Healthy Eating On A Tight Budget

Let's be real...Living on one income is unfortunately not the norm nowadays. Sometimes it feels like constantly paddlin' against the current. Although it doesn't come without some sacrifices, the blessings of more family time, FAR outweigh any sacrifices. Most of our bills are fixed and I can not control, but groceries is one area that I CAN control with a little creativity. When we had our first child and I quit working, we literally cut our income in half. Our income has increased slowly over the years, but we now have two kids, a dog, a cat, and have been homeschooling for four years, so our expenses have increased greatly as well. I feel it's my job to make Handsome Hubby's check stretch as far as it can. It can be a challenge to purchase organic, healthy foods, which, now that they are becoming more popular, are very expensive. One way to supplement the grocery list to be able to buy the organic foods is to buy some of the non-food items at your local dollar store. I'm not ashamed to say that I shop at my local Dollar Tree at least twice a month. I can't speak for any of the other stores of its kind, this is just the one nearest me. Buying paper goods, school supplies, toiletries etc... there allow me to save money for healthy foods for my family. If you've never checked one out, give it a try. I keep watch on the prices of the things I buy every week at my regular grocery store and then can shop with confidence at the Dollar Tree, because I know those items normally cost more than a dollar. Here's a tip: Beware of impulse shopping! It is very tempting because at such a good price, you'd think why not? Shop ONLY from your list, just like with other stores and work hard to stick to it. Of course, everything there is not a deal! They have to make money too. Be careful to shop by the unit price. They have many name brand products and if you can buy it for less and save your family some money, why not? If you've never been, here's a list of things that I buy on a regular basis, that I know cost more at my local grocery store: toothpaste, toothbrushes, shaving cream, rubbermaid storage containers, dog toys, greeting cards(usually 2 for $1, this is an area that I used to overspend in during my weekly shopping), ibuprofen, bandaids, flushable wipes for kids, fabric freshener(like Febreze, smells just as good), air fresheners, dishwasher tablets, dish detergent, wrapping paper, gift bags, mylar balloons, party plates, cups & tablecloths, napkins, hand sanitizer, liquid and bar soap, ziploc bags, notebooks, glue and glue sticks, scotch tape, bleach pens, laundry stain sticks, batteries, candles, q-tips, cottonballs, bottled h2o, tearless shampoo & cond. for kids, some brand name makeup, and occasionally candy for a movie night. Wow! That's quite a bit of savings right there! If you try it, I guarantee you'll save some money and won't cringe next time you put all those organic items on the conveyor belt at your local grocery! And you'll feel great, knowing that the food you're feeding your family is healthier for their little bodies and who cares if it's served on a stack of $1 paper plates!!