Fiber Fool

1. Buy natural, unprocessed food as much as possible. Yes, convenience is sometimes necessary and making everything from scratch is not realistic in this age of dual income households and the packed schedules most families have between sports and church and other extra activities. But, buying less processed foods saves you in the long run.

2. Grow some of your own food. I’m not 100% convinced that we save too much here when doing that due to our need to water fairly aggressively most years. Add on that the amount of hail we’ve been getting the past several years that does wipe out at least some of the crop and I question the savings a bit more. But, since we grow organic and are caring for the food ourselves we know exactly what is going into our bodies which is worth a lot. It also keeps us aware of what is in season locally so what foods we do buy we can do so smartly.

3. Which brings us to - eat with the seasons! Food that has traveled less distance is cheaper and healthier since it is fresher. So eating what is in season where you live will often save you a lot of money.

4. Always check the per unit prices of things. The store loyalty cards are not always the best value, nor are the larger packages. Calculate your costs per ounce or pound etc. and make sure you are really getting the best bang for your buck. Don’t forget that lots of companies out there are shrinking their package sizes significantly and charging the same, so be certain to double check the size of the package and don’t just go off of memory!

5. When buying fresh produce, do so twice a week (or more if you regularly pass by a store without going out of your way). We find by purchasing the fresh food multiple times a week we waste less. If we deviate from our menu plan adjustments can be made with the menu later in the week.

6. Which brings me to - plan your menu before shopping. I’m not the best at this. We do it in spits and spurts. If we are both very busy it gets difficult to stick to it. But, when we do plan a menu and shop for it specifically it does make our shopping more efficient and we waste less. Plus, sometimes it is nice to not have to think about what is for dinner, but instead know.

7. There is of course the oft heard - don’t go shopping when you are hungry. That is certainly true.

8. Always shop with a list and try not to deviate from it. Though I sometimes do because I realize I forgot something else that is actually required for something on the menu etc.

9. Buy in bulk! In standard chain groceries stores you need to again calculate price per unit as the bulk section there is not always the savings you would expect. I know in our Safeway the bulk rice is much more expensive than the bagged. But we are regularly by our local food cooperative and regularly buy pantry staples in bulk like all our flours and sugars. Where we save the most though I think is on the spices and herbs! The bonus of shopping in bulk is that you can save packaging from going to the landfill by bringing in your own containers. Some of our containers are even recycled. Lots of our beans and lentils are in quart pasta sauce jars.

10. Not everyone will agree with me on this one, but I do not shop around at many different stores on a frequent basis. My time is valuable, as is the gas required to drive to all the different grocery stores in town. Most of the time I shop at either chain store that is nearest our house, often depending upon what is on our list as some of our regular items are only available at one or the other. At least once a week we are near the food co-op so we may or may not shop there in a given week. Then maybe once a month or so we go to a natural food store like Whole Foods, Sunflower or Vitamin Cottage as those are quite a ways out of our way.

How about you, did I miss any of the ways you save money on groceries - other than the obvious of clipping coupons, which I’ve never been good about making use of in the end?