Create Your Own Savings Plan

* Eat out (or get takeout) only rarely. That tactic may seem severe, but it’s a quick way to streamline food costs.
* Be strict about sticking to your grocery list. People who avoid impulsive shopping spend up to 23 percent less on grocery bills.
* Skip pricey sports drinks and sodas. Replace them with water from the tap.
* Cut your meat. Any recipe calling for a pound of ground meat can be substituted with 13 to 14 ounces.
* Buy more fruits and vegetables. Research shows that when you bulk up on produce, you eat less of other foods (and cut food budgets by up to 25 percent).
* Opt for frozen seafood over fresh. Vacuum-packaged salmon, flounder, and tilapia fillets and bags of frozen shrimp cost 20 to 40 percent less than their counterparts at the fish counter.
* Don’t buy nongrocery items at the supermarket. Health and beauty goods are usually cheaper at mass-market retailers, like Target. And you’ll find the best deals on paper products at warehouse clubs.
* Purchase oranges, onions, and potatoes in bags rather than individually. You’ll pay roughly half the price.
* Skip buying expensive prepackaged foods; take a minute or two to wash your own greens and cut your own fruit.
*Join a food co-op. Find one near you at coopdirectory.org.
* Shop outlets for baked goods. Entenmann’s, Arnold, and Boboli offer discounts of up to 50 percent off (search  gwbakeries.com for locations).