I haven’t done a cost comparison to see if shopping for produce at a farmer’s market is any cheaper than at a grocery store, but as a regular shopper at both I’ve seen mostly higher prices at grocery stores. Not always, but often.

Even if you do find deals at the store, the quality isn’t often as good as it is from a farmer’s market where the produce was picked that morning or maybe a day or so earlier. I’m not trying to be a farmer’s market snob. Some things I’ve found at farmer’s markets during my weekly trips to them in the past seven years have not always been so great. But overall, I’ve found most of the produce to be top-notch.

Being a cheapskate at a farmer’s market requires some changing of your standards. And don’t think that these methods will put your local farmer out of business. They want to unload their fruits and vegetables every week, and will sometimes take a small loss if it means moving more items.

Here are some ways to be a cheapskate at a farmer’s market, and they don’t include having it delivered to your home:

Skip organic

Without getting into an argument over the overuse of the term organic and which foods should be grown organically for health reasons, if you want to save money as a cheapskate, skip buying organic at your farmer’s market. You’ll save at least 25 percent

If you absolutely don’t want fertilizers on the food you buy and are willing to pay extra for organic, then buy it. But know that it’s basically a technical term that requires adhering to certain practices and standards.

I’m not an expert in organic regulations for produce, but I can tell you from my conversations with farmers at my local farmer’s market that it’s a label that county regulators monitor closely for compliance. Some farmers basically grow their food organically but don’t go through all of the paperwork to get it certified.

There’s an organic stand at my local market that I always skip because I’m a cheapskate. I’m in drought-stricken California, where produce prices are high already, but I’ve seen the organic stand sell cherries for 50 cents more per pound than other stands.

Buy in season

This is the easiest way to save. Too many things are sold out of season in California, and the prices are a few dollars higher than they would be if they were in season. They also taste a lot better when they’re bought in the season they normally grow in.

I only buy apples in the fall and watermelon in the summer. Plums and apricots are plentiful during the summer, and are $2 per pound now versus $3 or more a month or so ago.

Be a late cheapskate

The farmer’s market I go to is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arriving late can save you 50 percent or more.

I rarely do this, mainly because the fruit is so picked over by close to 2 p.m. that what’s left is often bruised and must be eaten within a day or so before it goes bad.

That may be OK if you plan on eating a lot of apricots fast, or will can them or turn them into jam. But if you want good fruit to eat for the next week, go early in the morning and pay the regular price.

Haggle as a cheapskate

Haggling is a lost art, I think, and one I’m not good at. But if you see an advertised price and can haggle well to a lower price, then this is the place to do it — especially at the end of the day at a farmer’s market.

Farmers want to pack up and leave, and haggling near closing time could save you 50 percent or more and make you the ultimate cheapskate.

But in my view, unless they’re offering a discount, why haggle a few dollars for some farmer who has done more work bringing your vegetables or fruits to market than you’ve done all week? It’s like stealing from a your child’s teacher.

Take a cheapskate walk first

This is advice I don’t always follow because I’m usually in a hurry. Too many times I’ve bought something — strawberries, for instance — at one stand and then come to another stand a few feet later that has better prices. That doesn’t mean the quality is the same, but a quick look and a taste can give you an idea of why one is cheaper than the other.

If you really want to be a smart cheapskate, take a walk around the farmer’s market and keep your money in your pocket while you compare prices. Then go buy the best deals.

Buy in bulk

I rarely to this because its too much fruit or veg for my family to eat before before it goes bad, but if you have a large family or are OK with eating a lot of one item for a week, then buying in bulk can lead to big savings as a cheapskate.

I’ve seen strawberries for $8 for a crate of six small baskets, while a package of three small baskets costs $5. Double the strawberries for only $3 more? Yes! Strawberry pies require a lot of strawberries.

Fresh corn during the summer, however, proved to be too much when 10 ears were only $6, compared to four for $3. You can only eat so much corn for dinner, lunch and snacks.

You can also use your haggling skills as a cheapskate to ask for a better price in bulk.

Go ugly

I’ve never done this, but I’ve heard that farmers will keep “ugly” produce aside that they don’t think will sell. Ask to see the “ugly box” and make sure you get a lower price if you buy anything in it.

