Stretch Your Food Dollars

KIMA

Story Published: Jun 11, 2008 at 5:51 PM PST

By Heather Reese

Food prices hit the highest annual increase in almost 20 years last year and they’re expected to rise even higher this year. Even staples such as butter and flour seem to cost a small fortune these days. But Consumer Reports’ shopping experts have lots of ways to help you shave your grocery bill.

The items featured prominently on the front page of supermarket fliers are almost always on sale, but you’ve got to be really careful about the prices of goods on the interior pages. That’s because manufacturers sometimes simply pay for the privilege of advertising, and there’s no sale price involved.

Don’t assume items at the end of aisles are always on sale. They’re put there to get shoppers to buy more of them. And while single-serving packages are usually more expensive, keep in mind that buying bigger quantities isn’t always cheaper.

In fact, a study showed that 25 percent of the time, the smaller size actually cost less. For example, a larger size can of tuna fish cost $5.05 a pound, but the smaller size actually cost only $4.25 a pound.

And depending on where you find an item, it can cost more or less. For example, cheese at the deli counter might be pricier than cheese in the dairy case one week, then less expensive the next.

Other things to consider …

You’ll almost always pay more for convenience. This chunk variety of watermelon cost 99 cents a pound, compared with the cut up variety, $2.99 a pound.

Use preferred-shopper store cards in order to get discounts automatically, no coupons needed.

You can also save money by going online to CoolSavings.com and SmartSource.com for a high-tech twist on old-fashioned coupon clipping. But first double-check that your grocery store accepts them. And make sure you read the instructions carefully on how to print them out, so they’re redeemable at the store.

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