I get asked all the time if I find myself spending more money on groceries now that I’m trying to eat locally and in season. My answer is always no, because DH and I went out to eat A LOT before I started this project. However, I’m always looking for ways to save money. Here are 10 sites I found that provide excellent tips for saving money on real food:
- Save Money on Groceries – Mother Earth News. This article focuses mainly on buying in bulk and canning.
- Saving Money on “Real” Food – Frugal Living Northwest. This blogger actually made me rethink coupons. ME.
- Real Food on a Budget – actually, this links to THREE articles by my friend Donielle at Naturally Knocked Up. She shares some strategies on how to budget, especially when you’re buying food in multiple places, and how she prioritizes what “real” food to buy.
- Real Food for Less Money – OK, this isn’t ONE article either, but it’s a blog about a family that’s trying to eat real foods on a budget. She shares her menus and budgets.
- Saving Money While Eating a Whole Foods Diet…In a Small Community with Limited Options – Saving Naturally. You are really getting your money’s worth with this list! This blog just started a whole series about eating whole foods in a small town, or if you have limited options. I know I’m totally spoiled living in West Michigan. There are tons of CSAs, farmer’s markets, and more. This series promises to give tips for those who don’t have that many whole foods resources.
- Cook for Good – this is the mother lode. Linda provides complete menus, budgets, recipes, and techniques.
- 7 Ways to Save Money at the Farmer’s Market – this article on babble.com gives some excellent tips.
- 10 Tips to Save Money While Eating Healthy – Summer Tomato. These mostly apply to people like me who are comparing eating real food with going out to eat, but they’re still applicable for those new to eating locally.
- Average Grocery Spending and Ways to Save on Real Food – Modern Alternative Mama always has some great common sense wisdom!
- And, of course, don’t forget the Money guest post from the Food & Faith Challenge.
How about you? Any tips you’ve discovered?
I’ve found that shopping at Aldi can save me money on “real food” (versus processed)… I like their fresh produce and their dairy products are usually the cheapest in town.
Thank you for these links! I need to read these!
Great list! I am such a rookie when it comes to this. I especially need to read #5. Very appropriate for my situation!
I check a local store for weekly markdowns on their organic chicken. Most of the time I can get it for 50% off. I take it home and repackage, if necessary, and freeze. Usually I can find enough marked down to last 2-3 weeks.
I keep forgetting to check for that!
Just read the article about saving money at the Farmer’s Market! Good stuff…
Thanks for these great resources, I need to save this to read when I can sit down and absorb! Looking forward to it! I have found my CSA to be the best money savings around, but I know I can do better with preserving the produce so it is a savings all year!
I share your food philosophy and appreciate this list! I believe in the idea that if you don’t spend money on healthy food you’ll have to spend money on healthcare, so I try to save everywhere in my budget before scrimping on the edibles. That said, I want to get the best price on the edibles that I possibly can! Maybe put the savings toward a big ol’ organic, free range turkey for Thanksgiving – those delicious darlings are spendy!
I love your blog and the idea behind it. I’m also excited to see that you are local West MI gal! I too frequent Harvest Health and the Byron Meat Market!
My life is pretty centered on simple {and organized} living…and saving money, cooking from scratch, and using local foods are great ways to simplify your life. Thanks for sharing!
The perfect list for me. I need to come back when I have more time. I can’t figure out the couponing thing! Seems like a big time vortex.
Thanks for linking to my blog! And thanks for the other great links. As you mentioned, cutting down on dining out is a great way to free up money for real food. We still love to eat out but are very picky about where we go. I can create such a better meal for so much less at home.
Thanks for all the great tips! I like to do my shopping for some items at Costco – saves me money and time đŸ™‚
Agreed – doing your own cooking with real food is definitely cheaper than buying processd boxes that you add water to! I need to be particularly careful with my food budget, because we use food stamps, and I can’t afford to spend “real money” on food. I need to make sure the FS last the whole month! I was pleased to find that our local farmer’s market has a grant from Wholesome Wave (http://wholesomewave.org/) that allows them to give me two farmer’s market “credits” for every one FS dollar. This makes the farmer’s market prices comparable to (or sometimes cheaper than!) the supermarket!
Thanks for links. I’m so ready to get motivated and seek for ways on how to save…