First Apartment

thezenphoenix

I just moved in with my fiance to our first apartment! Any tips on eating healthy on a budget?

rabblerabble

Fresh fruits and vegetables. Generally inexpensive and very healthy.

Veslus

Red meat has gone up in price, so if you eat it watch your spending on it.

thisismeraw

Shop around. Find the cheapest grocery story around you. Whole Foods for example can have some great food but it is much more expensive than say Walmart.

My husband do our grocery shopping at Walmart instead of the "higher class" grocery store. We get great quality for cheaper prices.

Look into store brands of items you buy. They are normally cheaper unless the name brand is on sale. They are the same thing but much cheaper. We only buy name brand if it's on sale and cheaper than the generic.

See if a store around you price matches when you bring in another store's flyer. Walmart does here which makes it super easy to get all the great sales without going to a bunch of different stores. Always look through the flyers. We tend to only buy the produce that is on sale. I love strawberries for example, but I will only buy them when they are on sale. When produce is really cheap I buy a lot of it. Clean it, partially cook it if needed, have it all chopped up and freeze it for later meals. Plan your meals around what's on sale. It makes for cheaper meals. When you make dinner, make extra for lunches the following day. Investing in a few pieces of great Tupperware or lunch containers is worth it. We also sometimes make extra dinners and than portion and freeze for either lunches in the future or quick meals later on.

Make a list and stick to it. Don't shop when you're hungry. Don't buy what is not on your list unless it's either an amazing deal or it's something you really do need but forgot to add to your list.

Check out whatever grocery store you shop at. Most, if not all stores have a time in the week that they mark down meats. We only buy meat that is marked down. The stores mark down meat when either they are going to be closed for a holiday or it's getting closer to expiry. When it's close to expiry and we wont eat it right away I portion it and freeze. You can save a decent amount on meat that way. Always check the seconds rack of produce as well. Planning on making a stir fry for dinner the night you go shopping, buy produce from the seconds rack as it's much cheaper and you will use it that night.

Add dried beans and rice to meals to stretch them out. Dried beans are super cheap compared to the canned versions. They take a bit more time to prepare but taste the same and save you money.

Also, check out any dollar stores around you. Some now have freezer sections where you can get cheap frozen foods. You can also get dressings, condiments, etc really cheap.

corgicake

Buy off the sale sheet and freeze things. Get to know stores' coupon policies and other things that can be used to your advantage. The grocer by my apartment honors whatever their posted prices are in the produce, even if they result in say, someone walking out with a couple heads of nappa cabbage for less than two bucks a pop. Learn where each place likes to stick its clearance things. Some leave them in their regular places marked down, others have special sections, and a few do a blend of this. Also learn the seasonality of your favorite produce.