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How To Save Money On Groceries
By Jeffrey
Strain
Unlike a fixed monthly cost such as your
mortgage or car payment, the amount you spend on groceries each month is
somewhat flexible. While the common advice of clipping coupons and buying
generic brands to save money while shopping is sound, by far the best way
to truly keep your grocery shopping expenses under control is by
understanding how grocery stores entice you to spend more than you really
want. By fully understanding the ways grocery stores encourage you to
spend, many of which you probably never even noticed before, you can
combat their strategies and spend money only on the merchandise you really
need.
Although a grocery store may appear to be
simply a place to purchase food and other household necessities, in
reality it's a cutting edge example of "how to sell more than
consumers really need." Since you are the consumer, it's important
that you realize these sales tactics so that you walk into a grocery store
to get only what you need while avoiding everything else that the grocery
store wants to sell you. Here are some ways that grocery stores manipulate
you into spending more than you had planned and some simple steps you can
take to counter them:
Smell: One of the first things
you'll notice when you enter a grocery store is the mouth-watering smell.
There is a specific reason why grocery stores smell of freshly baked
goods, and also why the bakery is almost always found near the store
entrance. The reason is that a bakery making bread and desserts gives off
an enticing smell, and that smell is likely to make you hungry. The
grocery store also knows that if you feel hungry while you shop, you are
likely to spend more money - a lot more - than if you are not hungry.
A simple way that you can combat this is by
going grocery shopping only after you have had a meal and are full. If
timing doesn't allow for you to do this, at least drink a couple of
glasses of water before leaving to make you feel full before shopping.
Shopping while you're full makes it much easier to resist the great
smelling temptations that the grocery store will flaunt in front of you.
Overall Store Layout: Did you ever
notice that when you only need to buy a few staple items, you have to
travel the entire grocery store floor in order to get them? While one
might assume that the convenience of putting basic staple items in the
same general area would make happier customers, grocery stores know that
the longer that they can keep you in the store, the more money you are
likely to spend. They also know that making you walk as far as they can
inside the store will make it more likely that you'll pick up impulse
items. Stores are specifically designed in such a way as to make you spend
as much time as possible inside them and walk the entire store floor to
get the basic staples that everyone needs.
Although there is no way around going to
the far corners of the store to get the groceries you need, you can avoid
the trap of impulse purchases on the store floor by taking the time to
make a list of the items you need and sticking to it when shopping.
Getting into the habit of making a single trip once a week to take care of
all your grocery shopping needs instead of several smaller trips
throughout the week will also greatly reduce your time in the store and
the chances that you'll buy items you don't really need.
Item Display Layout: Manufactures of
brand named products pay hefty stocking fees to stores to have their
merchandise placed on the shelves at adult eye level (and child eye level
in the case of products aimed at children such as cereal). Manufactures
are willing to pay these prices because they know that you are much more
likely to purchase something that you can easily see as you are walking
down the aisle than something you have to stop and search for. The result
is that the products placed at eye level are usually the most expensive.
Before grabbing the first item you see,
take a few seconds to look at the upper and lower shelves. Similar
products are placed together and simply looking will often reveal the same
product at a much better price.
"Sale" Merchandise:
Grocery stores will advertise a certain number of items at rock bottom
prices (called "loss leaders") to get you to come to the store.
While these can be genuine bargains, don't get fooled into thinking that
everything that has the words "sale" or "bargain"
above it is really that. While aisle ends are reserved for these
"bargains," they aren't always the deals they seem to be and the
discounted products are often displayed along side higher price products.
You can sometimes even find similar products in the regular aisle section
that are less than the end of aisle "sale" merchandise.
The important thing to remember when
grocery shopping is to focus on the price of the product and not all the
fancy advertising and slogans promoting the product. Take the time to
check the other brands and see if there is a better deal. Also, remember
that if you weren't planning to buy the item and you don't really need it,
then it really isn't a bargain for you no matter what the price. Only
consider those items that you regularly use and you have a need for.
Product Appearance: Product
packaging at grocery stores is bright, usually in red and yellows since
these colors attract the eye. Just because something grabs your attention,
however, doesn't mean that you have to buy it. Keep focused on your
shopping list and don't get distracted by products you don't really need.
Packaging will also be much larger than the
actual product for many food items. Manufacturers know that shoppers
assume that larger sized packaging equals a better deal. It would make
sense since bulking items together saves the manufacturer on packaging,
shipping and stocking which they can pass along to you. With a mantra
"buy in bulk" now firmly grounded in most people's minds as a
way to save money, manufacturers are taking advantage of this. While still
not the norm, more and more larger sized packages are less of a deal than
their smaller sized counterparts since manufacturers know you will make
the above assumptions and probably not compare the per unit cost.
Before grabbing the largest box of a
product, take the time to calculate the per unit or per weight cost. More
often than you would expect, smaller packages of an item are actually a
better deal than buying the same item in a larger package.
Check-Out Layout: The check out
aisle of a store is like a mini mart in itself. This is because grocery
stores know that they have a captive audience while you wait in line to
pay for your groceries. They squeeze in every little thing that might
remotely peak your interest to rack up a large amount on impulse sales.
The best way to avoid these temptations to
is plan your shopping during off peak hours. Avoid the weekend if at all
possible since this is when grocery stores are most crowded, as well as
the evening when everyone has just gotten off work. With many grocery
stores now staying open 24 hours a day, late night and early morning trips
when the aisle and check out lanes are practically bare are the perfect
time to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible.
By taking the time to understand how the
grocery stores try to influence your shopping and spending habits, you
have now put yourself in control. Utilize the suggestions about how to
counter the grocery store's selling techniques and you will be able to
control your grocery spending to a much greater extent and should have a
much easier time keeping to your monthly food budget.
Copyright (c) 2004, by Jeffrey Strain
About The Author
Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds of
money saving articles and the creator of the Daily Money Saving Challenge
Program. He is the co-owner of http://www.savingadvice.com
-- a website dedicated to saving you money.
savingadvice@gmail.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeffrey_Strain
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