My father commented to me the other day that, gosh, gas prices sure have dropped quite a bit lately, but those food prices haven’t.

Isn’t that always the way, though? Prices always go up quickly, but don’t seem to go down nearly as fast, nor as evenly.

But add to that the uncertain economic climate and the threat of layoffs everywhere you turn and a trip to the grocery store can become fraught with peril. OK, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but fact is, it can become a frightening prospect, even for coupon-clippers like me.

So the other day, I knew I had to share when I saw this article in Men’s Health on tips to save at the grocery store while still buying quality food, I knew I had to share. It seems the American Dietetic Association, basing its research on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (updated every 5 years, so we have a couple years to the new one), “found that you can enjoy a 2,000-calorie, wholesome meal plan for just $6.69 a day—about the cost of one super-value lunch from the drive-thru,” according to Men’s Health.

Even better, the magazine went to a nutritional expert from my alma mater, Anne Leavell from the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern University, for advice on good eats on a budget. For all the original info, of course go to the MH link provided above (aw, heck, here you go again), but I’ll give you the short list, along with my thoughts on each:

1. Get organized. I could not agree more. And I am no paragon of organization. But now that I have two little ones, even if I go shopping with only one of the boys, I find it sooooo much easier to get fully organized before I go. The times when I don’t have a list and coupons separated out beforehand and a plan of attack, I find myself going down certain aisles a second or even third time to get that one more thing I forgot. When I sit down with the circular, coupons and list of things we need to buy and coordinate the three, I am a force to be reckoned with at the market. I mark on the list which items I have coupons for, even write down how much of and which brand of cold cut or cheese I’m buying at the deli counter. Those days, I zip through the market like I own it.

2. Don’t shop on an empty stomach. Trust me. I’ve shopped when I was super-hungry before, and no good can come of it. However, I do find that even if the kids are a little hungry, it’s not so bad, because we go to the deli counter first and get a pound of muenster (“monster”) cheese and I give them slices of cheese as we’re going through the store. Keeps them occupied and happy.

3. Plan ahead. My husband’s great at this. He thinks about meals he wants to make during the week, and figures out all the ingredients he’ll need and gets it all written down on index cards. He also writes down items we need as they come to mind throughout the week, so nothing is forgotten. Then, I swoop in with my clipped coupons and circular and we’re good to go.

4. Set a budget. And stick to it. I truly believe this one depends on how you are with money. We never say, “OK, we’re only going to spend X dollars at the market.” We virtually always spend about the same amount, and with all the coupons (and in our area, all the markets always do double coupons for coupons worth less than a dollar, so if I have a 75-cent coupon for an item that’s $2, it works out very nicely.)

5. Shop the border first. Interesting. Never thought about that. But we always do the dairy aisle last, because we don’t want the milk, cheese or eggs just sitting in the cart, warming up, as we do our shopping. We usually start at the end opposite dairy, then make our way across the store, skipping the freezer aisles to go to last.

6. Look high and low—literally. I never noticed this: “Stores strategically place higher-priced, brand-name items at eye level. The less-expensive generic or store brands provide a great savings for the same nutritional value, Leavell says. They’re usually stowed out of sight, but the extra effort to reach or bend to pick them up is worth the savings.” I will have to watch out for that…

7. Be your own portion police. Well, because the food manufacturers aren’t gonna do it for you! You can buy the junk food you can’t resist in those 100-calorie packs, or you can buy in bulk and also buy resealable plastic bags or containers to make your own 100-calorie packs.

8. Recruit a bulk-shopping buddy. Well, this doesn’t really apply to those of us with families. Would have come in handy in my single days, I suppose. But what family can afford to be without the 24-pack of toilet paper?

9. Don’t waste. Leftovers are your friend. Sometimes we freeze leftovers. Sometimes we eat them for the next day or two or three, even. Sometimes we have one meal at week’s end that is more or less a buffet of all the week’s leftovers.

Which of these tips come in handy for you? And what tips do you have that aren’t mentioned here?