Mature Life Features

. . . isn’t just a man’s game.

Women play it very well, too.

So sign up for Friday’s session.

The bus leaves at 11 a.m.

for the nearby courts.

= = = = =

Never Go to The Grocery Store Hungry

Friends and family have plenty of advice on how to save money shopping for groceries: get less of the fatty types of meat, buy larger packages of breakfast cereal, purchase bigger eggs and get your vegetables at the farmer’s market.

A simple tip I learned all by myself years ago is to never go to the grocery store hungry. You wind up making too many impulse buys. Make a list of what you need and stick to it.

Buy only groceries at a gro­cery store. Most non-food items are more expensive than else­where.

Check the weight of prepack­aged products, such as potatoes. What’s labeled a “10-pound bag” can vary a lot in actual weight. Keep in mind that while the price of your favorite snack may not have gone up, its weight has gone down. Always check the unit price, and the sizes. Just because two containers are the same size doesn’t mean they have the same amount of goods inside.

Don’t buy the larger cuts of meat just because they’re marked on special. Check the per-pound price. You don’t have to pick up three pre-packaged pork chops if there are just two of you at home. Ask the butcher for two chops. You might get better meat buys at a local meat mar­ket. The service probably will be better since the butcher will grind up a pound and a half of lean round steak for you, or cut it into strips for a stir fry.

Check the supermarket prod­ucts on sale. When items you normally eat are offered at clearance prices, stock up by putting them in your freezer. Check the deli for sales items.

If you’re buying sugar for any reason — baking, for example — don’t buy anything pre-sweet­ened because the price for these products is much higher than the sugar.

And check the prices rung up by the cashier on the way out to make sure they’re correct.