Some experts on being frugal contend that no sacrifice is too great to make if you want to save money. That includes cutting out meat entirely from your diet because it can be quite expensive. How willing would you be to do that and save money whilst staying healthy [for those of you who know about the adverse effects of eating too much red meat].
I am not vegan but I have a friend who is and unlike many vegans he is very muscular. He probably spends twice as much on his diet as I would. The main reason being that the replacement for the quality protein of meat is a very expensive vegan protein powder. Vegetarians can often buy cheaper powders. There are a lot of products off limits to vegans that we don't think about like wine (because gelatin is used in fining). This means that he has to buy more expensive products to satisfy his vegan status. On first look, it might seem like cutting out meat would save a lot but going fully vegan puts you in a different class of expensive foods. If you are looking to cut back on meat, that is great, but you probably can save a lot by simply cutting back without forcing yourself to buy a lot of replacement foods.
I have been a vegan for nearly 15 years but then developed a taste for fish again a few years ago. To be honest, it has never crossed my mind that being a vegan saves money. I am never frugal when it comes to food. I like to spend a bit of money on high quality organic and bio-dynamic products. My way of saving money on food is to grow as much as possible myself whenever and wherever I can. My health is more important than money.
Eating vegan does save a lot of money if you don't buy processed foods. I switched to vegan, then I started eating some meat. I have all but lost my taste for me. Now, I'm vegetarian. I mostly eat vegetables, beans, lentils and nuts. I can buy high quality food in bulk which has drastically reduced my grocery bill. My sister and mom have been strictly vegan for almost 20 years. They both spend a lot more money on groceries than I do. They buy soy products and fake meat products. They also shop at Whole Foods. Whole Food would kill my budget. I shop at Trader Joe's, Sprouts Farmer's Market and the local farmer's market for organic produce.
From what I can tell, eating vegan actually seems to cost much more. Soy products, fake meat, protein replacement, nuts, produce - it's all very costly. You can eat meat and still be healthy and still be frugal.
I think some of the things I would miss the most on a vegan diet would be cheeses, and meat based stocks. I cannot imagine eating a big bowl of pasta without some Parmesan or Romano cheese over top of it. Cheese would be one of the few remaining non-meat items that would provide that satisfying richness, and "umami" that meat provides. Plus there is such a wide variety of complex flavors among cheeses I would be missing out on. I also used meat based stocks a lot to add flavor to foods when I am eating on the cheap. I've never had a vegetable stock that I ever liked - they all taste awful to me. They look and taste like dirty dish pan water after cleaning a bunch of dishes. If I want to make some beans and rice, to eat on the cheap for example, a little chicken stock goes a long way in adding flavor. I would probably find Vegan to be too restrictive for me, since as another poster on here noted, there are way too many items that have hidden animal products in them. Even stuff like soaps, shampoo's or colognes use animal products. Many perfumes and colognes for example. use animal "musks". Soaps are often made from animal fat. If you are buying a lot of meat replacement products, it may help to buy them in bulk. I've noticed Costco, for example, sells a large bag of Morning Star 1/4 lb black bean burgers for about $15. That comes out to just over a buck per burger, which is still much cheaper than ground beef.
I think I could probably make the transition to becoming a vegan, but I'm not sure I could keep it up if my only motivation were monetary reasons, mostly because there's also a good amount of cheap available options for conventional menus anyway. If there's any chance of me being able to become vigilant in following a strict vegan diet, I think my motivation would have to come from something way deeper than just financial reasons, but I could probably still do so if I really had to, especially if I knew I'd only need to keep at it for a limited amount of time.
I tried, but I could not keep it up. I don't think anyone really switches to save money. That motivation won't last. It has to be for other reasons. As a lot pointed out, it can be more expensive, not less. I try to cut it down the middle now. I do love lots of veggie and vegan foods. I don't save money tho. I just like to eat balanced with as close to original as I can, organic or as close to it as I can, including meat, and dairy. I do save a ton via farmer's markets when I can go. I have to have other things to do tho, because when I do I don't save gas, as they are an extra trip. So they are money saving when I have other errands also. Gas is another thing to consider.
First of all, I don't think a person saves money with a vegan diet... fruits and veggies can get expensive, specially if you prize for organic (which many vegans do). And even if that would lower my expenses at 80% I don't think I could ever go vegan! I love meat so much, and I could never be without it.
I would not entirely stop eating any kind of meat in order to save more money but I will eat less than I used to. Since we grow our own vegetables, we actually are already saving some money because most people nowadays buy vegetables too and that can costs them quite a large amount of money by the end of every month.
