How do you stay frugal when buying organic?

[HeatherB]

We are committed to buying organic (or at least all-natural) foods for our family of 5.5 (baby due in November). We live near a nice Whole Foods with a great selection of organic and local items, and love shopping there. Their prices and selection are far better than any of the local stores with their token "natural aisles."

But, it's not cheap. The flip side is that we have, for years, eaten out WAY more than we should, and so we're working very concertedly to cut back on eating out (to basically not eating out at all) and cooking at home every night. Buying natural foods IS cheaper than eating out (and healthier!), but I'd still like to make this more frugal. My current budget is $250/wk, and I do a really good job of staying within that. One week I came home at $200, and the food seemed to disappear in a flash.

We do have a Costco membership, but their brands aren't always ones I'm familiar with, and so I'm sometimes fearful of buying large quantities of something unknown. I do think the per-item cost comes out better, but obviously there's a bigger up-front cost. Perhaps I need to figure out a cycle for buying things from Costco, so I'm not buying it ALL in one fell swoop?

I also buy all of our personal care products, household cleaners, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry care, bulk baking products (unless Costco is cheaper, as they were with sugar recently), and spices from the Frontier co-op I run. I *know* that saves a ton, though it's also easy to splurge. I can easily run up about $200/mo just in that, though this last month, I was extremely conservative (didn't buy paper towels since I'd had to buy them locally and we were pretty stocked, didn't buy shampoo/conditioner as I'd found some I had stashed away, etc.) and got it down to $50. But I forgot the laundry detergent.

There are a few farmer's markets around but not really near us. I'm not sure if it's worth going out to them. Are their prices likely to be better than WF? I got some not-so-good produce a couple of times and that kind of burned me out on farmer's markets here, as much as I love them. Though, I'm sure if I were more careful I could make better selections. I just worry that their prices may be no better and the quality/selection worse than what I can get at WF 10 minutes from my house. (We live in SE Texas, so there aren't tons of farmers here, and they are certainly not all organic.)

Any other tips? How do you keep within a reasonable budget AND buy natural/organic foods and products for your family?

[treegardner]

I have found the prices at WF to be very, very high (hence the nick name Whole Paycheck). I'm in CA, but all of the big chain groceries here carry organic produce, meat, dairy, and some packaged foods.

[HeatherB]

Originally Posted by treegardner

I have found the prices at WF to be very, very high (hence the nick name Whole Paycheck). I'm in CA, but all of the big chain groceries here carry organic produce, meat, dairy, and some packaged foods.

There are an awful lot more options - and much higher demand - in CA. Here in TX, we're very blessed to have WF and a *few* other options. We lived in Santa Cruz, CA, for 6 months and got immensely spoiled! In fact, that's when we started our quest for healthier living overall, as it was so easy to find products that just aren't on all the shelves here. At the point we moved back, we had to go to a larger store about 25 minutes away in order to get a decent selection, so having WF 5-10 minutes away is pretty awesome.

There is no organic meat in the big chains around me, and so little in the natural aisles that it's rather pathetic. Some stores are better than others, but, 99% of the store is conventional. The sales at WF way outclass even the sales at Kroger.

[AndrewsMother]

We eat less meat to compensate for the cost of veggies and fruits.

Costco's return policy is awesome. Try the product and if you do not like it, they will return your purchase price in full.

[indiefolklore]

Going meatless for one or two days a week can be a great way to use the money that would have gone for meat as a nice bonus on your organic fund. It can sound overwhelming at first but i have helped families, sworn 'carnivores' get down to comfortably eating meat only 3 days a week and increase their veggie intake. A good cookbook helps out so much, i recommend Nava Atlas' cookbooks. They are really easy and simple. I even have my parents eating vegan on occasion and not even realizing it.

You should check out www.localharvest.org. You can search for CSA's, farmer's markets and co-ops in your area. When i travel i usually find the local health food store and ask them where to find the best and cheapest produce, most of the management or employees pay attention to this because they buy organic themselves and they need to know the competitive prices in the area.

Mambo Sprouts carries coupons for healthier stuff. Check out the websites for the organic brands you buy or would like to buy. I set up a seperate email account for just email newsletter and coupons. Clif, Organic Valley, Annie's Organic...etc, they all value their customers and want to keep you happy plus they have competition so they are going to run specials and coupons. If you then keep an eye on your grocers website and pair their sales with the coupons,you can get some good savings. I always keep the coupons from inside the boxes too.

