This article is sponsored by Klarify.me who offer easy allergy testing you can do at home. None of the advice in this article should be taken as medical advice and if in doubt you should always seek medical advice.
Despite what you may think it is still relatively easy to manage living on a budget with allergies. Whilst there are a few things you need to look out for there is no reason you can not live on a tight budget and save money in the same way as anyone else.
Knowing what allergies you have
We all know that buying anything in bulk is a great way to save money. That said, if you buy something in bulk then find you are allergic to it then it is money down the drain!
For this reason, I would recommend that if you want to budget well the first thing to do is spend some money on allergy testing. This can be done for free by your GP or on referral to the hospital although this is usually only for the most severe of cases. In general, your family doctor will advise you simply to remove anything from your diet to see if it makes a difference first.
Buying your own at home allergy test from a company like Klarify can be an easy way to find out your allergies without resorting to a private doctor appointment which could easily amount to hundreds of pounds! For £149 you can be tested for 294 different allergens easily.
Saving money on food
Cooking from scratch can make it cheaper to cook on a budget with allergies as it is easy to see what is going in the meals. Otherwise, you will spend a long time reading ingredients lists!
Alternatively, consider foods that are generally free-from rather than choosing free-from varieties of your usual foods. For example, free-from bread can be extremely expensive if instead of a sandwich you have a jacket potato the difference in cost over the space of a month could be huge. Not only that but you run no risks of accidentally picking up the wrong sandwich in the morning!
For dairy allergies simply look at vegan options instead of the free-from section. It will usually be much cheaper and the variety is likely to be bigger than that in the free-from section of the supermarket! Thinking creatively like this can save so much on your shopping!
Saving money on allergy medication
Did you know that all medications have a product license to ensure that they have been tested adequately? In the same way, as Nurofen and generic ibuprofen are the same and cost such different amounts you can save money on allergy medication.
Next time you look at a branded allergy relief check out the main ingredient for example chlorpheniramine (in Piriton). If you can find another box of tablets with the same ingredient you know you are on the right track. Next look at both to see if they share the same product license number if the PL is the same then you have exactly the same drugs in the medicine!
This is explained well on the Money Saving Expert website so have a read and this could save you so much money, not just on allergy relief but also on cold and flu medication, pain relief and even on creams!
Once you use this method to buy allergy relief you will see the savings add up! Comment below and let me know how much you are saving!
