The Paleo diet is gaining popularity, and it can be a good choice for people who have to avoid gluten whether because of a gluten intolerance or Celiac disease.
Sure, if you’re gluten free there are many great options available like gluten free pasta and breads, but those can be very pricy. Sometimes it’s cheaper to just avoid those kinds of substitutes.
Long Term Savings from Following the Paleo Diet
If you’d like to follow a Paleo diet but think you can’t afford it, keep in mind a few things:
1. A Paleo diet can lead to weight loss.
The savings here won’t be immediate, but over your lifetime, the savings is significant. I began following a Paleo diet last September, and in the 9 months since, I’ve lost 75 pounds. All of my numbers for cholesterol, blood pressure, and sugar count have improved. I know I’ve saved myself on medical expenses in upcoming years than if I hadn’t taken the weight off.
As another point, I don’t know how many hundreds of dollars I spent on Weight Watchers over my lifetime. With a Paleo diet, I eat until I’m full, and I don’t get hungry again for several more hours. There’s no struggle, so weight loss is easy, and I don’t have to count calories or points or pay for the latest weight loss fad.
2. You’ll save hundreds by not eating out.
Of course, you can eat out on the Paleo diet, but we just don’t eat out as much. We’re easily saving at least $200 a month on meals out. Now we go out to eat only when we’re traveling or for birthdays.
3. You won’t spend money on processed foods.
You might think chips and candy and other processed foods are cheap, but when you buy them in quantities that most Americans do, they add up quickly.
So, keep in mind these initial savings once you switch over to a Paleo diet.
How to Save Money When Buying Paleo Groceries
If you do decide to follow a Paleo diet, here are some ways you can cut costs on groceries:
1. Buy your meat directly from the farmer.
Ideally, you’ll want to buy grass fed and pastured meat. We buy 1/2 side of grass fed beef from my cousin’s husband. We get ground beef, steaks, roasts, etc. The meat averages about $5 a pound. There are also several grass fed and pastured suppliers near us, and we stock up whenever they have meat on sale. We have a deep freezer to keep all the meat.
2. Subscribe to a CSA.
A CSA (community supported agriculture) allows you to buy organic produce straight from the farmer. This year, for $850 we subscribed to one that gives us 1 and 1/9 bushel of vegetables a week for 19 weeks. There are enough vegetables each week to feed our family of 5 copious amounts of vegetables and some extra for us to freeze and use in the winter.
3. Grow a garden.
I like to grow things that are expensive to buy in the winter like collard greens and kale. We blanch them and freeze them to add to soups in the winter for an extra nutritional punch. However, grow anything you like to eat that grows well in your area.
4. Buy produce on sale and stock up.
If you live near a farm, consider going to the farm and picking the produce yourself. Last year we bought 50 pounds of organic blueberries. We froze 30 pounds and made jam and jelly with the other 20 pounds. It only cost us $130. However, within 8 months we ran out, so this year we plan to buy about 80 pounds to last us through the year.
Likewise, Whole Foods recently had organic grapes on sale for .99 a pound. I bought 25 pounds and froze them so we’ll have grapes and grape smoothies in the winter.
Initially, buying Paleo food can seem more expensive. However, there are many future costs you are eliminating by eating a healthier diet. In addition, there are ways to save, especially if you’re willing to buy in bulk and preserve your food.
If you’re following a Paleo diet, how do you save money on groceries?
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
Saving is a finite solution. You can only save so much, can only be so frugal. Your power for earning is unlimited with the right resource (you), the right tools (knowledge), and the right force (hard work). That isn’t to discount saving. Saving is an important part of the equation too. But, because of it’s limited ability, it can only be so much a part of your overall wealth and financial independence equation. Do you know what limits savings’ ability? Your earnings. You can only save so much as you earn. If you only earn $8 an hour, you can only save $8 an hour. Far less, really, because who can live on $0 an hour? Not many. So, the more you make, the more you can save.
There’s another side to that, even. The more you make, the more ability you have to make more. That’s the root of the old saying, “It takes money to make money”. While you can actually make money without having much money, the more money you have, the more opportunity you will find to earning more money.
