Top Ideas for Cutting Food Bills

With prices sky rocketing on everything from the price of gas to the cost of admission at the local movie theatre, many of us are left scratching our heads in bewilderment, wondering how to manage the costs of feeding our families. We may be able to limit trips in our car to save gas. We may be able to find alternative forms of entertainment and avoid the latest block-buster until it comes out on cable. But, we have to eat! And we have to eat every day!

While there may be no easy answer, there are some tips and short cuts to save a few dollars here and there and stretch to food dollars in our budgets for one more day.

1) Buy food in season. And buy local food in season whenever possible. Fruits and vegetables are more plentiful in summer months. This is the best time for salads. If you have the time and the talent, freeze and preserve some of summer's bounty to use in the fall and winter when the cost of produce rises.

2) Buy in bulk - but only if you know you can consume the food while it is still edible. Bulk purchases are often discounted.

3) Check with your local supermarket. Ask if they will give you a price break to buying in bulk or in standard case quantities. It doesn't hurt to ask.

4) Take inventory at home. Before you hit the grocery store, make sure you know what you already have to work with. Maybe tomorrow night's dinner is sitting in the back corner or your freezer, just waiting to be thawed out. Or maybe you have most of the makings for that famous stew your family is always begging you to make. The purchase of an additional ingredient or two may be all it takes to get dinner on the table tonight.

5) Make a list. Go to grocery store with a plan and stick to it. You've already taken inventory at home, so you know what you have and what you need. Don't get side-tracked.

6) Forget the list. Yes, this is in direct contradiction to tip #5. If you stumble across a store special for chicken breast, for example, and it wasn't on your list, don't be so stubborn that you pass up a good opportunity for an economical source of protein. Be willing to bend.

7) Lower your standards. No, that doesn't mean you should purchase three day old produce or meat that has an expired "sell by" sticker on it. It means check out some of the lower cuts of meat. Maybe decide to skip meat altogether for some meals. Lentils, split peas and beans can all be great sources of protein that can save quite a bit over purchasing meat for every day.

8) Don't overlook your spice aisle. Yes, spices can be a bit pricey, but they also go a long way to enhance the flavor of otherwise dull foods. A dash of thyme or parsley can be just the thing to spark the flavor in an otherwise ordinary vegetable soup. A sprinkle of garlic salt may improve the taste of a lesser grade cut of meat.

9) Learn to bypass the snack aisle. Okay, maybe not every time, but try to skip the empty calories on every other shopping trip. Your waistline and your wallet will thank you.

10) Finally, take a look at portion control in your meals. We've become a society of "super-sizers" and we've learned to expect more food on our plate than we really need to be eating. This might be a good time to rethink our diets.

Saving money on our daily food budgets is an area of our personal economics we would all like to improve. It all starts with awareness. The more you pay attention to what you have and what you need, the more likely you will be to make small changes that can lead to substantial savings.