Build goodwill and give them the change

I don’t like carrying around a pocket full of change. Digging for exact change at a busy farmer’s market can be a pain for everyone — you, the vendor and anyone waiting in line behind you.

I give my regular business to farmer’s market vendors who don’t charge in change. They either round up or down. If they round up, they always ask me if I want to throw in an extra plum or whatever I’m buying to make the total amount an even number. If apples weigh in at $3.74, I grab another apple and they charge me $4.

If they don’t go that route, then still give them $4 and tell them to keep the change. I’m not trying to be a big tipper, but want to make the point that I don’t want the change and would rather they have it.

One farmer I go to every week always rounds down. I often round it up for her because she’s so fair in her prices.

This goodwill as a cheapskate may not save you money immediately, but over time it may build you goodwill with the vendor and they’ll lower their prices for you.

8 Ways to Be a Cheapskate at Farmer’s Markets is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

What would you do with an extra $50 to $250 a month? Pay off credit card debt? Build an emergency savings fund? Take a much-needed vacation? There’s a good chance you are throwing away that much money month after month, and if you stop, you’ll be able to put it to better use.

You just need to stop wasting so much food.

Laura McElfresh from Aurora Colorado, has learned firsthand how the savings can add up. With seven children ages 3-21, the $800 to $900 the family used to spend each month on food didn’t seem unreasonable, but it was putting a strain on the family budget. McElfresh says she planned meals, used coupons and thought she was doing pretty well. She remembers reading that Americans throw away about 25% of their food, and thought “no way.”

But in 2012, after the holidays, she had an epiphany. “I remember the week after New Year’s going through the fridge and throwing away a kitchen-sized trash bag of food” she says. She realized that throwing away a quarter of her food that meant she was wasting $255 a month, or $2,700 a year. “My grandmother who survived the Depression with her family of six small children would have rolled over in her grave if she knew what I’d done,” she said.

She resolved to change.

First, she got creative. “Grandma rarely had a recipe,” she says. “She used what was fresh from the garden, what was already in the house, and her meals were sort of a smorgasbord of bits and pieces from what was in the fridge. The ham she cooked, half a jar of home canned peaches, bread from the morning, leftover green beans, whatever she had on hand. And no matter how many people there were at her table there was always enough.”

McElfresh says she realized that if she started serving more side dishes like her grandmother did, the main dish would go further, and there would be another bonus: It would encourage everyone to eat more veggies and sides.

A Recipe for Savings

McElresh has a “go to” meal she calls “Stuff in a Pan” that she says is a great way to use up whatever is on hand.

Start with meat — ham, chicken, sausage etc. (For her large family, she uses two pounds of meat.) Add potatoes or veggies such as zuchinni or spaghetti squash. Then throw in seasonings and condiments you find in your fridge such as onion, garlic, leftover corn or green beans, cheese, olives, “that carrot that needs to be used up in the back of the fridge” etc. One version she calls “Stuff Italiano” can be made with spaghetti sauce, or a Mexican version can be made with taco meat and salsa.

Turn ‘Trash’ Into Meals

McElresh now makes it a habit to freeze and label leftovers, even when the amounts are small. “It seems silly when you start doing it, but I’m always amazed at how many great meals come out of what would be trash,” she says. For example, if there is a leftover pork chop or bit of pork roast, she will freeze it. Over time, she’ll have enough to warm up with barbecue sauce for sandwiches. “I take it as a personal challenge to see what I can make out of ‘trash’ at our house!” she says.

She also recommends a periodic “freezer challenge.” For one week, the goal is to use what is in the freezer. She might buy essentials like milk, eggs, butter or snacks, but as much as possible she tries to use what she already has on hand. She says she searched the Internet — “What can I make with frozen broccoli?” – until she came up with tried-and-true recipes, many of which she shares on her blog.