Increasing your earnings isn’t always an easy equation to solve, though. Many people feel like they’re trapped in the job they have, the payscale they’re in, and the life path they’ve chosen. Not at all true! Your earning potential is unlimited if you combine the resources at hand and improve the ones that aren’t. You’ve already got you. Increasing you knowledge of the work you want to do is pretty easy as well. It just takes a bit of time, and some crafty searching online. Pretty much anything you want to learn about is available online. Heck, there are even entire sites dedicated to free college courses. All you need is to dedicate some time to learning whatever it is you want to learn. You can find that time by taking it from some of your TV watching time.
Follow all that learning up with some good old fashioned hard work. That’s it. Just hustle a little. Unfortunately, there isn’t any magic formula for that one. I don’t know how to motivate you to work. I don’t know the right things to say to you to make you want it. You’ve got to provide that part. If you can’t find the motivation to pull yourself away from American Idol for an hour to learn something, or work on making yourself a better earner, there’s just nothing that I can do for you. You’ve got to find that part for yourself.
But, listen. If you’re capable, like me, of getting your finances under control; of learning how to keep a budget, pay your bills on time, and learn from mistakes, there’s no reason you can’t learn how to earn more. You CAN learn how to do something you want to do. You CAN learn how to make yourself more marketable. And you CAN earn more. And, if you do, you WILL tip the scale in your direction. You’ll start to earn more. You’ll be able to save more. And you’ll find that opportunities will present themselves to you.
Shane Ede is a business teacher and personal finance blogger. He holds dual Bachelors degrees in education and computer sciences, as well as a Masters Degree in educational technology. Shane is passionate about personal finance, literacy and helping others master their money. When he isn’t enjoying live music, Shane likes spending time with family, barbeque and meteorology.
Ok, so I saw this post over at FStoppers about What a Week of Groceries Looks Like Around the World, and I couldn’t help but mark it for a second look, and eventually an article here. Click on that link and go take a look. Look at what each picture contains and then come back and see if you come to the same conclusion that I do. I’ll wait.
Done? Ok, first, let’s talk about some “givens” that I found to be somewhat ironic, simply because they also could be considered stereotypes. I’ll start at the top.
Mexico: OMG, you guys like Coke!
Germany: First thing I noticed was all the beer and wine right up front.
Italy: Lots of the expected breads and pastas
Japan: Fish, noodles, and rice.
Mali and Chad: That’s it?
Obviously, there are some things that we expect. Countries like Mali and Chad that we’re hearing about starvation or near starvation like conditions in sometimes have an obviously lesser pile of food. Japan is notorious for it’s high-fish diet. And Germany. Germany! I suppose I can’t expect much else from the country of Octoberfest.
A couple of surprises. I’m a little bit surprised by the lack of sausages in the Poland picture. For the number of Polish sausages we eat here in the states that is. (Ok, that’s kind of tongue in cheek.)
Now, let’s see if you noticed the same thing I noticed. Every single country on that list eats way more fresh food than the American family. Seriously. Look at that picture. There’s a little section of it that’s got some produce (a couple of tomatoes, some onions, and some grapes), and another small section of fresh meat. That’s it. The rest looks to be processed and packaged foods. The only other countries that appear to even be close are Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. Which is funny. In an ironic sad way.
All four of those countries are usually lumped together as “first-world” countries. We’re rich! We have everything we could ever want! And somehow, every other country on that list eats better than we do… Heck, let’s look at Mexico. Most Americans tend to think of Mexico as a drug addled, gang run, hovel. But, look at that food! Fresh herbs right off the plant! A whole table of fresh fruits and vegetables! Same story for India, Bhutan, Guatemala, and Equador!
Why is it that we all think that produce is so expensive, but we’ll gladly pay $10 for a large pizza? Or $10 for a burger and fries? It also makes me wonder just how much of that food those people grow themselves. It’s not that expensive to start a garden. Heck, even a container garden will do. We’re just getting ready to plant out our second season (see season one’s results) of container gardening. So far, I’ve spent about $2 on seeds. Buy a few pots, get some soil, and plant some plants. Fresh produce!
I’ve gotten a bit ranty, but it amazes me how poorly we eat in our “rich” country. You’d think we’d be smarter than that…
Shane Ede is a business teacher and personal finance blogger. He holds dual Bachelors degrees in education and computer sciences, as well as a Masters Degree in educational technology. Shane is passionate about personal finance, literacy and helping others master their money. When he isn’t enjoying live music, Shane likes spending time with family, barbeque and meteorology.
