Since I have been able to recently be a stay at home Mommy, I often get asked how we can afford to still maintain a healthy, organic lifestyle. Here are some of the ways that we save money.
1. Get rid of cable. We do not have cable anymore. I have found that since we do not have it, I do not miss it. We have a subscription to Netflix for about $8.00 a month and one to Hulu for about the same cost. Between those two services, there is plenty to choose from! The kids can still watch their shows they enjoyed on PBS such as Arthur, WordGirl and WildKrats. Hubby and I still have access to The Daily Show and The Walking Dead series. No cable saves us around $60 a month.
2. Join a CSA. A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. Basically there is a local farm who will grow a ton of produce and harvest it and pack it in a box for us weekly from June through October. For both a produce and fruit share that runs about $500. We also have to work for 3 hours at the farm one time during the season. Now, the upfront cost may seem steep, but we go through a lot of fruits and veggies. Our grocery bill was quickly adding up. With the CSA share, I will can and freeze the foods as well.
Now, understandably, this is not an option if there are not farms in your area. I would suggest frequenting farmer's markets and buy in season. That alone is a huge cost saver.
3. Meal plan and prep. When I was working outside of the home, my weekends were filled with thinking and planning for the week ahead. I found that if I did not have a plan for dinner, those were the nights that we would order out. Chinese take out, pizza. Whatever would deliver. Not only is that food usually not healthy, it was expensive! When my husband pointed out to me the exact cost for one month I was so shocked! What we were spending on one night of ordering out, would be a weeks worth of organic veggies. Planning the meals has saved us a lot of money.
4. Hand in hand with planing the meals is going shopping with a list! And sticking to it!! This is a definite and it can be difficult to do. Grocery stores are designed to make customers buy more. We just have to be smart enough to know that is their aim!
These are just a few of the things that we have done in order to be able to afford to eat organic and more healthy foods. It is not always easy, but after a few weeks it becomes a habit!
Happy $aving!!
No comments:
Post a Comment