Buy just what you need: bulk items allow you to pay for the food, not the packaging and save money by buying the exact amount you'll consume.

Buy "Whole" brands: Whole Foods Bakehouse, Whole Paws, Whole Kids … just examples of Whole Foods' house brands, which are usually less expensive than brand-name items.

Get a case discount: use a lot of one particular item? Look at the white tag for the case amount — it's the little number on the bottom — and save 10 percent. The wine case discount is only six bottles, not 12, while volume milk purchases start at 4 gallons.

Look for yellow: sale items are marked with bright yellow tags. Shop on Wednesday as well, when the prior week and upcoming week's sale items are all available.

Join the club: find items that have a club discount and gives you a free item after buying a certain quantity.

Try before you buy: don't get stuck with something you don't like. Ask an associate if you can taste the item first. Also, who says there's no free lunch? Pair grazing the samples with a $3 glass of wine on Wednesdays and you have a very civilized way to get your weekly grocery shopping done.

Follow the yellow price dots: the dots point out the least expensive item of that type.

Shop around: Whole Foods has the least expensive organic milk in the neighborhood. We haven't found a cheaper gallon in East Dallas, if you buy four and receive the case discount. Not a problem for us, since we've renamed our refrigerator "Bessie."

Buy one: want a cupcake? Don't buy a dozen and kill your perpetual diet. Buy one mini cupcake and lighten your grocery bill and your guilty conscience. Also, stop by the kids' cart on the way into the store, instead of the way out. Snacking kids put fewer items in your cart than hungry kids.

Value your time: Your time is money. Is it better to spend an hour finishing the client proposal or chopping veggies? If you paused to think about that, add it up for yourself. Which wins?

Don't eat out: restaurants can be saved for special occasions, not zooming through an over-scheduled evening. The dinner for two or four to go is less expensive than a sit-down restaurant meal and better for you than fast food.