I don't have many qualifications for the presidency, but I can tell you the price of a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. Bill Clinton was grilled about them when he ran for president in 1992. And, being Bill Clinton, he rattled off the correct prices and wowed some voters.

    I might give Bill a run for his money when it comes to grocery-store prices. That's because I do the shopping in our family.

    This week's column is a cheapskate's guide to grocery shopping. Consider it an early Christmas present. (Notice how it's not costing me anything.)

    First, the bad news. Food prices have soared and aren't likely to get cheaper anytime soon. Soaring commodity prices were the culprit the past couple of years. But now that prices have dropped for everything from wheat and orange juice to beef, food makers aren't lowering prices much in turn. They know Americans aren't going to stop eating in a recession. Indeed, we may shop more at supermarkets as we cut back on restaurant meals to save money.

    Even in this tough terrain, it's possible to cut your food bill. But you have to approach shopping strategically. Where you shop depends on what you eat. I employ the following multipronged approach, which could work for many households:

    Focus on the basics. It's key to have one store that has reasonable prices for most everything. That's going to be your first stop most weeks, and if you're pressed, it may be your only stop. Wal-Mart Stores, of course, is hard to beat on price, and it has a surprisingly good selection these days.

    But it doesn't have to be Wal-Mart. When I lived in Dallas from 2004 until earlier this year, I did the bulk of my shopping at Fiesta Mart, a chain that targets Hispanic shoppers. Its prices are low, it carries Mexican sauces my wife uses in her cooking, and it has a large assortment of non-ethnic grocery items.

    Buy one, get one free. Supermarkets can run some astounding specials that can make Wal-Mart look expensive. In my new home state, New Jersey, my local supermarket will sell strip steak for $3.99 a pound or grapes for 99 cents a pound or chicken breasts for $1.29 a pound.

    If you're flexible with what you eat, you can simply consume whatever's on special and eat pretty cheaply. My five-person family consumes three or four half-gallon cartons of orange juice a week that cost roughly $3.99 apiece at full price. The good news is that our local store usually has one brand on sale every week at a price between $2.50 and $2.99. So that's what we drink that week.

    Think ethnic. I'm a big produce hound, and in most of the places I've lived, the best buys can be found at ethnic grocery stores. They serve customers who eat lots of produce and aren't willing to pay an arm and a leg for it. Good chance there's such a store in your area.

    In Dallas, the above-mentioned Fiesta Mart has good produce deals. In an earlier stint in New Jersey, we bought our fruits and vegetables at a neighborhood store owned by Korean-Americans. The prices were probably a third below a normal grocery store's.

    Has anyone seen the arugula? Whole Foods Market isn't called 'Whole Paycheck' for nothing. Doing all your shopping there would be a good way to eat yourself out of house and home.

    But there some good values in its 365 Everyday Value house brand on everything from olive oil to whole-wheat pasta. You can also do OK buying things like cereals or nuts out of the bulk bins.

    Read the labels. I usually do, and I'm often surprised what I find. Stores generally give you a volume discount -- but not always. Sometimes smaller boxes actually have a lower per-ounce price.

    Another thing to look out for: Instead of lowering prices, some food companies are cutting back on sizes. A few years ago, ice-cream makers quietly downsized the age-old two-quart container to 1.75 quarts. I bought ice cream the other day and noticed several major brands had downsized the standard carton yet again -- this time to 1.5 quarts. Talk about being cold-hearted.

    I did discover one exception. Whole Foods still sells its house-brand ice cream in two-quart containers.

    我沒有資格去競選總統(tǒng)，不過我可以說出一加侖牛奶或一個面包價格幾何。比爾•克林頓1992年競選總統(tǒng)時，就有人拿這個問題來考他。貴為比爾•克林頓, 這位仁兄飛快答出了正確的價格，引來選民一片贊嘆。

