2. Know how. Know now.

3. 2 Alice Henneman, MS, RD University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County ahennema@unlnotes.unl.edu Created with PowerPoint 2003, October, 2008. Prices are rounded to the nearest 25 cents and may vary by store and region. This is a peer-reviewed publication.

4. 3 You can save money WITHOUT...

5. 4... cooking everything from scratch

6. 5... packing your purse with coupons

7. 6... only purchasing foods in season

8. 7 16 EASY tips to help you...  Spend less and/or  Avoid losing money through tossing uneaten foods

9. 8 You may be surprised at the END of this presentation by the TOTAL AMOUNT these 16 tips save!

10. 9 A dollar saved is even better than a dollar earned: You don’t have to pay taxes on it!

11. 10 1. Keep a grocery list  Saves gas money on extra trips to the supermarket  Less likely to make impulse purchases

12. 11  Keep list easy to access

13. 12  Stay flexible if you find a sale

14. 13 Savings example 1  Gas to drive four miles for an extra trip to the store $1.00 or more!

15. 14 Savings example 2  Impulse purchase of snack crackers at the store Snack Crackers $2.50

16. 15 2. Garbage check  Money is tossed when food is tossed!  What foods are in your trash can?

17. 16 Reduce, reuse or recycle foods

18. 17  Tossing “tired” lettuce?  “Reuse” it in menus more often – serve more salads; add to sandwiches, tacos or enchiladas; make “wrap” sandwiches  Reduce the amount purchased

19. 18 Savings example  Eating your lettuce before it gets “tired” and needs to be tossed! $1.00

20. 19  Too many mashed potatoes?  Reduce the amount made  Recycle in a day or two as potato patties, shepherd’s pie, potato soup

21. 20  Bananas too ripe?  Recycle in banana bread or smoothies Tossing me – that’s bananas!

22. 21 3. Avoid shopping when hungry  Everything looks good when you have an empty stomach  Eat BEFORE shopping AND feed kids who will be shopping with you!

23. 22 Savings example  Cost of an energy bar purchased to tide you over until you get home $1.50 I’m hard to resist if you’re hungry!

24. 23 4. Brown bag it  Brown bag it one or more days a week  Typical fast food meal can cost $5.00

25. 24  It can be as simple as a peanut butter sandwich and piece of whole fruit  Or, leftovers from last night

26. 25 Savings example 1  Eating a sack lunch once a week $2.50

27. 26 Savings example 2  Eating a sack lunch 5 days a week $12.50

28. 27  Brown bag it and cut your lunch costs in half!

29. 28 5. Coupon common sense Use coupons only for foods normally eaten

30. 29 Look for coupons in  Newspapers  Magazines and...

31. 30  Check the back of grocery receipt and …

32. 31  Store and product online Web sites may offer coupons

33. 32  Check if store has double or triple coupon days when values are increased  See if a store will price match a coupon from another store

34. 33 Savings example 1  Using two 50¢ coupons for two items you DO use $1.00

35. 34 Savings example 2  NOT using a coupon to buy a new dessert $2.00

36. 35 6. Check expiration dates  Avoid buying food past its expiration date  Foods are often priced lower near expiration date and a good buy if used before expiration................... Use by....

37. 36  Use foods before they get too old

38. 37 Savings example  Avoid dumping a half gallon of soured milk down the drain. Use it before it gets too old in milk-based soups or instead of water in oatmeal. $2.50

39. 38 7. Small scale experiments  Buy the smallest package size the first time you purchase an unfamiliar food Buy me!

40. 39 Savings example  Extra cost of purchasing large container of a new spice your family won’t eat $1.50

41. 40 8. Costly convenience foods  Consider how much time you REALLY save buying a specific convenience food...

42. 41  It takes just a few seconds to make your own sugar and cinnamon mixture rather than buy pre-mixed

43. 42  Microwaving regular oatmeal takes only a few minutes more than pouring hot water over a pre-measured package

44. 43  Cutting your own fruits and veggies saves money – they keep longer than precut ones, too!

45. 44 Savings example  Buying a carton of oatmeal providing 30 servings vs. buying 3 boxes with 10 instant oatmeal packets each $5.50 Oatmeal

46. 45 9. Staple food stock up Invest in staple foods when they’re on sale  Tuna  Tomato sauce  Other?

