For the next 10-15 days we’re going to be talking about our latest project…
Saving Money.
That’s right guys, Sarah and I are on a mission to tighten up our budget a little bit because our last months credit card bill had more than $1,300 in groceries charged on it!
Wow, we knew we spent a pretty penny on eating healthy
…I mean it is our passion after all – but maybe this is a wee bit excessive!
Now I know what you may be thinking….
“but guys why try and save money on what is perhaps the most important thing you could be spending money on, right?!”
…Don’t worry. We understand :), especially since we haven’t always eaten this way.
Take me, for example. 3 years ago I was on a mission to only spent $400 a month on food for us. This meant lot’s of processed foods and weekly trips to Costco. Believe it or not, but I ALWAYS hesitated buying produce because it cost more and had LESS calories. This is the epitome of the Standard American Diet, and it’s in stark contrast to how Sarah and I approach food these days. Today, we buy so much fresh produce it may have seemed ridiculous back in the day.
So here we are, spending more than 3 times what we use to on food. I’m not convinced we need to spend this much on food to feel our best so my goal is for us to get our monthly food budget down to $900.
This isn’t going to be easy for us.
What can you expect from a couple of Foodies & Recipe Creators? To be honest, we’ve become somewhat numb to the costs of food since we shop everyday and only want the best for our bodies. When we want a new shiny ingredient, we almost immediately justify buying it! We definitely have some room for improvement :).
We’re not going to bombard you with food cost breakdowns and extreme saving tips that will leave us all hungry and malnourished. But for the next couple weeks we’re going to explore some new strategies for heightening spending consciousness at the grocery store.
My brain is already overflowing with ideas, and I can’t wait to share this journey with you guys. Stay tuned for updates as we get started!
10 replies to "Healthy Savings Series… Starting Today!"
I only spend $100 a month on food—that’s $25 a week on food—no process foods. Only fresh produce and I buy when it’s on sale!!
Donna
DonnaLeslie – nice work on keeping it to 100 bucks. Sounds like you must be a all-star in the kitchen if you’re mostly buying produce and only what’s on sale! :)
DonnaLeslie That’s awesome! I spend 3-4 times that much. What are your best money saving tips?
I usually only purchase food items when they are on sale. For example: I only buy wild salmon—NEVER farmed salmon. So last week wild salmon was on sale at Sprouts for $5.99 a pound (usually sells at $9-$12 a pound). So I stocked up and bought 3 lbs. to put into freezer. I usually dine on 1/4 lb of fish per meal and par it with aspargus or broccoli and sweet potato with frozen red grapes for dessert. Ice tea to drink. So that dinner at home cost about $2—sure beats going out to a restaurant where you will usually eat farmed salmon and it would cost $25-$30 for the dinner!!
I try to keep it at 200 and thats tight spending with lots of coupons.
Doug
Yes coupons can be helpful! We need to get better at checking for those. Whole foods has some good ones in there newsletter.
I probably spend ~$300/month on food – that’s with 2 CSA deliveries and weekly trips to the grocery store. My main problem is finding ways to eat it all! But my spending has definitely gone up a LOT since becoming more health conscious. Plus I buy based on what I want to eat and not just because things may be on sale :)
@Kate that’s me all the way:)
I have had a Blendtec blender for 4 years—(it’s cousin is a Vitamix) so I make my own soups, smoothies, ice cream, almond milk (I don’t drink cows milk because I’m NOT a baby cow. I don’t want or need all that estrogen and antibiotics which are given to cows and passes through to their “products”!). I only dine on all the vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds, and nuts that I want! My blood pressure went from 140/90 down to 110/60 in 4 months. I’m off the stupid Cholesteral drugs and went from size 12 to size 8 in 2 months–lost 20 lbs—this all took place starting in January 2009! Blood pressure is still the same–110/60. I’m a 62 year old RN and I must say that Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book: Eat To Live—changed and saved my life!! No processed foods any more and I certainly do NOT miss them!!
DonnaLeslie way to go!!!! We have a copy of Dr. Fuhrmans book and love it. Isn’t great how once you give up those processed foods you start to crave vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds and nuts! Great story thanks for sharing!