Expanding Your Wallet: Tips to $aving Money on Food Costs #1

With the economy continuing to decline, especially if you live in Michigan and the increasing gasoline prices you may have noticed that the cost of food has been increasing.  What if I were to tell you that you don't need to spend money on those larger grocery stores? or that you can save money year around?  Would you be interested?

FACT: grocery stores only keep 3 days worth of food on stock for the entire local community.  What if some natural disaster happened, would you have enough food to live off for 3 month, or even 3 weeks?  The tornadoes in Joplin indicated that you can be caught off guard in preparing for a disaster.  Over the next few months I will dedicate this blog to saving money on food and how to prepare for larger periods of time.

Today's topic: Buy Local/Organic Food and Grow Your Own.

Grow Your Own:
The Garden Beds & Growing Pots:
If you have a house, mobile home, or condo and have the space available to grow your own backyard garden for the summer, it can save you money on produce.  Depending on your yard space, depends on how many growing beds and sizes you can do.  There are two options for growing beds: building your own* or buying built ones.  We choose to build our own.  We have two 8X4 beds we built.  This is the less expensive option and they are fairly easy to build.  Here are some basic instructions.  If you prefer to purchase raised garden beds many home & garden stores have them available (Lowes, Home Depot, etc).  You can purchase compost from recycling centers or may be able to find supplies at home & garden local stores or growing coops.  You can purchase seeds at local food coops or organic grocery stores, and at some farmers markets.  Follow the directions on the packages.  We choose to grow the following: box #1- *mixed greens/lettuce, broccoli, peas, yellow onions.  box #2- green onions, green beans, carrots, sugar melon, and strawberries.  In pots we have tomatoes, lemon balm, and mint.

If you have an apartment or condo without a place for large garden bed, but have a porch, patio, or balcony here are some options for you: build a smaller growing box or stacked (measure the space you have) or grow in pots.  Here are some fresh vegetables you can grow in pots: carrots, green beans, *greens (in larger pots) tomatoes, and various herbs*.  Some herbs can be grown on window sills indoors.

**mixed greens can be grown in just about any sized box or pot depending on how much you want.  Click here for a great article about how to do this.

Buying Local/Organic Through a growing Co-op
Buying local not only promotes economic growth for your community, but also for your state.  In many states purchasing items made in your home state are less money because they don't have to be shipped as far.  Farmers markets are the best way to get your local food or to purchase in bulk--in addition to your garden or for later winter storage.  Here is a link to find your local farmers markets by state.  Also check your local chamber of commerce.  Also depending on your area if you don't have the time to shop at a farmers market, many coop delivery companies are available.  In the winter months we use this one.

Should I buy Organic or Local?
One question I tend to get a lot is whether buying local is better than buying organic.  I always promote buying organic because it is ultimately better for you.  However, since we all have different budgets here is a helpful guide on what is most & least chemically treated.

These items are most chemically treated. You should ALWAYS buy these items organic whether local or not: Celery, Peaches, Strawberries, Apples, Pears, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Nectarines, Sweet Bell Peppers, Spinach, Cherries, Kale/Collard Greens, Mixed Greens, Lettuce, beans, Potatoes, and grapes.

The following foods are least chemically treated and you should ALWAYS try to buy these local, whether they are organic or not:  Onion, Avacado, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Mango, Peas, Asparagus, Kiwi, Cabbage, Eggplant, Domestic Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Sweet Potatoes, and Honeydew Melons.

Saving Money Staying Healthy

Lately I have been receiving emails about ways to save money in a lowered economy while still maintaining good health.  Below are my suggestions.

1.  Coupons & Grocery Deals.
The best way to coupon is to first collect coupons over time (at least a few weeks out) both printable & through your local paper.  Then watch the ads for sales. Using a coupon on top of the ad can save you significant amount of money. Also don't be afraid to shop at more than one store.  We have 4 grocery stores we get various items at based on what is on sale.  Also many of the stores offer discounts of $.05 to $.10 for each reusable bag you use each grocery trip.  Many grocery stores also have double coupon days saving you additional money.  Here are some websites for printable coupons:

Organic Coupons:
Whole Foods
Mambo Spouts
Earths Best
Organic Valley
Simply Organic
Stonyfield Organic

Other generic/ coupons:
Coupons. com
Smartchoice coupons

Fruit & Veggie Coop:
This tends to save money on fresh fruits and veggies.  You may also be able to find good prices at a Farmers Market.  Here is the one we use: www.doortodoororganics.com.

Save on bottled water & cleaners:
The best deal I found was to invest on a water pitcher by Shaklee. This pitcher removes every chemical & toxin possible.  It out performs many of the commercial pitchers like Brita & PUR.  Also Shaklee offers superconcentrated cleaners that will save you hundreds of dollars on cleaning supplies. They also have nutritional supplements, personal care items, and weight loss.
Check them out here: www.4grace.myshakle.com

2.  Invest in rebates.
sign up for rebate programs, like CVS regards or Kroger.  Both have their own set of coupons plus additional deals.  The check the websites & ads for deals to use your rebates on.

3. Reward Credit & Debit Cards.
The best ways to save money is to cut back on eating out and move your regular bills- phone, cable, cell phone, electric, gas, and groceries to a rewards debit or credit card.  Most of these programs allow you to receive reward points for gift cards for clothing, food, hotel, and air miles.  This is the best way to receive more money for leisure activities or eat out opportunities on a budget.

4.  Clothing.
Shop the sales & clearances.  Also check out second hand.  One very good second hand chain is Plato's Closet. 
You can both buy & sell clothes here.  Like many other resale shops you can sell & buy clothing. 

5. Giving to charities.
Giving money, clothing, and other items can provide you with additional tax write-offs come time for taxes.  This provides you with the opportunity to give back to your community and to receive something back at the end of the year.  Common places to give items is your local Salvation Army and Goodwill.

6. Start your own Home Business.
The best way to have additional tax write-offs is to start your own home business.  We choose Shaklee because for us it works best with what we are interested in--helping others, nutrition, and best payment program.  Starting a home business you can write off a portion of your mortgage/rent, cable/internet, cell phone/or landline, any website you have, miles you travel for your business, and more.  The government encourages this and the kick back is amazing.  For more information on this contact me. 



We hope that this information on saving money and staying healthy has been helpful.  Please feel free to contact us regarding any additional information: genesistohealth@comcast.net.  Have a wonderful day!