These days, a trip to the grocery store can be a sobering experience. Ever increasing food costs are straining the budgets of countless families.
Consider these facts:
- According to U.S. Department of Labor, the average American family of four spends $709 a month, or $8,508 per year, on groceries. (That doesn't include eating in restaurants.)
- According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,food prices climbed 4 percent in 2007, the biggest annual increase since 1990, and prices are projected to rise 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent this year.
- In a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll of 1,016 adults, 46 percent said the higher cost of food is creating a financial hardship.
First, kick the convenience food habit. That simple strategy can shave a whopping 25% off your food costs! Grate your own cheese, make your own salad dressings and gravies, prepare your own coleslaw and salad mixtures. Make your own fresh, preservative free, vitamin rich baby foods in a food processor.
Next, stop wasting food! According to a study from the University of Arizona, Americans throw out 25% of the produce they buy each year, which amounts to about 470 pounds! Try buying vegetable bin liners that increase the shelf life of your food, or buy storage containers with a good locking seal, to prevent oxidation and absorption of food odors.
Shop with a strategy. Compile a list, and only buy what is on it. Clip coupons. Take advantage of store promotions. Buy generic when possible. Only shop when there are 10 or more items you need to buy. Avoid impulse buying like the devil avoids holy water!
According to a study by the non-profit Marketing Science Institute, shoppers who make quick trips to the store purchase 54 percent more than they had planned.
Be creative with your menu planning. Try cooking once but eating twice. Tonight's roasted chicken leftovers can become tomorrow's soup at lunch. The blueberries that graced this morning's cereal can be made into muffins or pancakes.
Spend some time doing prep work after you unpack your groceries. Chop your vegetables ahead of time. Put half in a storage container in the refrigerator for this week's cooking. Put the other half in a freezer storage bag for future use. It cuts down your cooking time to have foods already cleaned, cut and sorted by recipe ingredients. It also prevents food from spoiling, and ending up in the garbage can.
Pay attention to the price per ounce comparisons. Whenever possible, buy in bulk.
Finally, eat in restaurants less. When you do go, bring coupons, get the "early bird" specials, free birthday desserts, senior citizen discounts or "kids eat free" deals.
Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com
