by Krissi Lyn Mazon

Created on: February 04, 2010

Say you want to become a vegan, but you've seen the price of soy cheese and are afraid to imagine replacing any other staples of your diet.  Fear not!  If you follow some really simple tips, you can transition to veganism without breaking the piggy bank.  We start by busting a very popular myth: to become vegan, you have to replace everything and throw everything else out all at once.  Who says that you have to jump into it in a drastic and dramatic manner?  Switching your lifestyle started with you, you're the one in control here.

First, don't waste money.  Simple enough.  Don't throw out your leather jackets, your shoes, your food, etc.  Replace these things with vegan items only once they need replaced.  Your shoes are worn thin? Now's the time to replace them, but search for sales.  There are so many websites with vegan items and they all have a section called CLEARANCE.

Try www.veganessentials.com

Second, read ingredients.  Another real easy tip to follow.  There are so many items in your kitchen right now that happen to be vegan.  They might not be organic and they might not be the higher quality that you might find at your natural health food store, but if you really can't afford those better items, you can compromise.  Why not?

Third, clip coupons.  Even if you can't find a lot of coupons, you can shop sales at your local store.  You can also use Google to locate other stores, called Food CoOps, in your area.  These stores tend to have more reasonable prices than you're used to, and they run some sales that'll make your whole family happy.  You may have to limit your menu for the month in accordance with whatever is on sale, but since when is that a horrible thing to live through?

Fourth, load up on frozen veggies.  They will last for you longer than fresh, take up less space, and they typically have more nutrients than fresh.  Think about it, fresh veggies have to travel to get to your store, once there, they sit on the shelf until you buy them; they lose their benefits by the day.  Frozen vegetables are picked and frozen so all those happy nutrients are there, waiting for you, the day you open the package.

I hope you decide to go vegan.  No one should be scared off from making a healthy lifestyle change just because they're strapped for cash.  There's always a way to work around it, just keep that in mind.

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