Stretching Your Budget - Don'tcha Wanna Haggle?
If you've never been to your local Farmer's Market, go have a look. Saturdays are usually the busiest, so if you're not a big fan of crowds, go later in the day, say an hour or two before closing. In fact, not only are there usually less people later in the day, you can often get some amazing bargains. Many vendors would rather drop their prices to get rid of stock than pack it all back up, carry it out, and store it elsewhere until the next market day (which for some markets is a week). Vendors at these markets are used to haggling (bargaining). They may put up little cardboard signs advertising the price drop, or even shout it out like an auctioneer. Others will give you a discount if you ask. Don't be afraid to ask. I usually set my budget at $20 and end up leaving with bags of fresh fruit and vegetables, and sometimes cold cuts and other food items. The same items in a "no frills" type of supermarket might be $25-30. In more expensive grocery stores, I've spent closer to $35 or more. You really can save that much, sometimes more if you're lucky.
But the draw back of bargaining is that you sometimes end up with a basket of something that you normally don't eat a lot of, just because you got a deal. A few weeks ago, I ended up with a basket and a half of field cucumbers. I was figuring on pickling them, as I love pickles. Except I couldn't find all of the ingredients I needed, nor the bottles, let alone the time to do it. I ended up having to eat 2-3 cucumbers a day so that they wouldn't spoil. Of course, if you buy in bulk, you can freeze certain items (as I mentioned in my 10 Tips For Stretching Your Food Budget).
Another great place for saving on groceries, at least in North America, is in Oriental markets. If you know what you're buying, you don't have to worry about the language barrier. Although I'm finding that more often than not, there's usually a younger employee that knows English. I find all kinds of cool fruit at Oriental markets that are either unavailable at regular supermarkets, or cost a fortune and have usually spoiled. At Oriental markets, the demand for these items is higher, so they can keep a fresh supply coming. [Occasionally I will publish a post, at my Curry Elvis Cooks blog, a photo of an exotic fruit, a description of its taste, and a few ways to use it.
(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://cookingforone-or-two.blogspot.com
But the draw back of bargaining is that you sometimes end up with a basket of something that you normally don't eat a lot of, just because you got a deal. A few weeks ago, I ended up with a basket and a half of field cucumbers. I was figuring on pickling them, as I love pickles. Except I couldn't find all of the ingredients I needed, nor the bottles, let alone the time to do it. I ended up having to eat 2-3 cucumbers a day so that they wouldn't spoil. Of course, if you buy in bulk, you can freeze certain items (as I mentioned in my 10 Tips For Stretching Your Food Budget).
Another great place for saving on groceries, at least in North America, is in Oriental markets. If you know what you're buying, you don't have to worry about the language barrier. Although I'm finding that more often than not, there's usually a younger employee that knows English. I find all kinds of cool fruit at Oriental markets that are either unavailable at regular supermarkets, or cost a fortune and have usually spoiled. At Oriental markets, the demand for these items is higher, so they can keep a fresh supply coming. [Occasionally I will publish a post, at my Curry Elvis Cooks blog, a photo of an exotic fruit, a description of its taste, and a few ways to use it.
(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://cookingforone-or-two.blogspot.com
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