Remember how my healthy living journey started?

A decade ago, clipping and using coupons was one of my favorite hobbies. I got Hamburger Helper for 33¢ a box, Windex for 49¢, and cans of green beans for a dime. Cheap or free – that’s what I looked for when purchasing the food we ate, the cleaning products we used, and the tissues that wiped our noses. I was the Coupon Queen, and I rocked that job.

Then, our fourth baby was born with chronic eczema. Suddenly our poptart-filled lives needed to change drastically.

We recognized right away that we could no longer use regular (cheap) laundry detergents as they caused major break-outs for Malachi. Anytime a spray cleaner was used, he would be even more miserable. Before he was a year old, we realized that everything we brought into our home – from food to cleaning supplies to medicine – needed to be changed.

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola – Less Than $1 Per Serving

I’m thankful for the kick-start we received so that our whole family could become healthier, but it really was quite a difficult and discouraging time full of question marks.

A loving friend who knew I was trying to find better foods and cleaning supplies for my family handed me her health food co-op catalog. She said it helped her family save money. Excitedly, I started skimming the pages.

With one glance, I was soooo disappointed! These were the best prices to be found on healthy food and household products? Seriously? I was used to paying pennies for our food and cleaners. And what even was half of that stuff they listed in there? Kimchi, kombucha, coconut milk? Weird…and expensive.

Well, here we are, a million and a half life lessons and experiences later. Thankfully, I’ve learned the importance of investing in nourishing foods and non-toxic household items for our better health. I’ve also learned many new ways to save money – the healthy way. Isn’t God cool?  He always provides what we need – from finances to information to ideas to support.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie – Less Than $1 Per Serving

I still have a lot to learn. I don’t always practice these money saving methods perfectly. But I do my best to save money and be healthy at the same time. I’ll continue to share the great deals I find and the tips I come across. I know this journey can be hard, and I want to encourage you in any way I can!

You’ll want to be sure and check out our
entire section of real food meals for $1 per plate!

Here are five of my favorite ways to save money while striving for good health:

1. Make it Homemade

You already know this about me, so I’ll just briefly say – it saves our family hundreds of dollars every month when I make most of our simple meals from scratch. Here are some of the highest money-saving foods I make:

• Cereal like Homemade Grape Nuts and Dark Chocolate Almond Granola.
• Bread products, like Honey Whole Wheat Bread and Whole Wheat Muffins. Occasionally I’ll buy a loaf of 100% whole wheat bread at the store, but typically, if I don’t have time to make bread, we just don’t eat bread. No worries – there are tons of other goodies to eat like fresh fruit and cheese!
• Frozen convenience foods like Meat and Cheese Burritos and Calzones. This saves food cost, plus saves us from the high cost of eating out if I don’t have food prepared.

2. Skip it Altogether

While I used to have a specific cleaning product for every single cleaning need on the planet, I’ve found that it’s not necessary at all. Do I really need to spray chemicals from a can onto my dusting cloth before wiping down my furniture? Um…who knew a bit of water would work just as well if not better? (sometimes I amaze myself)

I use a great All-Purpose Cleaner from Tropical Traditions for tougher jobs. Otherwise, simple household items like baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice are completely healthy, inexpensive, and pretty much amazing. A great way to save money is to make your own household cleaners (see #1 above).

3. Think Outside the Box

What if the way we’ve always done things isn’t necessarily the only way to do it? What if doing something different might be healthier and save money too? It’s hard to think outside the box sometimes – especially if anything outside of our norm seems foreign to us. But on your healthy living journey, you’ll find it’s great to save money by exploring new ideas.

For instance, I used to run my kids to the medical clinic for every sniffle or bump. The costs really added up, but what’s a mom to do? I am so thankful for what I’ve learned the past few years about treating my family at home when possible. Doctors and clinics are there for a reason, and we certainly use them when we need to. But home remedies, essential oils (I’m just digging into these and LOVE what I’m learning!), natural options for keeping on top of illnesses – these are keeping us healthier and saving us hundreds of dollars too.

4. Plan Ahead

While it isn’t possible to see into the future, there are a few constants in life we can prepare for. For instance:

• You will always need toilet paper and laundry detergent.
• We all need to eat three times a day.
• Christmas is always December 25.

Planning for what I know will be needed saves my sanity and keeps us from spending money we don’t need to spend. Making meal plans each week has saved me so much money! You can see all my weekly menu plans here.

5. Use Online Resources

I continue to be amazed about the awesome deals I find online. Not only am I saving money on the items themselves, I’m saving all kinds of gas money and travel time. I love that I can shop at my convenience, and save time by having items shipped (usually, for free) to my door.

I always try to share great online deals with you here when I find them. You’ll find a button on my sidebar for our Amazon Deals page

Share with us – what are your best tips for saving money on your healthy living journey?