If your monthly food budget has you exasperated, you’re not alone. Most people wish they could spend less at the checkout counter. They also wish that they could eat a little healthier. Fortunately, these two goals don’t have to be mutually exclusive. If you’re trying to eat healthy and save money, these nine suggestions will help you accomplish those goals.
1. Make a List and Stick to It
Adhering to this one practice and you’ll find that your impulse purchases go way down. (They’re major budget destroyers.) Aside from this, it’s difficult to plan meals ahead of time if you don’t have a shopping list. In fact, you should plan out your weekly meals before you make your shopping list. Preplanned meals help you to create your shopping list. Additionally, avoid shopping when you’re hungry. You’ll overbuy, and chances are good that the purchases you make won’t be healthy, either. This is especially true if you tend to buy junk food when you’re hungry. If you can, shop alone. Not having your kids in tow (or even your spouse) ensures that you won’t cave in when it comes to buying that expensive breakfast cereal. Finally, shopping the outer edges of the store is a great way to save money and buy healthy at the same time. That’s because the outer edges of the store usually hold the healthiest items, including the bulk sections.
2. Shop the Farmers’ Markets
The local farmers’ markets count as some of the best places to find excellent deals on good-for-you food. To maximize your trip to the market, be sure to buy the fruits and vegetables that are in season. Usually, they’re cheaper. Stock up on as many of these fresh items if your budget allows. Eat what you can freeze or can the rest. In the winter time when there is no farmers’ markets in the area, buy frozen fruits and vegetables. Finally, if you’re really brave, try to grow a garden of your own. That’s a major way to save on some serious money on the healthiest items on our lists.
3. Buy Generic
Buy generic brands if you want to save money. Generic (or store brands) are usually cheaper. However, their quality is still as good as or better than the premium brands.If your store doesn’t have generic brands, then try switching to stores that are known to be cheaper overall. Trader Joe’s, Winco, and Aldi all have reputations for being cheap places to find good food. You can also ask friends to share a Costco membership with you for the same purpose.
4. Use Circulars and Clip Coupons
Clipping coupons saves you a ton of money at the checkout line. Look for coupons online and in your Pennysaver. Also check the store racks by the door when you first walk into your favorite store: Often the racks will contain flyers with that week’s sale items. You can additionally, stack the savings by using coupons in conjunction with sales. Combining these two tactics counts as one of the primary ways that supreme bargain hunters save so much money.
5. Bulk Up
If you have the opportunity to shop in a grocery store that has a bulk section, you should take advantage of it. Buying in bulk can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the course of the year. Buying in bulk gives you the opportunity to buy foods in their whole, unpackaged state. Often packaging, especially when it comes to items like cheeses, is where the extra costs are hidden.
6. Eat at Home
Instead of going out, cook your meals and eat them at home. The average meal out costs $12.75. If your food budget is $60 a week, that $13 purchase takes a significant chunk out of it. You can even maximize the savings further by cooking extra food when you do cook. This pre-made food becomes a lunch that you take with you to work or dinner on another night. A food saver helps you better preserve your leftovers.
7. Eat Meatless Meals Sometimes
Typically, meat is the most expensive item on your plate for each meal. Vegetarians save $750 a year by not buying meat. If you can, try going meatless, even if it’s just for one or two meals each week. If you really can’t imagine not having meatless meals, maybe you could try cheaper cuts on meat as an alternative. These meats work well is soups and stews. You can also buy meat cuts when they’re on sale. Once you get them home, cut them up, wrap them up, and then freeze them for another day.
8. Use a Slow Cooker
A slow cooker is one of the best ways to use up small snippets of veggies, meats, and rice or noodles. Each of these items on their own may not be enough for a meal. However, when you have five or six items that you combine in a slow cooker, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This countertop cooker is also the best appliance you have for making your own bone and vegetable broths. This is another way to put your scrap vegetables – think celery ends, bits of turnip, chicken wing bones, etc. – to good use. Best of all, these broths are not only budget-friendly, they’re healthy, too.
9. Get Creative with Your Leftovers
Eating leftovers is economical to be sure. However, it can also be boring if you eat the same thing night after night. If you get creative with your leftovers, you stand less chance of feeling bored the next time you see the same meal.
If you’re not sure how to do this, think about how foods go together. A pot of chili could become the filling for tacos. Slice up your pork tenderloin and toss it into your stir fry. Leftover spaghetti noodles become pasta salad. Use your imagination.
Last Thoughts
Controlling the foods you buy counts as one of the best ways to stay on budget, but also to eat healthy. Taking steps like creating a menu and shopping with a list can save you a ton of money as can eating at home and reusing leftovers. Additionally, most of these tricks don’t have to be difficult. They just require some advanced planning. However, by shopping and eating on the cheap, you could save hundreds of dollars a year and be healthier to boot.
