Comments on: How to Avoid Spending Traps at the Grocery Store

By: SarahA

SarahA — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:12:42 +0000

I find that buying bone in is not worth it for me. It’s such a hassle that I’d rather pay a little more. It may be that I need a little more practice, though and if I did it more often it would be easier and faster.

By: Justin @ The Family Finances

Justin @ The Family Finances — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:17:25 +0000

My wife handles the grocery shopping, but she has a good handle on shopping for value. We plan our weekly menus based on what’s on sale in the flyer, and generally buy generic (though not entirely). We do buy the boneless chicken. I’m willing to pay a bit more on some things for the convenience.

By: Ellen K.

Ellen K. — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:02:51 +0000

Bagged produce is less expensive, but I’ve also found that the quality is mixed, so I’d rather pay a little more and inspect each piece of fruit.

By: An Exacting Life

An Exacting Life — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:37:31 +0000

I stopped buying shredded cheese when I noticed it has cellulose in it. I don’t need to eat sawdust with my cheese, thank you very much!

By: samantha

samantha — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:02:28 +0000

I rarely go to big grocery stores (for 10 years I didn’t even live near a big grocery store), but I would never buy prepared salad. I think salad from grocery stores is bland and tasteless. (I buy from small green grocers and locally produced) . But, i have always thought ready prepared salad is just so pointless, it is just one of those things I have never understood, but then I am a big salad lover so maybe a little more picky than most people

By: WorkingMom

WorkingMom — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:31:02 +0000

Love the hints, but have to agree with Bernie – my favorite store usually has boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.89 per pound, which I can’t beat with a whole chicken, which usually aren’t less than $1.29/pound. Take out the skin, bones, and dark meat, and the b/s breasts win the Cost Contest.

By: Zanne

Zanne — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:01:03 +0000

I prepare my “roast” chicken in the crockpot. It turns out moist and falling off of the bone every time. I put aluminum foil balls in the bottom of the crockpot, and spray the sides and tops of foil balls with cooking spray. I rinse the chicken, take out its insides, dry it off, and grease it top and bottom with olive oil, and add salt and pepper. I “roast” it for 8 hours in crockpot. It tastes just like roasted chicken to me, and it will break into 4 pieces as you remove it from the crockpot. All of the fat drains through the balls so that the chicken isn’t sitting in the fat while it cooks. The skin doesn’t get very crispy, but I’ve asked for a mini torch for my birthday, and lots of people don’t eat that anyway. I pull all the meat off of the bones and we eat from it that night. Then I chop all the leftovers, adding celery, and make chicken salad for lunches. Whole chicken runs about 95 cents the pound, so I get 3 dinner servings and 3 or 4 lunch servings for $5!

By: Bernie

Bernie — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:19:29 +0000

Great tips! Keep in mind though that when you buy the cheaper bone in, skin on chicken you’re also paying for the weight of the bone and the skin. You can use them to make stock but it’s not as big a difference in price as it may seem; you’re getting more meat for the pound when you buy boneless which is why it costs more.