Life gets busy, and between juggling work, family, and personal commitments, finding the time to eat healthy while sticking to a budget can feel daunting. At Daycos, we believe every employee deserves a healthy work-life balance. We strive to provide individuals with the necessary tools and support to maintain it.
For Operations Specialist Kelly Schutt, weekday meals were a struggle until she decided to implement a change to her routine. By committing to meal prepping each week, Kelly has discovered a simple yet powerful way to save both time and money.
Kelly began this journey in October as part of her personal development plan. Each Friday she takes one hour during her work day to review her family’s schedule for the upcoming week.
With 3 busy high school students, she is usually gone 3 nights a week to sporting events and other activities, leaving minimal time for meal prep.
During her weekly planning process, she determines which nights will allow for a meal at home and when they just need something quick. Then she determines what to pack in her children’s school lunches.
Using this method to plan allows her to make a single trip to the grocery store instead of multiple trips throughout the week.
“It’s a nice feeling to know that there is something at home to make.” Kelly says, “I don’t even think about it until I’m home, because I know it has already been planned and the ingredients are in the pantry.”
Not only has this helped save time and headache, Kelly has seen a significantly reduced grocery bill.
She used to go to the store with no grocery list and spend $200-$300 a week. Then as she needed things throughout the week, she would make a few more trips to the store spending at least $50 each time.
Now that she prepares ahead of time, she eliminates those extra trips and only buys what she is planning to make that week. This approach has saved her hundreds of dollars and hours out of her busy schedule.
The trick to it all is simply setting aside the time to plan.
“It’s honestly easier than I thought it would be,” Kelly says, “It makes our crazy schedule more manageable if the food part is planned.”
