Grocery Costs Continue to Climb

Groceries have gotten outrageous.  The media is focusing on the rising cost of gasoline, but my milk costs almost twice what my gas costs.  I went to the grocery store yesterday, and that one visit cost me half of what I had budgeted for the month.  There has to be a better way.

1.      Buy bulk with friends.  No one person needs twenty pounds of anything, but if you can go together with a couple of friends, you can save a bundle by buying bulk.

2.      Try once a month cooking.  This would be especially nice if your church has a large kitchen that you and a group of friends could use.  Instead of buying prepackaged meals (which can cost a fortune), you and your friends could prepare casseroles and meal ingredients that can be prepared later.

3.      Don’t eat out of season.  These days you can get just about any fruit any time of the year, but it’ll cost you.  Try to stick with fruits that are in season or at least on sale.

4.      Waste not, want not.  One of the biggest expenses most of us have is letting food go bad.  If you aren’t going to get to the ground beef, then go ahead and freeze it.  It’s better to have to defrost 2lbs than to have to throw it away.

5.      Speaking of freezing, vegetables are good for freezing.  I got 3 lbs of carrots yesterday for just $1.  I won’t ever use that many fresh carrots, but chopped up and frozen they will store for a long time.

6.      Which bring me to my final tip – don’t be afraid to buy the discounted foods.  Anything that is close to its “sale by date” is usually discounted by stores.  If you can use it or freeze it within a day or two, then go for it.

Groceries are becoming a precious commodity.  If the government wants to be concerned about prices, then these are the prices they should be focused on.  Everyone has to eat.  You may have to tweak your budget some to be able to handle the rising cost of family meals, but with these tips (and the many others available through out the internet) you will be able to survive.