Save Your MoneyJanuary 11, 2019September 12, 2019

8 Ways To Eat Healthier On A Budget

Everyone wants to eat healthily. As a matter of fact, most people I know are always trying to find ways to eat cheaper and healthier but always fail. Therefore, we thought that it would be a good idea to show a few ways that you can eat healthier while staying within your set budget! Remember, if you have allergies or certain conditions, you may have to modify these suggestions a bit. However, I believe that the information you’re about to read can help you tremendously!

1. Create A Meal Plan	2. Don’t Stray From The Plan
3. Eat What You Cook	4. Portions
5. Fancy Schmancy	6. Impulse
7. Sale, Sale, Sale!	8. Bulk + Coupons

1. Create A Meal Plan

People truly underestimate the value of a meal plan. Meal plans have the ability to make eating on a budget astronomically easier! When you create a meal plan, you’re doing more than just figuring out what you’re going to eat beforehand. You’re also making a grocery list and optimizing for how much money you’d like to spend monthly or weekly!

There are many apps that you can use that help you create a grocery list! Furthermore, there are apps that can help you keep track of what you eat, your daily goals and your activity throughout the day! One of my favorite apps for tracking my daily life is MyFitnessPal! It’s available on basically all phones so check it out! If you’re in need of an amazing recipe book, check out 5 Ingredients – Quick & Easy Food by Jamie Oliver!

2. Don’t Stray From The Plan

Creating a meal plan is one thing. However, sticking to it is another challenge entirely. This one will take a certain level of discipline on your end. When going grocery shopping, you’ll see millions of things that you’ll want to eat, many of which are not good for you. This is why you need to have a laser focus on what you’re trying to obtain.

The only thing stopping you from living a healthier lifestyle is your bad habits. As stated earlier, the best way to do this is to download an app that acts as a grocery list organizer. Furthermore, bring a friend that is dedicated to assisting you. This does two things. First, the person can go get the other things on the list, effectively shortening your shopping time. Also, they can make sure that you don’t get something that isn’t on your list.

3. Eat What You Cook

The whole point of going grocery shopping is to cook your own food. This saves you a ton of money in multiple ways and gives many other benefits as well. First, buying food, making it, then eating it is cheaper than buying fast food 3 times a day. Furthermore, learning to cook is a valuable skill to have which can be enjoyable to many.

If you think you don’t know how to cook, there are many websites that are willing to help you learn! Websites like AllRecipes have thousands of easy to learn recipes that will help you create delicious foods!

4. Cook Larger Portions/Meal Prep

Cooking larger portions has the ability to save you tons of money and make you healthier! When you meal prep, you are making food that’ll cover an extended period of time. These foods will consist of beef, chicken, rice and other healthier choices. This means that if you cook a large enough portion that you’ll have food for a whole 4 – 7 days, you’ll be saving money you would have otherwise spent on fast food. However, cooking larger portions does take a little extra time but it is definitely worth it. If you need help starting a meal prep and deciding what foods you’d like, check out The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook!

5. Fancy Schmancy

If you’re anything like me, you love buying anything name brand. It can be food or clothes, whatever it is, it has to come from a brand that I’m familiar with! However, this way of thinking can be very detrimental. Unless you’re buying organic or whole foods, you’re better off buying the generic or no-name brand items. This has two benefits.

First, you save more money! lesser-known brands usually have a price difference of $1 – $2. However, this price can vary depending on the item. Second, all foods that are sold in grocery stores have to pass the same approval process through Health Canada. Therefore, cheaper foods are sometimes just as safe and healthy to eat as their more expensive competition!

Quick Reads

6. Impulse Buys

One thing that I used to be guilty of from time to time is impulse buying and purchasing junk foods. It goes without saying that purchasing junk food is a waste of money. Not only does it provide negligible nutritional value but it’s not essential. This means that you can live life without it. Having it once in a while is fine, especially if you can afford it. However, do not make it a constant occurrence.

7. Sale, Sale, Sale!

Everyone loves a good sale, That’s why you should make it your mission to purchase things on sale. However, don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. Only purchase something that’s on sale if it is something you eat in your everyday life. Even if certain foods you love is not on sale, just wait a bit. Chances are that it’ll be on sale in the very near future!

8. Buy In Bulk & Use Coupons

Buying in bulk can be a terrific idea, especially if it’s something on sale. Buying in bulk helps you save money but you’d only want to buy items that last a long time. Since you’ll be a large quantity, these foods will take longer for you to eat. Foods that are typically cheaper if you buy it in bulk are rice & oaks. However, there are much more foods. Be aware that a lot of times certain foods have a specific amount you can buy per person. This is especially true during the sales!

Lastly, you’ll want to use coupons when you can. Coupons can save you a ton of money and people usually underestimate how much. An app that is great for finding and organizing coupons is SnipSnap! Furthermore, if you’re interested in saving money on purchases when you do not have a coupon, CheckOut51 may just be that app for you! All this information can be found on 15 Apps That Will Increase You Savings & Earnings!

Shameed Chris Khan

Shameed is just a man on a mission to help those around him gain financial success. Obsessed with writing about all things finance, this GTA native is constantly learning and sharing his experiences with others.