Impossible to eat healthy when in debt

EccentricDad

Don't get me wrong, I get food before the debt collectors get their $$$$; but it's hard to convince my wife that who is the controller of our finances (yet I'm the grocery shopper and the cook). Her goal is to be debt free, my goal is to be disease free; they seem to be conflicting with each other. The way I see it, I either need to take over the finances (since I'm the one spending the money anyways) or I just need to accept the fact that instead of feeding my family of 4 a $15 meal of fish, quinoa, veggies, and salsa I'll have to suck it up and replace it with a $4 meal of $1 menu burgers...

Seriously, where are the priorities? Anyone else find themselves fighting to feed their family a nutritious meal because their significant other would rather pay off their debt.

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k8blujay2

:huh: Ok... being a fiscally conservative family, that is trying to dig ourselves out of debt as well... I don't seen any reason why your family can't eat healthy... I don't think it has to do with politics as it does with just point of view... as a registered Republican (though not a practicing one) I have always believed that one must eat right and exercise in order to reduce the risks of health problems (now practicing what I preach is a different story otherwise I would not be here)... thus, I agree with you... however, it is kinda hard to swallow paying for quinoa... which I can't seem to do myself, but that's more of my frugal upbringing rather than my political upbringing.... But in our house we always have fresh produce, lean cuts of meat (even fish... though I stink at cooking it) and the like... though I will admit, I'm not too keen on paying the exorbitent prices for organic either, but I do when there isn't that great of a price difference.

My fight comes when my husband would rather have hamburger helper from a box, than a homemade version with real cheese. :grumble:

rlbs

I find cooking at home to actually save money if I plan ahead -- I buy inexpensive cuts of meat, like chicken thighs or pork shoulder, when they are on sale, and then cook them in the crock pot, which is usually enough for several meals. I make chili with ground turkey and lots of beans, it is delicious, healthy, and you can make a huge pot and freeze some for later. If fresh veggies are too expensive, buy frozen. Cooking Light magazine had a great article this month on making inexpensive family meals, they suggested buying vegetables and bulk foods like rice at ethnic markets where they are cheaper. Also, look for ideas on the web, there are a lot of folks who blog about feeding their family on very low budgets. Good luck!

EccentricDad

:huh: Ok... being a fiscally conservative family, that is trying to dig ourselves out of debt as well... I don't seen any reason why your family can't eat healthy... I don't think it has to do with politics as it does with just point of view... as a registered Republican (though not a practicing one) I have always believed that one must eat right and exercise in order to reduce the risks of health problems (now practicing what I preach is a different story otherwise I would not be here)... thus, I agree with you... however, it is kinda hard to swallow paying for quinoa... which I can't seem to do myself, but that's more of my frugal upbringing rather than my political upbringing.... But in our house we always have fresh produce, lean cuts of meat (even fish... though I stink at cooking it) and the like... though I will admit, I'm not too keen on paying the exorbitent prices for organic either, but I do when there isn't that great of a price difference.

My fight comes when my husband would rather have hamburger helper from a box, than a homemade version with real cheese. :grumble:

All 4 of us in the family have dietary intolerances too so it's not like we are eating this way to be fiscally irresponsible; we are eating this way because this is the diet that our body does not manifest any cognitive or physical symptoms for!

My wife too would rather have random ground beef in a processed box mixture (containing gluten which I have issue with and no nutritional value) than a homemade meal (full of nutrition and not gluten!). She would rather spend her money on exotic trips around the world than healthy food so she and her kids can be healthy (oh and her husband can be alive too).

Seriously, if I had the choice of dying at 50 and being debt free while seeing the world but being fat and full of disease and dying at 80 and still paying my debt off and rarely leaving my house but being slender and disease free and have healthy children and grandchildren, I'd choose 80....

fishgutzy

Really depends on what one considers healthy.
Expensive organic vegetables are 7 to 8 times more likely to make you sick from bacteria. And multiple studies have found they do not have higher nutrient content.

