Today I spent $40 on the following produce:Garlic stems, cherry tomatoes, beets, raddish, strawberries, peas, bok choy, mushrooms, string beans and cucumbers. Zucchini season has begun…but I didn’t get any. No new plastic entered the house with the purchase. Picture below:
This year I’m trying to reduce how much money I spend at the market. I don’t have a set number in mind, but I want to get the cheapest of whatever I’m getting. One way I am doing this is by taking a walk through the market and checking out the prices and doing a mental comparison before I buy anything.
Yesterday I bought 80 oz of honey for $20 and milk, cheese (goat and cow), butter, kale, potatoes, onions for $32.77. The cheese alone was $18.80. I will be making yogurt and paneer with the milk. I get the milk from the farmstand because I can return the bottle for my bottle deposit. And the bottle is made of glass.
The Complete Tightwad Gazette repeatedly stresses the importance of keeping a notebook of prices so you can track prices and know when a price is good or not.
Comment by Jim — June 2, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
Jim: I’m a big Amy Dacyczyn fan. And I had a price book when I shopped at traditional grocery stores. However I’ve moved completely away from visiting a regular store and only frequent the local farmers’ market as well as the natural food store (where I do keep tabs on the low prices. But since everything I purchase is in bulk, I get savings anyway).
I’m trying to figure out how to keep a price book when prices fluctuate with the season. For example zucchinis will be practically free in a few months but now cost a few bucks per pound.
Comment by Beany — June 3, 2008 @ 5:17 pm