I get lots and lots of questions about how I am able to eat Real Food on my budget. I hear lots of, “You must be rich.” Let’s just be clear. I am not rich……..unless you count my kids as being rich. I fondly call them my mansion, my Porsche, my boat and my motor home. All things I do not have, but probably would if my kids were not so expensive. LOL! You know where I am coming from.
What I do have is priorities. My priorities include feeding my family the best possible food I can find for them. I don’t eat Real all of the time, but I try for at least 80% of the time. I am pleased that I probably eat Real closer to 90% of the time. I feel that organic foods are not only good for my family’s health, but also good for the environment and good for farmers. I make organic foods another priority because of these beliefs. Still………not rich.
I do rearrange my budget to include a higher grocery bill. However, one of the biggest budget savers is that I do not eat out like I used to. I have to keep reminding my husband of that as he is looking over the grocery receipts. My family would spend about $60 to $100 just to eat out at a sit-down (not fancy) restaurant for one meal. I can buy a lot of groceries with that money. Since most restaurants don’t meet our Real Food rules, we eat most of our meals at home. For the record………I have really enjoyed the switch to eating at home. I feel like I’ve gained more quality time with my family as an added benefit.
I promised you some tips to help your budget if you want to join me on this Real Food Journey. Here are 8 tips to get you started.
1. Plan ahead. I have talked a lot about how important meal planning is to sticking to a Real Food diet. I have found that it is also important for sticking to a budget. I create a weekly menu and then purchase only the items needed for those meals. I usually throw in a few extra emergency back-up items, but I am not tempted to buy extras that are not on my list. I have found that this really helps to avoid wasting food which is a real budget breaker.
2. Eat before you shop. This one is an oldie, but a goodie. It is true that if you shop without eating, you will buy more. I’ll add this one. Don’t shop thirsty either. I once went shopping when I was thirsty and bought every juice and 10 different versions of milk. Yikes! I didn’t need all that.
3. Shop your farmers’ market first. Fresh, local produce will last longer since it doesn’t have to travel across the country to get to your store. This helps with reducing waste. I have also found much better prices at my farmers market. I am often able to buy organic produce at conventional produce prices. Many smaller farmers use organic farming methods, but can’t afford the organic certification. Ask questions and your budget will thank you.
4. Buy produce in season. You will see much lower prices when you buy produce in season. Berries, melons, asparagus, green beans and others will be at a huge savings in season. Others like bananas, carrots, celery, and apples are available at a pretty low price year round.
5. Buy in bulk. You will see a large savings if you are able to purchase and store bulk items like flour, oats, quinoa, rice, honey and maple syrup. Avoid convenience sizes wherever possible. I buy a large container of plain yogurt and avoid individual serving sizes for lunches. I save a lot of money by avoiding all of the extra packaging.
6. Shop around the edges of the store. That’s where the healthy stuff is anyway. Think about it……….you know I am right. The middle aisles have more processed and junk food which are a big drain on your budget. I can’t even tell you how much money I save because I kicked my diet soda habit.
7. Try store brands. I have found that my local grocery store is stocking more and more store brand organic items. I can buy a gallon of organic store-bought milk for only a little bit more than a half-gallon of the non-store brand.
8. Keep an eye out for sales, specials, and coupons. This is just basic money saving advice whether you are buying Real Food or clothing. I have found that a lot of the organic brands have coupons available through their websites and through social media. Take a look around and save money. Also, make sure you sign up for your grocery store discount card. I also have a frequent shopper card to Great Harvest where I buy my bread. They send me $5 gift certificates for buying bread with them. A free loaf a bread is great for my budget. I’m sure other places have similar frequent shopper programs.
I hope these ideas help you save money shopping. Don’t let price be the reason you are not eating a better diet. It can be done on a limited budget. You just need to be more careful about what you buy. What tips do you have for shopping on a budget? I would love to hear them. I have much to learn.
Thank you for all of the love and support. Don’t forget you can join us on Facebook for more fun and support along the way. You can also follow us on Twitter@Jugglngrealfood if you are interested in learning more about the Real Food Movement. You can also follow our boards on Pinterest.
these are wonderful tips! its so hard to balance clean, real food with your budget, especially here in my house now that my husband just started his own business and the purse strings are tight!
I have found that using these tips Amanda have really helped me stick to my budget. It's not a large budget because I am also paying college tuition for my oldest son and have 6 mouths to feed. I can really relate to tight purse strings. My hope is that if I spend more on food now, I won't have to spend as much on medical expenses. We still catch bugs, but I used to catch everything and I don't anymore. I don't buy junk food anymore and that is expensive too. I can buy a bunch of organic apples for the price of a little bag of cheese popcorn.
