Shopping on a Budget

Who says that eating a healthful diet needs to be expensive? Not me! Here are some simple changes you can make to your shopping routine to help save those pennies.

Fruits and Veggies:

Shop seasonally. When buying fresh fruits and veggies, shoot for what is in season. They will not only be cheaper, but they will taste better too.

Buy all forms. A lot of people think you need to only eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables all count! For frozen, skip the pre-sauced vegetables, and get the plain vegetables and then add your own seasonings at home. Frozen fruit is great for smoothies or to stir into a yogurt parfait. For canned vegetables, look for “no salt added”, “low sodium” or “reduced sodium”, check the label and compare which brands would be the lowest. For canned fruit, look for fruit in 100% fruit juice or water, rather than syrup.  

Protein:

Cut protein. Meat is one of the more expensive sections in the grocery store. If you’re a meat-lover on a budget, try adding only half of the protein required in your recipe. This way you still get the meat you love, but you've doubled the meals that you’ll get out of it.

Try beans. Replacing meat with beans, peas, peanut butter or nuts can be a great way to still get the essential nutrients that protein provides, but also helps to save the bank. Meatless Mondays are a great idea to incorporate one day per week, where a different protein option is tried.

Grains:

Buy in bulk. Shoot for whole grains, and buy them in the larger portions, rather than prepackaged options (ie. Rice mixes, pasta mixes, pre-portioned oatmeal, etc).

Buy the store brand. By choosing the store brand, rather than the name brand, can save a lot of money. Whole grains in the store brand will normally be the same price as the more refined grains.

Dairy:

Compare unit prices. This goes for any of the food groups, but one good example is comparing pre-shredded cheese to block cheese. Compare the unit price on each. The unit price will normally be found on the price tag and it will say “unit price”. This gives you the price of the item per unit (units could be price per ounces or price per pound), so the lower the unit price, the better deal.

General Money Saving Tips:

Make a list. Plan your weekly/monthly menu ahead of time. If you have a plan ahead of time, you are more likely to buy only what is on your list, rather than making those decisions in the store at the last minute. You will also be more likely to eat the food you bought at home if you planned to buy it.

Buy the quantity you know you need. You can buy extra of food items that can be stored in the pantry or freezer, but don’t buy extra if it might spoil. There is nothing that makes me angrier than throwing away food!

Pay attention at check out. Make sure everything is ringing up correctly so there are no surprises when you hear the total. Watch to see that items that were marked on sale are coming up at their proper price.

Use coupons. Sign up for emails and text messages through your grocery store. If you have a smart phone, many grocers have their coupons through an app that you can download on your phone. Not only saving money, but saving trees too!