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Seven Things You Should Never Buy at the Grocery Store

There are certain items in the grocery store that will tend to cost you to spend more money than you should. Cut these ten thing out of your grocery store shopping on a regular basis in order to get the most for your money. 1. Cut up fruit and vegetables. You’ll pay much more for fruit and vegetables that have been pre-cut. While these items can certainly be convenient, it usually isn’t worth the premium price plus the shorter shelf life. If you really want your produce already processed, see if there is a version in the frozen food aisle. … Continue reading →

How to Get the Best Groceries

A home runs on food; it really does. Make sure that you get the best food for the best prices with the following grocery store tips. Know Where to Look Shelf placement is important to grocery stores. If you want to find the latest or the most popular products, look at the shelves at eye level. For less popular speciality items and items that cost the least, check out the top most shelves. Finally, bottom shelves are usually devoted to bulk items and items in larger packaging. Try Before You Buy You never have to get stuck with sour oranges … Continue reading →

December Food Bargains

Stock up on the following food items, or at least incorporate them into your normal menu plan this month in order to save money. You can even turn some of these bargain food items into great gifts. Nuts Because of the holiday season, and because of the way the crops are produced, nuts are on sale or have a regular low price this month. This is true for both shelled nuts and unshelled nuts. While unshelled will last longer, you can have a pretty long shelf life for all nuts when you freeze them or store them in the refrigerator … Continue reading →

With Food Prices Getting Higher, Taking Action is a Must

I don’t know if you have noticed, but food prices are higher than they have ever been, and all indications are that they will continue to go even higher. There are several reasons for this: Increased cost of fuel to transport food Increased world population leading to a high demand for food Smaller food harvests on many essential foods, including corn, grain, and peanuts Recessed economy leading to lower food stock in stores as retailers strategize to reduce their waste and cost of doing business Decreased value of the US dollar. While naturally, there are fluctuations in food prices from … Continue reading →

How to Store Dried Food

Having a supply of dried food is a good strategy to include in your emergency preparedness plan. Many important nutrients can be found in dried food, and those nutrients are generally more concentrated in a smaller package, ideal for storage and transport if needed. Because the food is preserved when it is dried, there is no need for refrigeration or freezing, an important factor when electricity to run appliances may not be available. While dried food generally keeps very well, there are some special considerations that you can follow to ensure a long shelf life and optimal nutritional content of … Continue reading →

Don’t be Intimidated by Canning

As a New York City girl born and raised, I never thought that I would even consider doing something such as canning produce. Didn’t that go along with prairie skirts and living on a farm? Now I know better. When we were blessed with an abundance if inexpensive organic apples, I learned fast. Canning isn’t as hard as it might sound. And despite my fears that I would do it wrong and give myself and my family food poisoning, it all worked out and was pretty easy actually. There are two big things that you need to know about canning. … Continue reading →

Farewell to Fairy Tales

Having worked in TV news for more than a decade I am used to seeing “Breaking News” alerts pop-up on my computer screen. However, yesterday’s bulletin, which read: “Disney shelves fairytale movies” made me realize that the term “Breaking News” is painfully overused, and in this case, inappropriate. Or is it? If you are the parent of a princess-in-training, you know, the kid, who lives in her Cinderella costume, insists on wearing her tiara – even in the shower – and refuses to believe that frogs aren’t really handsome princes in disguise, then the news is probably life-altering. In our … Continue reading →

Bulk Food Bargains

Not all bulk food is created equal. If you buy the wrong kind, you may wind up increasing your grocery budget instead of slashing it. Here are several types of food where bulk buying can really help you save. Cereals and Grains Any kind of grain product in its purest or almost purest form is usually a great deal when you buy it in bulk. This is especially true for organic grains. I usually pay $28.48 for a 25 pound bag of organic white flour. That is about $1.14 a pound. In the local store here, a three-pound bag of … Continue reading →

Frugal Month in Review: October 2008

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot October has come and gone, but we can still enjoy fall and the celebration of Thanksgiving and all of the great joys of the season. Take a look back at all of the ways to save money that were featured last month. October 1st Frugal Halloween Costumes It is fall and Halloween is approaching fast, are you ready? What do the kids want to be? You can make some great homemade costumes … Continue reading →

5 Cultural Myths About Starting Solids

Believe it or not, much of what we do as parents, is culturally dictated. If we lived in another part of the world, we may not use diapers or cribs. We may walk around with our babies strapped to our backs or even breastfeed not only our own children, but our neighbor’s as well. So it is also with starting solid foods. When the twins were ready to start solids, it pained me to feed them jarred food. It’s different when you’re feeding one baby (or at least it was for me) but with two, I just watched the money … Continue reading →