I don't pay attention to "lean" versus not. I need fat in my diet. I have to limit carbs. So that leaves fat because low carb high protein is toxic.
Costco is great for saving money of meat and veggies. Farmers markets are surprisingly affordable for local produce.
Not spending money on junk food snacks saves a ton of money.
I think I'd get rid of our mobile phones before cutting into the food budget.

Gramps251

You all have dietary intolerances but can eat nasty burgers and garbage from a box?

Find a way and cook nutritious food at home. No excuses.

Look at what people in poor countrys eat. Legumes, rice, vegies, breads......... (Chicken as a protien is about the most bang for the buck at the stores I shop at.)

noneya2010

I used to think this and initially it did seem to cost more to eat healthy but now I have calculated and it is cheaper. We rarely eat out (by choice - because we eat so much better/cheaper at home). Check out various markets. We get some great deals on chicken, fajita meat, etc., at a local mexican market who offers great sales because they have so many customers.

We also have found a great asian market that offers produce at a fraction of some of the big grocery stores. It sounds like a pain to have to shop around, but if you just hit up some various markets you soon realize who has the cheaper of this and that. On Sundays, we usually go grocery shopping. This means hitting up Walmart for basics (bread for kids lunches, laundry soap, etc.) and then we have found two ethnic markets (Asian and Indian) as well as the mexican market! Sometimes we hit up all 4!! It's also a good time we get to chat and visit.

Also, you might try planning some menus where you can stretch your things out. For example. we buy whole chickens when on sale cheap and freeze them. From that, I can boil and chop up and make chicken salad for lunches, chicken & corn soup (a favorite in my house), and many other recipies. We also make fajitas alot too - and corn tortillas are very low cal and healthy with some chicken, tomatoes, onion, cilantro and even guacamole. And most major chain stores have frozen veggies for less than $1 a bag. If you have Kroger nearby, they have their own brand of very nice veggies -- any you can imagine for less than $1 a bag. Asparagus, brocoli, cauliflower, etc. You name it, they have it and you don't have to worry about it spoiling in the fridge - you just freeze them and pull out as needed. I use one of those customer appreciation cards from Kroger and they send me great coupons for stuff I routinely buy all the time. Every month I get a dozen free eggs in my coupon packet. Walmart matches competitors prices if you bring in sale papers from other stores. Some other chains probably do this as well. They don't advertise this, but if you bring them and ask, many do. Every little bit adds up.

I get a bag of chopped romaine lettuce from Sam's club for $3. Eating salad every day, I still end up throwing some away at the end of the week! (NOT cost effective, I know!!). I also like the big bags of Tyson grilled chicken strips or the whole chicken breast fully cooked patties. These are great to heat in the microwave and toss in salad, eat them with veggies, etc. A bag is $10 but there are 16-18 chicken breasts in there so they last a while and are very healthy.

If you like chili -- super easy to make and you can buy dried beans and soak and then toss in a crock pot with some meat or toss in a big pan and cook on high for an hour or so. This always makes enough to feed several people and still have leftovers.

EccentricDad

You all have dietary intolerances but can eat nasty burgers and garbage from a box?

Find a way and cook nutritious food at home. No excuses.

Look at what people in poor countrys eat. Legumes, rice, vegies, breads......... (Chicken as a protien is about the most bang for the buck at the stores I shop at.)

The turfallo burgers were home made. The gluten free buns I agree were terrible, look at the rest of the diary before you judge. I am a mostly clean eater. But you aren't even on subject! Did you read the heading and freak or did you read the details too?

EccentricDad

Really depends on what one considers healthy.
Expensive organic vegetables are 7 to 8 times more likely to make you sick from bacteria. And multiple studies have found they do not have higher nutrient content.

I don't pay attention to "lean" versus not. I need fat in my diet. I have to limit carbs. So that leaves fat because low carb high protein is toxic.
Costco is great for saving money of meat and veggies. Farmers markets are surprisingly affordable for local produce.
Not spending money on junk food snacks saves a ton of money.
I think I'd get rid of our mobile phones before cutting into the food budget.

