Your health is important. One of the best things that you can do to improve your mental and physical health is sticking to a healthy diet.
A lot of people find it challenging to maintain healthy eating habits on a tight budget.
Fortunately, though, eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. It might take some effort and planning on your part, but eating healthy on a tight budget is definitely possible.
Here are a few tips to help you create a healthy meal plan without breaking the bank.
Freeze Your Food
Freezing your food can significantly extend its shelf life.
Fresh produce, in particular, can be relatively expensive and go bad quickly.
In order to save money on fresh fruits and other produce, buy them in bulk when they are in season and freeze them. Prices are cheaper on foods that are in season, so take advantage of the lower prices while you can.
You can also freeze other perishable items like bread and meats to make them last much longer.
Get a Credit Card for Groceries
Credit cards can offer some incredible benefits.
To combat rising food prices, certain credit cards offer some generous rewards to help you save money when shopping.
You could potentially get up to 5% cash back on your grocery store purchases just by using your credit card.
Additionally, many grocery stores offer their own specialized credit cards to give loyal customers savings. If you shop at one store, this could be a great option to help you save money on groceries.
Clip Coupons
Stop throwing away those catalogs you get from local grocery store chains.
Grocery stores often send out a variety of coupons to customers in their area. Taking just a few minutes to look through current coupons could help you save hundreds of dollars per year on groceries.
Try planning meals based around the coupons you find. This will help you cut costs without wasting any food.
Make a List
You’ve probably heard someone say, “Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.” Doing so can lead to you buying things you don’t need just to throw them away.
The same thing can happen when you go shopping without a list. Buying things just because you think they look good are might be able to be used for something is wasteful.
Plan your meals in advance and create a list before you go to the store. Unless you realized you forgot something important on your list, don’t deviate from it.
Minimize Waste
Eat leftovers, use everything in your fridge, and minimize your waste as much as possible.
Even a little bit of waste is too much. Throwing away just $10 worth of food per month adds up to $120 per year. If you’re on a tight budget, every dollar counts.
Having a tight budget can make eating healthy difficult. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Knowing the steps you can take to save money on healthy foods can help you maintain your mental and physical health without going out of your budget.
