I have noticed that a lot of the resources strewn about the internet around meal planning are... well... frugal. Penny-wise. Thrifty. That is to say: for me, they cross the line between living abundantly within your means and living in deprivation.

Part of that (but just part of it) is attitude. If I go into my weekly meal planning with a lot of fear about how I don't have enough money, or how I could wind up with a financial crisis on my hands again at any time, and so I should be spending as little as possible on food, I'll have no problem spending $40 or less for my meals. In fact, I'll probably spend closer to $20 or $30. And with that food, I'll be gulping down all kinds of wildly inaccurate beliefs about how there isn't enough money in my life, there isn't enough safety, I can't really count on being able to afford my food, I'd better make sure I cut corners everywhere I can....

By contrast, if I am taking care of myself, if I go into my meal planning with a sense of trust in myself, knowing that I have been willing and able to show up for financial crises in the past and find ways to take care of them without living on Top Ramen; if I go into it knowing that $40 a week is not a challenge to spend as little (or as much) as possible, but an amount that I chose because I could reliably spend about that much to get all the food I needed and still eat interesting and healthy meals; if I look at it as an invitation to have adventures in food and eat lavishly without binge-spending as I used to, then along with my food I get to take in a sense of safety, abundance, and excitement.


(Continued....)