You may believe it is impossible to be nourished while on a tight budget. Most organic and whole foods are getting more expensive and harder to find. There is good news! It’s possible to nourish your body with good food while maintaining your budget!
Many money saving gurus will tell you only to eat rice and beans until you are debt free. I highly discourage this. I see this practice leading to undernourishment, dysregulation of the nervous system, burnout, and even resentment. When your nervous system is not functioning properly, you may make decisions you may regret later on. Staying out of the fight/flight/freeze response is a huge part of staying on track with a budget.
Our Journey…
As my husband and I journeyed through paying off $50,000 worth of debt, I noticed many things. When we skimped out on our grocery budget, I found we were left hungry. This caused us to go over our budget to get extra food. Sometimes we would find ourselves out at Cookout, Chick-fil-a, or even back to the grocery store after dinner to try to not go to bed hungry. Since expanding the grocery line item in our budget, we do not feel the need to go out as much. Going out to eat can be really expensive. We LOVE going out for sushi on a date night. I find it less tempting to go out for dinner when we have really yummy and nourishing foods at home.
Figure out what you value the most.
This can help give you purpose and drive – two things you need to maintain a budget!
One of our biggest values (and the reason we budget) is passing on a legacy to our children. Recently, I discovered how important it is to me to be here when we pass that legacy along to them. I want to be able to see my children enjoy the fruits of our labor. This means making sure we are eating nutrient dense meals to keep our bodies strong and well. I believed the lie for a long time that in order to get better food in my body, I had to be making more money. I have actually found that it costs less to eat better, more nutritious foods.
When we are better nourished, we can accomplish more, show up better as humans, and get our outcomes with more ease.
I am beginning to shop for foods that nourish and support our metabolism. I encourage you to get to know your own body and figure out what supports your body the best. You can create fullness and vibrancy and your family by what you feed them on a budget.
Learn how to read labels…
and ingredients on products. If you are able to understand what is inside the food item you are buying, you will make better choices and stay away from foods that don’t support your body. Lots of grocery stores contain aisles and aisles of foods with dyes, artificial flavors, preservatives, and other unnecessary chemicals. No wonder we were hangry all the time before I started reading labels. Our bodies were calling out for REAL FOOD. Now I take time to carefully plan our meals and look for simple, affordable ingredients. Most vegetables, fruits, and whole grains can be really nutritious for your body and easier on your wallet. I stay away from as much pre-packaged food as possible. I’ve adopted the “maybe I can make this at home” mindset! This leads me to my next tip…
Try to make it at home.
We have access to so many recipes online! Try making granola, breakfast bars, breads, cereals, chips, and other snacks from scratch at home. This enables you to know exactly what you are consuming. I have found most things can be made at home with a little effort. Things like granola and other snacks could be fairly easy to make with ingredients you may already have in your pantry!
Keep a lot of bone broth in your pantry.
Bone broths are typically inexpensive to buy and/or make. They are filled with collagen and are GREAT to have on hand! In recipes, I replace broths for bone broth to make it even more delicious and nourishing!
If you have the ability to, milling your own grain can be a great way for you to nourish your family. Most flours available at grocery stores contain preservatives and are void of some of the best nutrients. Milling your own flour can help you add a lot of nutrients back into your food. This gives you the flexibility and freedom to make so many more foods from home: breads, desserts, pastries, and so much more.
Find a local farm…
that has clean and regenerative farming practices near you and buy directly from them. This cuts out the grocery store as the middleman. I understand this truly depends on where you live. Start doing some research on local farms near you. I went to my local farmers market this summer and developed a relationship with the meat farmers there! When you can meet your farmer, you can then begin to understand more about the food that you’re consuming. The more local the food you’re eating, the better you’re going to feel after eating it. Being connected to our food can help make a difference nutritionally. When we eat foods that are closer to the climate that we abide in, our bodies have an easier time digesting and using that food energetically. If you have the ability to store and purchase a half a cow or even a quarter a cow this can be a fantastic way to save money and get a lot of nutrient dense food!
If you can get your hands on quality, well sourced raw dairy – this is gold! Make sure you do your own research before consuming raw dairy. (This is not medical advice. Please talk to your PCP before consuming raw dairy.) You want to make sure the farm you are purchasing your raw dairy from is clean and routinely checks their cows for illnesses and diseases. Incorporating raw dairy into our everyday lives has given us so many more bioavailable vitamins and minerals. If you are able to purchase raw milk in your area, you can also use that to make other things like butter and cheese pretty simply!
Importance of Staying Nourished
During the height of paying off our student loan debt, we were extremely undernourished. This led to a lot of emotional dysregulation. If you can spend a couple extra dollars each week to have more nutrient dense food in your home, you will be able to stick to your goals and your budget even better. When we are undernourished, we are typically distracted and disoriented.
When it comes to paying off debt, you have to stay motivated. A budget is simply a tool – you get to choose how you use it. It doesn’t help you to get burnt out or dysregulated in the process.
Eating with the seasons…
can be nourishing & cost effective! Figure out which foods are in season in your area. Try to buy those foods only when they are in season. For anyone who lives in South Carolina, I enjoy following @certifedsc on Instagram to see what local produce is available in my area.
Eating at home will always save you the most money. I like to remind my friends who are in the thick of paying off their debt to reward themselves at different milestones. Remember we are human at the end of the day. Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated during a season of paying off debt. Give yourself something to look forward to each step of the way!
Create small little mile markers…
that you can celebrate. For Kennedy and I, it was eating out once or twice a month. It was a great opportunity to take a break and remind ourselves how far we had come.
What are a couple of ways you can reward you and your family as you stick with your budget and pay of debt?
Inviting people into your process…
is key for sticking to a budget and paying off debt. We were designed by God to live in a community. Walk alongside people who want to pay off debt and steward their money well too. God has surrounded us with really good friends who are also trying to pay off their debts! This has helped us stay motivated and encouraged along the way! This has also helped us stay nourished on a budget. Staying nourished is not all about food, it’s also about nourishment for the soul!
One of my favorite things we did with our best friends was dinner picnics! Each family/couple would make their own meals at home and then bring them to the picnic. We would even meet up at a local cafe that had outdoor seating. We would grab a fun soda + some bread to make it feel fancier! It felt like we were meeting them to eat out when really we had made each of our meals ourselves! Having small fun twists like that can make this whole experience really fun and rewarding.
You can maintain a budget and stay nourished at the same time! Comment below some of your favorite ways to stay nourished while also being on a budget!
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