In my opinion, mobile phones are a luxury and eating healthy is a necessity. My wife seems to feel the other way around (she's an internet addict with her smart phone).

albhed1039

What I would suggest is sitting down together and making a budget - together. We use mint.com so wecan view it from either phone.

Maybe split up priorities, it does not need to be all or nothing extreme on either end. If you normally put 400$ to groceries and 300$ toold debts, just put a bit more towards food and a little less to debts.

But that's why I like mint, I can really see where our.money goes so we know where to cut. Sodas are a easy start if you guys drink them. Also try calling cable/ Internet/ phone companies and see if they have any specials. My father in law taught methat one. Often they will say for new customs nly,but if you call and say. You would save money switching companies they will give you a good deal. Even if it's just for a few month special

Also, if you have not read Dave Ramsey's book on debt. Free livingi would, it's a good read.

AReasor

There has to be some sort of middle ground compromise here. We live very simply and feed a family of 4 on $80 a week, sometimes less. The Quinoa meal you suggested would be out of our price range. But, I won't feed my family that $1 burger yuckiness you were talking about either.

eddysuchydvm

Crockpot meals?

Hearty soups?

I think somewhere between 4 and 15 dollars is realistic...4$ is just not enough to provide nutritious food

guerillamilk

I disagree. I've ended up saving tons of money since I've started eating healthy and recently discovered that the farmers market is way cheaper than the grocery store and you get a TON of fruits & veggies. If you plan ahead and shop smart you'll end up ahead. I promise.

lwagnitz

I don't know why this irks my nerves so much but it does... I'm not trying to come off mean and annoying like a lot of other posters on here saying "my way or the highway" kind of deal.

But the whole "eating healthy is expensive" is a load of crap.
I'm a college student and am dirt poor. It's CHEAPER to eat healthy.
I just made a homemade soup with vegetable broth, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes that costed me a grand total of $8 to make. And that will last me 2 weeks worth of lunch or a snap. Doesn't even break 50 calories per serving.
It's making both healthy and fiscally responsible decisions.
You can eat healthy without going broke.
But beans in bulk.
Buy meat in bulk (just bought a bag of chicken from walmart that has 10+ breasts in it for $6)
etc, etc.

NewChristina

Sometimes a liberal investment pays off in the end, especially when it comes to health.

redraidergirl2009

There are these things called beans, they're $1 a bag and you can feed everyone. Rice too. And theres also pasta which is $1 a box and sauce is $2-3. There's another meal there for $4.

Ghilber

I disagree. I've ended up saving tons of money since I've started eating healthy and recently discovered that the farmers market is way cheaper than the grocery store and you get a TON of fruits & veggies. If you plan ahead and shop smart you'll end up ahead. I promise.

I agree. We now buy bulk lean meat from the butcher and package it up into single servings and buy fruit and vege from the markets and that's our dinners sorted for cheap. Breakfasts for me is just eggs. lunches are salads I make. Now I'm eating out WAY less is saving me a bundle as well as those "nice" dinners (ie high calorie) which we would spend $20 on the ingredients.

Me and my partner would spend like $30 on nice takeaway like Chinese or something and now that would pay our whole weeks dinners. Same with lunches.

I'm also not going to the pub anywhere near as much which is probably saving $50-$100 a week. But I was going out drinking a bit.

jesslaur75

I am so tired of people saying they can't eat healthy on a budget. If you make a meal of healthy ingredients it costs much less than if you eat crap. It's been proven over and over again. It looks more expensive, but when you break it down...one half onion = $.15, two garlic clove =$.02, one half pound chicken thighs = $4, one can tomatoes =$1, couple sprinkles dried basil =$.02, can of chickpeas = $1.5. Whole meal = $6.69 I'm not sure how that is expensive. It might look expensive to buy a whole thing of dried basil or load up the spice rack, so do it a few at a time. It's not difficult. This is just someone who doesn't want to eat healthy and is using money to avoid it.
Sorry, don't mean to be an *kitten*, but I've been having this argument with people for years now.

redraidergirl2009

I don't know why this irks my nerves so much but it does... I'm not trying to come off mean and annoying like a lot of other posters on here saying "my way or the highway" kind of deal.