Clean Out Your Fridge

Experts often recommend rotating food in the fridge and pantry so that older food is front and center, where it is most likely to be used, and McElfresh agrees it is essential. “I learned quickly that I absolutely had to clean out the fridge every three to five days in order for this to work,” she says. “I rotate food to the front of the fridge that needs to be used most quickly and tuck the stuff that lasts longer back to the back. Cut up produce that is looking sad and put it out at snack time.” She says tackling this chore more frequently means less time and waste than if she waited longer. “And I have less guilt knowing that my money is feeding us, not the landfill,” she says.

Bring Less Home

Learning not to buy things she didn’t need was her most important lesson, she says. When she started paying attention to things she was throwing away she found recurring themes: fresh fruit, leftover meals, side dishes and “always the celery and carrots (that) would get slimy in the back of the vegetable drawer … and big bags of precut lettuce.”

So, for example, she stopped buying fresh celery unless she knew she needed it for a specific recipe. The rest was immediately chopped, frozen and ready for a cooked dish. She says she buys heads of romaine lettuce now instead of the bags of cut-up salad mix. “It lasts forever in the fridge,” she says. Although prepping it is a little more work she says doesn’t wind up wasting it or making another trip to the store because she needs some lettuce for tacos.

McElfresh efforts paid off big time. She was able to feed her large family on $400 to $500 a month, a savings of $400 or more a month, which adds up to roughly $4,800 a year. She says, “In the end, I learned I really didn’t need to spend so much if I just use what I already have and buy less.”

Image courtesy of Laura McElfresh

Related Articles

• How to Save Big Without Feeling Deprived
• The Lifetime Cost of Debt Calculator
• 5 Habits of Successful Savers
• 5 Steps to Get Control of Your Finances

This article originally appeared on Credit.com.

This article by Gerri Detweiler was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.

Source

How One Family Saved $4,800 on Food in a Year is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Recently, Aaron wrote an article about how he was going to continue eating (mostly) organic produce, but that he found the delivery fee for his groceries to be much too high for his liking.

“All are organic and all tasted great, though the lettuce was a little wilted. Quantity and the delivery price, not quality, was where it failed for me.”

This got me thinking about if it’s even worth it to spend extra money on organic produce vs non-organic fruits and vegetables, especially if you are trying to get out of debt like I am. After all, the more I spend on living expenses, like food, the less I can put toward debt and the longer I’ll be paying astronomical interest rates for my past over-spending.

With these things in mind, I decided to do a little more research about organic produces and the benefits of it vs. non-organic fruits and vegetables. After all, the best way to decide something like this is to be educated on both sides of the debate before making a decision.

What’s the Difference Between Organic Produce and Non-Organic Produce?

Typically those who choose to consume organic produce decide to do so for health-related reasons. The idea is that organic produce is healthier for you and more nutritious because it’s grown without pesticides and other chemicals. But there has been conflicting research over the past few years about how true this really is.

Whenever one scientific journal comes out with a new study in favor of the health benefits of organic produce, another one is published with the opposite opinion. This is primarily because of the high percentage of organic produce that comes in to contact with non-organic produce, thus it becomes cross-contaminated.

Is Organic Produce Worth the Extra Cost?

A lot of people who choose to go the organic route for their produce actually buy a mix of some organic produce and some non-organic fruits and vegetables too. According to this WebMD article, organic produce can cost 50-100% more than non-organic produce.

The article goes on to say that there are 12 types of fruits and vegetables, known as the “dirty dozen”, that are more susceptible to carrying a pesticide residue. These include:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

Likewise, there are also 12 fruits and vegetables that are likely not worth the added cost of buying organic. These are typically the ones with skins and other non-edible protective coverings. These coverings give the produce a layer of protection from most pesticides and other chemicals. These include:

• Papayas
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Bananas
• Kiwifruit
• Sweet peas
• Asparagus
• Mangoes
• Pineapple
• Sweet corn
• Avocadoes
• Onions

You can also help avoid ingesting most pesticide and chemical residue by washing your produce before consumption. I always wash my produce if it’s one I’ll eat the skin of too, but the WebMD article also suggests washing fruits that you would peel. Additionally, you can avoid eating the outer layer of leaves of leafy green bunches. This will also cut down on the amount of chemical residue you are exposed to.

My Decision

I’ve actually never purchased organic produce before. I’ve never had a problem (that I know of anyway) due to eating only non-organic fruits and vegetables. They taste fine to me and I’ve never been un-happy with their quality.

