Ten Top Tips For Staying Healthy On A Budget
Staying healthy whilst sticking to a budget can be a difficult task. One of the biggest challenges we all face when we’re trying to stick to a healthy diet is keeping the cost of our big shop down! Fresh meat, fruit, veg and organic foods don’t come cheap, making it extremely easy for us to fall off the bandwagon once we see the effects it’s having on our bank balances! Stocking up on ready meals and snacks whilst they’re on offer may seem like the easiest option, but don’t cave in just yet! Try following some of these top tips on how to stay healthy whilst on a budget first. See if you can keep your stomach AND your bank balance full!
1. Smart Swap!
Eating healthier doesn’t always mean your weekly shop has to break the bank! Sometimes making a few slight changes can cut your cost considerably. For example, try swapping fresh salmon for canned salmon for a cheaper, yet still a healthy alternative, or fresh berries for frozen berries.
2. Plan Ahead!
Create a menu plan for the week ahead and write your shopping list to accommodate this. Also take into account how you plan on using your leftovers. Spending some time pre planning your meals for the week ahead could be a great way to help you avoid overbuying and over eating.
3. Stock up on staples!
It’s always a good idea to ‘bulk buy’ on your favourite products when they’re in the sale, but only if It’s something you know you go through a lot of! If you won’t use it, don’t buy it! Its only pennies you could be saving for something useful.
4. Use Sales and Coupons!
Planning your shopping around what’s on sale is a great way of cutting costs! Especially if you use coupons too. Again, just make sure, you’re buying things you will actually use!
5. Brown Bag It!
Making your own lunch and taking it with you can be a great money saver, and an excellent use of leftovers for meals at work, school, or wherever your destination. Pack a simple sandwich, salad, soup or wrap. By doing this you’ll most likely fight the temptation to nip out to Greggs in your lunch hour!
6. Waste Not, Want Not!
Before you toss perishable food into your shopping trolley, think about exactly how you’ll use it. Why not use leftover vegetables, poultry, or meat in healthy stews, salads, and casseroles. By doing this you’ll minimise cost and demonstrate your creativity in the kitchen!
7. Take Advantage Of Free Health Apps
There are thousands of apps available on the Apple iTunes store designed to help support you in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Many of them are free too, like MyNetDiary which has over 90,000 foods in its database to choose from so you can log what you are eating. The app will then tell you what you should be eating more or less of.
8. Consider your schedule!
Again, planning ahead comes in handy. Have a think about your schedule for the week ahead, are you going to be super rushed off your feet? Or is it going to be a chilled one around the house? If it’s the latter, then you’re most likely going to want to snack quite a bit so think about some cheap healthy options to stock up on so you’re not tempted to grab the closest family bag of crisps you can find.
9. Shop Online!
Price comparison sites like www.mysupermarket.com let you choose a basket of products, and then let you choose the cheapest supplier. The price differences can be really significant! Unlike going to the shops yourself, you can keep an eye on how much you spend before actually getting to the checkout, which makes it easier to stay on budget.
10. Cook From Scratch!
I know how tempting it can be to pick up the phone and order a dominos ‘Two For Tuesdays’ after a hard day’s work, but fight it! Cutting back on takeaways could save you up to £800 in a year and inches off your waist.
I hope this guide has been useful to some of you and can help save you some pennies! Keep checking back on the website everyday for more money saving guides.
