We all want to be a smart shopper in the grocery store. Why not? Today, the price of things in the grocery store is higher than we have ever seen before. The price of fuel keeps driving up the cost to produce and deliver goods.
If you're looking to save money on groceries, you have to look carefully. The best of my money saving grocery tips is to bring a calculator along with you so you can prove to yourself which product spends your money the best. Let's look at some examples of the things you need to be aware of if you're going to be a successful frugal shopper.
First, similar products can be unit priced differently - some by the pound, some by the ounce, and some by the unit. I have seen this many times at one of the warehouse stores. One pack of tomato sauce comes in 32 ounce jars and is unit priced by the ounce, while another jar of tomato sauce is unit priced by jar, and the size of the jar is 28 ounces. This makes comparison difficult unless you bring a calculator.
Second, some grocery stores switch between so much per pound and so much per item, especially on produce like winter squash. There is a big difference between each and per pound (for a 2 pound item), so read carefully to see what your is buying.
Third, the marketing department counts on there being a general misconception that a larger package is more economical. We often say "it's the large economy size", but that isn't always the case. You have to check.
Just in case you don't have that general misconception, the advertising copy on the package will help you out by offering labels like the Family Pack, Large Economy Size, Institutional Size, Value Pack, and Economy Pack. Check to see what you are getting for your money. Sometimes the better buys are in the medium size packages.
Fourth, anyone shop at those warehouse "wholesale" stores? Lots of us do. They really aren't wholesale at all. They're really just "huge box" retailing, but the propaganda is right out there in the name for us to believe anytime we stop questioning what we are being told. Remember this when you see labels on candy bars that say "fun size". They must be a blast - it says so right on the wrapper.
The bottom line is that we always need to be aware when we shop. The retail environment is filled with words, music, animation, colors, shapes, scents and clever packaging - all used quite deliberately to appeal to us in an effort to get us to happily part with our money.
We all have choices to make, and it is up to us to make better spending decisions by stepping back and looking at things more objectively. That is the only way we're going to make better decisions when it comes to grocery shopping. We have to be armed with techniques to keep money in our pockets because merchants are armed with lots of techniques to get that money.
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