Advanced Budget Low-Carb Eating

Ready to go beyond the basic tips for saving money while eating low carb? I have some basic tips and thoughts in the article Low Cost Low Carb. Here are some more tips and advanced strategies.

Learn From a Master

Is it possible to eat well, eat low-carb, and eat very inexpensively? Yes! To learn some great tactics, you can't do better than follow low-carb blogger Regina Wilshire's adventure in attempting to follow a low-carb diet for a week on $3 per day:

Regina's Shopping Trip

Regina's Reports on Her Week of Eating (a bit out of order)

Price Books

In order to save money, it's important to know what the standard prices and sale prices are for your area. Some of it you can do from sales circulars in your mail box, and some from jotting down prices next time you're in the store.

How to Set up a Price Book from About.com's Coupons and Bargains site

Printable Price Book from About.com's Frugal Living Site.

Know the "Enemy"

Of course, stores are there to make money, not give you great deals. There are lots of tricks that manufacturers and stores use to try to get you to spend more. Donna Montaldo, About.com's Guide to Coupons and Bargains, has some great information:

Before you Buy Groceries: Insider Tips on How Grocery Store Get You to Spend More

Tips for Lowering Your Grocery Bill

Using Coupons

I have tended to think that we as low-carb eaters wouldn't get much value from coupons, since most coupons are for processed foods. But there are certainly coupons out there for some low-carb foods, as well as non-food items. So why just leave that money sitting in a newspaper, magazine, or online source, when it could be yours? About.com sites have a lot to offer in the way of advice:

Couponing 101 (Coupons/Bargains)

Advanced Couponing Strategies (Frugal Living)

Ethnic Grocery Stores

If you live in an area where there are grocery stores that cater to certain ethnic cuisines, you can sometimes get great deals on some foods. I have found that in particular Asian supermarkets (on the West coast of the U.S. an example is the Ranch 99 chain) have very good prices on produce, many meats, and such Asian staples as soy sauce, sesame oil, and spices.