By: Jill Weber
ISU Extension Nutrition and Health Field Specialist
Are you spending more and more on food and ending up with less and less? Does the thought of meal planning make your head spin? Do leftovers become mold-covered “science projects” cluttering your refrigerator?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, check out the new Spend Smart Eat Smart interactive website from Iowa State University Extension. Besides offering dollar-saving tips, the site includes game-like activities so you can test your smart shopping skills and compare meals prepared at home vs. eating out. You also can watch easy recipe videos, sign up for e-mail updates and blog with ISU Extension nutrition specialists. At the website you can use a calculator to get an estimate based on the USDA’s low cost food plan for what a family your size should be spending to feed your family healthy meals.
At the grocery store, fill the cart with all the basics first---vegetables and fruit, protein and milk. These departments are nearly always on the outside walls of the store, which is why some people suggest to 'shop the perimeter'. Arrange your shopping list with the layout of the specific store in mind. That way you can spend less time in the store and not have to backtrack. If you need something in the center aisles of the store think of it as just running in for specific items and then heading back to the perimeter.
Don't even go down the empty calorie aisles in the center of the store. Just stay out of the potato chip, crackers, candy, soda, deli aisles.
Buy the store or generic brand or at least try it. Sometimes the only difference between the store brand and the name brand is the label. Sometimes there is more of a difference. The only way to know if a certain product will work at your house is to try it.
Look up, look down. Food companies pay for shelf space and the prime location is on the shelves which are at eye level. Look to the higher or lower shelves for the less expensive versions of produces.
Supermarket managers have many methods to get you to their store and entice you to buy. The best way to buy at the lowest price possible is to use a price book that you can make yourself using a simple notebook and tracking price, date and store for items you regularly buy. This simple system makes it easier to track the sources and prices of the foods purchased most often and do unit pricing with a calculator or your cell phone. Here are some other points to keep in mind at the grocery store:
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Specials don’t always cost less. Just like in a restaurant a special is just something that the management wants to call attention to. It may or may not cost less.
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On sale doesn’t always mean it is a good deal. The sale on this product may still be more than another brand of the same thing. When potato chips are on sale, they're still empty and expensive calories.
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Usually you don’t have to buy the quantity specified in deals that are X for $Y. If the specials are 3 for $5 for example, one item will usually ring up as $1.67. Quantity discounts aren’t always a savings.
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The vast majority of coupons are for sugary snacks and convenience products. Have you ever seen a coupon for apples or milk? They can save money if you use them for items you would usually buy instead of an invitation to try a new convenience food.
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Limited quantity deals. Take a good look at these. If the store is limiting quantities, chances are it is a good deal.
Pay attention at check-out. Errors are often made at the check-out. Products are scanned twice; the sale price doesn’t get entered into the computer; the checker doesn’t recognize the produce you are buying and enters the wrong code or a sign got moved and you picked up something you thought was on sale, but it really isn’t. Make sure all of your groceries get into your bag, your cart and into the car and don’t hesitate to remind the checker to carefully handle fragile items.
Spending less on food often means investing time and effort in planning, shopping and preparing food. Spend Smart Eat Smart will help you learn skills and adopt habits so you can feed your family nutritious meals for less money. Spend Smart Eat Smart is one way ISU Extension is helping families eat nutritiously and manage finances.
More information about healthy eating is available from the Grundy County Extension Office,
703 F Ave., Suite 1, Grundy Center or 319-824-6979.