But the whole "eating healthy is expensive" is a load of crap.
I'm a college student and am dirt poor. It's CHEAPER to eat healthy.
I just made a homemade soup with vegetable broth, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes that costed me a grand total of $8 to make. And that will last me 2 weeks worth of lunch or a snap. Doesn't even break 50 calories per serving.
It's making both healthy and fiscally responsible decisions.
You can eat healthy without going broke.
But beans in bulk.
Buy meat in bulk (just bought a bag of chicken from walmart that has 10+ breasts in it for $6)
etc, etc.

omg I agree. I make a big batch of beans and big batch of quinoa and I can use it for several meals all week. Don't tell me 'eating healthy is expensive' until really live in poverty people. That's so annoying. Also maybe it's just me, but a bag of salad will make several salads. I guess some people think you have to buy $10 grilled salmon to eat healthy. Guess what, if you don't shop at whole foods you can get stuff super cheap.

adietron

My secrets to making healthy meals on a grad-student budget:

1. Huge pots of soup, chili, or beans (black eyed peas or mexi-style black beans are AMAZING). Leftovers for days, and super satisfying.
2. Plant-based diet. 1 pound of chickpeas or lentils is cheaper than 1 pound of meat (not to mention the lower carbon footprint). Buy beans and legumes in bulk. Sure, you have to think ahead and soak them, but it's a much cheaper alternative to meat or canned beans.

Might I suggest trying to win your wife over with some long-term financial planning? Since processed foods are more likely to lead to metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes), ask her to factor the cost of insulin and blood pressure medication into your long-term budget. Maybe she'll think twice about letting you buy some kale and quinoa instead of hamburger helper.

AvonLucyR

I'm not eating healthy yet, because I hate healthy foods, LOL. But, I do know we all choose how we spend our money. If you ever stop for something at a gas station or 7-11 type place, stop! There are so many places we nickel and dime ourselves into debt. I know this from doing it myself!! Beans and rice, Vegetable soups, Unprocessed foods...healthy and very inexpensive. Lots of things can be thrown in the crock pot in the morning so you come home to a yummy meal at night. I make a lot of wraps in tortillas, etc...cheap. My best recommendation to you is to write down where you are spending all of your money....yes I mean ALL. It's amazing where you can cut back and add a little to buy something a little healthier. Good luck!! :flowerforyou:

Educ8rChic

I found a Groupon one day that helps you stay on budget and make tasty meals for a family of 4 or 6. I'm not sure how much it costs regular price, but it's nice. Emeals.com is where I go. You can pick meal plans specific to your diet needs and each week, the recipes and grocery list are made for you. If you pick a particular store, it even estimates the cost. We've spent anything from $80-100 on 7 home made meals. You might wanna check it out. Eating healthy on a budget doesn't have to suck...

kmhenry84

ok lets give the guy a break... we are all here for motivation and support.

Yes, it can be more expensive to eat healthy diet... if you do it the wrong way. But there are lots of ways to eat healthy on a budget.

I like to make a very big casserole or soup.. sometimes both.. on Sundays and portion them out to eat during the week. I freeze some for a 'lazy day' and use some for lunches.

Now that I'm stocked in the kitchen and just have to replace things, I find its actually less expensive. We spend about $40 a week on groceries - no lie.

Fish IS more expensive... but its not the only healthy food :-)

Please send me a message if you want more help.

southerntransplant

My beef is that I can go and spend $125 at the grocery store and then my husband calls me to pick up fast food for dinner. And, sad to say, I usually do it. I guess the old saying is true -- you really are your own worst enemy. I don't need anyone to sabotage my plans because I do a pretty good job on my own.

