I’d like to thank Naomi Shaw for sharing her tips with my readers on how she cuts her spending at the grocery store!
More and more people are getting into the fitness and healthy lifestyle. So people aim to eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer fatty foods that contain empty calories; however, for many busy individuals on a tight budget, shopping for healthy food items can seem like a challenging task. However, lace up your sneakers and get ready to hit the store and fill that cart with healthy items with these tips:
Make a List
The first thing you need to do before you even leave the house for the market is to make a list of what you need to buy. If you like to cook, section foods items by recipe or meal – that way, you can make sure you get everything you need and nothing goes to waste.
If you’re not really the type to cook two meals per day – or any big meals at all – make a list of foods you regularly eat or want to start including in your diet.
Making a list and sticking to it can prevent you from overbuying and picking up impulse items off the store shelves that will not only blow your diet, but your budget as well.
Find a Farmer’s Market
A big part of a healthy diet is making sure you’re eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Ideally, you want to be eating fresh fruits and vegetables during each meal, but that can get costly if you shop at a typical supermarket.
Instead of heading to your local grocery store to do all of your shopping, check out a local farmer’s market in your area. In many cases, produce prices are lower at farmer’s markets since there’s no markup from the middleman – the grocery store.
Produce from farmer’s markets is often fresh and organic by default; however, this isn’t always the case. Be wary of who you buy from when at the farmer’s market, and once you find a few good vendors, you’ll know where you can get quality produce at a fraction of what the grocery stores charge.
Remember, when it comes to produce, often times the freshest produce is what is the most affordable. That’s because with produce, the items that are in season will generally cost less because the available supply is so abundant.
So don’t think those tomatoes are going to be bad just because they’re cheap.
Look For Bargains
Chances are you probably can’t buy everything you need on your grocery list from a farmer’s market. When you do need to buy food from your local supermarket, taking the time to look for bargains is a great way to save money.
To find bargains, consider subscribing to a large Sunday newspaper in your area so you can clip coupons. You don’t have to spend hours and hours clipping, but even 10 minutes of flipping through your paper could save you some cash. It could also give you an indication of where you should look for well-priced food items you want to buy because of the store inserts that come in most newspapers.
In addition to clipping coupons, make sure you browse store websites as well. Many stores advertise specials online or even offer printable coupons on their website that you wouldn’t know about otherwise.
Buying healthy food, especially if you’re feeding a family or cooking for loved ones, is an admirable goal. For many people, shopping at farmer’s markets and different grocery stores for the best produce and deals can seem like a lot of hard work at first.
Over time, you’ll start to realize how much money you’re actually saving. You’ll spend less time wandering around the grocery aisles and picking up impulse buys.
Naomi Shaw is a stay at home mom who is married with 3 children. She knows how expensive it can get to buy groceries. To save her and her family some money she researched and found these simple ways to buy healthy items but still stay within her budget.
