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Since grocery shopping is a fixed expense in my (and most everyone’s) budget, I’m constantly on the hunt for ways to help trim the cost anyway that I can. A couple weeks back I enlightened you all with a bunch of tried and true methods for saving money at the grocery store, with everything from coupon clipping tricks to the idea of buying in bulk. One thing I failed to mention in my previous post is taking into consideration your overall “mindset” before even stepping foot in the grocery store. Your overall stress level plays a much bigger role in the way you grocery shop than you think. It sounds crazy, but studies have proven that if you grocery shop while you’re stressed out, you can spend as much as 10% more than if you shopped while relaxed, because your mind is on other things instead of on smart shopping like it should be. Instead of grocery shopping after work when your stress level is probably at it’s highest, try doing all of your shopping on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
To add to this point, grocery shopping while you’re in a rush is also a bad idea. You’re less likely to consider pricing and/or sale items, and more likely to forget key items you set out to purchase. The odds of having to go back to the grocery store for a lone jar of mayonnaise – i.e. wasting time and fuel – is very likely.
This is an obvious point that’s often overlooked but shopping alone can be your best course of defense to prevent going over budget. Ending your kids incessant whining over “the cereal with the prize inside” could cost you as much as $3 more over the healthy cereal. And that’s just one aisle. Even your spouse can easily convince you to purchase items not on your list. Shopping solo is the best way to ensure you stick to your list and not go over budget on extraneous, unnecessary items.
Pay attention to the “not so obvious”, such as the way the store is designed. Grocery stores shell out big money for store layouts designed to make the consumer spend more. The most expensive items are always at eye level, and the staple items – i.e. milk, eggs, bread etc – are always at the rear of the store meaning you have to walk all the way through the store to access them. Odds of being distracted along the way and making impulse purchases are more likely this way. Consider the way products are displayed as well. While waiting for the deli man to slice your sandwich meats, you happen to spy a gourmet mayo on the counter. Skip these gourmet items, and instead choose comparable items at half price elsewhere in the store.
Lastly, have you ever noticed that the shopping carts are right out front, yet trying to find a basket is next to impossible? You have to walk all the way to the front registers and grab a basket in a checkout line. It makes no sense right? Wrong. There’s a very good reason for this, and it’s to make you spend more money! You can fit a whole lot more in a shopping cart than a basket and grocery stores count on this. If you’re only running in for a few items, bypass the carts and baskets and only buy what you can carry on your own. Or better yet, invest in a reusable shopping bag and be friendly to both the environment and your wallet. Bagsbuy.com has just about every style shopping bag you can imagine, and better yet, if you find the exact same item at a better price elsewhere they will refund you the difference. Combine this policy with our coupons to maximize savings.
No will power at the store? Skip the grocery store and buy only what you need at PeaPod. Check out our PeaPod.com coupon codes here.
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Tags: Bagsbuy.com, Grocery Store, Peapod.com