Tips for the grocery store

Shop the priorities/perimeter.  Fill your cart with the basics first—vegetables, fruit, protein and milk. These foods are nearly always found on the outside (perimeter) walls of the store.

Arrange your list according to the store layout.  This will save time and prevent backtracking. If you need something in the center aisles, dash in for specific items, then return to the perimeter.

Concentrate on buying the food, not the convenience.  You save money when you buy the basic ingredients in your recipes/meals—apples, ground beef, milk, carrots.

Don’t even go there.  Stay out of the empty calorie aisles (potato chips, crackers, candy, soda, deli) in the center of the store.

Buy—or at least try—the store or generic brand.  Sometimes the only difference between store brand and name brand is the label; sometimes it’s more. The only way to know if you’ll like a product is to try it.

Look up, look down.  Food companies pay for prime shelving—those at eye level. Look to higher or lower shelves for less expensive versions of a product.

TIP -- Get three more strategies you can use to get more for your money when shopping for food.

Sales, specials, coupons, quantity deals

• Specials don’t always cost less. A ‘special’ is an item management wants to call attention to—it may, or may not, cost less.
• Sale prices don’t necessarily mean an item is a good deal. A sale item may still be higher-priced than another brand of the same product.
• Quantity discounts aren’t always a savings. In X for $Y deals, you usually don’t have to buy the quantity specified to receive the discount. For example, if the price of an item is 3 for $5, one item will usually ring up at $1.67.
• Coupons are usually available for sugary snacks and convenience foods. Have you ever seen a coupon for apples or milk? Use coupons only for items you would normally buy.
• Limited quantity products are worth a second look. If the store is limiting quantities—chances are it’s a good deal.

To get the lowest price possible, start a price book to track sources and prices of foods you purchase most often. Keep your calculator or cell phone handy to figure unit pricing.

What not to buy at the grocery

Although it may be convenient to buy personal items, paper supplies, laundry detergent, cleaning products and pet food at the ‘supermarket,’ they usually cost more than purchasing them at discount stores and warehouse clubs. 

Final notes

Pay attention at the checkout. The following errors are common:

• Product may be scanned twice.  
• Sale price isn’t in the computer system.
• Checker doesn’t recognize the produce you are buying, so enters a wrong code.
• An item you thought was on sale, isn’t.

Make sure all your purchases get into your bag, your cart and your car.

Speak up about the handling of fragile items.