Of course the cost of everything is going up these days. It all seems to start with the high price of oil. Gas to run our cars costs more, home utilities cost more, and then eventually the price of food goes up because it costs more to transport items to your local grocery store.

A recent grocery store flyer featured three family meals for under $10--as if that was a bargain! Do the math: $10 meals x 30 days = $300 a month, just for dinner. That doesn't include breakfast, lunches, snacks, drinks...you get the picture. Family food bills can quickly run upwards of $800 to $1000 a month.

It's easy to get frustrated, but much more constructive to get busy, get creative, and come up with strategies to help you and your family combat the higher prices and stay within your budget.

1. Begin planning meals ahead of time, and limit your grocery list to your menu. Every weekend, plan your dinners for the next two weeks. Use items you already have on hand--check your freezer--and featured in sale flyers. Make sure nothing goes on your grocery list that isn't accounted for in your menus.

2. Find the cheapest grocery store in your area. In my area, it's the local Super Wal-Mart. They match all local grocery store sale prices, plus have generally lower prices. If you aren't sure who has the cheapest regular-price items, make a quick list of items you purchase each week, grab a coffee, and cruise to all the stores to list their prices. You'll end up with a neat chart that clearly shows where you need to start (or keep) shopping regularly.

3. Always shop with a list. You've heard this before, doubtless, but there really is something magic about it. Impulse shopping will become a thing of the past, and your food bill may drop as much as $20 to $30 per visit. On the other hand, always keep an eye out for sharp bargains. I recently picked up ground round for $1.50 a pound by spotting the butcher putting out large "family" packs that needed to be sold that day, due to date restrictions. Talk about a bargain!

4. Have your budget in mind when you shop. Never, ever go to the store just expecting to buy what you "need". Have a dollar amount in mind. Doing so will subconsciously force you to make appropriate choices, avoid impulse purchases and postpone other purchases--all to stay under your pre-set spending amount.

5. Only use coupons for items you normally use, or need. Pick up an inexpensive purse-sized accordion file for coupons. Clip only ones you'll use each week, and file them. Keep the organizer in your purse or glove compartment. Many times sale flyers will feature coupon items that week, or offer double coupons. Take advantage of those! Think this takes a lot of extra time? It doesn't. Do your menu planning, coupon clipping and grocery listing with a cup of coffee over your Sunday paper. Keep it in the car and you'll be ready to shop any time.

6. Drop drinks and desserts from your shopping list. This is where the belt-tightening needs to come in. Our family used to love drinking seltzer, out of 12-oz. cans. A quick calculation showed we were spending well over $40 a month on our seltzer habit. We switched to ice water and haven't looked back. Do you really need juice? Or can you simply eat fresh fruit? Do you need cookies or ice cream? Dessert doesn't have to be out of the question, but make it a rare treat instead of an entitlement. Opt for homemade goodies such as cookies, rice krispie treats, jello and brownies.

7. Buy all your sundries at a discount store. Unless there's a terrific sale at your local grocery store, items such as toiletries, paper goods, cleaning products and pet food can be purchased for a lot less at discount stores.

8. Shop sales as you run errands. With gas prices as high as they are, if you do need to pick up sale items at stores other than your regular lowest-priced market, grab them during the week as you're "driving by" on other errands. The money you save can quickly be negated by gas prices if you're making a special trip.

9. Make it a game! Involve your family in keeping your food budget on track. Set a goal and enlist everyone's help in achieving it. You may even find that you can reduce your food budget and use the savings for something fun--a movie night, vacation spending money, a day trip.

10. Be prepared to change eating habits and food preferences. Orange juice way too expensive? Find something else to drink at breakfast. Cereal out of this world? Eat eggs or toast more often. Instead of having a roast every Sunday, have one every other week or once a month. Use your crock pot, and cheaper cuts of meat, much more often. Enjoy more whole-wheat pasta recipes, homemade soups and sandwiches and salads more often.

Follow these tips, and don't let high food prices get you down. After all, in just a few years, today's prices will look cheap by comparison.