T34418l3angel

I feel where your coming from, I don't have advice I just sympathize because my husband is the same as your wife, he Treys to give me a "budget" of a hundred dollars for groceries to last for two weeks for our family of four, topping it off I'm low carb yet more often then not I'm sacrificing my diet to eat cheaper things that are no good for my diet such as pasta or rice. And I'm really limited on how much meat I can get. He doesn't understand that 200 a month is simply unreasonable and feeding our family should come before any bills. Oh and before the poster nazis come out to say I'm a bad mother for not feeding my kids or some other ridiculous comments, I often go over the budget to ensure my kids get the proper nutrition they need.

sunnykt

All 4 of us in the family have dietary intolerances too so it's not like we are eating this way to be fiscally irresponsible; we are eating this way because this is the diet that our body does not manifest any cognitive or physical symptoms for!

My wife too would rather have random ground beef in a processed box mixture (containing gluten which I have issue with and no nutritional value) than a homemade meal (full of nutrition and not gluten!). She would rather spend her money on exotic trips around the world than healthy food so she and her kids can be healthy (oh and her husband can be alive too).

Seriously, if I had the choice of dying at 50 and being debt free while seeing the world but being fat and full of disease and dying at 80 and still paying my debt off and rarely leaving my house but being slender and disease free and have healthy children and grandchildren, I'd choose 80....

It doesn't take a psychologist or a genius to see the blame shifting going on here (although this doesn't apply to everyone whose mentioned a spouse with financial control of the food in this thread).

It's probably best to address your issues with your spouse. Yes, I know you are a team, and she's been assigned certain roles. Yes, I know she controls the finance. But these are excuses, not legitimate reasons. Discuss. Talk. You know the deal. Converse about your issues with your wife in a healthy and constructive way. Or offer to go out and buy the groceries this week and offer to cook all week. Get her in on the deal and make her think it's her idea. You are in control of your body and what you put into it, not your wife. You could offer to make everyone dinner, or make yourself a separate meal. You are simply being lazy by assigning the blame to her because you've designated her the duty of feeding you. Reclaim that aspect of your life back.

"Healthy is not expensive." Don't buy into a fake dichotomy that you either eat junk food, or eat expensive "health foods". Yes, food such as chia and quinoa that have been heavily marketed as super duper "health" foods are more expensive. But this is a marketing ploy. There are also carrots (which can be as little as $1 a kg and can be used as padding) oats (also extremely cheap), eggs, kale, potato and apples (natures perfect "on the go" snack). All the more "common" fruits and vegetables generally eaten are still good for you, despite the lack of marketing spin.

Learn maths, or teach your wife maths- whichever one thinks that your eating habits are actually financially valid. Yes, a hamburger for $1 may seem cheaper than a $3 bag of vegetables or oats but the oats and vegetables, when bought and added together last longer and can end up making cheaper meals. They also fill you up better- you eat a bag of chips as a "snack" and go back for more, it leaves you feeling addicted and gives you further food craving, perpetuating an avalanche of bad eating. You'd never do that with a bowl of lettuce- because the lettuce fills you up better and isn't addictive. Eating better foods also programs you to veer away from "comfort eating". You're eating for your body, not your emotions and the feelings that eating certain foods evoke, and so you ultimately end up eating less. Which means less money. Sure a $60 grocery shop (for two people) seems more than a $5 meal (fries, chips, burger) but at 3 meals a day $5 a meal (for two people) ends up being $210. Even assuming you only eat two meals a day (realistic if you consider the calories) that's still $140.
$60 can also buy you approximately 3 meals, and 2 healthy snacks (such as an apple or a carrot and hummus or yogurt) every day. So you're eating more frequently and getting more "bang for your buck" because you are getting more nutrients.

Starting on the path to healthy eating is the most expensive part- you need to buy sauces and herbs and spices to make your food tasty, which will only fuel your wife's fire and give her ammo on "see? eating my way is cheaper!". But after this first step is done eating healthy will end up being more financially sound. And anyone who says that is just letting their emotions cloud their logic. I have to admit there are times when I do a "fresh" shop and McDonald's starts to look alluring, but I know that this is just consumer dissonance and my brain being horribly addled by marketing. When I think about it I think about how you go to McDonald's to get a burger and end up with a meal, because you're "saving money" and then the whole premise of it being "cheap" falls apart.

