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http://www.keepcookin.com/kitchenref/costcut.html
Cost-Cutting Tips
Hold up bags of onions, potatoes and other produce marked 3 pounds, or whatever, and choose the heaviest ones. The weight marked is the minimum required, so some bags hold more than others. If you're not a good judge of weight, weigh them on the produce scale.
 Buy pasta sauce in cans. "They hold the same amount as jars--but metal containers are far less expensive than glass ones.
 Because of a record catch in Alaska, salmon, both fresh and frozen, is a good buy now. Farmed catfish is a good value too.
 One of the best values is still frozen juice concentrate. Foods that traditionally were bargains--powdered milk and margarine--aren't necessarily so any longer.
 Compare fresh fruits by weight, taking waste into account. Add 50 percent to the price of oranges, 50 percent to bananas, 66 percent to melons and pineapples when comparing them to grapes, peaches and pears, which have little waste.
 Wonder why brown eggs are more expensive than white when the insides of both are the same? Hens that lay brown eggs are larger and eat more. If you find eggs at a good price and want to stock up, buy for up to 5 weeks to assure freshness.
 Buy bags of frozen vegetables instead of boxes, which only contain 2 to 4 servings.
 Bone chicken breasts yourself if boneless breasts cost more than twice the price of bone in." Dot Tringali, of the National Broiler Council, also tipped us off to rotisserie chickens. "Compare the price per pound with whole uncooked chickens, which will shrink up to 30 percent when cooked. For example, if you bought a 3-pound chicken at $1 per pound and it weighed 2 pounds when fully cooked, you would be paying $1.50 per pound. If you paid $6 for a 3-pound cooked chicken, you would be paying $2 per pound or only 50 cents more per pound than for the one you spent time and energy preparing.
 Compare prices of different forms of the same food (fresh, canned, frozen) as well as different styles (whole, sliced) to see which is the best buy.
 When a recipe calls for an unusual cut of pasta, substitute a less-expensive shape.
 Avoid high prices for small containers of dried herbs. Buy large jars and share them with friends.
 Purchase frozen large, whole turkeys (or turkey breasts if your family is small) when they're on special and ask the butcher to saw them in half down the middle. This size is better for nonholiday meals, and takes up less space in the freezer.
 Chunk or flaked tuna costs considerably less than solid white tuna and works just as well in dishes such as salads and casseroles.
 Use bouillon cubes, powder or granules when a recipe with lots of other ingredients calls for a large amount of broth.
 When lettuce is expensive, make salads with spinach, cabbage, cucumbers and other vegetables.
 Cooked cereals are much more economical than ready-to-eat.
 Frozen vegetables with butter or sauce added can cost twice as much as plain. Add the butter or seasonings yourself.
 Specialty breads, such as French or Italian, can cost as much as 3 times more than the same amount of white bread.
 Cheese spread costs more in a pressurized can than in a jar.
 To get the most potato chips in a pound, buy plain instead of rippled or dip chips, which are thicker so there are fewer of them. Also, whole-wheat bread is more dense than white, so if it's quantity you're looking for--that is, number of slices per pound--buy white.
 Go to your market's salad bar when you want just a handful of two or three vegetables for a stir-fry or salad, or if you want a few berries to garnish a dessert. In the short run you'll save money knowing you didn't buy more than you would use.
 Use the scale to get the best produce values. One head of lettuce may look larger, but weigh less than the next.
 Make your own convenience foods (they cost about 4 times more to buy). By making granola you can save about 20 cents per ounce; homemade cookies save you anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per pound.
Please add yours...
cupajoe
Meghane
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