47. 46  Stocking up on a boatload of bananas – and other perishable foods – isn’t a very good investment … unless you make banana bread and freeze it

48. 47 Savings example  Stocking up on 10 cans of food that have each been marked down by 20¢ a can $2.00

49. 48 10. Bulking up when the price is right and you can use it  Do the math and check if you REALLY save with the larger package

50. 49  Consider if you will consume the food before it gets old Do I have to eat this?

51. 50 Savings example 1  Buying a 5-pound instead of a 1-pound bag of rice (if you serve rice frequently) $1.50

52. 51 Savings example 2  Check unit prices (usually above or below the food)  If a 1-lb. bag is $3.49 (unit price: 21.8¢/oz.) and a 6-pack of smaller bags is $2.69 (unit price: 55.3¢/oz.)...  Buy the larger bag, repackage into smaller bags, and get over twice as much per comparable weight $1.75

53. 52 11. Store brand savings  Store brands are comparable in nutrition to name brands  Store brands are more likely on store’s bottom shelves – look around to find the best buys

54. 53  Many times you cannot tell the difference in taste between name and store brands I’m not feeding you a line!

55. 54  Store brands may vary more in color, size, or texture than name brands  Appearance is less important in many foods, such as casseroles I’m quite a catch!

56. 55 Savings example  Buying two cans of a store brand and saving 50¢ on each $1.00

57. 56 12. Prevent food flops  Check preparation methods for unfamiliar foods

58. 57  The meat manager might help with unfamiliar meat cuts

59. 58  Some produce departments have books or signs with descriptions of fruits and vegetables

60. 59 Savings example  Avoiding the purchase of self- rising flour and finding it won’t work in your recipe $2.50

61. 60 13. Beware of snack attacks  Cutting back on snacks can help your wallet and your waistline

62. 61 Savings example  Buying one less bag of chips weekly $2.50

63. 62 14. Shop the specials  Plan your menus around sales items, especially more expensive items like meat

64. 63 Savings example  Buying meat on sale $2.00

65. 64 Buy several packages of meat on sale and freeze them. Here’s how from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food Safety & Inspection Service...

66. 65  It’s safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its supermarket wrapping but this type of wrap is permeable to air.  Unless the food will be used in a month or two, over wrap these packages for long-term storage using airtight heavy- duty foil, (freezer) plastic wrap or freezer paper, or place the package inside a (freezer) plastic bag.

67. 66  At 0 degrees F, frozen foods remain safe indefinitely, but quality decreases.  Frozen raw ground meat maintains optimum quality for 3 to 4 months.  Larger pieces of meat like steaks or chops maintain optimum quality for 4 to 12 months.  The safest way to thaw meat is in the refrigerator on a plate on the bottom shelf so it doesn’t drip on other foods.

68. 67 15. Think before you drink  Buy a reusable water bottle and fill with tap water instead of buying bottled water

69. 68  Limit soft drinks and fancy coffees

70. 69 Savings example  Drinking tap water instead of buying a 12 pack of bottled water $4.00

71. 70 16. “Checkout” temptation  Think twice before buying a last minute temptation in the checkout lane

72. 71 Savings example  Resist buying a magazine with the latest diet $3.50

73. 72  How much do you think you could save with these tips?

74. 73  If you used each example in ONE shopping trip weekly, you could save as much as... $40 per week !

75. 74  Multiply $40 by 52 weeks and the grand total is... OVER $2,000 yearly!!

76. 75  What could YOU do with over $2,000 extra a year?

77. 76 The End

78. 77 “Thank You!” to the following people for reviewing these materials and adding their suggestions for saving money at the supermarket: Sharon Balters, Pam Branson, Chiquita Briley, Cindy Brison, Toni Bryant, Jessie Coffey, Joan Davis, Sarah Doerneman, Jennifer Dunavan, Rita Frickel, Shannon Frink, Karen Hudson, Cindy Goody, Becky Guittar, Teri Hlava, Kayla Hinrichs, Vicki Jedlicka, Lisa Kopecky, Toni Kuehneman, Tracy Kulm, Jana McKinney, Jennifer Meyer, Martha Murphy, Stacie Ortmeier, Dave Palm, Amber Pankonin, Zainab Raida, Joan David Sather, Carol Schwarz, Kathy Tack, Kathy Taylor, Amy Vore, Jennifer Yen, Kathy Walsten, Jessica Wegener and Linda Wetzel.

79. 78 Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture. University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.