You could sit down and do a proper food budget with your wife and realistically look at how much you *actually* spend on food a week eating fast food, including candybars and sodas. You'll find that any thoughts about eating unhealthily being cheaper will fade. I look at fast food as an expensive luxury, even the cheap kind.

If a person can't put enough long-term planning and thinking in to see that buying groceries for a week is actually more financially sound than buying fast food and foods marketed as cheaper options, then how can they properly manage lateral thinking in other aspects of their life? There is a link between poor nutrition and bad diets and low socio-economic status. I think that sometimes people con themselves into thinking that they are "too poor to afford to eat healthy" when really it's the other way around- you're too unhealthy to be wealthy.

VeggieKidMandy

honestly , you can still eat cheap and healthy. Im on a tight budge of 20$ a week for a food allowence, for the two of us, but I also eat meatless, I noticed that a lot of stores have a discount produce section, or it is mixed in. ( the vegetables are a bit older ) and I can get a whole basket of groceries to last me for the entire week for at least twice a day.

emmamiso5

I'm doing Dave Ramsey and losing weight. Frozen meat and veggies!

javagsd

It's really becomes pretty easy once you figure out the tricks. It does take planning and more prep and cooking work. I did the $3/day Food Stamp budget for all of Lent this year and was surprised at how it changed my approach to food. It actually was a big part of why I started to diet and joined MFP shortly thereafter. Some tips:

Concentrate on breakfast - spend the time to plan it the night before and save time in the morning. Crockpot oatmeal, pancakes, veggie omelets, frozen overripe bananas for quick smoothies - all cheap, filling, nutritious, healthy. My favorite smoothie right now is just watermelon, a little mint and a T or 2 of greek yogurt.

Shop produce stands, discount groceries, bulk bins, plan menus around sales. Today I bought 1 watermelon - $2.50, 2 large avocados @$.48 each, and 2 cauliflowers at $.30 each at a produce stand. 6 cups of cauliflower cheese soup are in the freezer and tomorrow's dinner will be 1 of 4 meals I'll get of Indian cauliflower curry.

Soup and beans - easy and cheap, particularly easy with a slow cooker. A serving of homemade veggie soup with chicken broth is 40 calories and costs around $.50. Stuff all sorts of veggies with leftover grains, veggies, whatever and bake.

Snacks - pre-portioned ready-to-eat convenience is everything in snacks, for both kids and adults. Take the time to put thing into baggies so you'll have them available - nuts, carrots & celery, pretzels, grapes, whatever. Leftover smoothies gets poured into papercups with popsicle sticks and frozen.

Once a week make jars of salad dressing, croutons, healthy substitutes for mayo and sour cream. When you have them available, you won't reach for the unhealthy commercially-prepared stuff.

Garden as much as you can. Even if it's just 3 little pots of herbs on a window sill. Once a garden is established it's almost work and $ free. One container-sized zucchini plant has given me 28 squash so far, and is still going. I have 3 small raised beds and calculsted that I got over $900 of produce last year for under $60 - with it all organic as a bonus.

beccag28

I'm in NZ so the price comparison probably not very accurate, but my flat of 4 does a shop for about 100 dollars NZ approx 60 dollars US??? for 5 nights of dinners, breakfast and lunch not counting snack food. Some things that help us are getting the budget brands of rice and pasta in bulk because you know you will use them. Budget brand of beans, chickpeas, canned tomatoes and what not. And buying in season vegetables. We aren't lucky enough to live somewhere with fancy asian/mexican markets but manage to find all we need at a vegetable store and the supermarket.

marlopaterson

I am the cook and budget person in our family. We both want to get out of debt -- but I told him upfront in the beginning - I'll sacrifice and skimp in other places in the budget to add to our food budget. We chose to go vegetarian, buy beans/grains in bulk, shop at local farmer's markets. I say to all my friends - I don't care how much it costs - if it's healthy and right for us, we'll buy it. Besides - if you eat processed junk and die young - who cares about the bills? Eating right doesn't have to be expensive. Like many previous posters have said - there are ways to eat healthy on a budget! Best of luck to you - I like your attitude!

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