Guest Post: Buying Produce on a Tight Grocery Budget

I am very honored to network with other bloggers! Today, we have a guest post by Nathana from The Engaged Home:

A couple years ago, my husband and I woke up to the realization that we were putting a lot of heavily-processed and sugary foods into our bodies. We noticed the effects most in our weight and energy levels. I had gained an extra 20 pounds and we felt frequently fatigued. Enough was enough. It was time to invest in healthier foods and more fresh produce. But could we afford to? After all, I loved using coupons, but fresh produce coupons are hard to find!

Since married in 2010, we’d kept our grocery budget between $100-120 a month. We wondered if people living on a modest income really could afford to eat healthy. There is a reason why so many low-income families struggle with obesity: unhealthy food is often cheaper (and addicting). But we knew for the physical well-being of our family, we needed make changes. Without much wiggle room to increase our budget, we became more resourceful in how we shopped for produce.

Guess what? It worked! We changed the way we shopped and discovered ways to both make our money stretch throughout the month and eat healthy. Our budget continues to work now that I am pregnant and eating more dairy and meat than before. The biggest change we made was that we replaced many of our sugary and salty snack foods and side dishes with fresh fruits and vegetables.

How did we afford to do it? Here are some shopping tips for finding deals on fresh produce:

1. Price Match: This is probably the most obvious. Walmart will price match on produce (as long as Walmart has the same produce to buy). Janie Girl does a great job keeping you updated on price-matching deals here in Phoenix. You can also use the Walmart Savings Catcher app or website. While Walmart is not my favorite store, price matching not only saves money, it saves time. Who can put a price tag on time?