I have been couponing for 4 years. I love to save money on everyday items. Since I have been eating healthy, I have had a hard time staying on my old monthly budget. I came up with a list of how to save money and still eat healthy!
#1. Garden. I have a pretty big area to garden. It cost me about $70.00 in seeds and starts. I have already made my money back in just lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, potatoes and radishes. Thats just what has grown till now. I still have tons of other veggies that will be able to harvest in the fall. I aslo have herbs growing in my kitchen. Durring the winter I am going to have inside plants growing as well, I am going to try and grow as much as I can inside. Here is a SITE that has a list of veggies to plant inside.
#2 Local Farmers Market. I love the farmers market. I was able to buy some of my plants last year for my garden for less then half the price that I would buy them at a big home improvement store or a nursery. I can buy fruit and veggies for half the price, and its fun to walk around.
#3 Coupon. I know there a not very many coupons for healthy food, but they are out there. Today I was able to get free vinegar, with coupons! Every little bit helps!
#4 Cook from Scratch. Going out to eat and ordering a salad from any resteraunt will cost you around $9 +. You can make a HUGE salad for $9.00 and it will feed more then one person. Or you can eat the leftovers for tomorrows lunch and dinner! Also you know what is going in your salad, you know where the ingrediants came from, and how many calories it really does have in it.
#5 Eat Less. It sounds funny, but most people don't understand portion control. If you have a healthy box of cereal, that says it has 120 calories in 1/2 a cup, but you pour a whole bowl, you are getting tipple or quadurple the portion size. That is 360 + calories, not including the milk. Portion control will save you money!
#6 Buy for the Season. Buy the produce that is in season. Not only do you get it cheaper but you can try different fruits and veggies throughout the year.
#7 Buy in Bulk. Try and get your produce, meat, oats, whole wheat flour, in bulk at a warehouse store.
#8 Shop the Sales. Keep an eye on those weekly adds, and see who has the best deals on produce and lean meats.
#9 Meal Plan. Make a weekly menu and shop for only the items you need. Nothing goes to waste and you are not spending money on extras.
#10 Freeze or Can. When you find an amazing sale, stock up and freeze it. When I find bread, fish, fruit or vegetables, I buy as much as I need to last me till the next sale, and I freeze it all.
#11 Don't Shop when Hungry. You will spend more then you want to!
#12 Eat more Vegetarian Meals. Meat and fish is expensive, save money by trying new vegetarian dishes, such as rice and beans on a whole wheat tortilla.
#13 Don't buy Pre-Cut / Washed Fruit and Veggies. It might be convenient to buy a pre-cut veggie tray, but you will save money by putting your own together.
#14 Don't buy more then you are going to use. I might find a great deal and stock up, but if we are not going to use all that food before it goes bad, we are loosing money.
#15 Buy Generic. It is pretty much the same thing as name brand, and on most things I don't really find difference in taste. If you are eating clean, you really don't have a lot of packaged items to buy anyway.
#16 Discounted Meat. At my local grocery store, I look for the meats with the special tag. It might be expiring quickly, but I can freeze it. I never buy my meat at full price. In some delis they have a special discount section. I buy all our lunch meat and cheese for less then half the price.
#17 Drink Tap Water. I have some cheap water bottles that I fill every morning and drink them through out the day.
#18 Bake. Making your own bread and desserts will save you money and calories. This is a whole wheat bread recipe I made HERE. It was super easy to make and my family loved it!
Well this is all that I can come up with! Hope it helps!!!
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