Money Monday – Food (Again)

To continue our Money Monday, here are a few more ideas on how to save money on food.

1. Forget processed foods. This includes not only fast food and eating out, but a lot of the pre-packaged stuff in the grocery. Each individual and family is different – you may be one who eats out all the time or hardly ever, so it’s tough to say just how much you could save by saying goodbye to processed foods. While may of us are just too busy trying to stay afloat financially to even think about cooking more, at least we can consider ways to bring more whole foods into our diet. If you substitute one whole foods meal per week for one processed meal, you will be saving at least $150 a year (multiply this times four for a family of four). 

2. Try at least one vegetarian meal a week. It is much easier to cook a delicious vegetarian meal than you might imagine, and you will save money on your weekly grocery bill! When you have mastered one veggie meal a week, try to increase to two, and so on. It will add up: If you cook one veggie meal a week, you can save $200 a year; five meals a week saves $1000 a year! 

3. Buy in bulk – organic food only, of course! In larger wholesale clubs there are some great deals to be found on organic grains, cereals, canned goods, meat or chicken, beans and lentils, and much more. Be sure the packaging is minimal – that helps reduce your consumer impact on the planet while you’re saving a few bucks. Depending on your family’s size, you can save $300 and up on properly packaged bulk products.

For more money saving tips, please read We Can All Live Green: Simple Steps to Save Money, Stay Healthy and Support the Planet.

Hope this helps! Please send your tips our way so we can post!

Dedicated to Healthy and Thrifty Living,

We Can Live Green