I should also mention we live in an apartment, so buying in bulk is tricky. We have quite a small pantry so have to be quite frugal with what we can stock up on.

The other advantage to meal planning (while I think of it) is that it keeps food interesting. We often make different things that we haven't made before and stops us getting into a food rut, which means more take away, which means less $$ and likely weight gain. So there are other advantages to food planning which I like to focus on, as it helps me keep on track with it.