These are great tips. I shop the edges of the store too and we belong to a CSA which helps with the veggies in the summertime. Although it seems like its expensive to eat organic as much as possible, its well worth it!! Stopping by from the Friendly Friday Blog Hop!
Sounds like you are doing a great job shopping for your family, Michelle. I'm jealous of everyone that I know who belongs to a CSA. I would love to do that, but my schedule and the CSA pick-up times just don't work out. I hope you come back to visit often.
Great tips. It's obvious many people don't count the money spent eating outside the home as grocery money, so they can't make the connection that $$$ saved in the one area is utilized to improve the quality of food prepared at home. When I was still working I stopped in the convenience store every day and spent around $10 (more when I still smoked :O ). You gotta prioritize.
You are so right Lydia. I've noticed that people don't count eating out as part of their food budget, too. What does that say about the food they are eating? I know lots of people who eat out all the time and stop at convenience stores for drinks and snacks and think I am crazy for spending so much for organic produce.
My sister was here visiting for the week last week and was shocked by some of my choices in the grocery store – she thought I was crazy to spend "so much money." But, like you, we have made adjustments to our budget so that we can afford to eat REAL food. We eat out hardly EVER, and quite frankly there are things that we go without, like cable and an upgraded phone/talk plan. Sometimes I think I sound crazy preaching from my big rock about this, but I really cannot understand why people don't care more about the fuel they put into their bodies. Would a jet run on hamburger grease? We've got to treat our bodies like the magnificent creations they are and fuel them appropriately! I started juicing daily last November and haven't gotten a cold since. Swollen glands, yes. But it never turns into an actual cold. What we put into our bodies really matters! *steps down off podium*
Thanks for doing this blog!
Keep preaching from the podium Kristen! We only get one body. If we mess it up…..we don't get another. It sounds like juicing is really working for you. I used to catch every bug that was brought home from school and with 4 kids in 4 different schools……..that is a lot of bugs. Since I changed my diet everything is different. I don't live in fear anymore of getting sick all the time. I think that is money well spent. Speaking of sisters…..my sister always says to me, "Where did you get that". She is talking about my "fancy" food. My answer usually is "the grocery store." People spend so much time shopping in the middle of the grocery store and miss everything on the perimeter. Time to reverse that pattern.
Great tips for healthy and budget-wise grocery shopping! Here from the Get Fit Friday blog hop.
Thanks for stopping by Marie. I hope you come back to visit us often. We are a learning community so we all benefit from each other's comments.
Great advice! Stopped by from the Get Fit Friday blog hop. My biggest challenge is planning ahead. My husband and I end up at the grocery almost every evening picking up stuff for dinner. Of course, we never walk out with just dinner. The times that I have planned meals in advance (and shopped based on my plan) has made my week so much easier and cheaper!
Thanks for stopping by Miki. I hope you come back to visit often. I was never much of a meal planner before I made the change to Real Food. It really was an annoying way for me to be living. I am so much happier with my meal plans. Here is an earlier post I wrote about meal planning if you want some inspiration to start meal planning more. http://www.jugglingrealfoodandreallife.com/2012/10/meal-planning-you-have-to-have-plan-to.html
Hi Christina! Most other countries spend a larger percentage of their income on food than we do in the US. We are used to "cheap food". Little do most of us know it's not food at all! The way gas is, I find that with my local CSA (community sponsored agriculture), I receive a basket of organic veggies straight from the farm to my door. If you add in that I don't have to drive (gas) or spend the time shopping, it is a GREAT value! ….. and Darel (my farmer) is up on all the latest techniques for organic growing. Check out your local CSA as an option!
Hi Laurie. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come back to visit often. I have heard that other countries spend a larger percentage of their income on food. We are all brainwashed to want super-sized dollar menus. Quality food is worth the price. We should be beautiful inside and out. I am really jealous of your CSA delivery service. That is exactly what I want!
These are definitely great tips. I have to admit with my busy schedule I have sort of fell off the wagon with planning meals and I'm finding that I need to switch it up in order to make sure that we are sticking to trying to eat 'real food.' My husband seems to like my healthy go to meals though. But I need some change and I want to be certain that I am not wasting food. The planning of my meals I'm actually thinking about working into my blog as a post each week to make sure I'm sticking with it. I enjoyed reading this post!
Funny story, Christina! My husband still had his email up so when I commented it went under his name! Hahaha!