Purchasing foods that are natural and unprocessed are not only cheaper, they are usually much healthier. There seems to be a rising number of people who have started growing their own fruits and vegetables and purchasing only natural, unprocessed foods. Whether you want to save money on food, eat healthier, or just simplify your life – preparing your own food may be the answer.
As I look over our monthly budget trying to find places we can cut costs, there is one variable expense that I want to focus on. My family currently has budgeted $500 per month on groceries and entertainment expenses. Since we don’t really spend too much on entertainment, the majority of our costs are spent on food (95% on groceries and 5% on dining out).
I believe that adopting a new philosophy about grocery purchases can help us begin saving money on food. My plan is to start buying less prepared foods, which should help us save more of our income.
The first step that I plan to make is to cut down on soft drink expenses.
Addiction to Soft Drinks
I have always enjoyed the taste of diet coke and have bordered on becoming addicted to it. Over the past couple of years I have slowly tried to wean myself from this addiction for health benefits as well as the cost savings. While I have had my ups and downs, I am finally ready to give it up once and for all.
Over the past year, I estimate that I spent an average of $10 – $15 per month purchasing 12-packs of diet coke on sale. As a smart shopper, I would never pay full price for this item and would wait until a good sale to stock up.
Spending an average of $12.50 per month on diet coke is not breaking our family budget. However, when I calculate that we spend about $150 per year just on this soft drink, I start to cringe. As a small step towards saving 10% of our income, I now plan to give up buying diet coke once and for all.
Starting next month, I will begin keeping $12.50 each month that will be put towards our larger goal of saving $400 each month, or 10% of our income.
Estimated Monthly Savings – $12.50.
The Importance of Avoiding Prepackaged Foods
The example above is just one opportunity that I am taking to stop purchasing prepackaged items which will help us start saving money on food. Switching from soft drinks to other types of beverages like tap water and instant ice tea will help our family save more of our monthly income.
Over time I hope to continue to reduce our grocery expenses by making the switch to more natural or whole foods that my wife and I prepare. Instead of paying extra for these manufactured products, we will be spending more of our time in food preparation that should reduce our monthly spending and improve the nutritional value of what we consume.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to start saving money on food expenses, I suggest cooking the old fashioned way!
What types of processed foods have you stopped buying to help save money?
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- New Ideas for Reducing Monthly Food Expenses
- Healthy Food That is Cheap – Kale
- 8 Benfits of Eating at Home – Other than Saving Money
- Organic Vegetable Gardening – A Money Saving Experiment
- Cutting Out Wasted Expenses to Save More Income
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