I might try out a couple of organic fruits and vegetables in the near future so  I can see for myself if there’s a difference in taste and quality.

Do you buy organic produce? Why or why not.

Image courtesy of: Peter Halling Hilborg

Should You Pay a Premium for Organic Produce? is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

There is nothing like popping open a bag of chips and shoveling the salty, crunchy tastiness into your mouth while watching a movie.

Or is it? Imagine the satisfaction of preparing some really delicious things with your own hands and watching your loved ones melt with satisfaction while making the whole thing disappear in no time, begging you to make more! This will not be an article about healthy eating, but about the satisfaction of creating something truly delicious, which will make your heart melt.

1. Veggies tempura

Tempura is a Japanese dish of seafood and vegetables, that is best known for being as fluffy and crunchy as it can get. The secret is in the batter — it’s a mixture of cold water, cake or pastry flour, eggs, spices and some other ingredients (there are several recipes circulating online).

A friend of mine (working at the kitchen of a five star luxury hotel) always adds sparkling water and potato flakes (you know, the ones sold as “instant mashed potatos”) to the batter to make it extra fluffy. Mix them up, dip the veggies in the batter and deep fry them in hot vegetable oil (usually around 320-356 F) until ready. Depending on how meaty and thick your veggie slices are, frying can take between a few seconds and a few minutes.

2. Veggie & Potato Chips

Have you ever tried making potato chips at home? It is simpler than you imagine — all you need is a potato, sliced thin and fried until crispy in vegetable oil. But have you tried making chips out of other vegetables? They can be even more tasty. And mixing them all up will offer you a delicious and unique experience.

What I have tried were celery (excellent), carrots (excellent), zucchini (a bit soggy, but incredibly tasty) and other roots with a variable success. Experiment at home – don’t worry, if you are not lucky, you will only have to deal with some soggy fried vegetable slices which you can use in a sandwich.

3. Hamburgers

There is an incredible variety of hamburger recipes out there, some with a long list of ingredients that will make your head hurt. There is one, though, that is considered by many the best hamburger you can ever try — and one of the hardest to digest.

The list of ingredients is extremely short: it needs two-thirds of lean ground beef, one-third of tallow (beef fat), salt and pepper to taste. As a basic rule, it has to be fried over hot coals.

Some of my gourmet friends (like the above mentioned five-star chef) consider this the tastiest hamburger they can think of — and love the way the fat sprays out of the meat when you take a bite. This is what makes it one of the least healthy hamburgers out there, but one with an incredible taste and consistency.

If you don’t want to make a hamburger like this, then consider buying them online instead of in grocery stores from meat companies, because you can find yourself making a savings while still getting very high quality meat.

3 Delicious and Healthy Foods to Make in a Snap is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Mouth-watering Mixes

For starters, let’s begin with mixing an aforementioned cocktail. Grenadine and orange juice blended with icy cool scoops of sherbet is known as a June Bug. The colour is coral, the taste is terrific and it is a welcome addition at any barbecue or garden gathering. For adults, add some white rum or vodka to this thirst quenching drink that really packs a fruity punch.

Fancy something a bit different? Mix bourbon with sparkling lemonade, drop in two tablespoons of lemon juice, two teaspoons of blackberry rosemary syrup, toss in a handful of blackberries and you’ve created a delightful blackberry bourbon lemonade. Or get experimental with dark spirits, light spirits, fruit juice and lemonade to create an original summer drink of your own.

A Splash of Wine

If you like white wine, why not make a cool cucumber sangria? Simply slice a melon and put in a pitcher with slices of lime, cucumber and twelve mint leaves. Add a drizzle of honey and splash of lime juice, a bottle of semi dry white wine and chill for two hours. Top up with a litre of carbonated water and you’re good to go.

Go Organic

Summer is the time to put those rich bottles of red to one side and splash out on a crisp and welcoming white or refreshing rose. In recent years, organic wines have increased in popularity and come down in price.

It is often reported that a daily glass of wine can be good for you, and organic wines are free of sulphates, chemical fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides. Many wine connoisseurs also comment that there is a notable difference in the quality and taste, not to mention having less of an effect the next day!