It seems like it would be impossible for me. It isn't that I wouldn't have the willpower, it is that I am highly allergic to legumes. Green peas, lentils, soy and peanuts are off limits to me. Just a little taste causes a reaction in me, for some of those. I've never liked beans as well. It would be difficult for me to find a source of protein in such a diet.
Hell no. Aside from the fact that, healthier or not, it comes with its own additional costs that many don't consider, I just could not give up on some nice fish and chips, or some spaghetti bolognese. Don't even get me started on what I would do without some delicious milkshakes!
I wouldn't become a vegan. Perhaps vegetarian at some point, but not vegan. And, I don't think it would save me any money to switch, because with my health, I would have to buy all sorts of supplements that would greatly increase the amount I'd have to spend. I don't actually eat that much meat right now anyway, since I have a small income, but I do welcome it when I can afford to buy it.
I am vegan and no it is not more expensive, the protein obsession is completely unnecessary and we don't all look grey and frail because most of us know how to eat properly. Yes, if you switch to vegan foods (fake meats and cheeses.. still a highly processed, crap diet) you'll still be spending a lot and often times more. Eating for health (plant based) is much cheaper, I don't care what anyone says on that lol. I am a vegan for ethical reasons (although I do believe in the science that backs the health reasons to cut out animal products), so I don't care about the money I save, I care about the animals I don't eat and the torture I don't contribute to. I fully respect everyone's choice to eat how they want, but I don't appreciate the misinformation spread about veganism. Just because you know someone who was unhealthy as a vegan, doesn't mean we all are.. that person just didn't know the first thing about nutrition. As most don't.. you are more likely to be malnourished on a typical diet than a vegan one. If you're worried about nutrients, get your levels checked and go from there. You can get everything you need from whole foods.. eating those poor animals is completely unnecessary. If you continue to eat them, that's your choice.. but don't sabotage someone else's hopes to eat more kindly. Many go into it not having the right information and will end up going back to an unhealthy lifestyle because of posts like that.
I think having the odd meat free day can save money or to add more vegetables to a meal than meat can help too. I'm vegetarian and most foods are cheaper, but some vegan foods can be more expensive though if you are not eating for ethical reasons, you may have more choice. An idea I saw is to add lentils to minced beef to cut down on cost but to retain flavor and protein content. Simple things like that can be healthy and cheaper.
If someone were to switch to a true vegan diet - as it eliminates all animal-derived foods or foods made with animal byproducts and generally consists of a wide variety of natural plant based foods - such as fruit, vegetables, beans, grains, legumes, pulses, nuts and seeds - all of which are not only extremely inexpensive - but everyday foods that can be found on the shelves of almost every supermarket or grocery store - then yes - it would for sure, very definitely save money and a very significant amount too. However - if someone was switching for the wrong reasons - namely because they wanted to save money - as the majority of people that do this - would be looking for meat substitutes and because they didn't understand what following a vegan diet was - would be buying so called specialized “ vegan “ foods - I doubt that they would save much money - particularly as all those foods are more or less the same price - if not more than animal derived products. I would also just add - for those that think it necessary to add meat substitutes in order to get enough protein - this is not so - for the simple reason - that as a vegan diet mainly consists of vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes - many of which contain not just protein but complete proteins - vegans or vegetarians for that matter - rarely have any difficulty getting enough protein from their diet - as just following a varied well balanced vegan diet will easily meet the daily recommendations for protein and other nutrients - without even having to worry about adding meat substitutes. In fact to put it simply - the only real difference between vegetable or plant based proteins and animal proteins - is that animal proteins are generally extremely high in cholesterol and saturated fat - whereas vegetable or plant based proteins are quite the opposite - as they tend to be lower in cholesterol and saturated fat - the latter of which from a health point of view - is of course way, way better.
Going vegan for me is not even an option because I love meat so much that I will miss eating those burgers and chicken in favor of eating veggies. I would rather save money by depriving myself of other things, but not meat!
Probably about 2/3 of the meals I eat are vegan, kind of by accident. They are definitely cheaper since I don’t buy those pricey processed replacements and try to focus on whole, plant-based foods. I also can’t handle much dairy, so that would be easy to eliminate entirely. However, I love me some eggs, and my body seems to respond well to eating chicken or fish a few times a week. So I think I’d have to really be pinching pennies in order to go full-on vegan.
I would switch to any kind of diet if it meant that I would save money that I didn't have in the first place lol. But as for a vegan diet, I have considered switching to vegan before, but I just do not have the monetary means to be able to fund such a diet. I more or less just eat whatever my mother purchases.
I think this is something you would have to think about. If you have health problems, then trying to cut out something just to qualify as being "vegan" might be a bit much. I had a friend a in high school that turned vegetarian. That was working out just fine until she wanted to turn vegan. This was becoming quite costly for her parents so she went back to being vegetarian.
