Life on a Budget

On our local news tonight there was a story on how a family was eating McDonalds and junk food because that was all they thought they could afford in these hard economic times. They claimed healthy food such as fresh fruits and vegetables are too expensive. I couldn’t figure out the rationale when I was listening to the story so I thought about it for awhile but it still didn’t add up to me. I understand that fresh fruits and vegetables can be on the expensive side but I don’t see how it’s more expensive than a $1.00 small bag of chips or a $6.00 fast food meal. Especially when you weigh in the effects and costs of obesity and diabetes - especially in young children.

So I thought I would take a closer look and give some tips on how to still fit fruits and vegetables into your diet while trying to save money.

1. Buy canned vegetables

Canned veggies range from about $0.50 for a small can to about $1.00 or less for the larger cans. You can choose from a good selection too - corn, green beans, beets, peas, mixed vegetables and more. Look for the generic brand to save even more. Another positive to canned is it’s long shelf life so you are less likely to waste anything that you buy and you can stock up. Canned veggies tend to have a little more salt than fresh or frozen equivalents but regardless, it’s still healthier than any fast food or junk food.

2. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables

A frozen bag of veggies cost around $1.00 - $1.50 and again have a great selection including green beans, corn, peppers, mixed vegetables, peas and more. One bag is enough for a serving for me and my husband for dinner and we always have some left over to add into a leftover lunch. So I would think a bag would be enough for a family of four. Personally, our favorite is the Birds Eye Steamfresh. It’s about $1.50 a bag and the veggies are really fresh and delicious. You can also find a good selection of frozen fruit. Fruit can be on the more expensive side but, liked the canned, frozen items will last longer than fresh so you are less likely to waste anything you buy.

3. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables

Fresh food does tend to be more expensive but that doesn’t mean all fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive. A 1lb. bag of carrots is about $0.99. That would make a bunch of snacks to bring to work or to add to your child’s lunch. A bag of potatoes is about $2.99 and is a great way to make homemade french fries as a side to your dinner. A bag of onions is about $1.99 and, for us, will take us at least a week or two to use. A head of iceberg lettuce is about $.99 and is enough for a bunch of side salads with your meals. Again, fresh fruit tends to be a little more expensive so try to get what is in season and on sale. Bananas are usually a good cheaper option.

4. Grow your own vegetables

Start a garden and grow what you like for a fraction of the cost. I realize growing your own vegetables isn’t going to help you right now, but it is a great way to save money going forward. Many vegetables can be canned and therefore available through the winter months.

How much money can you save?

Well, this post wasn’t exactly about how much money you can save but I do hope I at least showed that fruits and vegetables can still remain in your diet even if you are living on a budget. Try to shop the sales and don’t forget to use coupons to make fruits and veggies even more affordable.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to save money is to cook dinners at home. If you find you eat out or order in almost every night because of a busy schedule, and can’t stop eating out all together then just cutting back to one or two times a week will make a difference. A good place to start is to substitute the foods you find you are ordering out with something you can find in the grocery store. For example, buying frozen pizza ($4 - $6) instead of ordering out from the local pizza joint ($10-$15) can save you half the money or more.

If you think cooking takes too long and you feel you just don’t have time, try researching the internet for some quick recipes. Rachael Ray has a ton of 30 minute meals that are sure to fit into any lifestyle. Remember, just because you cook at home doesn’t mean you need to cook a gourmet meal. Keep things simple and try new recipes on the weekends when you have a little more time. Tacos and chicken fingers (chicken breasts with shake-n-bake), fries (sliced up potatoes with olive oil and salt baked in the oven) and a bag of steamed veggies are two weekly staples in my house. In the summer we grill up steak/chicken and veggies once or twice a week.  The nice thing about these meals is they are quick, cheap, easy to clean up and are delicious.

Once you get in the habit of cooking try making a little extra and brown bag the leftovers to work the next day.  Pasta dishes are always great for this - ziti, lasagna, alfredo, etc.

How much money can you save?

This is a tough one to calculate out as it will vary tremendously from person to person. If you find you are eating out a lot and you cut back you will notice a lot more money in your pocket at the end of the week. The pizza example above has the potential to save over $250 in a year - and that’s a cheaper example.

I was always the person who spent the mornings at work thinking about what I was going to have for lunch… a turkey sandwich or Chinese food or the soup of the day at the corner deli… and I have to admit I did enjoy it. But as funds got tight and I realized that cutting back and eventually eliminating eating out for lunch saved me a lot of money, I was hooked.

So how much can you really save just by bringing a lunch from home?

From my experience, lunch costs approx $6-$10 a day. Now it’s not like you aren’t going to eat anything for lunch so let’s say, on average, the lunch you bring from home is worth about $2. Therefore, we would be spending about $4-$8 a day, so for this example I’ll use an average of $6 a day.

$6 x 5 days a week = $30 a week x 4 weeks = $120 a month x 12 months = $1440 a year

Even bringing a lunch just two days a week can be significant:

$6 x 2 days a week = $12 a week x 4 weeks = $48 a month x 12 months = $576 a year

How much money can you save?

$288 to $1440+ a year