There’s no need to splash out either, with many websites showing you how to make your own. Freezing fruit, working out water to sugar ratios and foraging, are all part of the fermenting fun, it’s good for the environment, and it’s a lot more economical too.

Fruity Ciders

Finally, ciders have evolved almost beyond recognition in recent years. Now they come in a range of strengths and flavours, not just made from traditional apples. Pear, mixed berries, you name it, there’ll be a cider out there for you made from your favourite fruit.

So when it comes to summer, simply decide if you want to drink fruit punch, cocktails, wine or cider, with or without alcohol, bought or made and then select who you want to clink your glass with!

Image by Shreveport-Bossier, under the Creative Comms licence.

Suzanne Wright is a big foodie and travel addict. She especially enjoys Thai cuisine and adventure travel, her favorite activity being canyoning.

Cheers to Summer: Drink Ideas is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Having a job at 15 is a great experience. I met many wonderful people that I wouldn’t have otherwise had to opportunity to meet, and I learned a little bit, if not much, of financial responsibility.

I would have rather had worked for a retail clothing store, but the town I lived in had few. The ones that did exist were tiny, and fully staffed with retirees or stay at home moms with plenty of work experience in that sort of thing.

This is the way it was for many people, particularly students, in my town. The job options were limited, so

we ended up bussing for half an hour into the city adjacent, or we’d work at fast food places that spattered throughout the municipality. Even the city that was close by was small at that time, and the options were, and still are, extremely limited.

At work, I met a co-worker who lived in one of the poorer sections of a particular suburb in the town. She had three kids and was a single mom. One day, while I was enjoying my lunch break outside on the makeshift patio of this fast food restaurant, she came out for her break as well. She was visibly upset, and when I asked her what was wrong, she had a bit of a breakdown.

She told me that she had just gone through a divorce and she had three children; a ten year old, an eight year old, and a four year old. Her ex-husband was nowhere to be found and didn’t pay child support despite her efforts to get it from him. Her kids were left with her mother, who was also extremely poor, while she worked her fast food job in overtime.

She lamented to me that her $8/hour salary wasn’t enough to pay the bills and feed her children. Her only other option was to go into the adjacent city to make $1/hour more, but because she couldn’t afford the expenses of a car, she didn’t have transportation. The $1/hour more she would make in the city would mean she would have to take the bus and put her kids in daycare or hire a babysitter for the duration of her added commute, since her mother and her had a system where she picked up her kids 15 minutes before her mother left for her own job.

Her options were severely limited, despite her having tried to get a job at some of the higher paying places in our small town. It just wasn’t possible.

She told me that she was living paycheque to paycheque, or worse. She had only eaten an apple all day that day, because she couldn’t afford groceries to feed her kids and herself, so naturally the food went to her kids.

She wanted to go to the food bank, but worked during the day and couldn’t make it before it closed. It was in the next city over.

That night, when we were closing the fast food restaurant up, there was a lot of leftover food which had been hanging out in the holding bins because we weren’t able to sell it. Things like chicken thighs, french fries, and leftover burgers. We were required every night to do an inventory of what was left over, and throw it all out after the inventory was done.

There were notices in the kitchen saying that we were not to take food out of the kitchen at any time without paying for it; even the food left over at the end of the night was to either be paid for at a 20% discount by employees, or thrown out. We were under camera surveillance to ensure compliance with this crazy policy.

It killed me to throw out that extra food when a fellow employee was practically starving and unable to feed her children. She couldn’t afford the food at a 20% discount, especially since fast food is already marked up an alarming amount.

So there was the choice: throw out the food, or go against company policy and risk my job (and my coworkers’ jobs) to send her home with the leftover food.

The choice was ridiculous. The food was not salvageable as the restaurant was closed. Nobody could have, or would have, purchased it. It was supposed to be going in the dumpster.

So, this is sort of like the Robin Hood story – do you “steal” from the rich, to give to the poor, or do you wastefully throw away perfectly good food because nobody can buy it?

What is your conclusion? What would you have done?

The Robin Hood Conundrum is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.