Budget Tips

Hey you all! I hope you're having a great end to spring! Planting the garden, going to the pool, participating in the library reading club with the kids, decorating and painting. . . that is what I have been doing lately. It's been busy!

Thinking of shopping and budget tips, I have to tell you about this great new experience I had today. With the large amount of shopping we SCDers do, this could be really helpful for you too, and could potentially cut down on impulse buying. Today I tried out a new service Walmart offers. . . grocery pick-up. What you do is go online, make an account, check to see if your local Walmart offers the service,  choose grocery items you want to buy, and pay online. Then you choose a time slot when you can pick it up. Walmart employs personal shoppers who get all the items for you, bag them up, and bring them to your car. There are special parking places on the side of the store for this and they were out in a minute or two to deliver the groceries and load them for me. It was amazing! With three active boys as my shopping buddies, things can get hectic, so this was a huge help. No extra cost - just easier shopping!

Here is an article that we wrote for our January/February edition of our e-magazine I want to Thrive. Budget Tips. We all need them, and especially on a special diet it's important to know some tricks for staying on-budget. Enjoy!

~ Erin

Many people think that buying the fresh food required on the SCD means they will have a higher grocery bill each month. However, with a little planning ahead and shopping for bargains, you can keep you grocery bill to just about the same as it would be on a "normal" diet. And think of all the money you'll be saving by not going out to eat so much and not eating all that junk food!

Tips to help you stay on budget:

     -Buy food in bulk at Costco or a similar store. Items we buy at Costco for much less expensive prices than in a regular store:
                 Honey, unsalted nuts (can be frozen), milk for making SCD yogurt, eggs, cheddar and jack cheese, pre-cooked frozen bacon (okay if eaten once a week, crisply fried), Tropicana original orange juice (make sure it has no calcium or vitamin D added), real butter, and SCD-legal meat (with no broth or natural flavors added).

     -When cooking, make several batches at once and freeze the extra food in Zip-lock containers for future meals. That way none gets wasted - and you have the extra benefit of not cooking when you don't feel like it sometime!

     -Make weekly menus and a corresponding shopping list. This ensures that you use everything you buy and cuts down on impulse buying.

     -Shop for produce at a discount store that sells Grade B produce - such as Sprout's Farmers Market or a neighborhood produce store. Since Grade B produce has a shorter shelf life, have menus planned for each item you buy because you'll need to use it quickly in order for it to pay off.

     -Start your own vegetable garden. You won't believe the high quality, delicious produce you'll harvest for almost free!

     -Freeze or can your excess produce for use throughout the year.

     -Buy meat when it is on a truly good sale and freeze for future use. Include this meat in upcoming menus.

     -Plan one vegetarian meal per week using eggs or beans for the protein. Split pea soup is delicious and costs pennies.

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