happykatie :: katie rocks out the interwebs

Thriftster: How to shop at Whole Foods and not go broke

I love Whole Foods with a PASSION!!  There is literally no other store (of any kind) that makes me feel soooo chilled out and happy to be there.  Yeah, I'm cheesy.  But good food comes with a pricetag, so there is no way we can make this our primary grocer for everything that fills our pantry and bellies. 

We get pretty creative in finding the affordable must-haves at Whole Foods and shopping elsewhere for the rest.  Here are some tips on how to navigate the Whole Foods awesomeness without breaking the bank -- and after the jump you can check out our Whole Foods product must-haves.

1. Be part of the Whole Foods Community - sign up for your local store's newsletter to stay updated on their specific sales and specials. Plan your weekly menus (in conjunction with other stores' specials) to incorporate more discounted and seasonal ingredients. Also check out their Whole Deals brochure in stores and visit their Sure Deals page for other ideas.
2. Read the Whole Story blog - this is really super Blog for food geeks and Whole Foods fans alike.  Keep an eye on their fun contests (this week their giving away free tickets to Bonaroo - woot!!!) for chances to win free gift cards and such, learn about their newest products (which are sometimes on sale) and jot down their yummy recipes that typically use very seasonal (read:  often cheaper) products. 
3. Take a tour - you can request a tour (typically in advance by phone or email - details on your local store's info page) to get the lowdown on Whole Foods and often some coupons and an extra discount after the fact too!  Rock.
4. Attend a class - Many Whole Foods have really great (and pretty cheap) cooking classes to attend.  It's a fun activity to do in a group and will teach you new dishes and techniques to incorporate in your kitchen magic.  And really, the more you know how to cook from scratch or prepare yourself the less you'll need to spend on food (and the better you'll eat).
5. Sign up for Mambo Sprouts - this is a great health food coupon site that offers coupons for products you're probably already buying at Whole Foods.  Used in conjunction with in-store sales and you've got one heck of a deal.
6. Prioritize your purchasing - pick out the items that are most important to you.  Organic dairy products?  All organic veggies?  Grassfed beef?  Local products?  Select what you care about the most and those will probably guide you in what to buy and NOT to buy at Whole Foods.

Read on for our Whole Foods staple purchases:

Video Wednesday: Visualization of the Credit Crisis

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

A beautiful visual look at the economy, especially for aspiring homeowners (like this girlie here) and those feeling curious about just what it is that investment bankers do all day.  Found on Momocrats (who found it on NPR's Planet Money - a great Blog as well). 

$1000 savings in 30 Days - an I Will Teach You To Be Rich challenge

Ramit from the I Will Teach You To Be Rich blog (a favorite of mine) is holding a November-long 'save $1000 in 30 days' challenge. 

An interesting proposition in that he's not just focusing on the cheesy normal suggestions (go to Sam's Club!  start a garden!  live in a cardboard box!), but is going with a 3-pronged CEO approach:

• C = Cut costs
• E = Earn more
• O = Optimize spending

Basic stuff?  Yes, very basic.  But Ramit consistently offers very do-able, practical advice and I know that this will be an interesting month.  Everyday he'll be posting another idea on ways to cut spending and pimp out your savings.

A few other financial / money saving blogs I am addicted to:

1. Consumerist
2. Get Rich Slowly
3. The Simple Dollar
4. Blogging Away Debt
5. Ikeahacker
6. Instructables (easy ways to do things more cheaply)

Blogging for moolah

Ever wonder how much cash a Blogger or Web master can make?  Paula Mooney has a very interesting (though hugely incomplete) listing of 60 Bloggers, Web masters and sites that have made some pretty serious cash in the last year.

Ranging from $3,650,000 to a few hundred bucks, there are handfuls of fellow Bloggers raking it in big time thanks to Google AdSense and other advertising revenue generators. 

I am proud to say that my Typepad Tip Jar has accumulated a total of, uhm, like $15 in the entire 6 years I have been blogging (although it was only up for a few months but I digress).  But, and yes I realize this is cheesy, I have gained far more in online friends and great knowledge/idea sharing than I ever thought possible.

Reverse dowry? College loans eat post-graduate dreams

With unpaid maternity leave approaching, Adam starting a new (non-regular paycheck) job next week and doctor/hospital/bambina bills hovering in the near future like... giant hovering things....  money has been on the brain.

As with many, many people - money stresses me out big-time.  When I get in moolah-worry mode, I don't sleep well, I grimace at inanimate objects and a pleasant dinner companion I most certainly do not make.

With oh-so-many new expenses rapidly heading our way, it's hard not to curl up into the fetal position and spend the rest of the day eating orange jello through a straw.

That's why I should not read articles like this:  Student Loans, A Life Sentence

Especially when I've seriously been considering giving in and doing the student loan thing so I can actually afford to go to school and finish my freaking degrees already.   Is going to grad school even worth it really?  Should I just stop with a couple of bachelor's degrees and call it a day?

It's frusturating - you want to do what you think is right for your future (attend college, gain knowledge, earn degree, support happyfamily in the best way possible), but because of the ridiculousness of a cashflow problem, getting there is just about impossible without hurling your financial dreams to the debt collecting wolves.

I think that's what they call life, although if they mentioned all this in one of my textbooks last semester I wouldn't really know b/c I could only afford the textbook edition that was like 8.5 years behind and written on papyrus.  Oh well.

Tags:  college loans | student loans | personal finance