If the total on the register at the grocery store is lightening your checkbook more than you would like, there are some strategies that may help to reduce what you spend.
“Consumers know what is adding to their food expenses,” states Joyce Lash, Resource Management field specialist, “changing their shopping habits may be the best way to reduce food costs”. Here are some old but reliable tips to consider:
· Plan weekly menus based on store ads and limit visits to the grocery store to once a week or less.
· Limit the number of isles you cover when you visit the store. The majority of staples are located around the perimeter of the store, select those items first and then seek out remaining items. A shopping list will keep you from adding impulse items to the cart. The most frequently purchased items are located at the farthest point from the door.
· Look up and down on store shelves. Expensive items or those with the better profit margin are located at eye level. You are more likely to find lower cost items or bulk items on other shelves.
· Avoid convenience foods. Substitute a little more of your labor to prepare foods from scratch.
· Remember portion sizes. Meat is an example of a food item most of us consume in larger quantities’ then we really need. The average adult needs only 4 oz. of uncooked or 3 oz. of cooked meat for a serving. Two servings a day, each the equivalent of a deck of cards provides adequate protein.
· Buy bulk items when they are on sale and repackage into usable size quantities for storage. A whole pork loin for example, can be cut into boneless chops, cubed or cut into strips for other dishes. The cost is lower than buying individual packages of pre-cut items.
· Utilize left-over foods or freeze for a later date.
· Buy store brands
· If the family doesn’t eat it, don’t buy it because it is low cost.