Savvy Shopping for a Healthy Living Lifestyle – Plus Other Random Tips

Do you find your food shopping bill (and other bills) draining your pockets … and then in the next breath say to yourself...geez, there’s got to be a better way to do this! Yep, budgeting for a healthy-living lifestyle, at times, can be a little challenging! 

I have been following a healthy-living lifestyle for thirty plus years now and have found several tips and tricks that may also help you on your way to saving some money, too. As time goes along, I find myself trimming in other areas of life as well. Check out a few tips below.

Savvy Shopping Tips for a Healthy Living Lifestyle

1. Plan/Plan/Plan - Like that old saying goes: Fail to plan, plan to fail. Before food shopping, it is important to know what your meals will be for the upcoming week.  When you have a free minute, sit down and make a column of what you would like to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner (x 7 days) and then in another column list the ingredients that you will need to purchase. When buying herbs & spices, check out your local natural market to see if they showcase (Frontier) organic herbs & spices in the large glass jars where you can purchase a little at a time. I use a lot of herbs and spices in my cooking and find this to save me quite a bit of money as commercial spices can be costly.  Keep in mind the simpler the meal, the less costly.  Save the extravagant meals for special occasions and/or holidays or just make one extravagant meal for one weekend day.

2. Know Your Prices! I can’t stress this enough… In order to be a savvy shopper, one must know their prices. After shopping around locally I started to really get to know my prices of the foods that I purchased most often. Next, I would zone in on a few of my favorite stores with the best pricing and then make sure that I followed them for notifications of their current sales.  Follow your favorites via social media for random specials too. If they have a member card, consider getting one as pricing is usually cheaper for members.

3. Find Local Wholesale Clubs – such as BJ’s or Costco – check them out. Go to the stores and walk around to do price comparisons and to see if they carry any of your favorite natural or organic foods.

4. Farmer’s Markets/CSA – I love my local farmer’s market! The fruits and veggies are amazing and always oh-so-fresh! I can also fill up about 2-3 brown grocery bags at a fraction of supermarket prices! Also, be sure to check out your local farms for other everyday items.

5. Become a Savvy Online Shopper - Know your top websites for quality natural/organic foods (and other items) offered at the best prices – I have listed several below.

6. Coupons/Apps - Try not to pay full price for anything. Look for coupons in your local paper, online, in wholesale club magazines/booklets, etc.  Even if you can’t find coupons for what you are buying, often times, if you call the companies direct, they may offer to send you some coupons.

7. Bulk Buy - When items are on sale, stock up, if possible. I often save quite a bit of money by doing this.

8. Free shipping – When ordering online, strive to order enough to get free shipping. Many websites these days offer free shipping for orders over $49.  Also, if you order from Amazon be sure to check out Amazon Prime, if you haven’t already, for fast and free shipping options.  Prime also comes with access to their Prime music library plus explore their Kindle perks for members. Having access to these features can help curb your entertainment expenses.

9. Buy bottled water? Save your money, your health and the planet…invest in a quality water filter! I now save and wash my pint-sized glass iced tea bottles that I have and fill them with purified water and pop them in the fridge.  So now when the family is looking for chilled water on a hot summer day… there it is :-D They are also the perfect size bottle to grab for on the go!

10. Subscribe to Cable TV? Have you looked into Streaming Services? – I have found purchasing a relatively inexpensive streaming device (such as Roku) (where you can pick and choose which “channels” are best for your family) that may save a small bundle! 
11. PayPal (Pay in 4) I often use this for purchases totaling $50-$400.  It is a way to make purchases more affordable in the sense that the total is divided into 4 payments (interest free) and taken out of one's bank account every two weeks until the 4 payments are completed. I have used this many times and have found it to be quite helpful when budgeting.  

Online Money Saving Websites and Apps:

1. www.thrivemarket.com
2. www.amazon.com – Learn about Prime money saving tips, here.
3. www.luckyvitamin.com
4. www.vitacost.com
5. www.groupon.com
6. www.ebates.com Earn cash back for shopping!
7. www.fetch.com 
8. www.checkout51.com/ Earn cash back for food shopping!
9. www.shopkick.com
10. www.chewy.com (pet products)
11. www.overdrive.com

Websites for Healthy Living Meals, etc. on a Budget:

Downshiftology

Feelin Fabulous - Healthy Recipes, Meal Plans, and Holistic Living. (feelinfabulouswithkayla.com) 

http://paleoleap.com/paleo-on-a-budget/

http://stupideasypaleo.com/2014/01/14/paleo-on-a-budget/

http://thepaleomama.com/2013/10/30cheapmaindishpaleomeals/

Other Money Saving Tips:

https://www.dailyworth.com/posts/3745-top-8-free-savings-apps

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/money/25-apps-that-will-save-you-lots-money.html

http://agirlworthsaving.net/2015/09/1100-biggest-food-deals-at-thrive-market.html

http://thepaleomama.com/2013/02/shoppingpaleoatcostco/

https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/slideshows/10-money-saving-websites-to-check-before-shopping

https://moneymentors.ca/money-tips/best-money-saving-apps-and-websites/

Disclaimer: Please note, I am NOT a financial planner. These are just some of the things that I do for my own family. Take what resonates and leave the rest. Thank you.