What About Health Food?

Though I do not strictly buy organic or health food items, I know some of you out there do try to follow a healthy regimen and might like to know how to coupon for and save money on organic items and fresh items. I ran into a high school classmate at the mall this evening and she mentioned my blog (!) and how hard it seemed to be to save on healthy groceries. I agree that it is trickier, but not impossible altogether. I thought a good post for the day would be about ways to save on fresh groceries and "good" foods :) I will outline my methods and then add a few suggestions on ways to save without actually 'couponing'.

1. Join/Subscribe to your favorite brand's email or mailing list:

If you do buy organic, chances are your company will have a website that will offer savings! For example, I subscribe to Earthbound Organics (http://www.ebfarm.com/ ) site and usually receive one email per week with really good coupons. Two weeks ago, I got an email with a $0.75 off any EB carrots and they are only about $0.78 regular price at Walmart. That would make the carrots only 3 cents. For the record, I have not used the coupon yet (I forgot to yesterday, doh!) but will be glad to use it in the future! This week I believe the coupon was $0.75 off 2 EB products but my point is there ARE coupons for organic produce out there; they just have to be found! When I said tricky, I meant that typically, organic brand item coupons (and rarely produce coupons for that matter) are in the standard Sunday paper. It's tricky to coupon for healthy items because it does require a little more effort. However, the benefit of saving money on good-for-you food is that you are then BUYING (and presumably eating) good-for-you food, right :)

Earthbound is the only organic group I subscribe to, but there are plenty to join if you just Google whichever brands you shop for already! Many times, companies will give better coupons out to their 'followers' than in the paper alone, so it never hurts to look.

2. Be willing to buy something to get $ off your produce/good foods:

As for coupons.com, and the paper coupons: health food products do make an appearance, however, the coupon is usually from a manufacturer and good on product x when you buy product y. It's hard for companies to mass produce a manufacturer coupon on produce, since it varies so much by brand per region (and even then by store; Food Lion sells Fresh Express, Kroger does not...) SO, companies will just put out coupons good on ANY produce (or whatever other fresh/healthy item) for buying their product. A recent example is for Kikkoman. The manufacturer released coupons for $1.25 off of 2 avocados when you buy any one Kikkoman product. So you may be thinking--why would I want the Kikkoman product if I only want avocados to begin with? Well, I have a couple suggestions: you'll be buying the avocados anyway, so why not just get the Kikkoman for free (since it's likely less than $1.25) and try it. If you KNOW you won't use it but want to save the extra $, you could donate it or give it to someone else you think will use it :) In the long run, you'll be saving money on the healthy food, and getting the less healthy food for free (although soy sauce isn't inherently 'bad' lol). Other similar coupons appear for fruit, and for dairy products, too.

3. Remember to check the store promotions:

Since healthy eating (especially organic) are big selling points, chances are good that stores will run promotions of their own to sell MORE organic to customers who are going to buy organic already. Just like any other marketing/advertising ploy, stores wants to retain their best customers in that department by offering deals customers will want. For example, Kroger was recently running a promotion (I noticed it on Saturday, June 1, but it may still be going) where buying three Kashi products would get the customer a free dozen cage-free/organic Simple Truth eggs. Simple Truth is Kroger's store brand of organic, so they try to promote that ALL. THE. TIME. (just check the coupons available on Kroger.com). If you do buy health food, you have almost certainly at least heard of Kashi :)

To get the best savings with a promotion like this--pair the store 'deal' with coupons on the Kashi. Even better if you happen to have a coupon on the free eggs, but my point is that healthy food departments often run sales like this to keep the customer in that department and it gets you to buy 3 cereals, right?

4. Don't be afraid to join a store mailing list:

I can't stress how big of a deal this one is! Kroger sends out these wonderful little mailers (in home, not on the computer) to their customers every two months or so and these coupons are a gold mine. I ALWAYS get a coupon for some sort of free produce item (like bagged carrots) and then coupons on their brand of salad and/or veggies. Also, they usually offer coupons on entire departments (like $3 off of $15 in produce or $3 off of $15 in organic/health food) so getting healthy food for less is easier. Food Lion offers coupons printed from the coupon machine at the front of their store on the store brand of items, and many times there will be a $ amount off of X amount in produce for them, too. I always get coupons for the produce section printed with my receipts, and they really add up. If you are going to buy salad, veggies, fruit, etc. anyway, then saving a couple dollars just makes for a better deal, right? Granted, these coupons are store specific, but can mean good savings.

I know a lot of people are either wary of giving out their info to a company or just don't want to take the time to actually fill out the little paper that came with their MVP or Plus card, but joining the mailing list is a great way to save some money. And, they don't spam you!

5. Saving WITHOUT coupons:

But seriously. Why would someone NOT coupon to begin with? Lol. No, I'm talking about things that rarely have a coupon or the good foods that are just expensive period. Let's face it: buying healthy is not the most cost efficient way to buy groceries, but if you want to or have to, then who am I to stop you from eating what's good for you? I would just offer my opinion on HOW to buy what you're buying.

• Check the local ads: If I have done nothing else but help you learn that actually checking store ads before you rush out and buy your goods can save you money, then I am okay with that. If you really do prefer to shop only at Walmart then that's cool--but by all means, price match the other stores' sale prices on the items you want. If Kroger sells red leaf lettuce for $0.99 a bunch, then don't pay Walmart's price just because you are there. Ask to match the ad! Conversely, if you don't mind stopping at a couple different stores, saving on produce can be easy. Food Lion is currently selling 5 lb. white potatoes for $1.49/bag while they are $3.39 at Kroger (whoa). Or, match it at Walmart if you prefer. 

• Buy in Bulk: If organic cheese/bread/meat/etc. goes on a mega sale and you *know* it's rock bottom and won't be that price again for at least 3+ months, then stock up. Only do this if you have the room of course to freeze the items, but all of the above freezes and paying $1 per lb. now versus $3.99/lb later seems like a no brainer to me. Those are real prices on organic foods when they are about to "expire" on the shelf. If I bought the above items at the prices I mentioned, I saved 75% (or, bought 4 for the price of 1!) So, buying healthy isn't that tough when I am willing to work at it a little.

• Buy in season: I know sometimes it's hard to buy only in season or local produce (like me wanting fresh raspberries in winter..) but buying in season fruits/veggies is a way to save money on good food. This is probably my least favorite method, though, because it means I am not buying exactly what I want when I want it :) That's why I like couponing for produce more, since those are year round and will work on most items at any given point :)

I hope this helped a little. I know that 'real' food just costs more, and trust me, I don't deny that at all! What I don't get is people who give up before they even try looking for a better price or deal on something they need and are buying anyway. My in-laws have this awesome co-op they belong to in San Diego that gives them a box full of fresh veggies and fruits every week from local farmers for a set price. It's kind of like a farmers market where they buy locally, but they get a really good deal on all kinds of good foods. I wish we had something like that here in Roanoke, but we make due with what we have, right :) You can still get healthy foods on sale and you can find coupons on fresh foods, you just have to look a little more since the coupon world is overloaded with pantry items. If you have any tips on buying healthy for less, let me know!