Five Frugal Shopping Tips
The other day I was watching one of the morning news when I saw an interesting discussion of grocery shopping tips for the budget-minded. Given that there were a number of good tips embedded in that discussion, I thought I’d distill it down into five bite-sized chunks for your reading pleasure.
1. Buy store brands. You have nothing to lose. Not only do you avoid paying for the marketing efforts of the national brands, but most stores also offer a money back guarantee. So go ahead and try out their brands. On the off chance that you don’t like them, you can alway bring them back.
2. Size matters. Keep an eye on unit pricing (e.g., price per ounce) and don’t pay extra for convenience packaging. If you need small bags of chips, buy a big bag and then parse it out into baggies.
3. Don’t automatically assume that bigger is better. Following on from #2, don’t assume that you’re getting a better by just grabbing the biggest package on the shelves. Here again, pay close attention to unit price. I’ve written about this previously in the context of a battery “deal” that I ran across at Sam’s Club. Also keep in mind that bigger is only better when you actually need that much. A 5 gallon pail of mayonnaise isn’t a bargain if you only need 8 ounces.
4. Beware the end caps. Those big displays at the end of each aisle are where they keep the really good deals, right? Well… Not necessarily. Because sales typically increase when a product is placed on the end cap, stores often use them as a “dumping ground” for items that are selling well.
5. Beware the store circular. Believe it or not, items featured in the store circular aren’t always the best deal. While there are often a number of great deals featured in the circular, there are often a number of not-so-great deals, as well.
Get via RSS
I totally agree. Another great way to shop cheaper is to buy in bulk at places like Sams Club. Yes, they charge an annual fee to buy stuff there, but what I do is I help split that cost with a couple of my housemates. Then we all go shopping (Or one of us does) for each other and pick up common household materials.
Comment by Zachary Spencer — Apr 18th 2008 @ 8:18 amZachary: Just look out for those 5 gallon buckets of mayonnaise!
Good advice on the circulars. Stores frequently run loss-leaders right next to items they marked up to offset. It’s the classic bait-and-switch…get you in the store with a loss-leader promotion and then sell you on everything else at regular price. It takes a close eye to discern the difference.
Comment by Frugal Dad — Apr 18th 2008 @ 9:14 amDon’t forget the products that they put in the middle of the aisle sometimes. I work in retail and end caps and isle products bring 30-40% of the business. They know that the probability that you buy an item dramatically increases if its put in the aisle.
Comment by SavetotheFuture — Apr 18th 2008 @ 9:32 amLook down too! The items that cost the most per unit are usually at eye level. The closer you get to the floor, the cheaper they get!
Comment by My Dollar Plan — Apr 18th 2008 @ 2:42 pmDo most stores really take the products back if you don’t like them? I am always willing to try store brands, and I really like some, but I think others are pretty awful. I would be encouraged to try them much more often if I knew the money-back guarantee really worked (I always see that on boxes, but always worry it would be too much of a hassle).
Comment by Emily @ Taking Charge — Apr 18th 2008 @ 3:45 pmThe only shopping tip I can really add to your list is “Go shopping alone. Going shopping with spouses and children can drive up impulse buys by a considerable amount.”
Comment by Momma — Apr 18th 2008 @ 4:20 pmI especially agree with point #1–oftentimes the store brand actually IS the name brand product. My father is a truck driver and he regularly hauls grocery items from maufacture location to Grocery warehouses and he’ll have pallets of Tide and storebrand laundry detergent coming out of the same plant for transport.
@Momma–in addition to the impulse buys, there’s also the carelessness of the “get me the heck outta here” buys that can be triggered by spouses and children
Comment by Gayle — Apr 18th 2008 @ 5:14 pmThese seem to be solid tips. My addition would be to remember that you can use your freezer to store perishable stuff you can’t use right away, allowing you to further take advantage of tip #2…
Comment by Mike — Apr 18th 2008 @ 10:06 pmYou know, my local grocery store (part of a 5 store local chain) usually has their best sale items on the end caps. Deals like .99/64 oz apple juice, $5.98/6 pack micro-brews, etc. I ALWAYS check the end caps for the deals. Maybe it’s because they’re small, and not merchandised by a huge corporate office…anyway, good tips!
Comment by Clean Simple — Apr 19th 2008 @ 2:39 pmtips no. 6 - try looking for the best deal for our money. usually shopping mall give the best discount on items that shows in catalog.
Comment by tabuxander1 — Apr 19th 2008 @ 8:07 pmIn the place I work, the store actually gets paid by the manufacturer to place their product on the endcap. They know it increases sales!!
Comment by Ed — Apr 19th 2008 @ 10:01 pmIn support of point #1, I (or my family) have yet to prefer a nationally advertised brand of peanut butter over what most supermarkets sell as their own. Good post.
Comment by Todd — Apr 19th 2008 @ 11:11 pmAnd check the savings. So many times I’ve been drawn to a sales ticket, only to look closer and realise that the saving is 4 cents or something equally lame.
Comment by chosha — Apr 20th 2008 @ 1:06 amGreat tips. I have also noticed that the popular items are all at eye level in the stores and if you lok more carefully at the top and bottom shelves you may find some great bargains.
Comment by Rachel @ Master Your Card — Apr 21st 2008 @ 8:49 amThere’s some great tips here. The ones that I would add to the list are:
Start keeping track of the prices you pay for items that you buy regularly. The stores use marketing ploys to make “Sale Items” sound like a great deal, when sometimes they’re barely offering a discount at all. Also, when YOU know you’re getting a good price, you’ll also know it’s time to stock up on items that you won’t let go to waste.
Try not to be a brand shopper. Very rarely do the best deals happen frequently on the same brands, be it store brands or national. If you are able to find a few different brands that you like for each product you buy regularly, you won’t get stuck paying the regular price when you “run out and have to get more”.
Next, there is more to end caps and aisle displays than meets the eye. Even if you are an educated shopper that knows an item is at a good price this week, take the time to find it in its’ usual location. Many times the stores use perishable items as loss leaders because they are nearing the end of their shelf life. You might just find a more distant expiration date if you check the dates at both locations.
Last and most certainly not least, read your receipts before you drive away! I can’t count how many times sale items have not rang up at their correct, advertised, prices at the register. If an item or items doesn’t ring up correctly and you spot it before leaving, you can get them to correct before you leave. Some stores (Kroger) will even give you the item for free because of the mistake. For stores that don’t have the same policy, they will at least pay you for the difference.
Comment by Ralph — Apr 23rd 2008 @ 11:16 pmSTORE BRANDS>>>>>>>>CAREFUL
watch the ingredient list on store brands. they are usually not the same as the comparable brand names. they cut corners and a lot of times and use more ‘not as good for you’ ingredients and perhaps more filler. i do admit there is times that the store brand is better tasting. one minor example is publix ‘pop tarts’ when compared to kellogg’s. publix uses a much better tasting crust
Comment by hank — May 3rd 2008 @ 11:20 amBIGGER IS BETTER????
many times at walmart and others etc the large economy size is MORE expensive than smaller sizes
Comment by hank — May 3rd 2008 @ 11:22 am