There are a lot of reasons why you’d want to encourage your family to eat organic, free-range, and local. Not only is this kind of diet better for the Earth — releasing fewer pesticides, antibiotics, and pollutants into the environment — it’s also better for you. Organic produce and meat are thought to be more nutritionally dense than their counterparts, providing you and your family with higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and even antioxidants. Unfortunately, all this extra nutrition comes at a higher cost to your grocery bill, making it hard for parents to put healthful, organic food on the table. If you want to provide the best nutrition for your family without breaking your budget, keeping reading to learn simple tips that can keep your grocery bills low.
Buy fresh local produce when in season.
Buying fruits and vegetables when they’re in season is an easy way to save cash. In season means when produce is at its most plentiful when a farmer’s yield is at its highest. Seasons differ from fruit to fruit — and vegetable to vegetable — but most of them overlap during the summer. Check out this calendar to see when popular produce comes into season throughout the year.
When you buy in season, you also get to avoid buying veg grown outside of the country. By sticking with local in season produce, you aren’t buying food that took miles and miles to get to your plate. Not only will it taste better, but it will lower your produce’s eco-footprint.
Fall back on an emergency fund.
Your first green grocery trip without using other tips can be expensive, leaving you cash-strapped when other financial responsibilities come calling. Don’t panic. That’s what your emergency fund is for. It isn’t just for when the basement floods or your transmission’s shot. It’s an all ‘round rainy-day fund that can help you with unexpected changes in your typical budget. Financial experts suggest your fund should have anywhere between three and nine month’s worth of your net income in it.
According to a recent study by GoBankingRates, most people have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. It can take awhile to build up the resource to hit your target. Until then, you can supplement your emergency fund with an online cash advance. A direct lender like MoneyKey offers quick and convenient financial assistance online to provide cash-strapped families with a way to pay for the unexpected. You can visit MoneyKey to learn more about how they simplify the borrowing experience whenever you need a little help.
Use grocery rebate apps.
Your phone can help you shop for groceries in more ways than just by keeping your list organized. Download an app like Checkout 51. Every week it shares new offers on produce, packaged foods, and even household items. Before you go shopping, just check in with these lists and add any offers that coincide with what you need for the home. Once you come back from the supermarket, use your phone to take a picture of your receipt. After a couple of days, Checkout 51 will verify you bought the items on offer. When it all checks out, it distributes a rebate. Though most individual rebates amount to less than one dollar, they add up fast when you’re shopping for the whole family. Before you know it, you can cash out your rebates to spend it on more groceries.
At the end of the day, get organized.
If you feel better eating organic food, treat it like the priority it is. It can, after all, improve your children’s well-being. Make time to re-organize the way you shop. When you spare some time to track seasons, save money, and collect rebates, you can make organic food a healthy reality for everyone in your family.
