Organic products are healthy, they taste better and protect the environment. However, unless your income is at least 6 figures, there is no way you can afford the organic lifestyle, right? Wrong.

If you know where and how to shop, buying organic products may actually save you money. Here are the best ways how to get organic on a budget.

1.    Check your local farmer’s markets. Look for farmers who grow their products using organic methods. You can find the information in your local newspaper or on the internet. There is a non-profit online organization called Organic Consumer Association (www.organicconsumers.org), which can be used as a tool in finding local organic farms as well as health stores.

2.    Look for local food co-ops. Membership is usually relatively cheap ($15-20 a month), and you can purchase all kinds of organic foods at unbeatable prices. You can always pair up with your neighbors or friends and save yourself even more money.

3.    Another good way to shop organic on a budget is to use coupons. Look for organic coupons online. Simply Google “organic coupons” and you will see hundreds of coupons and deals for different organic products. Or you can always go to Coupons.com and look for coupons there.

4.    If you have a membership at stores like BJ’s or Sam’s club, check them out. If you don’t mind buying in bulk, you may find great deals on organic meat. We found that BJ’s has the best deal on organic chicken.

5.    Look for ethnic stores in your area. We have an Arabic market, a German store and a small Polish store nearby. You will not find “certified organic” labels on their products, but it doesn’t mean that they are not organic. Most of the stuff gets imported from countries which don’t use all the junk ingredients that Americans do. Check ingredients on things you are buying. You don’t need to know Arabic or Polish in order to do so, because retailers would usually put stickers with English translation of the products. If they don’t, you can always ask them. If the sellers are not fluent in English (like the folks from our Polish store), find a Polish friend. It is worth the effort, trust me. No matter what your food preferences are, stuff in ethnic food stores is usually delicious and selection is pretty good.

Prices in the German store are unfortunately too high, but Polish and Arabic market prices are unbeatable. You can buy tasty organic stuff for less than what you pay for non-organic processed generic brand foods at the supermarket. I am not kidding.

6.    Look for generic organic foods at the store. For example, Wegmans, a grocery store in the Mid-Atlantic, has their own brand of organic juices, which are 2-3 dollars cheaper per liter than big organic brands.

(to be continued…)

How to Shop Organic on a Budget Part 2