CUTTING YOUR GROCERY BILL

FOR THE PAST three weeks, the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) has been focussing on advising consumers on ways to cut cost and increase savings in the face of wage freezes and rising costs. In our last segment, we focussed on budgeting; putting to paper a list of all your income and expenses, so that you may assess your spending patterns properly and re-examine it in order to decide which expenses can be reduced or avoided altogether. Here is a collection of strategies and tips for cutting your grocery bill. We hope to guide you gradually towards making more frugal choices, thus achieving your goal of a lower budget for food that is healthy, wholesome and homemade.

Record Prices
The basic idea is for you to develop a system for tracking prices. This will help you to determine whether or not you are getting a good buy, especially during a sale. Get a notebook and assign a store /supermarket per page. At the top of each page, put several column headings: Date, Item, Size, Price, Unit Price, and Sale Price. Leave multiple slots for the date. This way, you can track the price of the basic food items over time as well as compare prices across supermarkets.

Buy in Bulk
With the price book in hand, you will be able to bulk buy with much more confidence. For example, if rice goes down to $90.00 for a 5 Kilogram bag, you will know that it is a bargain price and stock up. Then when it goes back up over $140.00, you will still be using the rice that you bought for the lower price and smiling. Of course, you must store items like flour and rice in airtight containers to prevent infestation and spoilage. Canned items are much easier; those can be stored in closets and cupboards.

Use your freezer
Eventually you will want to have a deep freeze to stock up on good deals on meats and other frozen items. A freezer is a great investment, especially if it serves you for a long time. If you can get an older one at a bargain price, it may be a good deal if it is still energy efficient. A newer one is highly recommended, however, models 10 -15 year old are still fine.

Plan your Menu
Build your meal plans around: a) what you already have and b) what is on sale. You could also plan around what is in your garden and in season locally. Use all of the methods here to plan a loosely constructed menu plan. Try to think of many different ways to use what you have so don't spend too much. Eat everything you cook and improvise with leftovers. Use everything. Be creative, but keep it simple and tasteful.

Stretch Meats
Extend your meat dishes and gravies by cutting the amounts of meat in the recipe and adding more beans, vegetables or grains to the dish, such as pumpkin, Irish potatoes, carrots and string beans. Stew peas and soups are excellent ways to use up cuts of chicken, pork and beef pared off while preparing larger meals. Dishes such as Seasoned Rice and Chop Suey are dishes that fit this concept very well. This practice will reduce the need to purchase boney, fatty meats to prepare such dishes, hence, you are spared this additional expense, you get value for money and it is far healthier.

(to be continued next week)

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