The recent economic meltdown has given rise to concern that food prices will increase significantly over the next year.

Even before the crash, international food demand from countries like China, combined with the ongoing drought caused a rise in food prices.

Recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that food costs rose by 3.9% over the year to the June quarter 2008. The cost of take away food increased by 6.5%, milk by 12.1%, cakes and biscuits by 8.2%, cheese by 14.2%, bread by 6.8% and poultry by 11.0%.

One internet commentator summed it up well when they said that "suddenly frugal is the new black". Such frugality couldn't have come a moment too soon.

With $5 billion of food already being wasted by Australians, such increases are coming at a time when we can least afford it.

Past analysis of why we waste so much food showed that we buy more than we need and bin food that is perfectly edible.

So how do you 'frugalise' yourself and get more bang for your buck? The simple way is to plan for the week ahead.

Even before you leave home, write a shopping list that takes into account what you already have in your fridge, freezer and pantry. This helps you to avoid buying something that you already have. It also gives you an opportunity to check the 'best before' and 'use by' dates on your food.

Even with the best intentions, British research shows that only half of the people who write a list stick with it. So don't shop when you're hungry and don't let your kids talk you into buying things that you don't need. Such over shopping impacts on our wallets when many of us need to rein in our spending.

Written by Jon Dee