Health & Nutrition for the Thrift Set
Grocery and food items are said to be the second highest expense for a typical family (behind housing.) So learning how to be both thrifty and effective in feeding your family nutritious, healthy food is paramount for a successful budget to survive.
The following was learned in part through a Texas A&M University Food and Nutrition Seminar.
Food Costs and Consumer Expenditures on Food
Americans spent approximately $3,200 per person per year on food consumed at home in 2003. Of that
amount, approximately 47% ($1,531) was spent on food eaten away from home.
On average, American households spend about 11% of their income on food. Households that live in poverty,
however, may spend as much as 19% of their available income on food. Household size, composition of the
household (married with children or married with no children), and geographic location are just a few of the
factors that determine the amount of money spent on food.
Shopping Habits
A USDA study found that limited income consumers are equipped with money-saving shopping skills. Using
focus groups, food stamp recipients reported that they:
- Use a list to shop for food
- Compare food costs using grocery store advertisements
- Shop alone to avoid distractions
- Shop at several stores to obtain the best prices on selected items
- Use coupons, and buy store and generic brands
- Buy items in large quantities (when the price is good and storage is not a problem)
However, some consumers practiced shopping behaviors that can lead to higher food costs:
- Not planning meals
- Shopping more than once a week
- Using large amounts of convenience foods
Save Food Dollars With Smart Shopping Skills
Keep a “short list” - a list of items that you need to buy (a notepad attached to the refrigerator with a magnet works great). When you run out of something, write it down as soon as possible. The short list lets you know which foods you need to buy and helps to cut down on multiple visits to the store.
Study the store’s sale advertisements. Be careful of loss-leaders. A loss-leader is a product advertised by a store for a very low price. Consumers will often go to that store to get that low-priced item, but end up buying other items that they may not have planned to buy.
Look at the foods you already have on hand. Use these foods, along with store specials, to plan your meals and snacks. Foods in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer represent valuable food dollars. If the food spoils or goes uneaten, then that money is wasted.
After you plan your meals and snacks, make a shopping list. Be sure to include the items you listed on your short list.
Check your coupons to see if any can be used with the items that you have on your shopping list.
Make a list of non-food items (soap, laundry, personal care items). Can you buy these from a discount store? Do you have coupons for any of these items?
When shopping, consider store brands over national brands to save money. Even with coupons, some store brands may be cheaper. Use unit pricing to help spot the most economical buys.
Compare cost per ounce (or other unit), not just price of the food. Sometimes the off brand items have less net weight and therefore seem so much cheaper. Make sure what you are comparing. (On that note, one of our readers pointed out - "Kraft cheese is less expensive per oz. to buy the 36 pack than the 24, 48 or mega block. Seems odd.") So, bigger is not always cheaper per unit. Look at all the choices.
Think twice about convenience foods. Pancake and cake mixes, along with canned soups, fruits, and vegetables, can help you save time and money. Other foods like frozen dinners and coating mixes for meat and poultry may not save you enough time to justify the cost.
Check out bakery thrift stores for great buys on bread. Save money on fruits and vegetables by shopping at farmers markets.
If possible, shop alone, when you are not hungry, and when store is not crowded. This helps you to get in and out of the store in the shortest amount of times. The more time a consumer stays in the store, the more money he/she spends.
Store food properly to maintain quality and to avoid spoilage.
And Finally, some appropo definitions. Which one are you?
 | Shopper: a wise consumer who knows exactly what s/he wants to buy
Spender: a consumer who buys on impulse |
