Easy Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget in 2024

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Healthy and frugal don’t have to be opposites. Here are some tips and tricks to eat healthy on a budget in 2024!

Inflation is no joke! Many families are struggling with their grocery budgets in 2024. For those living paycheck to paycheck or scraping by, eating healthy can feel like a difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be. I have rounded up some super easy ways to eat healthy on a budget. These are things that my family of 6 does to eat healthy, even on our $200 a week grocery and household budget.

Meal Plan

Meal planning is such a simple thing that can add up to a ton of savings. I honestly don’t know how I used to shop without a meal plan. It’s like driving without knowing where you’re going. Having a meal plan is not only crucial to eating healthy on a budget, but keeping your grocery budget under control in general. Don’t skip this step, it’s the most important.

>>Find my free meal planners here<<

Shop Your Pantry

Another essential step to eat healthy on a budget, is to shop your pantry. This part should be done with your meal plan, but it’s easy to skip over. What do you already have on hand? Can you make any pantry meals with things from your own home? This will save time and money.

Keep it Simple

There’s no need to go overboard with your meals or meal plans. You don’t need to be extravagant to eat well. Keeping your meals simple will make it even easier to eat healthy on a budget. Try to find recipes with a few simple, healthy ingredients. They do exist!

>>Here are 40+ healthy recipes for $10 or less<<

Shop in Season

Shopping in season is something I notice not a lot of people do. Most fruits and vegetables are in season in the summer, which is why you can find them for such a good price. However; in the winter, they are out of season, meaning they need to be transported from even further away, making the cost higher. Try to shop seasonally. Eat the fresh, ripe fruit, like strawberries and blueberries, in summer. Save the apples and bananas for winter. We are also blessed to have things like fruit cups, applesauce, or frozen fruit that is generally lower cost all year long, no matter the season.

Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen

Ever heard of the dirty dozen and clean fifteen? This is a way for people who are eating on a budget to pick and choose what they buy organic or conventional. Conventional means they use certain farming techniques and pesticides. Just because you want to eat healthy on a budget, doesn’t mean you have to eat all organic. This list allows you to see which options are okay to eat conventional and which are better to get organic.

Avoid Junk Food

A lot of people will start eating healthier and immediately replace their standard American diet junk food with “healthier” junk food. Avoid all junk food. What is junk food? It is overly processed, minimally nutritious food. Some of the “healthy junk food” isn’t even necessarily filled with bad ingredients, but it is overly expensive. For snacks, consider things like popcorn, yogurt, fruit, or cheese. These snacks are all relatively inexpensive and will keep you full until the next meal.

Reduce Meat

Now, I used to be vegan, so I’m not saying go to that extreme. Although, reducing your meat consumption will save you quite a bit of money. Meat tends to be one of the most expensive items on your grocery bill, even if you get it on steep discount. Go through your last receipt. See what percentage you spent on meat. Now, consider reducing meat to just a few times a week. Try replacing meals with meat with beans, eggs, or lentils. I think you will see your grocery budget drop drastically. I know we did!

Shop in Bulk

Shopping in bulk can go one of two ways. It can be extremely beneficial or detrimental to your grocery budget, so proceed with caution. I know people who will just go crazy buying everything that looks good at Costco and completely blow their budget with no meals in sight. I’m not even saying to shop at bulk food stores, like Costco or Sam’s Club. I am simply saying, find some healthy foods that you enjoy and buy the bigger size. We buy large quantities of beans, rice, pasta, salsa, and more. These are things we eat a lot and they are cheaper per ounce if you buy the larger quantity. Also, if you can find some deeply discounted items you buy a lot, like chicken or ground beef, consider stocking up and freeze them.

Avoid the Middle Aisles

Avoiding the middle aisles at your grocery store will save you quite a bit as well. The middle aisles tend to be the more expensive, processed foods. Try to stick to the outside perimeter. This is usually the produce, dairy, and meat sections. Most of us can’t stick exclusively to the outside when eating on a budget, but it helps.

Shop Sales

Buying healthy items on sale is essential to eating healthy on a budget. I don’t buy meat or most fruit or vegetables unless they’re on sale. When they do go on sale, I will try to prepare as many meals as I can with them. If potatoes are on sale, I will try to include them in several meals, as a side or as the star of the dish. If meat is on sale, I may make a few meals with that meat and freeze the rest.

Cook Larger Meals

Cooking larger meals usually doesn’t cost much more. Then, you can either freeze the leftovers for another meal in the future or for leftovers for lunch. We eat leftovers for lunch regularly to help save money on our food bill.

Use up Leftovers

As I mentioned, we eat leftovers almost daily. Most soups and stews actually taste better the next day, for some reason. Even if we have a small amount, we can feed it to the baby and toddler as a whole meal. We try not to waste any food in our home. If we have an abundance and we can’t eat it all, or grow tired of it, we may try to turn it into a different meal.

Buy Off Brands

Buying off brand, or generic, is another great way to eat healthy on a budget. Most store brands are actually made and manufactured by the name brand. You’re just not paying for their marketing and advertising. I hardly ever buy name brand food. It saves me a lot of money!

Join a Food co-op

If you search “food co-op” in your area, you will likely find several that you didn’t even know existed! These are great because you’re getting fresh produce from local farmers at a low rate. You generally get a box of produce a week. This not only gives you the chance to shop seasonally, but to also try some new, healthy options that you have been missing out on! It’s also a great way to support local farmers.

Use Cash Back Apps

Cash back apps have really come a long way. Apps like iBotta and Fetch now include many healthy brands and just general foods, like “any brand grapes”. I love also using Receipt Hog. If you click the links, you can sign up with my referral and get extra money instantly. More of a pick up person? I use Rakuten for my Walmart and Kroger pick ups. All of the apps I mentioned have the option for e-receipts as well. These are generally slow earners, but you’d be amazed how little effort, and how much extra money you accumulate by the end of the year.

There you have it! 15 simple ways to eat healthy on a budget in 2024! Were these helpful? Got your own tips? Let me know down in the comments below!