Four Ways to Save Money While Eating Healthy

Everyone knows that a healthy diet is good for our physical and mental well-being. Balanced eating habits can help us live longer, help us feel more energised, and it can even help us look good.

However, when people start to feel financial pressure, healthy foods are usually the first thing to go. When under financial stress, a lot of people often neglect their health for the sake of money and convenience.

While it’s important to save money wherever you can, it’s just as important to keep our bodies strong and healthy through proper eating habits.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to save money on groceries without having to sacrifice your health. To help you out, here are four easy ways to save money on food.

Make a Weekly Meal Plan

A study that examined secondary school students across Australia found that being in a lower socio-economic area is associated with frequently consuming fast food. Additionally, the study reported that students who go to fast food chains with their family were more likely to go on a weekly basis. NobleOak, an Australian insurance company, reported that convenience and pricing were two of the most prominent reasons for this behaviour.

Based on the findings of these studies, it would make sense to create a weekly meal plan. Properly planning your meals in advance can help you save money in the long run as it reduces the amount of wasted food throughout the week. Moreover, it also reduces the need to drive to various locations for food. This means less trips to grocery stores and restaurants which then leads to less money spent on gas.

Additionally, by preparing your food in advance, you may become less tempted to eat fast food for convenience’s sake. If you already have food that’s ready to eat in the fridge, it will be a lot easier to pass on that trip to your local burger joint.

Make Your Own Pasta, Pizza Dough and Bread

There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself at your favourite Italian restaurant every once in a while. However, if you’re looking to save a few dollars here and there, you should try making your own pasta and pizza dough from scratch.

Being able to make your own bread, pasta and pizza dough are realistic cooking goals that everyone should pursue. Not only will this help you eat healthier, it can also make cooking more fun and rewarding.

If you do it properly, making your own bread, pasta and pizza dough can actually save you some money. To do this, you might have to invest in a few tools like pasta makers and special ovens. You will also need to invest your time in learning how to make these foods properly.
However, once you’ve become proficient, you’ll find that making your own sourdough bread and pizza dough is much more economical in the long run.

Store Your Food Properly

According to the Queensland government, the Australian economy loses around $36 million dollars per year due to food waste. Additionally, the government also stated that Australian households spend around $2,500 dollars on wasted food per year.

So, if you find yourself binning a lot of food throughout the week, consider the following food-saving solutions:

1. • Save leftovers by freezing
   • Re-use leftovers for new dishes (i.e., stews or stir-fries)
   • Store fruits and vegetables properly to lengthen shelf life
   • Take note of your inventory to prevent overbuying

You can also use food scraps for other purposes. For example, you can use vegetable and fruit scraps for composting. Composting improves the health of your soil and reduces the chances of soil erosion.

Look Around for the Best Deals Online

Sometimes, the best deals are hiding in plain sight. Nowadays, plenty of grocery stores, bakeries and butchers offer a lot of online exclusive deals. Some stores have reward programs and others have special coupons or codes for discounts. If your local store has a mobile app, it’s worth having a look to see if they have any money-saving programs or memberships on there.

The total amount of money that you’ll end up saving by the end of year will make all of this work well worth the effort.

Hopefully, this guide will be able to help you alleviate a little bit of financial pressure. But more importantly, we hope that it will also help you progress on your journey towards a healthier lifestyle.