5 Ways to Save Money on Whole and Natural Foods {Guest Post}

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I just can’t help myself wanting to share tips with you all on how to save money on groceries! Last week, guest poster Renee from QponJunkie, shared how to save with digital couponing. This week, Kristin from Coupon Kristin is sharing how we can save on healthy foods. Yes, it’s true, there ARE ways to save money AND eat healthier! She’s another fellow Houston Blogger and I’m so glad to have met her and learned more about couponing and savings at the grocery store (who doesn’t want to know that right?) And don’t forget to check out my Grocery Savings Tips board on Pinterest for more ideas on how to save money. Welcome Kristin!

My name is Kristin, and I teach people to save money at Coupon Kristin. The most common complaint I hear is that there are never coupons for healthy foods. There are plenty of ways to save money on whole and natural foods without clipping a single coupon.

1. Shop at Whole Foods. I shop at Whole Foods all the time. But I shop selectively. Whole Foods accepts both a manufacturer’s coupon AND a store coupon on the same item, and most of the time, they clip the store coupons FOR you! In addition, if you buy a “case” of any one item, you get 10% off, and this includes produce! Just ask a team member and they’ll tell you what a case of any item is. Don’t forget to take your reusable bags, too. They’ll give you $.10 just for doing so.

2. Don’t be afraid to shop around. In Houston, we have Central Market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Sprouts (coming soon). All of these retailers focus on whole and natural foods but some of them have lower prices on different items. For instance, I buy spices at Central Market, cheese at Whole Foods, and juice boxes for my youngest at Trader Joe’s. Since all of these stores are within a few miles of each other in Midtown, I can make one trip, save the most money, and get the products I want. That’s totally a win-win-win.

3. Stock up when you find a good deal. If you find a fantastic deal on the only product your picky three year old will eat, buy what you can. Most sales run in cycle of 6-12 weeks.

4. Don’t be afraid to try new products, especially if they’re cheaper than your regular brand. If you’ve always bought Brand A organic cheese, but Brand B is on sale for $2/lb less, give it a try. Trader Joe’s will cheerfully refund your money on any product you don’t love.

5. Make sure you use what you have bought. This sounds like a no brainer, but how often do you toss out the last of the corn or find shriveled carrots at the back of the fridge? Save the corn for the next pot of veggie soup. Make stock with carrots when celery goes on sale. Just toss your leftover veggies into a labeled freezer bag and pull them out when you need to make homemade chicken soup from scratch.

I hope these simple tips will encourage you to slash your food budget. In conjunction with Brenda’s fabulous meal planning tips, you can start saving the money you would have spent for something you really want!

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. She has three kids ages 3-16. Her youngest is autistic and has a speech delay and is on a modified Feingold diet. They have cut out a lot of things from the Standard American Diet like no artificial dyes, no MSG, no HCFS (if she can help it) and knows a thing or two about how to save money on a budget and still eat healthy. You can find her on the web at Coupon Kristin.