All over the country, people are starting to pay more attention to the food they buy. The price of groceries has climbed to record-breaking heights, forcing people to get creative on budgeting on this very necessary expense. You really have to be a smart shopper to make your food dollar stretch far enough to feed your family. But, let me make it a little easier. If you can cut out or at least reduce the following food items, you can make a significant difference to your grocery bill.
Soda
Soda is basically, water, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine and carbonation. None of it (except the water, perhaps) is any good for you. Avoid buying soda and instead use water for free for most of your beverage consumption.
Gourmet
Gourmet foods are often high-end foods with a high-end price tag. Sure, those portable mushroom ravioli in a delicate wine sauce are quite tasty, but you could probably feed your family for three extra days if you make them yourself with the ingredients, or feed your family for a week by substituting regular raviolis. If there is a gourmet dish that we just have to have, I try duplicating it. Gourmet foods come in many types: cheese, coffee, sweets, fruits, pasta, you name it.
Organic
Now I know this one may be tough for some people. Organic food is believed to be healthier, so how can we compromise the health of our family? If you have a choice between going hungry or eating a non-organic carrot, then the decision may be easier. Find out which produce has the most pesticides and then concentrate your organic dollars on those. You can read this article for guidelines. Would hormone-free milk be okay? It is generally cheaper than organic.
Snack Foods
Product inside a snack food bag is shrinking at the same time the prices are rising. A bag of popcorn (actual kernels not microwave) can give you at least 15 times the snacks as a similar bag of potato chips. Make your own snacks from scratch rather than picking them up at the store. After doing without them for a while, you may not even miss the snacks at all.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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