Most of us don’t have a garden and greenhouse in our homes so we often buy our produce from the markets and grocery stores and it costs us a lot of money! Those who live on the farm are lucky! They get to produce their own food. When I was a kid, we used to produce our own food. Since I grew up with no dad, my mom does all the work. So she asked me and my sister to get the lower part of all the vegetables and the seeds of the fruits so we can plant them. Although we grew up with less money, we still managed to eat healthy foods. But we only have chickens because our place was not that big and cows and pigs won’t fit in there! So that’s my short story. As of today, the food industry does its best to give us somewhat convenient ways to get our produce. We all need that! That is our source of strength. In this article we are going to show you how to get your produce in the cheapest way possible.
(1.) Plan Ahead of Time – Schedule your purchase. If you have work on weekdays then buy on weekends. 2 x a week or every 2 weeks. It really depends on you. So you will not waste your time and money for gas.
(2.) Make a List – Always make a list when you go and buy your produce. In that way you can budget and manage your money well. Consider going to stores whose produce are on sale so you can get foods for a very low price. Do not buy the ones that you don’t actually need.
(3.) Giveaways and Freebies – Are you shy to get some giveaways and freebies? Well, don’t be! Some of the local churches in our community have free foods given away to people. That is one of the charity works they usually do. They really don’t care if you are homeless or not. It is free and that is their way of sharing all the blessings they receive. Local pantries also distribute free foods. All you have to do is wait for their announcement.
(4.) Be Productive – I am talking about being resourceful to fruits! Here are some tips, cut out the bad spots off of the fruits and or the vegetables. You can actually do some smoothies or freeze them or even use them to make juice. A bag of bananas costs around $1. Freeze the other half and use it into ice cream. Of course, you can eat some of them too! For the rest of the bananas you can turn them into a delicious banana bread and banana cake.
(5.) Gardening – This is proven! Planting your own produce will save a really tons of money. Always remember that the seeds are way cheaper than the ones it produces. We can always get seeds from the ones we are about to cook.
(6.) Imperfect Produce Box – Have you ever heard about the imperfect produce box? Well basically it is a company that takes waste or products that is not up to grocery standards and the good thing about them is that they also deliver the box in your doorsteps and the price is also cheaper than the ones in the local stores.
(7.) Include Trader Joe’s – Do you have a Trader Joe’s nearby your place? Because they also sell the same products as the Imperfect Produce Box. When you go there, look for the bruised items. They are sold in bulk orders.
(8.) Consider buying in International Markets – Products that are sold international are way cheaper than the ones we have in local markets. For example, the Asians, Middle East, Mexican and Philippine Markets. If you are drooling for unique flavors, then you know where to go.
(9.) Buy your Produce when it’s Season – Every season, all local stores are on fire! (Not literally on fire!) All the products are on sale. For example in Kroger, they have that something called the “Manager’s Special” wherein those products are about to be thrown out of the store so they are cheaper when you need them.
(10.) Buy Produce on Clearance or Sales – Every clearance sale that usually occurs every month to foods, all the prices are 70-90% off! So it is very cheap. You can save up to 70-80% on meats and 50-60% on vegetables. You don’t have to worry when you buy bulk of those. We all have freezers. Right? We will just store them all. And don’t forget to segregate all so the others won’t go to waste!
We are done with our lists! What do you think best suits your lifestyle? This article is just a tip and we would want to help you get your supplies for a very cheap price. It still depends on you though. Did we miss something? Please do not hesitate to list it down in the comments section below. Your suggestions count to us. Thank you for your time reading this.
