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How to Eat at the Fancy Co-op, Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Without Going Broke

By Thom | March 1, 2008

I love eating quality organic food, but the problem is, that it’s a little bit more spendy compared to the non-organic stuff. I do love biting into an apple and actually tasting an apple (even the cheapest ones taste dang good). Maybe you think that all that organic stuff is dumb/weird/a fad/gross, but I do believe it is better for your body if you leave out the pesticides/herbicides. So what’s a broke guy to do? How do you save money buying organic food? Well here are my tips:

Ditch the list: Yep, I want you to get ride of the grocery list (obviously you have to buy your “basics”, but forget the rest). I generally plan my meals on what is on sale for the week/month, it’s a great way for a little diversity and I always end up trying something that I haven’t had before. Watch your spending however, as this can get out of hand. If you are under 113 years old, it’s ok to “stockpile” some of your favorite foods. If your favorite brand of pasta sauce is on sale (and it’s a good price) go ahead and buy a couple jars, most things will keep for a while so you should be fine. It really has been only a short time in our history that people didn’t “stockpile” food. I bet your grandmother had a large store room where she kept enough canned green beans for 5 years. Also, things that “die” or go bad fast – like bananas – typically are bagged up and sold at a large discount – so if you can handle a banana that is a little darker (think aged like wine) then snap these guys up.

Buy in bulk: Most stores will have a fairly decent bulk section where you can buy a lot of your “basics” for generally cheaper than the non-organic packaged stuff, just be careful that you don’t have to pay a lot for their supplied plastic bags. Some stores will charge you 10 cents for the bag, whereas if you brought your own, say a Ziplock, you’re spending quite a bit less. In this section of the store I typically purchase: raisins, dates, pasta, flour, pancake mix, brown rice, granola and some spices. Buying spices here has a huge discount because you typically pay much more for the plastic container than the actual spices themselves.

Coupons: I’d have to say that I’m not too over zealous with coupons, but I do double check up front at the “information kiosk” for coupons on things that I would already be buying. Sometimes you get good deals, sometimes you don’t. I’ll look through the local paper for coupons, but I don’t find many that I want to use, or you can save more buying the off brand. A nice thing is to grab the coupons that don’t expire for a while and see if you can get a deal next week/month. Worst comes to worse, you end up recycling it later.

Become a member: Some people would prefer not to become a member at your local Co-op, but I chose to because: 1. I believe in their mission, 2. I get a $5 coupon each quarter for purchases over $25, 3. I get member discounts on different “specials” throughout the store – these are sometime quite substantial 4. I sometimes get a dividend from my stock, 5. I am automatically a member at other Co-op’s that participate in member exchange – this means that I can shop without having to pay extra and can still reap the rewards, 6. they send coupon “books” every couple of months.

In the end, you can still have your organic apple – and eat it to (without going broke in the process)!

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Topics: LifeHacks | 1 Comment »

One Response to “How to Eat at the Fancy Co-op, Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Without Going Broke”

1. you know who this is Says:
   March 6th, 2008 at 6:40 pm

   Just be sure you ditch the “stocking up” habit before you get married.

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