Thrifty Thursday~Healthy on a Budget

I've heard 3 main excuses for people not taking advantage of coupons.  1-lack of knowledge 2-lack of time, and 3-lack of healthy food coupons.  Perhaps I'll counter the first 2 excuses another time, but today we're going to take on #3. 

I will admit myself, I can find some pretty awesome sale/couponing deals on chips, candy, pop, and all sorts of unhealthy foods.  It is actually a rarity to find fresh produce coupons, and when you do, they are not of much value or not necessarily for brands that you might want or can easily find.  Here are a couple of tips that have helped me buy healthier and save some coins.

*Write a letter- If you can't find coupons for items you regularly get, consider writing a letter or email to the company that produces the item you're looking for.  I've written and received coupons in the mail for produce with a little success before (pre-bagged salad.)

**Mobile coupons- I personally don't have a smart phone, but I know that there are some nice deals to be had out there.  I've heard a lot about Ibotta as well as Target's Cartwheel apps.

***Online coupons/rebates- I have been signed up with SavingStar.com for some time. 

Savingstar.com has you input your store reward cards and offers online coupons.  The coupons work in the form of rebate-after you have accumulated at least $5 worth, you can request a check be cut to you.  I haven't used them a ton, partially because the stores that are associated locally with SavingStar are slim pickings (Rite Aid, Albertson's, and Fred Meyer here) and because I've been trying to eat healthier, they hadn't had much selection before.  They have recently added Freebee Fridays and Healthy Tuesdays.  This week, they have a deal on bananas :)

Checkout51.com is another system that I'm newer to but really loving.  You have to wait until $20 to get a payout, but it's much more versatile.  Last week I bought milk, bread, and broccoli-any brand I wanted, any store I wanted, took a picture of my receipt and earned $1.25 credit.  This week it looks like I'll be taking advantage of their banana deal.  And if I choose to buy those bananas following the SavingStar guidelines as well, I'll get credit from both programs!

And last but not least, never discount a couple of minutes of "legwork"-looking at ads to find the sales on healthier items and possibly even price matching at stores that allow it (Walmart, Target).