Firstly, I'd look through the freezer and cupboards to see what you already have – I did that last week and saved about £10 on our shopping bill' – Emily

'For food shopping, make a meal planner so you know what meals you will have for the week, then check what ingredients you already have in and write your shopping list with only the things you definitely need or shop online so that you are not tempted by going up and down the aisles' – Beth

'We have changed from branded food onto a combination of own brand and value brand products. You get to know which value products are nice, and which aren't' – Sam

You can buy whiteboard meal planners so you can plan your family's food for the week and write a shopping list. See more details here at Amazon.

Are you a ninja at food shopping on a budget? Let us know some of your tips over in the forum:

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