Two personal goals that many people hope to achieve are to lose weight and save money. Today we are going to kill two birds with one stone and discuss ways to achieve both personal goals.

Here are five tips to keep your body slim and your wallet fat:

Cut out Fat

A lot of our calories come from and a lot of our money goes towards eating on the go.  If you work, or go to school, or both, you know that it is extremely difficult and inconvenient to pack a lunch for the entire day.  It is definitely much easier to grab food on the go throughout the day. Unfortunately we do not very often find foods that are both fast and nutritious.

It is said that we should not eat foods with more than 15 grams of fat per 100 gram serving.  This eliminates the cost and the fat of most fast food restaurants. Yesterday I bought a breakfast sandwich for $1.80, a $5.18 veggie burger for lunch, and a small iced cappuccino for $2.05 as my afternoon snack.  This is a total of $9.03 for just one day of eating fast food on the go, this can add up to over $45 per week.

Eliminate Snacks

Our morning and afternoon snacks could cost us $2-$3 each or more if we add a beverage.  This can add up to be very costly, it can also add up to a lot of calories.  Think about what you bought as your morning snack yesterday, maybe it was a bagel which is both expensive and full of carbs.  An individual bagel can cost up to $2 or more if we add crème cheese; we can buy a bag of 6 bagels at the grocery store for $3.99.  If possible we should try to bring fruits and veggies for snacks throughout the day, it’s a lot more economical to buy in bulk at the grocery store and bring a little healthy snack each day.

Drink Lots of Water

Drinking water throughout the day is better for your health and better for your budget.  A soft drink can cost $1.00-$2.00 per can or bottle.  If you find the taste of water to be boring or bland I suggest that you buy packets of Crystal Light.  A package of 10 flavour sachets is approximately $3.59.  Crystal Light offers several different flavours such as raspberry, lemonade, and iced tea.  All flavours have 0 calories and 0 grams of sugar.

Reduce Portion Size

Eating less food or eating fewer times a day will definitely help save on both our budget and our waistline. Did you know that a regular portion size of food is a handful or the size of a cup? Eating only a cup of pasta or rice will really suck at the beginning because we will be hungry if we are used to usually eating larger portions.  However, our stomach will adjust to the change and our wallet will appreciate the savings.  If you cook in bulk for several days try splitting your meal into three portions instead of two.  This saves on your calories as well as your wallet.

Eat Less Sugar

Think about your last snack, was it candy or chocolate? Ideally the average person should only take in 15 grams of sugar per day, but actually the average person takes in over 100 grams of sugar per day.  Did you know that a small Tim Horton’s Iced Cappuccino has 33 grams of sugar? That is $2.05 and 33 grams of sugar that we will never get back.

The next time you are waiting in line at Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts stop and think…can I really afford to eat this?

Photo by lachshand

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