Keep More Income

Healthy eating is a passion of mine.  I love the way I feel when I eat well.  Vegetables are a big part of healthy eating.

I can’t tell you how much money I’ve wasted on fresh veggies that I’ve let go bad, though.  I know you’ve probably wasted a ton, too.  Almost every time I

I actually don’t buy fresh veggies anymore.  Everything I buy now is frozen.

Now I know there are some people out there who will eat nothing but fresh veggies because of their nutrient content or because they prefer the taste.  But for most people, when cooking vegetables, frozen will work just fine.

Not only are frozen vegetables cheaper than fresh vegetables, but they don’t go bad as quickly — or really at all.

And I’ll let you in on one more health tip: try grinding some of your favorite frozen veggies into any kind of shakes or smoothies you make.  I substitute ice with frozen broccoli in my shakes and can hardly taste the difference.  It sounds surprising, but give it a shot — you’ll see how beneficial frozen veggies can be.

I am a big advocate of buying and preparing all your own food. I honestly feel that this is how I save a lot of my money — by largely abandoning eating out.

For most people, buying and preparing almost every meal of every day is a huge hassle. It was for me, too, until I learned the trick to properly managing my food preparation.

This trick is actually widely touted in health circles. Professional dietitians swear by this method. If you ever see the refrigerator of a celebrity trying to get fit for a big role, they swear by this method as well.

So not only do you save tons of money by using this simple trick, but you get added health and body composition benefits as well.

What is the trick? It’s simply to dedicate one day to buying all your groceries and then preparing them.

Most people have two days off every week. First thing after you get up one of those days, run to the grocery store. Buy all your groceries for the next week.

When you get home, instead of simply putting them all away, leave them out and start cooking with them. Put each meal for each day in plastic tupperware, and store it in the fridge, clearly labeled.

You should be spending about one hour total driving to the grocery store, shopping, and getting it all home. From there, if you mass cook everything, you could spend as little as two hours preparing an entire week’s worth of food.

Not only will you save tons of cash because you won’t have to eat out at work every day, but you’ll also save tons of time in food preparation. Small dinners will already be ready for you to eat. Snacks and other meals will require little to no preparation time.

Take just three to five hours one day a week to purchase and prepare all your food. You’ll save money by not eating out, and you’ll gain more time to be able to do the things you want to do with your life.

If you’re interested in saving lots of money, limiting how often you eat out will pay you in strides. You’ve heard it before, and I’m going to reiterate it for you right now.

I’m shocked when I observe how much my friends and family spend to eat out. Many of my coworkers, for example, buy their lunch at work every day. Where I work, this will set them back a minimum of $5 a day, and at an average of probably about $7 a day. On the low end, they’re dropping $25 every work week for just lunch alone — or $100/month.

I, on the other hand, have my lunch prepared ahead of time every day. My lunches average a maximum of about $2 a meal, and are frequently less than that. At my maximum cost, I’m spending $40/month.

A lot of people I know scoff at the idea of saving just $60/month. But the trickle down effect results in so much more in savings than that.

After one month of practicing something, it generally becomes a habit. Once preparing your food ahead of time rather than eating out becomes a habit, you will find yourself eating out less and less. You won’t be heading out to eat dinner — you’ll just eat what you have prepared yourself. The $60 you save on monthly lunches will turn into an extra $40 that you save on dinners. That $40 you save on dinners will slowly turn into an extra $20 you save on snacks throughout the day. You get the idea.

Having food prepared saves you when you have to meet friends for food, too. I hate that our society equates “hanging out with friends” to “going out for food,” but such is life. Since I always have my meals prepared ahead of time, I can eat a quick snack and go into restaurants without being starved and just order a small side dish, rather than a full entree. I save money, and I save the embarrassment of not having anything to eat.

I’m shocked when I read reports of people spending upwards of $200/month eating out. Wouldn’t you rather cut that food spending down to $40/month, and pocket the extra $160? Combined with other tips and techniques I provide, this will add a hefty chunk of change to your monthly savings.

Stay tuned tomorrow for tips on how to prepare your food efficiently.