Food & Health Savings Tips

The price of food and healthcare continues to climb. Consider these budget friendly tips to help keep costs under control.

1. Brown bag your lunch. The reason you hear this tip so much is that it works! If buying lunch at work costs $5, but making lunch at home costs only $2.50, then in a year, you could afford to create a $500 emergency fund and still have money left over.
2. Commit to eating out one fewer time each month. Save money without sacrificing your lifestyle. Take small steps to reduce your dining budget. Start off with reducing the amount you eat out by just once per month.
3. Plan your meals in advance and stick to a list while grocery shopping. People who do food shopping with a list, and buy little else, spend much less money than those who decide what to buy when they get to the food market. The annual savings could easily be hundreds of dollars.
4. ‘I’ll take a water, thank you.’ It’s standard in the restaurant industry to mark up the cost of alcohol by three to five times. An easy way to cut down on your restaurant spending without changing your habits too drastically is to skip the beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
5. Save time and money by doubling the recipe. Next time you make a family favorite, double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for another day. That way you can get two meals out of one and use the ingredients more efficiently with less waste.
6. Don't skimp on preventive healthcare. Routine dental checkups, for example, help prevent fillings, root canals, and dental crowns - all of which are expensive and no fun.
7. Go generic. Ask your physician if generic prescription drugs are a good option for you. Generic drugs can cost several hundred dollars less to purchase annually than brand-name drugs. And since physicians often don't know the costs you incur for a particular drug, you often have to ask.
8. Comparison shop for prescription drugs. Don't just rely on the closest drugstore because the cost to you can vary significantly from pharmacy to pharmacy. Make sure to check out your local pharmacist, supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and mail-order pharmacies.
9. Purchase store brand over-the-counter medications. Store brand medications often cost 20-40 percent less than nationally advertised brands but are the exact same formula.

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