Simple Health Habits to Save You Money - Money Tip Tuesday

Healthy eating habits are good for you physically, as well as good for you financially. In this tip, we share how simple eating habits will save you money over time.

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Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal. 

Have you noticed the cost of groceries is through the roof? On today’s episode, we want to share how some simple eating habits will save you money. If you love to plan, you’re going to love the first step, which is to: plan out what you are going to eat for the week. Look at what is on sale at your local grocery store and plan what you are going to buy based on these sales. Buying on sale will definitely save you a few dollars. You can check the grocery store’s sales by looking at their weekly flyer or their website.  

Second, if you want to eat healthily, make sure you add fruits and vegetables to your cart. To save some money here, do some research as to which produce is in season. Produce is at its least expensive when it is in season. If you want your produce to be very fresh, you may want to consider making your own garden to grow whatever fruits and vegetables you want. Even if you don’t have a yard, you can buy an indoor greenhouse to grow your garden.  

Third, make sure that you eat whatever food you do buy, especially perishable items. Check the expiration date so you don’t buy food or drink that is about to go bad. Foods such as produce and meats can often be costly and not eating them before they expire can quickly become expensive and wasteful.  

Fourth, buy ingredients instead of premade food. Although it is more convenient to buy food that just needs to be cooked with no preparation, it tends to be more expensive. Buying ingredients allows you to make multiple meals while paying less overall. However, it ultimately comes down to whether you have time to do meal preparation. This same principle goes for packing a lunch instead of buying one. It is more convenient to buy lunch at a fast-food restaurant, but it is cheaper (and in most cases healthier) to pack a lunch when you know you’re going to be out for a while, which brings us to our firth point, try to avoid eating and drinking out. It is much cheaper to make your own dinner. Coffee can be made at home for much less and your favorite coffee brands most likely sell coffee that you can brew at home. Alcohol is also much cheaper to buy at a store than buying a drink at a bar.  

Another benefit of making your own food is that you have portion control. You can make extra food, so you have leftovers that you can eat on another day. Instead of having to pack lunch, you can just grab whatever you had for dinner. 

Making healthier food choices in general will save you money. A lot of high calorie foods that are not necessarily healthy for you, such as potato chips and soda, can add up quickly. It is important to look at both the nutritional value and the price of the item.  

Another way that you can save money is brushing your teeth after you eat. Taking care of your teeth on a regular basis helps you avoid cavities and a costly dentist's appointment. This simple activity only takes a few minutes out of your day and can save you from tooth decay and medical bills.  

If you found this episode helpful, we’d like to hear from you about thoughts on this show or maybe you have some ideas on other topics we should cover, email us at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org. Be sure to subscribe to the Making Money Personal podcast for our full episodes and weekly Money Tips wherever you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook for more great content. 

On behalf of the podcast team, thank you to our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, and thank you, as always, for listening. 

Have a great day everyone!