Whole30 Day 18 Saving!

A lot of people steer away from certain lifestyles or diets because they think that it costs a lot of money. Truthfully, paleo and Whole30 can be pretty pricy. If you stick to the clean and dirty list of foods it can save you some money since not everything needs to be purchased organic.

I have found several things that help me save for a Whole30 or for a little extra cash for me to spend on some high end items that I like to have in my pantry like arrowroot powder and avocado oil (these run close to $10-$15 depending on where you get them but not necessary for your pantry essentials). I also try and purchase one new item to cook with to help expand my cooking arsenal.

One of my prep week to dos is also a huge money saver. I plan out all my snacks and make a batch and store in air tight containers or zip locks that are all portioned out. This helps me to not buy snacks and to not snack on things at work since I just bring the portioned out goodies with me. Those banana muffins are seriously delicious and easy to cart around and they only take about 10 minutes to prep before popping them in the oven. If kale is in season I will make a batch of crispy kale chips to have in the kitchen for when I find myself seeking out a hand full of chips. My new vice of a snack are the Smokehouse Almonds from Blue Diamond.

I could seriously eat an entire bag of them in a sitting. Of course that is not healthy nor is financially reasonable since I would be buying bags of these all the time! Each serving is 28 nuts and I portion about 3/4 of a serving into the snack size zip loc bags. Perfect for a mid morning snack!

I have three big ticket items that I want to get and be able to use forever- a new cast iron skillet with a lid, a set of Copper Core All-Clad and a meat grinder. For me these are huge expenses, especially the All-Clad set. I have sometimes been financially irresponsible and spend money on things I know I shouldn’t like shoes or going out to eat. So how am I saving now? As you know I am huge fan of lists and challenges and things that I can visually attain. Pinterest surprisingly has several ideas for saving. At the beginning of the year I started the 52 Week Money Challenge- each week you put money into a large jar. The first week you put in $1, the second week $2, the third week $3 and so on. At the end of the year you have somewhere near $1,300 saved! At the end of the year I am going to buy that All-Clad Set. There is a spot for any extra money you can put in- I use a separate jar for that money and use that money to buy spendy pantry items or for some great finds that the butcher. This also helps with my impulse buying because I have a goal!

Tip of the Day: Here is a link for the 52 Week Money Challenge for print offs and information. And if you don’t want to use it for big ticket items and want to use it for a trip or something else do it! There are so many ways to save and use the money to achieve your nutritional and fitness goals.