Sometimes saving money while eating a healthy diet is as simple as figuring out a budget and then sticking to it. While I know it is not as simple as that, and I know that we all need very specific tips to help that happen, I don’t think it ever goes beyond that. With no budget, we are apt to spend more then we should (or at least I know very well that I am!).
But once you have set a budget, how do you stay in it? Well, one of the most effective things I have ever done for our budget was using a cash system. I know this is not a new idea to many of you, but I wanted to share what worked for me specifically in our healthy food budget.
The funny thing to me is that using cash when grocery shopping seems like such an old-fashioned idea now! But our little plastic cards are really a recent way to shop. Using cash does several things. First, if you only bring your budget amount of money to the store, you can’t spend more then that. Let me tell you, it has saved me from so many extra purchases! Secondly, physiologically, seeing our hard earned cash in person (instead of just a total on the register) helps put how much money we are spending in perspective.
This is how I did this method.
…