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A new Oxfam study recently completed revealed that the diet of people around the world is changing primarily due to rising food prices. This study shows us that we tend to sacrifice healthy choices in the short-term to save money, but is it really a good cost-saving measure?
It seems to me that humans in general require an immediate response to choices they make. Saving money is no different. People only see that they’re saving money in that moment by buying less healthy, cheap food. When people make unhealthy choices about the food they’re eating, they may be shaving off $50 a month in food costs, but eventually, I guarantee they’ll spend that $50 later- on health care.
Now, Oxfam’s study was worldwide, so many of the issues we have in American (like our health care system) are not concerns elsewhere. (Conversely, in many developing countries the problem is more serious because people can only afford one meal a day already). As far as developed nations go, is it really worth saving that $50 if you’ll be spending $100/month on prescription meds to keep your blood pressure down and diabetes at bay for the rest of your life? I’m reminded of a scene in a food/nutrition documentary I watched a while back. (I’m sorry I can’t recall which one this was in… I watch a lot of them!). This family eats primarily processed food because its cheaper. They were explaining how broccoli was so expensive for a family of five to eat every night, but they could buy a bag of chips (or something similar) for a $1 that would last one to two days. They were totally right on the cost savings, but here’s the kicker: the father was on a handful of medicines, all directly related to poor diet. They were spending tons of money paying for his prescriptions every month, and that was likely why they didn’t have money for good food!
Here are some ideas on how you can reduce your grocery budget without losing out on healthy foods.
- Eat less meat. I know it sounds terrible to some of you, but choosing to only eat meat one meal a day, or even 4-5 meals a week can save you a ton.
- Get rid of your vices. Typically are vices are things that don’t show up on the healthy food list anyway… try getting rid of them from your list and you’ll have more money for the good stuff. At the very least try to cut your spending on it in half.
- Shop around. If you must have broccoli (as I do), watch the grocery store sales. Often if my usual store isn’t having a sale, I can find one somewhere else.
- Switch to frozen. If you tend to stick with fresh veggies, try converting over to frozen. You’ll save a ton, and they won’t go bad if you don’t eat them. When things got tight at my house, we switched to frozen green beans, corn and peas, but kept buying fresh broccoli and other veggies. Find some that you can tolerate frozen and give it a try for a month.
- Be picky about organic. I always advocate eating organic foods, but there are many that you can get buy with conventionally if you know what to get. If you are really, really struggling… go conventional and watch for sales. I personally believe that conventionally-grown strawberries are still a better choice than a cheap, sugary granola bar.
It’s important that we think about the effects of our choices long-term, especially when it comes to our health and eating right. Have any other great tips for saving money at the store without losing out on health? Please share!
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