Tag: Shopping

Are You Throwing Away Food (and Money and Time)?

Families living in the U.S. throw out about 15% of the food and 10% of the beverages they buy! This means that if your family spends $100/week on groceries you could be throwing away up to $25/week, or $100/month in discarded food! Imagine what you could do with that extra money – and with the extra time needed to shop for the food that gets wasted. Below are ways you can reduce waste in you your home to cash in on saving.

Organize. Save money at the grocery store by what you do before leaving the house. Check our food supplies and plan meals around what you already have. Use the oldest foods in your cupboard and freezer first. Make a grocery list for items you need to buy. Avoid buying perishables that aren’t in your menu plan. Or, adjust your meal plan if you buy perishables that you didn’t originally plan to get.

Buy fewer perishable foods in each shopping trip. Buy only the amount of fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, and other perishables that you can eat in a few days. Stuffing a refrigerator full of food makes it harder to know what is inside. Forgotten food is more likely to spoil. Buy canned, frozen, or dried foods to use until you shop again.

Serve small portions first. Rather than risk wasting part of a large served meal, plan to offer a second portions if you or a family member are still hungry.

Plan for “planned-overs.” You may have more product than a recipe calls for, such as the extra half package of some food. Or you may have more food than your family can eat at one meal. Make a plan to eat these foods later. Could you serve it for lunch tomorrow? Use it in a dinner salad? Freeze extras for later use?

Food patrol. Check in your refrigerator daily for foods that need to be eaten soon. If they are raw, cook seafood, poultry, and meats in the first day or two. Be creative, or find a recipe to use up certain foods. For instance, us a too-ripe banana in a smoothie. Chop rubbery carrots or other vegetables and cook them in a soup or in spaghetti sauce.

By: Jamie Rathbun

Food Waste

While you don’t want to run out of food, think about what you will do with the leftovers. When meal planning and making your grocery list, consider altering the recipe to avoid leftovers if they will go to waste. In almost 32% of average households that leftover food, along with forgotten food, is wasted. Residential homes make up 37.2% of all surplus food wasted.

During the height of the pandemic, consumers wasted less food. Now that we have resumed many normal activities, that amount of waste has surged. To combat food waste, try going back to basic consumer skills. Take a look at your kitchen management plan. Look at what is in your refrigerator and cabinets before going to the grocery store. Create a meal plan to utilize what you have before you buy more food. Make a shopping list before going to the grocery store. Preparing meals at home can help reduce food waste. Freeze leftovers to use later.

By: Brenda Langdon

Money Saving Tips

Don’t let the cost of shopping scare you during the Halloween season. There will be plenty of deals on these product categories in October.

Outdoor Furniture – People generally spend less time outdoors when the temperature drops. Expect deals on patio furniture and outdoor living products when summer ends.

Jeans – Fall inventory arrives in stores in August and September, but you will pay top dollar unless you wait a few weeks.  October is a great time to buy a new pair of jeans.

Candy –  As the month gets closer to Halloween, your chances improve to snag a discounted bag of candy for trick-or-treaters.

Mark your calendar: Columbus Day is October 12 & Halloween is October 31.

Freebie day:  National Taco Day is October 4.

By: Brenda Langdon

Money Saving Tips

Brenda Langdon Family Resource Management Agent

With deals on items as varied as mattresses and back to school supplies, September is a surprising month for good buys.

Mattresses – Year after year, September is the time for mattress sales. Expect these from department stores and mattress centers usually as a part of Labor Day sales.  Keep in mind that this year COVID-19 may have an effect on mattress sales.

iPhones – Apple has been known to announce its new iPhones in September. Usually the unveiling is followed by a drop in prices on the current phones in anticipation of the new models.  This year with COVID-19, this may not be the case. Be watching for the new Apple Watch in September and the iPhone 12 in October.

Appliances  Expect a series of blowout deals in the week leading up to Labor Day, including promotions on appliances big and small.

Mark your calendar: Labor Day is September 7.

Freebie day:  National Coffee Day is Sept. 29.

Upcoming expense to consider and budget for:

Last minute cookouts, car maintenance, wardrobe refresh, labor day getaway, Christmas, back to school supplies, new clothes for the kids, sports or activity fees, lunch money, vaccinations.

By: Brenda Langdon

Money Saving Tips for August

Looking for a great sale?  Here is a list of the best products to buy in August plus the national days where you can score free items.

Close out summer by buying summer products — look for end-of-season clearance sales.

Back-to-school supplies – The start of school marks the need to buy small items such as pencils and expensive ones like laptops. Generally, the closer to the start of the school year you buy, the better your chances of getting a good price.

Outdoor products. Look for end of summer sales with a big deal on lawn mowers and other seasonal outdoor equipment.

Swimsuits. There may not be many swimming days left by the time August rolls around, but that’s exactly why stores will have swimsuit clearance sales. Buy swimsuits for your family now for next year.

Mark your calendar: The first day of school is usually in August.

Freebie day:  National Waffle Day is Aug. 24.

By: Brenda Langdon

How to Save Money in July 2020

Looking for a great sale?  Let’s look at how to save money and plan your shopping from month to month in 2020.  Here is a list of the best products to buy in July plus holidays where you might find an extra sale and a bonus including the national days where you can score free items!

The temperature usually rises in July, but the prices of certain items drop. Consider buying these:

  • Apparel – If you don’t want to wait for end-of-summer sales, buy clothes now. You’ll likely find a better price than you would have at the start of the season.
  • Patriotic items – Retailers like a reason to celebrate. In the days leading up to the Fourth of July, there’s usually an abundance of sales on red, white and blue products (and items that are all three colors), as well as on sporting goods, jewelry and furniture.
  • Personal electronics – Black Friday is a big deal day that falls in November, but many retailers have added Black Friday in July sales. You can typically expect discounts in nearly every product category.  Amazons summer Prime Day sale has traditionally been carried out in mid-July, however, the coronavirus pandemic might cause a delay considering that Amazon hasn’t advertised the event as it has in the past.  If they do have the event, continue to watch as there may be short notice in advertising.

Mark your calendar: The Fourth of July is … July 4.

Freebie day: National Ice Cream Day is July 19, and National Lipstick Day is July 29.

By: Brenda Langdon