The Paleo diet is gaining popularity, and it can be a good choice for people who have to avoid gluten whether because of a gluten intolerance or Celiac disease.
Sure, if you’re gluten free there are many great options available like gluten free pasta and breads, but those can be very pricy. Sometimes it’s cheaper to just avoid those kinds of substitutes.
Long Term Savings from Following the Paleo Diet
If you’d like to follow a Paleo diet but think you can’t afford it, keep in mind a few things:
1. A Paleo diet can lead to weight loss.
The savings here won’t be immediate, but over your lifetime, the savings is significant. I began following a Paleo diet last September, and in the 9 months since, I’ve lost 75 pounds. All of my numbers for cholesterol, blood pressure, and sugar count have improved. I know I’ve saved myself on medical expenses in upcoming years than if I hadn’t taken the weight off.
As another point, I don’t know how many hundreds of dollars I spent on Weight Watchers over my lifetime. With a Paleo diet, I eat until I’m full, and I don’t get hungry again for several more hours. There’s no struggle, so weight loss is easy, and I don’t have to count calories or points or pay for the latest weight loss fad.
2. You’ll save hundreds by not eating out.
Of course, you can eat out on the Paleo diet, but we just don’t eat out as much. We’re easily saving at least $200 a month on meals out. Now we go out to eat only when we’re traveling or for birthdays.
3. You won’t spend money on processed foods.
You might think chips and candy and other processed foods are cheap, but when you buy them in quantities that most Americans do, they add up quickly.
So, keep in mind these initial savings once you switch over to a Paleo diet.
How to Save Money When Buying Paleo Groceries
If you do decide to follow a Paleo diet, here are some ways you can cut costs on groceries:
1. Buy your meat directly from the farmer.
Ideally, you’ll want to buy grass fed and pastured meat. We buy 1/2 side of grass fed beef from my cousin’s husband. We get ground beef, steaks, roasts, etc. The meat averages about $5 a pound. There are also several grass fed and pastured suppliers near us, and we stock up whenever they have meat on sale. We have a deep freezer to keep all the meat.
2. Subscribe to a CSA.
A CSA (community supported agriculture) allows you to buy organic produce straight from the farmer. This year, for $850 we subscribed to one that gives us 1 and 1/9 bushel of vegetables a week for 19 weeks. There are enough vegetables each week to feed our family of 5 copious amounts of vegetables and some extra for us to freeze and use in the winter.
3. Grow a garden.
I like to grow things that are expensive to buy in the winter like collard greens and kale. We blanch them and freeze them to add to soups in the winter for an extra nutritional punch. However, grow anything you like to eat that grows well in your area.
4. Buy produce on sale and stock up.
If you live near a farm, consider going to the farm and picking the produce yourself. Last year we bought 50 pounds of organic blueberries. We froze 30 pounds and made jam and jelly with the other 20 pounds. It only cost us $130. However, within 8 months we ran out, so this year we plan to buy about 80 pounds to last us through the year.
Likewise, Whole Foods recently had organic grapes on sale for .99 a pound. I bought 25 pounds and froze them so we’ll have grapes and grape smoothies in the winter.
Initially, buying Paleo food can seem more expensive. However, there are many future costs you are eliminating by eating a healthier diet. In addition, there are ways to save, especially if you’re willing to buy in bulk and preserve your food.
If you’re following a Paleo diet, how do you save money on groceries?
I never watched The King of Queens during its primetime run, but I have watched it quite a bit on reruns. My favorite episodes are those that are about money. Since Doug and Carrie make a fairly decent living (as a delivery driver and a legal secretary, respectively), but have wants a lot bigger than their wallets, money (and how to find more) seems to be a recurring theme.
The main financial issue with the couple, especially Doug, is that he can’t rein in his inner child. Let’s call it the Heffernan principle.
