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If that sounds too intimidating, you may want to try a few other ideas on saving money at the check stand.
These tips are a little different than the traditional thrifty classics. They may not make for the most absolute rock-bottom prices, but they will give you reasonably priced dinners that are great for your mouth, your stomach and your wallet.
1. Take a lesson from restaurants. Restaurants work hard to keep food costs down while keeping quality up. Comfort food—mashed potatoes, gravy, pot roast—are all pretty economical to fix.
2. Eat in season. An asparagus recipe that might break the budget in December at $5.99 a pound will drop by two-thirds in April. Blueberries are in season right now; they'll be sky-high in November.
3. Go meatless. One night a week, fix a vegetarian meal to save on costs. Beans, rice, tortillas…they're as delicious as they are cheap!
4. Substitute and eliminate. If chard is inexplicably priced sky-high one week, consider whether your recipe would work swapping in another green that's cheaper. Figure out if a recipe is still worthwhile if you reduce the high-priced ingredients.
5. Be open to ethnic recipes and markets. Many other cultures rely on meat less than the typical American diet does, using it more often as a flavoring than as a main event -- if they use it at all.
Published 07/11/08
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Bread prices are rising, but there's an easy solution: Make your own, at a fraction of the cost.
