Budget Help!
cindytw
Posts: 1,027 Member
So I am used to prioritizing healthy foods and working around a high grocery budget. But now I am realizing that it may not work for me any more with high medical bills, taxes, etc. What can people share to keep costs down for 2 adults? I know what I do but need new ideas!
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Garden, if you have room and do not live in the arctic, community garden if that is an option, foraging if you live near open spaces, hunt, fish. I know there are farmer's markets popping up but where I live they are way over priced. You can go right to the farmers but sometimes that is a long ways off, but it can save money.0
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Cindy, you are already so good at this, I don't know what else you can do except to take a look at those more expensive items (like nuts?) and leave them out, at least until you guys get back on your feet. Summer will help, with all the fresh food available. Hubby making the changes he is in his lifestyle will also help save $$. It just may take a few months to feel the affect! I just hope you integrate some rest into your life filled with so much OT. I know how hard you're working at helping the situation. Please get enough good sleep! xo
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I found that when I started eating paleo/primal, although I did start to buy more high end natural food, I wasn't buying the packaged processed food anymore, so didn't notice much of a difference in my grocery bill. But also important to keeping my protein costs down, I found a farm where I could order all my grass fed beef and pastured pork, chicken, turkey etc. There are 3 of us at my house and last year we ordered 1/2 cow, 1/2 pig and 24 chickens, also fresh eggs. We reassess yearly what we will need, this year we will get less. The huge benefit to buying meat this way is that I know I am getting the best quality meat, while getting many free items like bones, and chicken feet for broth, and organ meat. I have made this commitment, so will never want to buy conventionally raised meat again. Buying grass fed and pastured meat in small quantities can be very expensive in the grocery of health food stores, so buying directly from the farmer is my best bet to save money. It's worth looking around to see where you might be able to buy direct from the farm.
The other thing I do is to find sources of pantry ingredients, and shop around for the best price and buy in bulk whenever I can, for things such as nuts, spices, etc. And I watch for sales when buying coconut oil and other ingredients. Some items I will only buy when on sale. I also grow as many vegetables as I can and either freeze or can them for future use. If you can't garden, buy produce in season when it is cheaper, and freeze, can and preserve.0 -
Put together a buying club or see if a buying club has been put together in your area. If you have a local WAPF group that is active, you can usually get in on purchases with them. This will allow you to get many things you would like to get but at reasonable prices. Generally, large orders are cheaper and group buys allows for purchasing power.
Start buying the cheaper meats. Shanks, chuck, etc. It will be cheaper and contain more fats and connective tissues.
Start setting aside any monies you can so you will have a fund to purchase whole animals when a good deal comes along.
Learn how to can. Canning various items while they are cheap for later use can save a lot.
Eat a little less. Really, take just a slightly smaller portion each time to stretch the food out a bit longer. Add a bit more roots to your meal, but don't go crazy.
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I too saved money when I became Paleo. My items certainly cost more but i naturally eat far less. When I used to eat junk I appeared to have Binge Eating Disorder. As soon as I started eating properly, BED just vanished.
There's some terrific ideas above. I DO live in the Arctic so my access to the best produce is lacking and there is no local food production, nor are gardens possible but I have been able to find a farm that ships grass-fed/free-ranged meat to a community where I can fly it the rest of the way. Amazingly, it is cheaper than the CAFO meat in our local stores. I also eat whatever wild meats I can get my hands on.
Living elsewhere I would be sure to meet local farmers, go to markets, just network in all ways possible. Growing what you can is a great idea too. Yup, skip the nuts and non-essentials. At one time I jumped on the Paleo substitutes bandwagon and I have tons of non essential crap taking up space in my cupboards such as flours, natural sugars, nuts, chocolate, dried fruits... and most of the items are quite unnecessary. Cook everything from scratch in larger portions. Organs and cheaper cuts of meat save money too.0 -
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Thanks everyone! I think things will improve this summer, for sure. I am fortunate to live in a great area for fresh and local! I do "know" a few farmers from the farm markets and I am actually going to talk to some about the idea of the half cow, half pig etc. I don't have yard space for a garden that is viable but I could try some container gardening. I am considering joining a CSA this year but am on the fence because I also get some really great deals at a few local farm stands that I like to support too. In the meantime I can start focusing more on the cheaper meat cuts, and try to keep it simple.0
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Keep in mind, too, that depending on your medical issues, you may start to see those costs go down as you follow Paleo. Things like Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, and MS often respond very well to whole-foods, grain-free diets, and you may be able to reduce or even eliminate some or all of the medications you have to deal with. It's not a guarantee, but definitely something to keep in mind when factoring in costs (and even if the net result is still a little more in food, remember too that many of these disorders are progressive, so you're staving off future medical cost increases).0
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Vegetable stew made from bone broth, dishes made with heart, liver and any other offal that you don't find offensive! Tongue, oxtail, scrag end all very cheap. Eating like this is the only way we can afford grass fed but we're probably healthier for it!0
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If you know farmers and have time, you might ask them if they'd be willing to let you work for food.0
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There are CSAs in my area that offer working shares. I didn't find it worth MY while; the discount was great enough to be worth it. But maybe in you area it might be different. It's worth asking!0
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@Twibbly, and @pope705 I really don't have the time for working for food, especially at this point that I am working overtime as it is. I hope to De-stress at some point as well! So I am thinking for me and my knowledge of the area and farms, I have 2 choices...go the CSA route and hope for the best, or continue to support the best bargains and local vendors right around me. I am not sure which way to go! I might do better with either!
