Eating Healthy on a budget of $400 a month
- Thread starter laperez25
- Start date
ldy_solana
Cathlete
if you are lucky enough to get amish and farmer's markets sometimes you can go a long way for a little. i always keep an eye on sales and mark downs at the store. lately i have had the chance to shop in bulk esp for my meats and poultry and other items i know i use alot of. that will help me carry through the month. also some amish markets have closeout bargins. sam's no longer carried curves snack bars and i got two boxes with a total of 48 bars for $5 at an amish market. i also found 100 calorie snack pack granola bars 32 count for $5 to use as treats for viola. 100 calories slightly less sugar and comes in oreo,chips ahoy, and nutter butter. a much better option over the cookies for viola LOL. plus i am helping a local business so that is a good feeling too. amish stores will have good stuff like barley and fresh couscous.i have no shame shopping big lots either for non-perishables like pasta sauces, just read labels b/c some products are high in sugar/salt and some are not. we are forunate to have a lot in our area so i shop wisely and somehow i still manage LOL.
kassia
kassia
laperez25
Cathlete
Thank you! I heard in my area the farmer's market will open some time in September, so I'm going to have to see how it is. I've NEVER shopped at a farmer's market. Someone sent this link on a different forum and it shows where are your local farmer's market and so on http://www.localharvest.org/. Thank you again
ldy_solana
Cathlete
thanks for the link. i just found some local farms i haven't heard of. i heard there was this thing going up northern VA more about paying so much a month and the farmers will give you so much produce that is in season and available. it showed ppl paid say $50 and hauling at least 2-3 boxes chock full of local veggies. i have been trying to find a local farm in my area for that. esp. with this weather lately i have to have fresh cold crisp veggies. i just can't do anything cooked right now. its just to HOT!!!!
deanie
Cathlete
I wish we could!!! I spend $400.00 on food in 2 weeks. I have 2 boys, 12 and 8 plus myself and DH who eat healthy. Fruit and veggies don't last long in this house and those are the most expensive items in my cart! (the only meat we (and by we I mean DH and boys) eat is chicken once a week. Grocery prices are out of control for healthy eaters. (I guess I should add I live in Montgomery County Md. where every thing seems to be expensive!)
aimtobe
Active Member
I agree that you can eat healthy on a small budget, it just takes a little more work. For instance I used to purchase canned beans but I recently switched to dry beans and I cook them myself, much cheaper and I also try to go to farmers markets for fruits and vegetables because they are cheaper.
sparrow13
Cathlete
I agree. Granted there's just the two of us at home but I still think families can eat healthy on the cheap. As has been mentioned, beans. Fruits and veggies in season. Buy as little meat as possible. If you have a food co-op around, you can usually buy whole wheat pastas and all kinds of rice in bulk, which is much cheaper. If you have the time and energy, make tasty whole grain treats from scratch, instead of buying them at the store. Actually if you have the time and energy, make as much as you can from scratch! I like to take one day a week or so and cook a bunch of stuff and stick it in the freezer. It really is cheaper and,I think, healthier.
HTH! And good luck!
Sparrow
I wish we could!!! I spend $400.00 on food in 2 weeks. I have 2 boys, 12 and 8 plus myself and DH who eat healthy. Fruit and veggies don't last long in this house and those are the most expensive items in my cart! (the only meat we (and by we I mean DH and boys) eat is chicken once a week. Grocery prices are out of control for healthy eaters. (I guess I should add I live in Montgomery County Md. where every thing seems to be expensive!)
I agree - produce is the most expensive thing in my cart, too. I don't buy organic because I can't afford to spend more than I already do. I have three teenage boys who eat constantly and a little girl, plus DH and myself. We try to eat as inexpensively as possible and still run up huge grocery bills. I can't believe how quickly things add up.
