In light of yesterday’s post on the economy and rising food prices, I thought I would share ways I save money at the grocery store.

1. Don’t shop hungry.
   Some of the oldest food shopping advice, and some of the best.
2. Plan ahead.
   The more you know about the meals you are going to make in the days ahead, the less extra stuff you are likely to buy, and the less spoilage you should have in your fridge.
3. Go through the ads.
   It’s easy to miss a special if you aren’t particularly looking for an item. If you use the ads in combination with planning ahead, your meals can be based on what’s fairly cheap right then.
4. Go to more than one grocery store when reasonable.
   I have a Henry’s and a Vons sharing a parking lot, and Stater Bros. across the street from them. It makes it very easy to shop them all, even though Vons most often has the highest prices. But driving too far can ruin your savings.
5. Take advantage of coupons for things you would buy anyhow.
   Coupons can save you a nice bit of money on the things you need.
6. Don’t buy things you don’t need just because you have a coupon.
   Buy what you need, not just what is at a good price.
7. Know who, if anyone, doubles coupons.
   This is harder to find than it used to be, but if a store near to you does it, take advantage if the price is then the best.
8. Know the regular prices and what a good sale price is.
   Any time you can get something for it’s best sale price, you’re doing pretty well, and the more you can avoid the regular price on most foods, the better. I also have just general guidelines such as “most fruits and vegetables should be under $1/pound, under $0.75/pound is better”. A lot of people keep notebooks so they always know if the price is good. I’ve seen stores drop a price $0.01 and call it a sale.
9. Plan at least an occasional vegetarian meal.
   Meatless meals generally cost a lot less. One of my favorites is called Sand and Shells, and the kids just wolf it down. Most of the ingredients are *ahem* dirt cheap in my area.
10. Take advantage of your freezer space.
    I love keeping meat in my freezer that was bought at cheap prices so I don’t have to buy so much when the prices aren’t so good.
11. Check out farmer’s markets.
    Sometimes the prices are great, sometimes not so great. But know what you have in your area.
12. Garden.
    Not easy for everyone, but if you have the space and are willing to give it a try, you can produce your own food for reasonable prices. Note it may take a while for you to regain your investment. But if you compost your other food scraps you will have a great natural fertilizer, saving one expense as well as concern about chemicals. It may also help your kids to see where their food comes from, and some even eat their vegetables more eagerly.
13. Make your own mixes.
    Spice packets and other mixes can cost significantly more than what the individual ingredients cost. Mixing up your own is pretty easy, especially since many from scratch recipes are readily available online.

And a bonus tip, just because I thought of it…

Don’t buy in more bulk than you’ll actually use. It’s not a good deal if you paid more and used less than is made up for in savings.

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Just listening to the news tonight, and they were saying that economists say the government has no more than two months to act to improve the economy. Inflation recently hit a 17 year high.

That doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve been watching food prices go up and up. I’ve had to revise my ‘buy’ prices for some foods. Unemployment is an issue too. Things are serious enough that more people are talking about it.

I’ve been working on cutting our food bills as best I can. I’m so glad that we garden, although right now there’s no produce on the immediate horizon. But if things are still bad over the summer it could be a big help.

One of my key things to do is to keep good track of what foods cost at different stores. I get much of my produce at my local Henry’s (kind of like Whole Foods, but smaller and recently purchased by them). They generally have better prices on produce than the other local grocery stores. They also sell things like rice in bulk bins, and that price is often, but not always, better than the prebagged stuff at other stores.

I also know which items are cheaper at Target or Walmart, although Walmart really isn’t a favorite.

The price changes have simply made me see how much my family needs to earn more money. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m determined that one way or another we will earn more so we can get by better. I’m no fan of barely scraping by.

I really hope I can finally successfully ramp up my online business. It’s hard because my son is at an age where he wants more of my time, not less, and I can’t turn him down too much. Not fair to him. With my daughter in school half the day it’s no wonder he’s lonely.

Is the economy impacting your family? Any tricks you use to cope?

All parents have some sort of food battle with kids. It’s just how these things work.

Not last night’s dinner,
but it sure looks good!

For example, last night I told my daughter we were having fish for dinner. She’s eaten it well in the past, so no worries, right?

Except she has suddenly decided she doesn’t like fish. Before it’s done cooking and even before she’s seen it.

I really should have said ‘chicken’. Odds are good she would have eaten it then.

So I played around with her a little. I had a topping on the fish, and she readily admitted that she loved the topping. It was a mix of bread crumbs, chopped cashews, honey and mustard. Really wonderful, and she admitted that she loved the topping.

So I told her about the nuts. Hey, the main part of the dinner was spoiled anyhow.

Immediately she announced that well… there was something in there she didn’t like and that was the nuts.

Cashews are the only nuts she likes when she admits to liking nuts. I know she was trying to play with my mind as much as I did with her when I mentioned the nuts. Besides, she kept nibbling it, if a bit slower.

Feeding kids is a funny thing. A favorite food one day is loathed another. And somehow it seems like just about all of them will eat any meat labeled ‘chicken’.

No matter what it really is.

For many moms, the television is a big help, starting when their kids are very young. The Baby Einstein and similar DVDs keep young children occupied while mom tries to get things done around the house, or just a few moments of peace and quiet.

There’s been plenty of controversy on this topic. Some say it’s related to Attention Deficit Disorder and the like. It’s a topic I really recommend parents consider.

Both of my kids do watch television. In fact, we were given my sister’s spare TiVo as a Christmas present. That’s been a lot of fun as we can program it up for the shows my kids like to watch, and they can watch them when we want them to have the TV on. It also helps with letting us watch our shows at our leisure, but that’s not today’s topic.

My own feeling is that it is not a bad thing in moderation. My kids watch television, but they also spend a lot of time playing outside when the weather permits (and they love playing in the rain!), and playing creatively with their toys. We have plenty of ‘TV off time’.

I also was never that much into the Baby Einstein thing. We have some of their videos, and in terms of style, I liked Baby Genius much better. Still didn’t show them that much.

Some videos I have seen definitely educational value from, such as the Leap Frog Letter Factory video. Their others aren’t bad, but both of my kids picked their alphabet up almost effortly from that video. My son, who is in speech therapy because he struggles with speaking, knows his alphabet and all the letter sounds. He’s not even 3 yet. My daughter was doing that by 2. It’s just a delight to me.

It’s just like anything else, really. Some can be good. Too much does harm.

How much do you let your kids watch television?