04
Feb
Have you been participating in our money-saving challenge this year? If not, then you should know two things: #1 It’s not too late to start! And #2 it’s really quite easy. We’re not asking anyone to go too crazy with a severely frugal lifestyle. We are just asking you to cut back on one thing every month in order to save up approximately £750 ($1200) before the end of the year. Can you save more that that using our plan? Definitely! But at the very least you will have this nice little chunk of money to use for something special (or just for paying down your debt). This month’s part of the challenge is to cut back on your food spending.
February’s Challenge: Go on a Diet
We’re saying that this challenge is about going on a diet because it’s the foods that are worst for us that often end up costing us the most amount of money. Do you eat any of the following things:
- Sugary breakfast cereals?
- Candies, ice cream and other sugary snacks?
- Meat?
- Prepackaged foods such as crackers, pre-made soups, etc?
- Frozen meals?
Items like these are arguably not very good for you and your waistline. They also aren’t very good for your wallet. Sure you can use discount codes to reduce their cost but the truth is that you’ll save a lot more money by eating a well-planned, mostly-vegetarian diet consisting primarily of fresh produce.
How to do It
Gather up your grocery receipts from the last month or two. Make a list of exactly where you spent your money. You can do this easily by creating a simple spreadsheet on your computer. Create columns for meat, dairy, produce, frozen foods and packaged foods. Write down how much you spent in each category. Most people discover that their produce costs are very low. What you’ll find is that if you stop spending money in some of the other categories and instead spend that money in the produce section you’ll save money because your cash goes a lot further in the fresh foods section than it does anywhere else in the store.
Once you’ve seen how you’re spending your money, make some specific commitments to yourself about how you’re going to cut back on your February spending. Examples of goals include:
- No buying meat the entire month.
- Buying only fresh fruits and vegetables the entire month.
- Cutting your spending in all categories except produce by 50%.
Figure out which goals are realistic for you and which will help you save the most money. Commit to them.
How Much You Can Save
The amount of money that you will save depends a lot on how much you normally spend on groceries and how willing you are to really cut back. Some people have switched to a vegetarian diet say that their food bills were immediately cut in half. If you make a commitment to meet this months’ money-saving goal of £60 ($100) you should be able to do that without any problems.
Tips for Saving More
Here are some tips to follow for saving more money when dieting and going vegetarian for a month:
- Make a meal calendar. This will allow you to make the most of the food that you’re going to buy so that nothing goes to waste. It will also help you plan out your food budget for the whole month. It’s a lot easier to make changes on paper so that you don’t go over budget than it is to calculate that out in the store.
- Try to do most of your shopping at the beginning of the month. Make one bulk purchase now designed to last all month. That way you’ll know how much you’ve spent. Keep just a little for emergencies or changes later in the month.
- Shop local. You tend to get better prices on healthy produce when you shop locally.
- Buy in-season normal foods. If you buy foods that are out of season or foods that are rare or exotic then you’re going to spend a lot of money. You want to be buying staple produce foods if you’re going to save money.
- Cut out all junk food. This commitments saves people a lot of money. Think about what your favorite junk is and go without it for a month.
- Exercise. Combine your better eating habits with exercise and you’ll be healthier. This means that you’ll spend less on health care bills in the long run! What a great savings benefit.
Things to Consider
There are a few things to consider before you go ahead and do this challenge. Some things include:
- Health and dietary concerns. If you have any reason to believe that changing your diet might impact your health then be sure to speak to a doctor about it before you make changes.
- It’s important to make a food budget. You don’t want to assume that just cutting out junk food and eating more produce will save you money. You need to spend consciously to make smart choices as you make this change.
- Meat is a staple food for some people. If you don’t feel like you can give it up, consider cutting back. Track how much money you save. The savings might inspire you to try harder next month.
Alternatives to the February Challenge
Some people will find that this challenge doesn’t really apply to them. Maybe you already eat a mostly local produce-based diet. Maybe for one reason or another you can’t give up certain high-cost foods. Some alternatives to the February challenge include:
- Refuse to eat out for the entire month. Most people don’t plan to eat out but it happens now and then. Commit to avoiding the temptation and you should save money. Yes, this means skipping the coffee shop, too.
- Give up your meatless products. If you’re a vegetarian but you spend money on fake meat products then you’re spending too much on groceries. Give them up for the month of February and focus on eating less expensive foods.
- Buy low-cost staples in bulk. Now is a great time to practice saving money with bulk shopping. There are pros and cons to buying bulk so it’s a tough thing to learn but it can save you a lot of money in the long run if you do it right.
Other Blogs on Saving Money by Going Vegetarian
Some other posts and articles on this topic have been made by:
Are you going to participate in February’s money-saving challenge with us? We hope so! Leave a message in the comments so we can all encourage each other to save.
1
I think you should add “remortgaging” to the list. If you’re a homeowner, rates are really low at the moment – see todaysbestmortgagerates.co.uk for example.