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@Twibbly, and @pope705 I really don't have the time for working for food, especially at this point that I am working overtime as it is. I hope to De-stress at some point as well! So I am thinking for me and my knowledge of the area and farms, I have 2 choices...go the CSA route and hope for the best, or continue to support the best bargains and local vendors right around me. I am not sure which way to go! I might do better with either!
What's wrong with doing both?
We participate in a CSA/co-op and go to farmer's markets. Often, one has gaps that the other can fill. My CSA doesn't carry bison, but the farmer's market does (and for far cheaper than other bison suppliers around here), for example. Likewise, the CSA has some things the farmer's market doesn't have, like non-produce type stuff (butter from one of the local dairies, produce that's more "semi-local," etc). Depending on where you live, something like a herd share may be the only way to get raw dairy if you want it.
If you happen to be in Ohio/Indiana or their neighboring states, check out http://greenbeandelivery.com/ . Good prices, fully customizable, and delivered to you! If you're not in its service area, look around some more, you might be able to find something similar in your area.0 -
Even though I spend more money on each item I buy I've found that since I'm not buying 5 different types of flour, however many cereal grains, etc I feel like it evens out. I've also been trying to reign it in on the different brands/varieties of oil and stuff. Like I used to feel like I needed 10 different types of olive oil to add to different recipes. I now just buy one brand of olive oil that I know is really high quality and use that for everything including homemade skincare stuff. I reduced a billion vinegars to 1 ACV and coconut vinegar. I tend to be very novelty seeking so it's a struggle to keep myself from buying new stuff but it is easier to remember what you already have and use it up timely so you don't have to throw stuff away when I do this.0
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Dragonwolf wrote: »@Twibbly, and @pope705 I really don't have the time for working for food, especially at this point that I am working overtime as it is. I hope to De-stress at some point as well! So I am thinking for me and my knowledge of the area and farms, I have 2 choices...go the CSA route and hope for the best, or continue to support the best bargains and local vendors right around me. I am not sure which way to go! I might do better with either!
What's wrong with doing both?
We participate in a CSA/co-op and go to farmer's markets. Often, one has gaps that the other can fill. My CSA doesn't carry bison, but the farmer's market does (and for far cheaper than other bison suppliers around here), for example. Likewise, the CSA has some things the farmer's market doesn't have, like non-produce type stuff (butter from one of the local dairies, produce that's more "semi-local," etc). Depending on where you live, something like a herd share may be the only way to get raw dairy if you want it.
If you happen to be in Ohio/Indiana or their neighboring states, check out http://greenbeandelivery.com/ . Good prices, fully customizable, and delivered to you! If you're not in its service area, look around some more, you might be able to find something similar in your area.
I think I am going to do this combined option. I just looked at the CSA I want to join and for the summer season it is $35 a week, which I have to pay upfront, so it will be taken care of. Then I can supplement odd things with the farm stands. I also am not getting meat from the CSA, as I have a vendor for pork, lamb and beef I like to use and the per pound price is cheaper for mine. For chicken, I have a specific chicken vendor I love to use, and theirs are cheaper too! (The farmer is a lot like an older version of the guy in Omnivore's Dilemma!) I may try some container gardening but I can't rely on that. If I have excess, I have a huge chest freezer and know how to pickle and can, and have a dehydrator!
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You can also buy frozen fruits and vegetables on sale to stretch your proteins and add nutrients. Fresh is wonderful but if you have a crazy schedule like I do, fresh sometimes ends up becoming 'compost' in the fridge which is just wasteful. I was part of an organic CSA for a couple of years (just moved to a new state so have not joined one here) and the food was wonderful....not less expensive than the farmer's market... but I loved supporting a local farm and knowing where my food came from. My husband was less of a fan because of "weird" (his word) vegetables he had never heard of before. He did learn to eat chard without too much complaining so I consider that a success 0
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SharonLoving50 wrote: »You can also buy frozen fruits and vegetables on sale to stretch your proteins and add nutrients. Fresh is wonderful but if you have a crazy schedule like I do, fresh sometimes ends up becoming 'compost' in the fridge which is just wasteful. I was part of an organic CSA for a couple of years (just moved to a new state so have not joined one here) and the food was wonderful....not less expensive than the farmer's market... but I loved supporting a local farm and knowing where my food came from. My husband was less of a fan because of "weird" (his word) vegetables he had never heard of before. He did learn to eat chard without too much complaining so I consider that a success
Here, it IS less expensive! That is why I am about to shell out the money for it! I broke it down and I do usually spend way more than $35-40 a week on produce. I did the comparison also for meat and it is NOT cheaper. So that I will do seperately.0
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