
 |
|
May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
August 12, 2008 / 11 Menachem-Av 5768
The best of strategic shopping
By
Stephanie Nelson
|
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Over the past several months, I've gotten more questions about grocery savings from the media than ever. To make sure I am giving the most accurate, timely answers, last spring I decided to see how low I could keep our family's grocery spending while still feeding them a healthy diet. For the past few months, we've successfully stayed within our budget without sacrificing the quality of our diet.
After referring to my grocery-budget experiment in this column, I received this question from K. Jackson of Hillsdale, Mich.: "I was very interested in reading your article on how you shop for a family of four on about $70 a week. I have a family of seven and would love to hear any and all suggestions you may have in cutting a grocery bill. I have been working very hard at setting and sticking to a budget, and I find that it is extremely difficult with gas prices reaching $4 per gallon, and the cost of everything at the store going up. I have allowed myself $100 per week for groceries, and I am finding it very difficult to stay within that budget."
First, I should clarify that after a few months of using every savings trick I know, our family of four spent an average of $82 per week on groceries. Therefore, it could be challenging for a family of seven to spend $100 or less a week on groceries. Although some shoppers feed their family on $40 or less per week, remember that grocery spending varies widely based on individual food preferences. Fortunately, good advice is all over the media right now, so, if you do an online search, you'll find many helpful tips in addition to the ones that I share here.
Here are my top tips, in order of their importance in my grocery spending.
1. Review your common food items and track their prices over a few weeks. Compare prices of items at different stores, as well as the prices of other brand alternatives. Reconsider items that are more expensive, and try to identify less-expensive, suitable substitutions.
2. Plan your meals and snacks for the week around what you already have and what is on sale at your stores each week. Clean out and organize your refrigerator so leftovers are in the same place, in clear dishes rather than old margarine tubs, so you can easily see what you have available. Create meals out of leftover ingredients or have lunches from last night's dinner. Cut your food waste to zero.
3. Become a budget cook. Calculate what meals cost overall, and factor in at least a few bargain meals each week. Use simple recipes without complicated, expensive ingredients. Have healthy, inexpensive snacks available for family members so they do not feel deprived or eat the dinner ingredients as a snack!
4. Become an expert on your stores' savings programs. Sign up for the loyalty card with complete mailing information so you will be sent extra coupons. Take advantage of special promotions by reviewing the store ad carefully before you shop. Ask the manager if and when they mark down meats, produce, refrigerated items and baked goods. Time your shopping to get the best selection of bargains. Visit the store's Web site to educate yourself on special clubs and savings programs.
5. Develop an eagle eye for grocery coupons. Use coupons for items you need, and consider changing brands if you can get an item free or practically free with a coupon. Wait until items go on sale before using the coupon. Collect as many coupons as possible, and remember that at least 75 percent of grocery coupons come from the Sunday newspaper circulars. Buy extra copies of the newspaper or get extra circulars from friends or relatives who do not use their circulars. For a family of seven, you would save dramatically with at least five sets of circulars each week. Get more coupons from printable coupon sites, manufacturers' sites, store displays, on product packages and in magazines and mailers.
6. Stock up on items when they hit rock-bottom prices, even if you don't need the item that week. Having multiple coupons for your favorite items will make it possible to stock up for several weeks to avoid paying full price in future weeks. With a large family, having an extra freezer will make it easier to stock up on bargains.
7. And the sage advice always holds true stick to your list, don't shop while you are hungry, and shop alone, if possible.
Over the past few years of writing this column, I've enjoyed getting to know you and learning from your ideas and experience. I've been touched by your generosity in sharing coupons with military bases and grocery bargains with local charities. However, between the hectic schedule of being a mother to two teenage sons and running my CouponMom.com Web site, I am retiring from writing this column. So it is with mixed feelings that I write this last Supermarket Shopper column. I wish you well in your supermarket shopping. See you in the produce section!
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Stephanie Nelson shares her savings tips as a regular contributor on ABC News' "Good Morning America." You can find more of her savings tips in her book "The Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom". Comment by clicking here.
© 2006, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|