First, read ‘em and weep: the average rise in food prices lately.
- Beef: +7% (over last year’s all-time high!)
- Pork: +7%
- Lettuce: +34%
- Packaged Salads: +13%
And just to rub it in, if Iraq goes down the drain, we will be looking back fondly on a $3.60 gallon of gas!
As for food, the culprits are too much rain in some places, drought in others and animal diseases, apparently. What can you do about it? Well, money blog LearnVest has some ideas, the bullet points of which I am happy present…
- Make Wednesday your food shopping night
- Stock up during deep-discount periods
- Forgo the packaging
- Know when not to shop organic
- Buy the whole cow. (They call it cow-pooling. That cracks me up!)
- DIY your produce (i.e., grow your own.)
- Buy in season
- Join community-supported agriculture (CSA) groups. (Hippie nonsense, or real money saver? YES.)
- Consider frozen foods
- Buy in bulk
As usual, lots (tons!) more information at the original piece, so do yourself a favor! How about YOU? Feeling the pinch? Are these good tips? Got any to share? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!