I've heard it a million times where poor people say, “Eating healthy is so expensive, I can't afford it!” Well here’s an article that may help you about shopping smart: ways that you can eat healthy without breaking the bank and you won't even have to frequent the 99-cent menu.

Money VS Convenience

Let’s not confuse expense and inconvenience. Let’s face it—it is very convenient to go to the restaurant or drive through the drive-through and pick something up not having to cook anything for dinner. The point is it’s more expensive if you eat out rather than if you go to a grocery store and buy raw ingredients for cooking cuisines in your home. Restaurants will drain your bank and you will typically eat stuff you normally wouldn’t should you have prepared food at home instead. You’re going to be tempted to pay for delicacies, give fried food a try or probably have a taste on that creamy dessert you had no intention of eating at all in the first place. Not only that, you will tend to eat more at a restaurant (defeating the purpose of losing weight) than you would at home.

Use Coupons

Use those coupons. They may require a bit of patience in the process of storing them for proper use, but the whole thing is just neat—consider it a replacement for stamp collecting. Last week, my girlfriend and I went grocery shopping and stocked up after thanksgiving. Our kitchen was completely empty so we spent some time cutting out coupons looking at websites for products that we needed the most. We went in a local grocery store and started rummaging through the shelves of different goods for items to buy. When we got to the register, we saved about $30.00 with all our stored coupons! So I guess I would say it IS possible to shop at an “expensive” grocery store and save money to fit in your budget. Also, these so-called food stores are now carrying coupon booklets right at the front door. You walk in, you walk out and you get your coupon books just by doing so.

Companies are now putting coupons on their websites so that you’ll try their products. Here’s another tip: don’t cut your coupons out before you come up with your grocery list. If you’re cutting coupons out for stuff you don’t really need then you’re not saving money but you’re actually spending more money. Use your coupons at stores that offer to double or triple your coupons cause then you’ll be saving even more.

Don’t Buy Prepackaged Foods

Don’t Purchase Conveniently Packed Foods. You go to the grocery store and you want hamburgers for dinner. First of all, hamburgers do not help lose weight. They increase weight. But for the purpose of illustrating a money-saving example, let us stick to burgers. Now, a lot of people will go purchase pre-packaged, round, flavored, seasoned hamburger patties and all you got to do is throw them on the grill. Well, you’re going to pay a dollar fifty more on hamburger meat. And it’s only going to take you about a minute or two to throw in some spices and mash the meat down and make your own patties.

If you’re complaining that it is expensive to live healthy, you might want to think again because you are just confusing cost and convenience. Everything discussed in this article boils down to what’s really important for our health. What do we need to prioritize more? Health at the expense of our budget or vice versa? Why settle for one when we can actually go for both? If you are making an excuse that eating healthy is too expensive, always think that food is a necessity that should be given priority. If we can save money for our car or for a cup of Starbucks coffee then maybe we can save more for our own food. Let us keep in mind that eating healthy does not have to cost us an arm and a leg.

Author's Bio: 

Mika Fuller is a nurse by profession. She passes the time writing articles about her experiences at the hospital. She also writes stuff she usually deals with while working on a graveyard shift.