I-5 Design & Manufacture / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
I travel 4.39 miles to grocery shop every week at Trader Joe’s. Although there are several grocery stores in my neighborhood, I have major gripes with each one of them. I’m not alone. Consumer Reports surveyed more than 2,200 of its subscribers and found that one-third have said so long to shopping nearby stores.
Auctioneer with a funny T-shirt. Credit: rochelle, et al/Flickr
Ripped open my latest copy of ShopSmart (March 2011), the magazine put out by Consumer Reports, only to find a bizarre tip on saving money on groceries. Auctions?!!!! Here’s how it works.
Supermarkets and warehouses reject pallets of food because one or two boxes are damaged, or they have overstock to unload. Grocery prices at auctions can be amazing. ShopSmart saw three DiGiorno Cheese Stuffed Crust Three Meat Pizzas for $14 – that’s half off what you’d pay at your local grocery store – and Kellogg’s Rice Crispy Treats were 78% lower than Amazon.
Sites like AuctionZip.com and Craigslist have listings for auctions that detail the contents to be sold, including groceries. Make sure to check the local auction rules so you know what rules to play by.
ShopSmart recommends using a smartphone app like RedLaser or Google Shopper to compare prices on the spot. These apps work by scanning the product’s UPC bar codes and looking up prices at online merchants.
Review “sell by,” “use by” and “best by” dates so you know how quickly you need to eat or freeze an item. Auctions can go quite late so bring coffee and a cooler to stash perishables that you win!
Natashaladams/Flickr
Readers shared a wide range of experiences with Angel Food Ministries, which sells boxes of groceries that retail for about $65 for $30. (I mentioned AM in a post Friday.) The box is supposed to feed a family of four for a week or a senior citizen for an entire month.
Barbara H. said:
We’ve actually tried the food boxes at Angel Ministries, and I can guarantee you that one box will only last a family of 4 about a week or so. (more…)
Stocking the fridge is a recurring chore that sucks up time and constantly threatens to blow your budget. Couponing is a great way cut costs, but there are many, many options beyond clipping coupons. Here are the top 10 things you can do to save on groceries.
1. Become a freezer diva. Stock up on thick plastic freezer bags and bring your best packing skills to the, er, table. Bread, meat, liquids, fruit, stews, soups, and many other food products freeze extremely well. The trick is to wrap everything tightly to avoid freezer burn. Keep a list handy of everything in your fridge so you don’t lose track and start to feel like a freezer landlord.
2. Know what’s in season. No matter where you shop, in season produce is almost always cheaper than out of season. If you cannot remember what is in season price is a good indicator. Also look for country of origin stickers. If fruit is flown in from Ecuador, it’s not in season.
3. Go to farmer’s market’s and chat up the farmers. Befriending the people selling you food is a good way to (more…)
Illustration by OConnorCartoons.com
I am impressed how many readers are committed to eating organic and natural foods! Dozens of readers (there were 64 comments) shared their strategies to save, including many who grow edible gardens as part of a contest to win the eBook “Real Food on a Real Budget.” The majority struggle with the cost of organic food, which is certainly a big reason why I have not fully embraced organic.
EllieD and Jana had a thoughtful conversation, spurred in part by a plea for help by Shane. A snippet of their exchange:
@EllieD, I think we do agree on a lot!
I like the Whole Foods in-store organic brand, it is dollars cheaper than other brands. The only problem I have is with canned goods. Most, if not all–except for Eden Organic brand–canned goods are contaminated with BPA. This is cause for concern. This is why I don’t often buy canned tomatoes at all, since Eden brand is quite expensive. I guess the best way is to can your own, in glass jars. (more…)
The offending soy milk and raspberries.
I’ve bragged many times after scoring great deals at a small, independent grocery store near my house, but after my last visit I’m not sure I’ll ever shop there again.
I was drawn to this store because the produce prices are especially low. The cost of meat, canned goods, and staples are pretty snappy, too. I’ve bought two pounds of sweet, crisp snap peas for $.99, a whole pineapple for $1.99, and prime pork chops for $1.99/lb. The store is a little funky and caters to Asians, but it is rarely crowded and the cashiers are fast. I can get almost everything on my list (except hummus and avocados) in one place at fabulous prices.
On my last trip I scored a bag of 15 limes for $.99, a 60-ounce pack of raspberries for $1.69, and three liter cartons of soy milk for $.99 each.
Well the limes are dry, the raspberries taste like nothing, and after two bowls of cereal I poured the soy milk down the drain. None of the food is past expiration date and everything looks fresh. It just doesn’t taste very good.
I’m less concerned with getting a refund or slamming this particular store, which I’ve been very happy with in the past, than with figuring out at what point it makes sense to pay more for food. I’ve bought plenty of produce at mainstream grocery stores that was mealy or plain tasting. I bet even organic produce hits the mark.
Is it worth it to pay for premium produce? Or do super low prices save me more in the long run, even if I occasionally have to toss something?
Bruce Tuten/Flickr
Time again for a list of in-season fruits and vegetables to help you save money on groceries. Buying in-season produce is almost always cheaper than buying out-of-season produce. Greater supply…lower prices. Plus, in-season produce is often grown closer to home than out-of-season produce, which we import from Chile, Mexico, and other countries. Expect prices for spring fruits and vegetables to rise.
The following list of summer fruits and vegetables comes from FruitsAndVeggiesMoreMatters.org. The list includes some of my favorite foods, like beets, cantaloupe, corn, eggplant, grapes, limes, peaches, and watermelon. If you can’t remember what is in season, prices are a good indication.
Apricots
Beets
Bell Peppers
Blackberries
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Butter Lettuce
Cantaloupe
Casaba Melon
Chayote Squash
Cherries
Cherries, Sour
Corn
Crenshaw Melon
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Figs
Garlic
Grapefruit
Grapes
Green Beans
Honeydew Melons
Jalapeno Peppers
Lima Beans
Limes
Loganberries
Lychee
Nectarines
Olallieberries
Okra
Passion Fruit
Peaches
Peas
Persian Melons
Plums
Radishes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Summer Squash
Tomatillo
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Zucchini
