Pay only for what you need

“Instead of buying excess quantities of bread, cheese and fruit for a recipe or party platter, you can often get the exact portions you need. Stores like Whole Foods Market will portion out and reprice the exact amount of cheese you want for a cheese board and can slice a melon in half if that’s all you need. All you have to do is ask the person working in the department, but if you can’t find anyone, just check in at customer service—they will call someone to help you. And nothing gets wasted: The store will repackage the leftover fruit or cheese and sell that as well.” —Joanie Demer