    在食雜品價格這個問題上，我還是可以跟比爾爭個高下的，因為在我們家我負(fù)責(zé)采購。

    是有辦法的本周的專欄文章是食雜品采購省錢指南，就當(dāng)是提前送的圣誕節(jié)禮物吧。（請注意我可是分文未花哦。）

    首先說壞消息。食品價格一路飆升，而且看來近期也不會回落。過去幾年，食品價格的突飛猛進(jìn)是因為農(nóng)產(chǎn)品價格飛漲。可如今從面粉到橙汁到牛肉所有東西的價格都跌了，為什么食品廠商卻沒怎么相應(yīng)地降價呢？因為他們知道，經(jīng)濟(jì)雖然不景氣，但美國人還是得吃飯。事實上，為了省錢，我們不但少上館子了，而且也多去超市買東西了。

    即便形勢如此嚴(yán)峻，要降低食品開銷還是有辦法的。不過你必須在購物時采取一些策略。不同的東西要去不同的地方買。以下就是我的全方位省錢術(shù)，可供很多家庭借鑒：

    抓住主項。找到一家絕大多數(shù)商品價格都很公道的店是很重要的。多數(shù)時候這家店就是你購物的第一站，手頭吃緊時可能也就是唯一一站了。要論價格的競爭力，沃爾瑪當(dāng)然是鮮有對手的，而且如今在那里也能買到非常好的商品。

    不過也不一定非得是沃爾瑪。從2004年到今年年初，我都住在達(dá)拉斯。我大部分的東西都是在Fiesta Mart購買的，這家連鎖店以拉美裔人為目標(biāo)顧客，價格低廉，并且經(jīng)銷我妻子燒菜時要用到的墨西哥調(diào)味汁，同時也有各種非民族風(fēng)味的食雜。

    抓住促銷的機(jī)會。有些超市會搞一些讓人大跌眼鏡的促銷，其優(yōu)惠價格令沃爾瑪也自嘆不如。我現(xiàn)在住在新澤西，我們的社區(qū)超市里有時候會有3.99美元一磅的長條牛排、99美分一磅的葡萄或1.29美元一磅的雞胸肉。

    如果你對所吃的東西不挑剔，那么很簡單，認(rèn)準(zhǔn)促銷品來買，那你花在吃上頭的開銷就會很省了。我們一家五口每周消耗三到四紙盒半加侖裝的橙汁，如果不是搞特價的話，每盒大概得花3.99美元。好在我們社區(qū)商店里每周都會有一個品牌的橙汁搞促銷，價格從2.50到2.99美元不等。 我們就喝當(dāng)周促銷的牌子。

    光顧少數(shù)族裔人士開的店。我到了哪兒都喜歡四處尋找好的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品。在我住過的多數(shù)地方，少數(shù)族裔人士開的食品店通常價格都是最劃算的。他們的服務(wù)對像是那些吃得很雜卻不愿意花很多錢的人。通常，你住的地方都會有這么一家店。

    我前面提到過的達(dá)拉斯Fiesta Mart就非常地物美價廉。之前在新澤西住的時候，我們在一家韓裔美國人開的社區(qū)商店里買水果和蔬菜，價格比一般的店要低三分之一。

    有人關(guān)注過芝麻菜的價格嗎？全食有機(jī)食品連鎖店（Whole Foods Market）被稱為“月光店“確是名副其實。要想把自己吃到傾家蕩產(chǎn)，所有的東西都上這里買就對了。

    不過他們店的365 Everyday Value自營品牌商品──從橄欖油到全麥意面，應(yīng)有盡有──有很多還是很劃算的。盛在碩大儲藏箱里那些散賣的麥片和堅果也是不錯的選擇。

    記得看標(biāo)簽。我通常都會看一看，結(jié)果常常令我很吃驚。一般說來，大包裝的東西有折價──但也并非絕對。有時候小包裝的東西單價卻更便宜。

    還有一件事敬請留意：有些食品廠商非但價格沒降，可在份量上卻下了工夫。幾年前，霜淇淋廠商就悄無聲息地把歷史悠久的兩夸脫包裝縮水成了1.75夸脫。前兩天我買過霜淇淋，發(fā)現(xiàn)有幾個大牌子把標(biāo)準(zhǔn)紙盒子又改小了一些──這一次是改成了1.5夸脫。真是太狠了。

    不過我還是發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個例外，全食連鎖店的自營品牌霜淇淋還是兩夸脫裝的。