STRETCHING FOOD DOLLARS
Making your food dollars go as far as possible is a matter of knowing what to look for
and what to compare. Compare forms of
products (for example, concentrated juice vs.
ready-to-drink juice) and sizes of packages.
Here are some other ways to stretch your
food dollars:
Check the price differences between
nationally known brands of foods and
store brands. In breakfast cereals alone
there can be a great difference. For example, an 18-ounce box of nationally known
breakfast cereal can easily cost $4.50,
which means it costs 25 cents per serving.
Store brands may cost $2.25 for a 20-ounce
package, or 11 1⁄4 cents per serving. The
difference is mostly in the packaging of the
products with few nutritional differences
between the two items.
Compare the prices of frozen, canned,
fresh, and dried items of the same food.
Compare the number of servings in each
food package.
Compare prices at different stores.
Compare prices of similar foods, such as
fresh peaches and pears.
Compare larger packages vs. two smaller
packages of the same product to get the
better value.
Compare the cost of convenience foods vs.
the cost of making it from scratch.
Watch Out for Food $nitchers
Impulse buying
Nonfood items
Foods with low
nutritional value
Foods that
spoil quickly
Beware of Location, Location, Location
....... Rear of Store
More expensive items often are
placed at eye level. Look up or
down to find similar, less costly
items.
Eye Level Placement
Sale items often are
placed at the rear of
a store so you have to
walk past all the
higher-priced items
to get to the sale
items.
End of Aisle Display ........
These displays attract
your attention whether
the prices actually are
reduced or not.
Beverage Comparisons
Orange Juice
Packaging
Size
Cost
⁄2 gallon from refrigerated section
8 oz.
27¢
1 gallon from refrigerated section
8 oz.
23¢
Single serving from refrigerated section
8 oz.
47¢
Frozen, reconstituted
8 oz.
21¢
Single serving, canned*
6 oz.
45¢
1 medium
25¢
1
Fresh orange
*Note: This is a 6 oz. serving.
Soft Drink
Size
Cost
12 oz., machine
75¢
12 oz., 6-pack
48¢
2005 prices from a supermarket in Mississippi
Small Savings Add Up!
Cable TV
Eating Out
Soft Drinks
$4 (5 days/week) = $1,040 per year
$.75/day = $275 per year
Snacks
Alcohol
$1 (3 days/week) = $156 per year
Cigarettes
$4/day = $1,460 per year
$40/month = $480 per year
$10/week = $520 per year
Lottery Tickets
Coffee
$5/week = $250 per year
$.50/day = $183 per year
Little Things Add Up!
Stretching Food Dollars
Use the Beverage Comparisons on page 2 to figure and fill in the costs of the items below.
Type
Cost per Day
Weekly
Monthly
For a Family of 4
12 oz. soft drink
(from a machine)
12 oz. soft drink
(from a 6-pack)
8 oz. orange juice
(from 1 gallon)
8 oz. orange juice
(single serving)
8 oz. orange juice
(frozen reconstituted)
If you have, for example, three 12-ounce servings from the machine per day, how much would it
cost per day?
Per week?
Per month?
What other forms of less expensive drinks might you try taking with you to work?
Distributed by Carol Ball, Extension Associate II, Department of Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion.
Funded by USDA’s Food Stamp Program and the Mississippi Department of Human Resources.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race,
color, national origin, sex, age, religion, political beliefs or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil
Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.
Publication 2375
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of
Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Dr. Melissa Mixon, Interim Director
(POD 06-09)