Grocery savings tips? Yes, please.

Health insurance.
Gas prices.
A Netflix subscription.
Show me something that’s not going up in cost, and I’ll sell you one of my tiny yet beautiful islands near Italy’s Amalfi Coast. (Spoiler: I own no such property.)
The point I’m attempting to make here, my dear reader, is one that you’ll likely agree with: Nearly everything costs more these days. And, man, are we feeling the pinch. Just the other day, I happened upon a meme with the caption, Two more payments, and it’s all mine. The big-ticket gadget pictured below? A carton of eggs. (I wish I was joking about this one, too, but nope.)
That’s what we’ve come to, folks. We are now at a point where mankind is comparing the cost of what used to be an inexpensive breakfast item with something that runs on four wheels.
And, so, in keeping with this sad but accurate realization, here are some grocery store savings tips, courtesy of DIY website More Hackz, that might enable us to keep a few more coins in our pocket. Because, these days, every little bit counts:

Wrap the crown of bananas
Bananas are either too ripe to enjoy or have become mushy-soft. Finding the perfect one can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. If you have very ripe bananas that seem to brown faster, ethylene gas is the culprit. To avoid this, wrap some plastic or foil around the stem, which will slow down ethylene release.

Regrow your scallions
Scallions (if they’re your thing) can be an exceptional addition to recipes and side dishes, but they often wilt before you’ve finished cooking all the dishes you’d planned. Here’s how to regrow them: Place about two inches of an onion along with its rooty bottom in a glass or mason jar filled halfway up with cool tap water and simply watch them grow back again.

Place ice cream
tubs in a plastic bag
Don’t you despise it when ice cream becomes rock-solid and hard as all get-out to scoop? And let’s not even talk about freezer burn. Here’s a remedy: putting an ice cream container in a plastic bag—and then into another sealable plastic bag or Tupperware container—will keep your sweet treat soft.

Store sour cream and cottage
cheese containers upside down
Alright, this one might sound odd, but don’t knock it until you try it—especially if your household tosses out half-used tubs of sour cream. To keep sour cream or cottage cheese good for a longer amount of time, turn the tub upside-down. This creates a vacuum effect inside your containers of cottage cheese and sour cream, which slows down the bacteria’s growth and prevents the contents from spoiling as fast. (This is a hack that I’ve actually tried, and I really think there’s something to this. It works.)

No more browning guacamole!
This hack arrives just in time for Super Bowl Sunday—and could be a game changer for your next Cinco de Mayo celebration, too. Spray the top of the guacamole with nonstick cooking spray, and then cover the dip with plastic wrap before storing in the fridge. The cooking spray acts as a protective barrier and will keep your guac fresh and green for about 24 hours. You can use vegetable oil, olive oil, or coconut oil spray, which is my personal fave. Try this hack on halved avocados too.
Courtney Conover is wife, mom, yoga instructor, and Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor who has called Wayne home since 1995.