Eating Healthy on a Budget

Breaking cancer without breaking my wallet

Cauliflower bisque with wild caught shrimp

I have cancer. That means I have two requirements that create added expenses in my life, and there is nothing I can do about them.

1. I need to pay for medical care. That means whatever insurance doesn’t cover (which in my case, is a lot) as well as co-pays, medications, and support equipment such as my rollator and my oxygen supply.
2. I need good nutrition. This is essential if I am to survive the cancer.

There is not much I can do to cut down on treatment costs and imaging services. I started a GoFundMe that I use exclusively for out-of-pocket medical bills, which helps.

The area that I can keep my expenses under control — groceries.

I do have requirements due to my health issues that make it tricky, however, to stay on budget. But I’ve got some tricks to make it work!

When I was younger and healthy, I probably ate pretty badly a lot of the time. Looking back, this was a mistake. Part of it was my own ignorance about good nutrition. Part of it was being an engineer who often worked long hours and then just grabbed takeout or microwaved a frozen meal.

I should never have done that, and I certainly can’t afford to do that now.