Becki Andrus is among a growing legion of frugal shoppers who are beating high food and gas prices by shopping strategically at a time when consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in years.

On Wednesday, Wells Fargo announced that the cost of living along the Wasatch Front jumped a hefty 1 percent from May to June.

"One percent is a big number, and it's due to [increases in] food and gasoline prices," said bank economist Kelly Matthews, noting that it is easily one of the largest monthly increases in years.

The increase mirrors the national May-June jump of 1.1 percent reported by the Labor Department on Wednesday - the second-largest monthly gain in more than two decades.

Despite the daunting numbers, shoppers such as Andrus, who lives in Sandy, meet the challenge by nabbing free toothbrushes, shampoo and toilet paper, and cartloads of brand-name canned and boxed food at 10 cents to 30 cents each.

Andrus uses coupons from newspapers and printable coupons from the Internet to drive down the already low cost of grocery-store loss leaders - which are heavily discounted items designed to draw shoppers. She and others swap money-saving ideas on Web sites, such as www.pinchingyourpennies .com.

She then plans her meals around the discounted items.

"It's harder to find really good deals now, but they are still out there," she said. The monthly food budget for Andrus and her husband is $200, and that includes everything - the food, as well as household items such as laundry detergent and paper towels.

Along the Wasatch Front, food prices rose 1.3 percent in June, compared with 1.0 percent national increase. Transportation costs - largely gasoline - were up 4.3 percent, compared with 3.8 percent nationally.

Matthews of Wells Fargo said rising gasoline prices are an even larger problem than food.

The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline on Wednesday hit yet another record, of $4.21, travel-services company AAA Utah reported. Utah's prices are significantly higher than the national average of $4.11 after trailing the national figure for a couple of months.

Brigitte Todd of West Jordan said she and her husband have dramatically cut the amount of driving they do to save on gas. Her husband takes light rail into downtown, which helps, and she tries to combine trips and walk as much as possible.

She's even begun shopping online to avoid trips in the car. On Wednesday, Todd bought nine pieces of clothing for herself and her children on Kohl's online site for $32.15. Shipping is free.

She used two different types of coupon codes to get that deal. A number of Web sites, such as www.couponcabin.com and currentcodes.com, compile lists of such codes. Some retailers allow consumers to use more than one, such as a coupon for free shipping and another for an order discount.

Todd trims her food bill by buying sale items, with and without coupons.

Because each grocer has different types of loss leaders - deeply discounted items - driving to one store or a few stores in close proximity can yield big dividends. Smith's, for example, most weeks has a low price on milk.

"Milk is such a staple with every family, it's one item we are committed to being extremely competitive on," said Smith's spokeswoman Marsha Gilford.

Buying in large quantities also can help.

"The ground beef I buy is usually pretty hard to find for under $2," Todd said. "So I bought 20 pounds of it for $1.19. I have a freezer, and this means I don't have to buy it for a while."

''So many people say, 'I don't have time to do that.' But anyone can do this, and it doesn't take as much time as many people think.''

lesley@sltrib.com

Tips from frugal families

* Load up on loss leaders. Each week, grocers deeply discount a mix of different food items, enabling shoppers to stock up on everything from canned items to frozen foods.

* Consider freezing milk when it's on sale for $2 a gallon or meat when it's a super buy.

* Some stores will match competitors' sale items; it pays to ask.

* Combine coupons with sale items. A box of cereal on sale for $1.50 costs even less - 50 cents - with a $1-off coupon.

* There are several good sources for coupons, from Web sites such as www.smartsource.com and www.boodle.com to newspapers and magazines.

* Go to utahgasprices.com and check for stations selling the cheapest gasoline.

* Some grocers offer per-gallon discounts on fuel for customers who reach specific spending thresholds.

* Don't be afraid to buy in large quantities, which can result in big discounts on items such as meat.