These most-recommended financial resources for Veterans are a great place to start if you are not sure which of the five steps is most important to you today.
Attention A T users. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps.
1. Please switch auto forms mode to off.
2. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc).
3. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow.
You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links.
Locator
Contact
Search
Search
VA »
Health Care »
MIRECC / CoE
» Rocky Mountain MIRECC » FINVET
»
Money & Health: Eating Healthy on a Budget
MIRECC / CoE
Menu
Money & Health: Eating Healthy on a Budget
After leaving the military, did you know how to cook? Budget for groceries? Some Veterans may not have ever learned how to cook affordable meals. Others may not have had the opportunity to learn how to manage money for groceries or eating out. Chances are a few of these tips and resources will be helpful.
Groceries
Learn about making a grocery budget, how shopping with a list can save you money, and other tips for stretching your food dollars.
-
Discover VA services that can help you and your family overcome food insecurity to access safe and nutritious food.
Cooking
Whether you’ve been cooking all your life, or are just getting started with the basics, the VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen (HTK) program can teach you all the skills, tips, and tricks to help you cook tasty, nutritious meals that fit your budget.
-
Most VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen (HTK) classes are offered online and/or in person as a series (depending on the VA Medical Center), and cover topics like how to cook grains, safe cooking temperatures, using frozen and canned vegetables, using spices to boost flavor, and many more. Ask your dietitian, or any provider to see if there’s an HTK program at your local VA Medical Center and help you sign up for classes.
-
HTK has published online cookbooks that include lots of recipes. Topics include Cost-Friendly Cooking, One-Pot Meals, and more. Many recipes require either no cooking, or can be made in a microwave.
-
It’s easy to forget about that bag of lettuce in the back of the fridge until it’s too late. Check out these tips on reducing your food waste.
-
Cook along with videos that show you how to make simple, nutritious meals step by step:
- Healthy Teaching Kitchen YouTube Channel
- MyPlate Cooking YouTube Channel
- Nutritious and Delicious Cooking for Veterans
Eating Out
Eating out can be a convenient, enjoyable part of your food budget, especially for social occasions.
-
Eating out whenever you feel like it, or get hungry or bored can make those expenses add up quickly. For example, did you know that if you skip one night of pizza and drinks a month and invest the savings in your retirement account that you'll have over $22,000 saved for retirement in 20 years?
Find local Veteran services and financial resources in your state.
Find your path to
financial success
FINVET is a one-stop website with a wealth of resources to help Veterans in any stage of their financial journeys to earn more, save more, and protect their money.
Learn More
Disclaimer: FINVET does not provide financial assistance. Also, this website is not for emergency or crisis intervention. Instead, FINVET helps connect you to financial resources and tools to improve financial well-being and financial literacy. Find direct financial assistance through these organizations. You can also access local Veteran services and financial resources in your state.
VA Web Disclaimers
Disclaimer of Endorsement: Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Disclaimer of Hyperlinks: The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Veterans Affairs of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized VA activities, the Department does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the Department and the VA website. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate and about specific additional external links which you believe ought to be included.
Disclaimer of Liability: With respect to documents available from this server, neither the United States Government nor any of its employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.
Disclaimer of Images: Images are sourced from Getty and Adobe Stock.
Reference from this web page or from any of the information services sponsored by the VA to any non-governmental entity, product, service or information does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the VA or any of its employees. We are not responsible for the content of any “off-site” web pages referenced from this server.
