With the economy hitting everyone hard, a lot of people think that they can't shop for natural food without it sinking their budget.  But the truth is, the economy has caused the natural foods industry to work harder to provide value for consumers.  Even Whole Foods Market has worked hard to tighten their belts.

While it's an overplayed myth that you can't shop natural on a budget, here are 6 tips for buying natural foods on a budget from Whole Foods Market.

1. Buy Private Label Whenever Possible.  Whole Food's private label products meet all of the same quality standards that the name brands do... No artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.  You'd be surprised that there are very few items in the store that don't have a private label version available, and a lot of times, with significant savings over national brands.
2. Know When it's Important to Buy Organic, and When it's Not.  There are some foods that it pays to buy organic, and others where the pesticide residue may be so low that it may not be worth it to pay extra for organic.  Here's a great article on knowing "When to Buy Organic."
3. Use Coupons from the Whole Deal.  Whole Foods publishes a coupon book with many coupons from national brands, and even coupons for private label products.  You can usually find them around the entrance or at the customer service desk.  You can even print them off before you go to the store.  Whole Deal
4. Check out the Weekly Flyer or other Local Store Deals before you go.  You can visit Whole Foods Market's website, find the store that's closest to you, and see what local store deals they have going on.  That way you can incorporate these items into your menu for the week.
5. Complete your menu and list before going.  All retail stores thrive on up-selling customers.  If you fail to plan adequately and stick to it, then all of the extra food you don't need will call out to you.  Resist the temptation and plan out your trip.  Our family uses the "Grocery IQ" app for Iphone.  It allows you to enter the items you want to buy and the costs, then add them to a list, and then it syncs all of this together between our phones.
6. Buy Bulk when Possible.  Most if not all Whole Foods locations have a bulk department where you can purchase many things like nuts, cereals, dried fruits, oats, dried beans, and more in whatever quantity you want.  Best of all, it's almost always cheaper than buying the same thing packaged.  For example, a pound of packaged rolled oats is $2.99 here locally for 16 oz., but they're only $1.19 per pound in the bulk section.

Shopping for natural foods on a budget isn't impossible, and with some thoughtful planning, you can shop healthier without sacrificing your budget.