And sometimes you just have to pick and choose, i always buy the dirty dozen organic, in that link you can find the least contaminated foods. When times are hard i give those others up.

[HeatherB]

Thanks for the tips! I have been using the WF coupon booklet and shopping sales as much as possible, especially for meats. We definitely do go meatless several days through the week. It's especially difficult for me being pg, though! I crave meat, especially beef, quite a lot (hm, anemia, maybe?). We have ordered from a local, grass-fed rancher in the past and will probably stock up with them again. Their prices are definitely better than WF.

Do CSAs and farmer's markets tend to have better prices? I haven't ever done a direct comparison but have occasionally thought the prices I've seen at the markets have been high. That's entirely unscientific, though!

Thanks for the coupon ideas! I definitely need to get those. And I had never thought of Costco taking things back because we didn't like them! Nice!

Thanks!

[indiefolklore]

Oh and i also suggest checking out Organic Deals & Coupons blog, it's a fellow mama who does a lot of legwork in coupon finding for you and lets you know if some of them are stackable and where to get the best price.

Thanks to her i bought Kashi cereal for $.90 this week.

[HeatherB]

Originally Posted by indiefolklore

Oh and i also suggest checking out Organic Deals & Coupons blog, it's a fellow mama who does a lot of legwork in coupon finding for you and lets you know if some of them are stackable and where to get the best price.

Thanks to her i bought Kashi cereal for $.90 this week.

Thanks!

[sanguine_speed]

[dachshundqueen]

When we were eating organic, everything was from scratch and at least 3 almost full days a week (bf/lunch/dinner) were vegetarian (with as little dairy as we could reasonably get by on), 2 days beef/chicken, and 1 day fish, Sundays we ate at the MIL's.

I also had to be very realistic about what 1 serving of meat was, because the cost of meat was so high.

I made our yogurt.

It is just so expensive.

Liz

[schrocat]

We don't eat all organic but we get alot of our organic food (ground beef, soy milk, baby spinach, carrots, strawberries, apples, eggs) from Costco. We also shop at HEB, Central Market and Whole Foods to pick up other assorted groceries (organic milk, organic nectarines, organic tomatoes, organic celery....). Everything else we get from 99 Ranch, whichever Asian grocery store in the Bellaire area that we feel like visiting and Hmart. Our budget for groceries is $350 a month and we usually keep under it. This is for 4 (2 adults including a pregnant mommy and 2 hungry boys)

We used to belong to a CSA that's based in Brenham but we had trouble finishing all the food especially since alot of the vegetables were not the ones we liked to eat. We got a paperbag (think Whole Foods grocery bag) full of vegetables every week. Getting vegetables from the CSA was cheaper than going to the various farmers markets in the area (all of which are not close by).

[cristeen]

Around here, WF is one of the MOST expensive options. But in your area, you'd be really better suited to doing a price book to find out the specifics. And don't forget that the farmer's market prices often change week to week depending on season. Like here we can get asparagus for $1/lb for 2 weeks out of the year. The rest of the time it ranges from $3-7. We only buy it during those two weeks.

A CSA is a great way to save money/support local ag, usually. Sometimes it's not much cheaper. Although around here it's WAY cheaper than WF. I understand what a pp mentioned about getting veggies that you don't really care for in the box, but when we signed up for a CSA, I committed to learning to eat everything we got. It's taken some time, but now I'm excited when I see something new in the box (like last week it was parsley root - which I'd never tried). If you're going to be picky though, a CSA is not the way to go, because you have very little say... unless you can find a CSA that lets you pick what's in your box each week (there are a few of those here). But in exchange for giving up control of what fruits/veggies we get, I went from spending over $50/wk on produce to $30 (during the winter), and from close to $100 to $60 during the summer (I dry/can/jam/freeze all the excess, so we get 2 boxes during the summer). If you can find a CSA that offers a work share, that would save you even more cash, in exchange for some labor.

Buying in bulk, whether that's from Frontier or Costco or a local HFS also can save. If I buy beans in a 1# bag, I'm spending about $2 for conventional and $3.50 for organic. But in bulk I can get organic for under $2. The trade off is having to store it/track what you have. Buying meat in bulk also saves, but at the same time you run the risk of giving up your meat-free days, which in the long run can cost you.

Meal-planning, and using today's leftover in tomorrows meals also are really good ways to save money.