1. He sees what others have and wants it too.
In the most recent episode I watched, Carrie’s father, Arthur, who lives in their basement, won $2,500 at bingo. Doug decides the money should be theirs since they help support Arthur. Even though they need a new refrigerator, he wants the money to buy new golf clubs. Once he manages to get the money from Arthur, he’s not satisfied and wants more new clubs to complement the ones he just purchased.
2. He blames others for his mistakes.
In one funny episode, Doug and his friend, Deacon, are following in a car behind their wives in another car. Deacon mentions that they’re passing a strip club that sometimes leaves the door open and that he likes to peek and see if he can see anything. Of course, Doug can’t resist, so he takes his eyes off the road and promptly crashes into the car the wives are driving in. Doug has to pay for the repairs to Deacon’s car, but he doesn’t want to because he claims Deacon really caused the accident even though Doug was driving.
3. He’s envious of others who work hard and save for their goals.
In another episode, Deacon and his wife, Kelly, invite Doug and Carrie up to their new vacation home–a cabin. Doug and Carrie are immediately envious and determine that the reason why Deacon and Kelly could afford such a nice home is because when the couples go out together, Doug and Carrie pay for everything. Of course, this is not true, but they just can’t accept that another couple making about the same wage as them could save their money and buy something substantial. For Doug and Carrie, money leaks out of their hands far too easily to save for such a large purchase.
The King of Queens is a humorous show about a couple trying to live their lives in Queens, New York while living with her father (who’s also broke, by the way). Like many couples, they struggle with money, but a main reason for that is because Doug can’t rein in his inner child.
While Carrie is well-intentioned and more mature in this aspect, she inevitably is persuaded by Doug and follows along with his train of thought and his antics.
Sure, as the audience, we have fun laughing at Doug and his misguided thoughts and actions, but have you ever thought if you, too, are like Doug Heffernan deep down? Have you silenced your inner child when it comes to money, or are you still struggling as Doug is?
There’s little question that student loans can be one of the more difficult debt burdens that a person can have. The cost of tuition is rising each year, and the rates seem to be following suit. Many college graduates are finding themselves with a degree that cost as much as their first house is likely to. It goes to reason, then, that finding any means available to help pay that debt off is probably a good idea.
What is Smarterbank?
I was recently introduced to a product offering called Smarterbank. It’s an online checking account that’s run by The Bancorp Bank. It’s fully FDIC insured to $250,000 and, for most purposes, operates just like any other online checking account. Much like some other online banks, Smarterbank has some perks attached to their accounts.
In the case of Smarterbank, they give a “cashback” that goes directly to your student loans. For purchases under $100, they apply .5% of the purchase to your Smarterbucks account. For purchases over $100, the first $100 gets you the same .5%, and everything over $100 gets you 1%.
Smarterbank Fees
One of the nice perks of Smarterbank is that it’s a relatively fee free account. There’s a monthly “inactivity” fee if you don’t use the account at least once in a month of $4.50, otherwise, if you’re a smart user, you’ll never hit a fee. And, by smart user, I mean you don’t overdraft, or do something else silly. They’ve got fees that are associated with things like statement research, etc, but those are pretty standard and you’re pretty unlikely to ever use those services. You also get access to over 40,000 ATMs in the STAR ATM network.
The Smarterbucks Program
As I mentioned above, the “cashback” goes into your Smarterbucks account. So, you’re probably wondering what the heck that is. Smarterbucks is a rewards program. Not unlike programs like Swagbucks, it rewards you for certain actions. Things like shopping through their portal (“Smarterbucks Marketplace”) earn you cash back that is credited to your account. You can also ask others to contribute to your account. That option could be pretty cool to use as an alternative for people to give to you for birthdays, Christmas, or special events.
Once your Smarterbucks account reaches $15, they send a payment for that amount to your student loan. At first, that might not seem like much, and, really, it isn’t. But, every little bit helps. And every $1 you pay off early is $1 that you aren’t accruing interest on for the life of the loan. And that can add up in a hurry.
Would you switch to an account like Smarterbank for an offer like this? Is the offer strong enough to make it worth the time? What other offers have you seen that help with student loan payback?
