As mentioned in a previous post, we shop once a month. This saves us a TON of money not only in food costs, but in gas costs also. I highly recommend checking out some online articles on once a month shopping. It's not for everyone, but is an awesome way to save a ton of money on groceries. You may also want to consider weekly or bi-weekly shopping and while the savings are usually not as much if you shop more than once a month (at least in my experience), they are still ways to save some money!
First, there are a few things we do compromise on, when it comes to eating organic. Here is a list of things we usually purchase which are not organic:
- Almond butter (the kind you freshly grind in the red machine)
- Cheese- Tillamook brand, which doesn't have added hormones. Yes I know the cows that the milk comes from might eat GMO feed, but this is a risk I am taking. It took me some time to be ok with this! For now, this is my option: Tillamook cheese or no cheese. My tummy chooses Tillamook :)
- Some natural non-GMO fruit snacks from time to time (non-GMO is important to us here, since apples have a higher rate of being GMO and apple puree is in a lot of natural fruit snacks/leather)
- Some natural non-GMO crackers (a certain yummy kind I find at Grocery Outlet from time to time). This product being non-GMO is also important as they are gluten free/made from corn, and corn has something like a 90% chance of being GMO if it's not organic.
The cheese used to be non-negotiable with me. Actually,
everything did. I used to purchase every single thing organic. But
almond butter and cheese when purchased organic, are insanely expensive
here in the Pacific Northwest- I'm talking $5 for a very small block of
cheese and $15-$20 for a jar of almond butter!!!
Tips to save LOTS of money on organic/natural foods
Here we go. Ready?
- Call your favorite companies and simply ask for coupons to be mailed to you. Most of them will gladly send you coupons. Think more than food here- toilet paper, shampoo, etc! Call them all. Numbers can be found on the back of the product, or online with a quick Google search.
- Visit websites of your favorite companies and sign up for their mailing lists which usually send out exclusive coupons to anyone on the list.
- If you have any issue with a product, call and get a refund! Chips stale? Call. Shampoo bottle lid broke off? Call. Something not taste as it usually does? Call! Companies want to know about these things, to make reports and improve products. Besides, you paid your hard earned money for these products and it should be up to normal standards. Usually companies send you a free item coupon, or send out a replacement, unless you specifically ask for a refund in which case they mail out a check.
- Print some coupons. Check out this great post with links to printable organic/natural coupons here. You can also find coupons on Redplum.com and Coupons.com, but not usually for organic or natural.
- Don't forget liquidation and discount stores! These have great deals on organic/natural foods from time to time. I notice usually on canned and processed foods which we avoid, but sometimes on things we need too like milk, frozen veggies, etc. And sometimes when we are on the road, stopping by and grabbing some granola bars here for $1.50 is way cheaper than stopping somewhere to eat something unhealthy for $20+.
- Make a menu and shopping list and stick to it. This is true whether you choose once a month shopping, weekly shopping, or daily shopping! Straying from your list will cost you more money, period.
- Cut down/out processed foods. This can be hard, especially at first. But organic processed foods are way over-priced! If you cut out the crackers, cookies, granola bars, cereals, instant oatmeal, etc., you will have lots more to spend on fresh produce, dairy and meat. Better for you, too :) Try making some of those favorites at home from scratch! Anything you can buy processed, you can make from scratch!
- Check weekly ads. Visit multiple stores of possible, only to buy those really good deals on the front page of the ad ("loss leaders" which are items stores lose money on in order to bring you into the store to buy other items). Don't buy these just to buy them, make sure they are something you will consume and better yet, something in your meal plan.
- Buy staples in bulk. Some places to consider are Costco, Sams Club, Azure Standard or another local-to-you bulk co-op delivery, Bountiful Baskets (another co-op), Amazon/Amazon subscribe and save, etc.
- Make a price guide. Have a small notebook filled with the best prices on items you buy- prices you don't want to go over, if at all possible. This way, you don't spend more than you want, know when to stock up on a deal, etc. Eventually, you will memorize this list. You will also need to adjust prices from time to time, and may want to have 2 price points for items like produce: 1 price for when in season, 1 price for when not in season. Which brings me to...
- Buy produce when in season. If you want something that's not in season, check out the price of that item frozen (or canned, if you must). However, you usually find better savings on frozen produce when that item is actually in season. This is because people will usually buy in season items fresh, so stores lower their prices on those items in the frozen section, in hopes to clear their frozen stock out.
- If going to more than 1 store, map our the most gas efficient route. No need to waste gas while snagging all of those great money saving deals! That's counter-productive! :)
I hope these tips help someone out there. If anyone is
reading, please feel free to leave a comment with more tips! I'm running
out of alone time to write this post, so I am sure there are things I
am forgetting.
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