When it comes to sticking to a monthly food budget, we have learned a thing or two over the past 2.5 years we have been vegan. In this post, we are going to teach you everything we know about sticking to a budget on a plant-based diet π±
Our monthly food budget allows us to spend a maximum of $450 every month. This is for two people and our two cats π (for their food and treats) and also includes all the ingredients we need to make recipes for our food blog, so here's how we do it!
Here are 9 things we do that help us stick to your food budget!
1. Make Your Coffee at Home βοΈ
You might not think that your morning coffee run amounts to much, but a cup of coffee every other day really adds up in the long run. If you spend $2 for a cup of coffee every day you could spend well over $700 a year on coffee! π±
I am a coffee fanatic and I love trying out different recipes and tastes so I would always order something different whenever I went to a coffee shop. But now, rather than spending $80 a month on these delicious takeaway coffees, I have invested in a great coffee machine that gives me barista-style coffee right in the comfort of my own kitchen! π I can now create anything I want almost immediately π
BONUS TIP: But what about coffee on-the-go, you ask? I say, get yourself a nice flask and fill it up at home instead of stopping for coffee on the way to work. This way you'll be helping the environment by not using single-use coffee cups and your wallet benefits enormously too! π
2. Keep Dining Out to a Minimum π½
Dining out can get pretty expensive (depending on how hungry you are π) and so should be kept to a minimum. Find out what works for you. We still like to go out for lunch or dinner every now and again, but we try to only do it every other week instead of making it a weekly occurrence.
And, when we do go out, we try to keep the costs down as best we can by not ordering the most expensive things on the menu and rather order water to drink (see tip #7) π±
3. Stick to Whole Foods (Don't Buy Processed Foods) π₯
Besides being unhealthy for you, processed foods are also much more expensive than whole foods. For example, instead of buying expensive pre-made vegan burger patties, make your own at home! There are plenty of recipes online, like our π 15-Minute Vegan Falafel Burgers!
4. Make a Grocery List Before Going Shopping βοΈ
Make a shopping list before you go grocery shopping and actually stick to it! This tip has probably saved us the most money out of all of these π
When we go shopping without a list, we tend to buy things that we may not end up using that can spoil in the fridge! Instead, plan which meals you are going to make and make a shopping list for the ingredients that you need.
BONUS TIP: Only go grocery shopping when you aren't hungry as this makes sticking to your list much easier π
5. Meal Prep For The Week Ahead π₯
At any given time we have about a week's worth of meals already made in the freezer! This saves us so much time and money during the week.
Some of the things we meal-prep are curries, soups, stews, pizza bases, burger patties, sausages, marinated tofu and more!
If you have no idea where to start with meal prepping, here is an awesome video by Avant Garde Vegan that will give you some guidance.
6. Drink Water Instead of Unhealthy, Sugary Drinks π§
Not only is it almost free, drinking more water will greatly benefit your health and well-being overall.
7. Have Your Groceries Delivered π
Having your groceries delivered if possible where you live can also save you a lot of time. Time is money so the less time you spend grocery shopping the more time you have to hustle and get that money.
9. Buy on Markdown Where Possible βοΈ
Buying some ingredients on markdown will save you money right on the spot. Especially if they're non-perishables. Buying on markdown is like getting an immediate return on investment where instead of paying full price you get 50% back or something like that.
8. Buy Your Non-Perishables in Bulk π΅
Buying some items in bulk can save you some serious money over the long run. A few of the things we buy in bulk are:
- rice
- beans
- lentils
- pasta and
- soy sauce
It also helps to have a lot of staple foods in the kitchen, so you do not have to go shopping as often and putting together a quick dinner becomes very easy.
9. Buy on Markdown Where Possible βοΈ
Buying some ingredients on markdown will save you money right on the spot. Especially if they're non-perishables. Buying on markdown is like getting an immediate return on investment where instead of paying full price you get 50% back or something like that.
What do you do to stick to your food budget? There is still a lot that we have to learn, so if you have any other tips and tricks, please share it with us the comment section. We'd love to hear your feedback! π±
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See you next time! π
All the images used in this post are from Unsplash
Good list. It helps non-vegans too.
I also learned to eat in season, and time deliveries. If you know bread comes in Tuesdayβs, make sure to buy it around that date. Your food will keep longer that way.
That's excellent advice @ metzli! π I will keep this in mind for next month! Thanks for the tipsπ±
Hey, Great tips for a vegan to be one a budget, but isn't meal prep a week ahead unhealthy?
Just asking?
Here's what we do to try and keep it as healthy as possible:
These methods are just basically to seal the food and try and keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible π±
But I think that the health benefits have less to do with the food you meal prep and more to do with how meal prepping changes how you eat during the week. We found that when we meal prepped we ate far less takeaway and fast food, unhealthy snacks, and sugary drinks - we always had food at home which was easy to whip up and it was much harder to justify eating that fast food when there was good healthy food at home π
Great post
there are two reasons why i have not tried to eat vegan yet.
The first is that it seems to demand a lot of planing and the other is price maybe this is going to make me try.
Thanks for the post
I find that being vegan doesn't require a lot of planning but planning helps to keep it within budget and also stay healthy too βοΈ
As long as you do some research on going vegan, you will find how easy it can be. I found The Vegan Society's article on it to be very helpful when I first went vegan. Also the easier the food the better, no one wants complicated food so that is why all of the recipes I make are super quick and easy! π
WoW !! Good work!!
nice post
Some great tips here, being Vegan should be cheaper than an omni based diet. The problem is that people go ahead and buy the processed stuff. This is, as you say, not only expensive but also not the best for our bodies. Whole food plant based is by far the cheapest you can eat, and its the best for you too. Get some junk for the weekends and have a cheat day... or two!
I definitely agree - veganism should be waaaay cheaper than an omnivorous diet! π΅ We pretty much follow that rule as well, on weekdays we usually eat our whole food meals that we meal prepped and weekdays we go a little wild π
So great tips that you share! I also do is this way, but no coffee for us!;) We have a monthly food budget on 320β¬, and I get 100β¬ extra for my recipes and special foods. We are 2 personds with a toddler, so almost the same as for you guys! Great article, have resteemed it!
That's great Niina! What do you prefer to drink to coffee then?
Thank you so much for your support! π
Oh I love herbal tees, hot chocolate, my almond-cinnamon latte or something like that. I never liked the taste of coffee even though I love the smell very much!ππ€
Great advise Guys. I am following most of it πΈππΈ
Awesome, I am so glad Lena! π
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P.S.:
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This is so cool! I checked out the crossword and I think this is such an amazing idea - thank you for including us this week π
Really enjoyed the post. Thanks for sharing these tips! I always make a list before shopping so a big thumbs up for that one in the list... :)
I think making a shopping list is one of, if not THE best, way to save money shopping π
Thank you so much for stopping by @bettercookies! βοΈ I absolutely loved the special vegan cookie basket you posted recently, I want to make it so badly π±
Great work @deliciousplants !!
Thanks for sharing !
Great tips, organization is very key for the week for any budget :D
Good stuff! from my own experiences, I find to focus on potatoes and other root vegetables as a staple to be very cheap. Bananas are great too for healthy cheap breakfast smoothies!