How much food do you throw out every week? I don't mean rinds and pits and the like, but actual food that at one point could have been eaten? Most people throw away far more than they realize. Commit to tracking it for a week or two, and then work to change it. I know this is somewhere I have difficulty.

[MaryMarg]

A site similar to one mentioned above is useful to us--www.southernsavers.com. She posts deals by grocery store and includes Kroger and the HEB (which was where I shopped when I lived in TX 15 years ago!). Don't know if Winn Dixie is there or any others that she lists. Each week, she lists sales by store and matches coupons with the sales. Although MUCH of the food is processed, I find it useful for items like razors (which I got two weeks ago for free), cereal, diapers or maxi-pads (if you don't use cloth), pasta (usually can get for 14 cents a box and jarred sauce for about 80 cents), etc etc.

As PP mentioned, vinegar and baking soda go a long way at our home, although coupon sites like southernsavers list many cleaning items at reduced prices. Finally, I have found that stocking up as possible at farmer's markets is useful--right now, I'm stocking & freezing blueberries from a pesticide-free farmer at my local market. I love Whole Foods and some things there are cheaper than any other stores here on this side of the South, but it's still pretty expensive. We're closer to $100 week budget with little, if any, meat each week but the organic fruit (esp this time of year, peaches, plums, etc.) and organic milk make it hard... Best of luck!

[Bokonon]

I definitely echo the CSA recommendation!

[treeoflife3]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

From your original post, it sounds like you spend a lot on personal care and household cleaning products. You really can make do very nicely with some good microfibre cloths and some vinegar, and some essentials oils for fun if you have extra cash.
Definitely get your meat locally! Not only is grass-fed beef much healthier in terms of Omega 3/Omega 6 ratio, it's much lower in fat and higher in protein than store organic beef (and cheaper!).

I agree... I recommend cutting back on household/personal care products by replacing disposable options with reusable (at least the paper towels, I know some have issue with family cloth hehe) and using vinegar as a cleaner more often. I'd also look into options instead of shampoo and conditioner. I personally use dr bronners for all my body cleaning needs and I go through it really slowly because I don't need much. However for the hair that might be hard as not everyone's hair reacts the same but as a body wash and face wash, it could potentially be really awesome for you. It can also be used for cleaning if you don't like it. I actually use it as tooth paste too (it takes literally just a couple drops) but that SO doesn't taste good. Works great but tastes like crap bahaha

but yeah, I definitely recommend looking into what personal care products and household products you can replace.

[Om Girl]

To keep our organic foods budget frugal we eat locally when in season and then buy organic frozen fruit and veggies and stockpile when they're on sale. We use less and save more money this way.

[hteb83]

We have a co-op nearby which is great for grains/beans/dried goods but fruit and vegetables are still expensive so I rarely buy them organically And meal planning does help me not have too many leftovers.

[redvlagrl]

We buy most of our produce, eggs and meat from farmers who are essentially organic but not certified. This saves us a lot of money. We pay about the same for our pseudo-organic meat as we would conventional.

Same with our farmer for produce/eggs. Try talking with each of the farmers at your local farmer's market.

[Alyantavid]

Well we grow our own mostly. Produce, I get alot from my garden, friend's gardens (my mom's boyfriend runs an organic farm too), the farmer's market or Fred Meyer. I've found alot of organics at Fred Meyer for decent prices. As for meat, we raise our own, except chickens, which dh gets through his work for cheaper than we could buy it ourselves.

Check www.localharvest.org and www.eatwild.com to see what's available in your area. I've seen postings on craigslist for meat in bulk so you could check there as well.

[lakeruby]

I really like to shop at our locally-owned natural food stores, even though they are expensive. So, I try to stock up on things that I use when I see that they are on sale, or if I have a coupon (our food co-op sends out monthly coupon books). However, I do keep notes in my meal planning book (I use and LOVE my moleskeine weekly planner for this) about prices. When I'm shopping at the regular grocery stores or Costco with my family, I take notes on how much things that I normally buy cost, so I will recognize a good price when I see one.

Also, having said that, I recently discovered Vitacost.com where they sell many of the food supplements that my family uses (manuka honey, chia seeds, homeopathic remedies, royal jelly, maca, etc) at really significant discounts. So I'm planning to give that a try.

I definitely agree with the previous posters about making your own cleaning products! As of right now, I don't buy deodorant, cleaning products, laundry detergent or face wash-- I make my own!! It's fun and I feel pretty thrifty too.