laperez25
Cathlete
Thank you all for your wonderful help! Right now I'm spending $400 a month but it's a mix of healthy and unhealthy food, but I want to eat healthy completely. When I was eating only healthy I was spending $600 a month, but I think it was because I was making a recipe each day, and recipes asks for a lot of ingredients. I'm going to see how it goes for me in the month of August eating healthy. I'm going to have to buy healthy food only when it's on sale and shop around. I can't wait till the Farmer's market open in September over here. Thank you guys again
laperez25
Cathlete
You're welcome about the link
I'm glad you were able to find some other local markets you weren't aware of 
goldenrun358
Cathlete
At my grocery corn just increased from 10 ears for $2 to ($.20 ea) to 2 ears for $1. And the soy milk I buy is $7.38 per gallon. Everything is going up in price! I think that it is costly to eat healthy, but I try to take shortcuts here and there. In the end, it's worth every penny though.
goldenrun358
Cathlete
My above post was not supposed to be posted in this thread. I'm not sure how it got here? Sorry
SirenSongWoman
Cathlete
Is it possible for a family of 4 to eat healthy with just $400 a month? I'm so tired of eating unhealthy and I have made a commitment that I need to eat healthy in order to get toned up. I workout 6 days a week, but not seeing results I would like too. Thanks
Clean it up and the changes will blow your mind. I dropped the junk and started cleaning it up about ten days ago and, with the help of Cardio Coach, the fat that has refused to budge FOR YEARS is finally moving. I can't believe how quickly it's happening. It was really tough at first but I've got it down now.
Nadja Z
Cathlete
You know, I should consult with my own mother on this one. She raised two teenage boys plus myself on a grad school stipend (<$10,000/year) all on her own. I remember brand name anything being absolutely out of the question, dry milk mix, and lots of eggs, beans, and frozen veggies.
When my two older brothers moved out and it was just me and her, she would tell me to make a grocery list each week which was not to exceed $15. She split every hair. If the generic was $0.02 cheaper, that's what we got. A list was made and carefully tallied before going to the store, and that was all that went in the cart.
We bought economy size whenever possible. We always had huge bags of brown rice and dry beans. Like someone else said, cooking them yourself is a lot cheaper. Well, hope that helps. And I'll have to give her a call to see if she has any words of wisdom.
When my two older brothers moved out and it was just me and her, she would tell me to make a grocery list each week which was not to exceed $15. She split every hair. If the generic was $0.02 cheaper, that's what we got. A list was made and carefully tallied before going to the store, and that was all that went in the cart.
We bought economy size whenever possible. We always had huge bags of brown rice and dry beans. Like someone else said, cooking them yourself is a lot cheaper. Well, hope that helps. And I'll have to give her a call to see if she has any words of wisdom.
laperez25
Cathlete
I'm so glad to hear that you are finally seeing results after cutting out junk food. That's so motivating to me. I tried eating healthy for a while, but then quit because it was too expensive and it was so hard not to eat the food I've been used to for years. But, now that I'm close to 30 I feel my body not responding to food the way it used to back then. Back then I could eat like a pig and won't gain any weight and be in shape, but now I feel the pounds kicking in. I'm not overweight or anything, but I do have about 15 lbs that I need to loose, and my hips are still big and have some cellulite, more then before. I need to loose 15 lbs and loose 3-4 inches off my hips. Now my husband wants to eat healthy too so that we can both get back to the way we use to be.
laperez25
Cathlete
I'm looking forward to hearing from what your mom has to say
Does she still grocery shop like she did back then? Thank you!
SirenSongWoman
Cathlete
Grocery prices are out of control for healthy eaters. (I guess I should add I live in Montgomery County Md. where every thing seems to be expensive!)
It's not just Montgomery County. Here in Columbus Ohio the vegetables in the grocery stores are nuts. And it all started before gas prices shot up. If you ask me, every time people make an effort to eat right food manufacturers see an opportunity to milk the money for all it's worth. I remember when chicken cost practically nothing. Then everyone started eating it and the prices skyrocketed. Unfortunately, eating healthy has become quite the racket. I'm checking out the farmers markets because I can't live without red bell pepper. Next year, I'm growing them in a pot on my sunny back stoop.
laperez25
Cathlete
I can't live without RBP either. One RBP cost me almost $3!!! My mom told me to just grow my own veggies in my yard and I think I might have to do just that. I just need to find out if there are times of the year that I can or cannot do that. I've never planted anything in my life, lol.