Thrifty Tuesday

10 Nifty Tips for being Thrifty
Shop smart, cut waste to stretch your food dollar.

The biggest food budget buster isn't a $1 candy bar or $4 bag of grapes. It's waste, says Linda Larsen, author of "The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook" (Adams, 2008, $14.95). "Americans throw away as much as 45% of the food they buy, whether it's a head of lettuce that languishes in the fridge until it wilts, or steak imperfectly wrapped so it develops freezer burn," Larsen writes in her book. With food prices rising at the fastest pace in 17 years - eggs alone are up 69% over the past two years - many consumers are taking a closer look at lifestyle and spending habits formed during prosperous times. There are plenty of strategies for stretching food and making smart grocery buys. Some strategies are common sense - making (and sticking to) a shopping list, not shopping when you're hungry, using coupons and shopping the sales. Other strategies are less obvious, except to consumers who have always been thrifty because they had to, or made it a priority. Knowing what's in the fridge and freezer, and using up what you have before you buy more, is a good starting point. This means using up leftovers, and buying only what you need to prevent food from spoiling. Freezing what you can't use immediately also avoids spoilage. The biggest money saver, Larsen and others say, is cooking at home rather than eating out. Nearly half of the nation's food dollars - 48% - are spent on eating out, according to the National Restaurant Association's 2008 Pocket Factbook at www.restaurant.org. By cooking, you also can control nutrition, Larsen added in an interview. "It's not that hard to learn how to cook," she added. It's also not hard to grow your own herbs such as rosemary, oregano and thyme to inexpensively flavor home-cooked meals. Snip a branch or a few leaves for a recipe instead of buying a $2.50 pack at the store that will go to waste when you inevitably don't use it all.

Following are 10 more smart food-shopping and money-stretching tips from Larsen, the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (www.cccsatl.org) and Milwaukee Whole Foods concierge Emily Schnadt, who put together a "value tour" of tips to help customers of the upscale natural-food store spend their food dollars wisely:

1. Cut down on pricier ingredients, such as meat, by reducing the amount you use in recipes or substituting with less expensive ingredients. Add mushrooms, carrots and potatoes to fill in a recipe that calls for a large quantity of meat, Larsen suggested. A stew can provide a balanced meal for six people with a pound of inexpensive stew meat.

2. Make your own instead of buying canned or boxed items. That especially applies to foods prepared in a reasonable amount of time - from salsa and Alfredo sauce to mashed potatoes and piecrust, Larsen said.

3. Compare unit prices. "The price per ounce is the best indicator of value," Larsen writes. "Larger boxes, bottles and cans may not always be the better buy."
To figure out the price per ounce, simply divide the price by the number of ounces in the product. Compare unit prices across brands as well as sizes. Shop when the store is quiet so you can concentrate on comparing prices, the Consumer Credit Counseling Services advises.
"Some grocery stores put sale items out early in the morning, others do so in the evening. Watch for sale patterns. Sometimes you'll find day-old meat marked down between 50 cents and a few dollars."

4. Follow the actual serving size, Larsen said. You'll eat less, save money and possibly lose weight.

5. Think "minimally prepared or processed" for the best buys. Bone-in chicken pieces in family packs are cheaper per pound than boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Pre-formed hamburger patties can be 30% to 40% more expensive than bulk ground beef. Whole fruits, such as cantaloupe and pineapple, are less expensive than pre-cut fruits.

6. Consider store placement. Grocery stores are designed to tempt you, and to tempt your children. The most expensive items are usually at eye level. The best bargains typically are closer to the floor, notes the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. Expensive kid-friendly items are placed at their eye level. Items showcased at the end of aisles may be on sale, but they aren't necessarily on your shopping list.

7. Look for private labels. Many stores offer house brands or generics. Generic foods are typically processed in the same plant as the brand-name foods, but they're less expensive because they aren't supported by expensive advertising and fancy packaging.

8. Look for bulk discounts. Buy a case of any product at Whole Foods, for example, and you save 5%. Or buy bulk foods from bins at natural-food stores - and now some grocery stores - from dried beans to rice, oats and nuts. But buy only what you need.

9. BYO bags. Many food stores offer a small discount - 5 to 10 cents per bag - if you re-use bags to pack your groceries.

10. Avoid excessively packaged foods in general, Larsen suggested. "If there's shrink-wrap, a cardboard box, plastic dividers and more plastic wrap around food, not only is that wasting Earth's resources, but it costs you money to throw it away."
Instead of buying shredded or sliced cheese in plastic, shred or slice your own fresh from the wedge.
Forgo a package of convenient baby-cut carrots, and cut full-size carrots down to size.

Don't forget to check out this weeks Coupon Matchup at "Making Cents out of Coupons":
http://www.thecouponcents.blogspot.com/