Provident Mom

You may have noticed an increase in grocery prices lately. I have. It’s harder to find milk on sale, and eggs seem ridiculously expensive. I saw in my local grocery store ad this morning that they’re on sale for $.99/dozen. I think I’ll go buy five dozen. But it wasn’t so long ago that eggs were always $.99/dozen, like maybe last summer.

So what’s a good strategy for maintaining a worthy budget when groceries go up? I’ve come up with a few things that are helping our family. Maybe they’ll help you, too.

1)      Use coupons. I always cut the coupons out of the Sunday paper and then compare them with the grocery ads that come in the newspaper on Wednesday. This is sort of a hassle, but at times I’ve cut my grocery bill in half with this method, so it’s worth it. Be careful, though, that you don’t buy something just because you have a coupon for it. Some of the items you’ll find coupons for are expensive items that you normally wouldn’t buy. If you use a coupon and bring it down just a little in price, it wasn’t worth it if you wouldn’t normally have bought it. Take, for example, refrigerated biscuits. With a coupon, I can get them for about $1.50. But for about 10 extra minutes in the kitchen, I can make homemade biscuits for about $.35, and they taste a whole lot better. I would normally make them homemade anyway, so buying refrigerated ones doesn’t make sense.

2)      Stock up when items are on sale. If you make a little room in your grocery budget for “food storage” items, you can afford to stock up when tomato soup is $.50/can instead of $.79/can. Buy a dozen of them, and then you won’t have to buy them for a while. Freezer items are great to stock up on as well. Look for frozen veggie and juice sales. They can save you a lot in the long run.

3)      Eat produce that’s in season. It doesn’t make much sense to buy raspberries at $5/half pint in December when you can get pears and apples for $1/pound. I’ve noticed that citrus is down in price right now, so that’s what I’ve been buying the most of. Besides, it’s nice to look forward to fruits at their peak: strawberries in May, asparagus in March, apples in the fall, etc.

4)      Cut down on meat. When meat gets expensive, like it is right now, try and think of meat more as seasoning than as the main event. Instead of serving slabs of meat, cut the meat up and put it in stir-fries, pastas, casseroles, and salads. This is not only economical, but actually better for your health.

5)      Use whole grains. Whole grains are filling and great for your cholesterol level. Some may argue that they are more expensive than refined flours, and this is usually true. But if you buy them in bulk, you’ll find that the price difference is minimal, and the food you make from them is more nutritious and satisfying.

So those are my tips for now. If any of you have found additional ways to cut down on increasing grocery bills, please share!