It’s expensive to feed your family! Yahoo Finance says to feed a family of four for a week, it costs from $131 on the low side up to $299! So it pays to shop smart to get the most for your food dollars. Here are some things you want to skip buying at the supermarket.

1. Salad dressing – When you buy bottled dressing, it’s probably got a ton of ingredients and could have 120 calories per serving. So make a healthy, fresh vinaigrette with three or four ingredients instead.
2. Gift credit cards – They can be a life-saver when you truly need a last minute gift, but some gift cards from the grocery store have big activation fees.
3. Greeting cards – If you don’t want to pay four or five dollars for a card at the supermarket, you could buy a cool set of blank cards to use for any occasion.
4. Name-brand spices – According to a blind taste-test from “Consumer Reports,” people couldn’t taste the difference between expensive brand-name spices and cheaper generic versions (pro-tip: check out the spices in the Goya aisle). A good way to save on spices is to buy a little at a time from your local health-food store, where they sell in bulk.
5. Pre-arranged flower bouquets – Look for the buds that aren’t quite open yet and get single varieties of flowers to get the best value from fresh flowers from the supermarket.
6. Party supplies – You can save a ton on candles, paper plates, and helium balloons at the dollar store.
7. Lunchables – Those things have a lot of calories, fat and sugar, plus they’re totally processed. So just give your kiddo leftover pasta or a cheese sandwich instead – cut it into a cute shape, if you’re one of those moms.
8. Batteries – You’ll pay way more for them at the supermarket than you will at a warehouse club.
9. Bottled water – Forget buying plastic bottles of water over and over. All you need is a couple of stainless steel water bottles to fill and keep in the fridge. You’ll save the planet and some money.
10. Diapers – Anyone who has to buy diapers knows that the grocery store isn’t the cheapest place to get them. But when you desperately need them, it’s great that they’re right there.

Source: Cosmopolitan