Fit Shopping on a Budget

Hey gang! It's Amy. Today I was thinking about grocery shopping.  A lot of times people complain that eating healthy is expensive, but the truth is, if you leave off all the junk food, you'll probably be saving money at the store. I'm going to share some tips with you here and weekly, we will post any fit deals that we find at the store.

I usually do my shopping at the local Winn-Dixe and I have a bi-weekly cash budget that I absolutely MUST stick to (I don't take any extra cash or debit card in with me).  I'm the annoying lady with her calculator out figuring out what it cost per ounce and keeping a running total of my bill so there are no surprises at the register.

1. Shop around. I know Wal-mart has lower prices on most things when compared to Winn-Dixie, but it is not as convenient for me and I find that Winn-Dixie's produce and meats seem fresher and they often have what I want for buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO).  Shop wherever is convenient for you, but shop around.


Things WD has on BOGO regularly (usually once a month or more):

Sanderson Farms Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Frozen Tilapia Fillets (other fishes and shrimp sometimes too)
Ham steaks
Quaker or WD brand Quick Oats
Almonds, Emerald or Blue Diamond
Crystal Light
Salsa, Pace or Old El Paso
Lunch Meats, Turkey, Chicken
Canned Chicken or Tuna
Winn-Dixie brand spices
Whole Wheat Bread, Arnold, Nature's Own, Winn-Dixie brand
Birdseye Steamfresh Veggies
Popcorn, Winn-Dixie brand, Orville Redenbacher

2.  Be prepared. Do not go into the store without a list and a calculator.  This will keep you focused so that you don't kill your budget or your progress.

3.  Compare brands.  This was hard for me at first and there are somethings that I will not use generic, but you can save by using the generic\store-brand of the product.  Compare the ingredients to the name-brand, if they're basically the same, try the store-brand.  If you don't like it, don't buy it again. But the differences are usually very subtle if there are any and you'll find that the name-brand isn't worth the cost. Don't skimp on the name-brand if the generic has more sodium or sugar.

4.  Price it by the ounce.  If there's a product that you use a lot of, buy the bigger size, but check to see how much it is per ounce (total cost divided by # of ounces).

For example, Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt is 5.89 for a 32 oz container - 5.89/32=0.18 - so it is 18 cents per ounce. This week the Winn-Dixie brand 6 ounce cups were 10 for $10, so I got 60 ounces for $10 or 16 cents per ounce. So, I saved about 1.28 on my yogurt. Now, that may not seem like it was worth the trouble, but when you do this for all items on your list, it adds up. 

Sometimes the store will trick you if you just assume the larger size or store-brand is cheaper. Wal-mart is especially bad about having their store-brand cost more per ounce than the name-brand.  Most people will just assume that the store-brand is cheaper and pick it over the name-brand, but that is not always the case.

5.  Ask for coupons.  People save a lot of money, sometimes outrageous amounts of money, using coupons.  But if you watch those couponing shows, you'll see they're buying a lot of processed junk food.  The truth is, it's harder to find coupons for healthy foods, but it is not impossible.  Go to the websites of the brands you use, look for coupons there.  If there aren't any, fill out their "Contact Us" form and ask for some.  Just last week, I got some coupons in the mail from Chobani and In the Raw.

6.  Buy fresh.  You're going to be eating a lot of veggies now.  Go to your local produce stores or farmers' markets for better prices on produce.  It'll be fresher, riper and cost a lot less.  The trick here is to not buy more than you can eat before it goes bad.

I hope this helps you see that you can afford to eat healthy - the key to fit and healthy grocery shopping is just like anything else in this journey - plan, plan, plan!

Please share your money-saving tips with us in the comments below.