Budget Tips

I hear people say “it’s too expensive to eat healthy”, but I have to disagree.  To feed my family of 5 at McDonald’s or Taco Bell or Checkers, it is going to cost me at least $30.00.  $30.00 for one meal and they will be hungry in an hour, because fast food does not have a whole lot of nutrition that sticks to your ribs for more than a millisecond.  So if we hit the drive thru 7 days a week for just one meal a day, we’re at $210.00.  On average I spend that much at the grocery store a week. I do not have any magical secret codes, I just try to shop as smart as possible.  Here are my favorite tips:

Shop the Sales

I make it a regular practice to only buy meat when it is on sale and then I stock up.  I have a chest freezer in my basement for easier storage.  Honestly, sometimes I walk through the grocery store and try to only put things in the cart that are on sale. We need it no matter what, I would rather buy it when it is 75 cents off and buy three, than pay full price.

Shop the Warehouse

In our area there are Costco and Sam’s Club.  I have a list of things that I know are cheaper when I buy them in the larger quantities at the warehouse.  Do your homework!  It is really easy to get caught up and not realize what you are spending.  Just because there are 10 of them, doesn’t  mean you are getting the best per unit price.

Find a Bulk Food Store

I love my Bulk Food Store!  It is about 3.5 hours from my home and run by a nice Amish family.  I go there once a month to stock up on flour, sugar, spices, oatmeal. Everything is very high quality and very reasonably priced, including items that may be considered less mainstream.  For example, if you are in need of gluten free variety of flour, my bulk food store has them for easily a quarter of the price of your average grocery store. If you have a bulk food store in your area, it is worth checking out.

My new love – Aldi

If you are lucky enough to have an Aldi near you, please give them a try.  I have done comparisons and I spend half of what I would spend at other grocery stores for the same quality. My experience, fill your cart to over flowing and spend $150.00 instead of $300.00.  Now you bag your own groceries and need to purchase the bags or bring your own. You do a little work to earn your savings.  You need to have a quarter in your pocket to grab your cart and then receive that quarter back when you return it.  Once again, a little bit of work for big savings. If your ultimate goal is to save money on healthy food, give them a try.