5 Tricks to Save at the Grocery Store

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GB101-Nest-Egg Beating the grocer at his own game is half the fun, the other half is going home with money in your wallet and a cart full of groceries. Here are 5 more Dirty grocery store tricks the retailers wish we wouldn’t tell you!

  • Unmarked Goods – How many times have you picked up an item only to discover that there isn’t any price. You diligently search the shelf, nothing, the surrounding area, still nothing, you might even believe that it was overlooked or accidental. Chances are, it wasn’t, it was simply another marketing ploy to get you to place item in your cart and move along. I have a rule when I shop- if they’re too lazy to price it, they obviously don’t want me to buy it. I put it back and move along.
  • Sale Patterns – avid couponers are aware that grocery stores use sales patterns. You’ll see that items are available during their particular season at a discounted price. Learning when these patterns occur and taking advantage of them will ensure that you always get the items you want at the best price.
  • Bulk Packaging– It used to be that when you purchased an item in bulk – you would receive considerable discounts. However, the last couple of years this has reversed. While shopping, compare the unit price per ounce (or pound) on the shelf sticker. Chances are you’ll save money buying the smaller packages.
  • Slow Music Sells Groceries- It’s been scientifically proven that music with a slower beat, played in a major chord compels consumers to purchase more. I can hear you asking aloud, “How?” Simple- we, as consumers SLOW down. We take our time, lolly-gagging in the aisles, all the while filling those over sized grocery carts. Money saving tip- listen to upbeat, fast paced music on your ipod or mp3 player while you shop- you’ll move faster through the store and be less inclined to add items you don’t need to your cart.
  • Crowded Isles- Perhaps you wondered why they crammed so many things into the aisles near the checkouts, rotisserie chickens, tables upon tables of baked goods, crammed all together, making it nearly impossible to pass other customers. You may have thought this was poor design, they ought to make the aisles wider, easier for people to pass. This is another type of intentional staging, statistically speaking, people who are stressed are more likely to “treat” themselves for their “hard work”. (After all- desserts is stressed spelled backwards!) This is why these tables near the front are usually loaded with high fat, sugar laden foods such as bakery items (cookies, brownies, tarts, pies, donuts, etc). Money Saving tip: Shop early in the day or very late in the evening. Avoid Shopping between 4pm-8pm when the stores are more likely to be crowded and you’re more likely to be enticed into purchasing junk food as a “treat”.

    Here are a few other Dirty Little Tricks Retailers Play

    THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. SEE OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

  • About GB101 719 Articles
    Filled with an insatiable wanderlust to see the world, I've dedicated most of my life to saving money where I can so I can afford to see and do the things I want. I dug our family out of debt by reducing our grocery expense to less than $300 a month. You can too!

    5 Comments

    1. Retailers don’t really care about you keeping your food fresh after the bag is opened! Why do you think they sell so many bag clips that only APPEAR to seal the bag…in fact, they let air in and freshness out! Retailers want your food to go stale as soon as possible so you come back for more.

    2. I agree, that’s why we use a Tilia Vacuum Sealer on a daily basis. You can instantly reseal bags of chips, bread, snack items and more. We also use it to purchase meats in bulk when they’re on sale and then freeze them for later use.

    3. don’t always pass up unmarked groceries.
      at the local Grocery Outlet store the other day, I picked up a package of turkey lunchmeat… at the checkout stand, I asked how much it was. She said $1.50. She had the bagger go back and get me four more packages….
      ‘course the store had just opened three weeks ago, so maybe they hadn’t priced it.

      but it’s also the type of store where you buy something one day and go back two days later and they don’t have it anymore.

      bulk shopping – I’ve noticed that also. Always check the per ounce price.

    4. I’m just wondering how to start doing this. Do I need to have a stock pile of items? Due to some unusual circumstances, we ate from our pantry, fridge, and freezer last week, spending only about $40 to $50 to round out what we had to have (3 adults, 1 toddler). This week we started with NO meat in the freezer or fridge and very few canned vegetables.

      We do have a few packages of pasta and some rice.

      I get paid once a month and was stocking up for months on cans of things from Aldi’s (thank God we have one we can almost walk to!). We live too far from a farmers market to make it convenient to go, here to get chicken or ground beef for around $2.00 a pound for the chicken and $3 or less for the ground beef, you have to buy a huge package. Not a problem if we had more than $50! So I wanted some ideas about how to start.

      All 3 of us adults are addicted to coffee, we don’t like tuna, salmon, clams, etc., and my 2 adult children don’t really like eggs! HELP!

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