Save Money on Your Grocery Bill

I have spent my entire adult life trying to figure out how to feed myself healthy food without breaking the budget.  The rising cost of food, and the abundant quantity of processed, convenient, and packaged foods, make it difficult to eat natural, clean foods.  Here are some tips I've learned along the way.

Flickr: ilovebutter.  CC-BY-2.0

1. Buy ingredients you can use in almost any dish. 

Especially if you have only one mouth to feed, using up produce before it goes bad can be difficult.  For instance, will one person really eat an entire bunch of green onions in one meal?  Most stores sell them in bunches, so if you need a few morsels for a soup recipe, you will have 3/4 of it left over.  Adding the onions to salads and baked potatoes will make your produce investment worthwhile. 

Tomatoes are my favorite item to use in a wide range of dishes including soups, pasta, tacos, sandwiches, and bruschetta.  Potatoes, bell peppers, corn, and zucchini are all vegetables I use in my favorite dishes and have no trouble finding uses for the leftovers. 

2. Find inexpensive meals you can enjoy often. 

Getting into a buying, cooking, eating routine will help you save money and help you avoid spending unnecessary money on specialty items.  Almost every time I go to the store I buy the same items.  That may sound boring, but using the above tip, those items can be turned into dozens of recipes.  Here is my some of my favorite cheap and healthy dish:

 Veggtable soup: 

1 can chicken broth  $1 

1 potato:  $.40 

2 roma Tomatoes $.40 

1/4 bunch green onions $.25

2 suasage links $.50 

Garlic/spices:  $.05

Meals:2 

Total: $2.70

Cost per meal: $1.35 

3. Don't do all of your shopping at the same place

This can vary from chain to chain and location to location, so what is cost effective for me, might be different for you.  It might make sense to shop for produce at your local farmer's market and buy your breads and pastas at a chain store.  I have found that one grocery store near me had incredible low meat and produce, while their packaged items like crackers, frozen items, and soups are almost double the price at competing stores.  Buying the few packaged items you eat at a place like Costco, Safeway, or Walmart will get you the best prices.   

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Spending money on food is like spending money on gasoline.  It is a consumable item that leaves you with nothing tangible.  Your mortgage, car payment, and clothing money are all expenses that will hold some value after being purchased.  I can buy a $20,000 car, drive it for 5 years, and sell it for $14,000.  However, when I buy a $20 pizza, it is money that is forever gone. Hard earned money, never to be seen again!  

In order to build towards the minimalist goal of financial independence, it is imperative to get monthly expenses down, especially consumable ones.  The grocery bill should be your first battlefield. 

Eat Like A Minimalist

The goal of minimalism is to cut away all that is unnecessary in order to focus intensely on the important things in life.  What is important to me is having the time, space, and ability to pursue adventurous activities.  I labor to have the funds available, a properly fit and healthy body, and the time to stay active.  Eating healthy and cheaply have a direct affect on those goals. Although I would love to grow a majority of my own food and supplement the rest with local, organic cuisine, logistically I haven't figured out how to make it plausible.

Here are the problems I see:

• Obesity is taking over our nation, and is directly tied to what and how we consume our food. 
• Obesity is causing a large number of health problems and diseases. 
• The cost of food is rising. 
• Processed foods have all kinds of unnatural chemicals that can be harmful 
• Packaged food can have deceptive labeling and unnoticed harmful attributes.  

Without going to the extreme of running off to the hills and starting my own ranch, I have been making small and profitable changes to the way I purchase and consume food.  Here are a few tips and changes I have made. 

• I try to eat out less.  When you prepare your own food, you save tons of money and have control over the ingredients. 
• I rarely drink coffee shop espressos.  I was spending up to $100 a month on the green labeled cup.  I'd like to go coffee free eventually to save more money. 
• Drink more water!  Not only is a well hydrated body healthy and productive, water is practically free.  Sugary drinks usually have tons of chemicals, are expensive, rot your teeth, and are terrible for your health.  I'm all for treating yourself periodically, just don't make it a daily habit. 
• Do 80% of your shopping in the produce section.  Fill up on seasonal fruits and veggies, inexpensive greens, and cheap staples like apples, potatoes, and bananas. 
• An occasional package of chips, crackers, or cookies, aren't going to kill your health or budget.  However, even though it looks cheap, it's low in nutritional value, and only fills your with empty calories. 
• I get a $5 box of lettuce at week and make salads daily, adding a few dollars in topping like tomatoes and nuts. 
• Shop small and often for produce. Things like berries, and bananas ripe and go bad within 2-4 days. It's a huge waste to buy produce and throw it out because it spoiled.  

If I could sum up this new movement towards healthier eating and more money saving, it would be: Eat more of what God made, and less of what man made.