Are You Shopping Smart?

Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do...most of the time. Being pregnant has taken some of the fun out of it because I get tired a lot sooner. But I still enjoy my weekly, and sometimes more often, trips. That doesn't mean I want to spend a lot of money though and since we started doing the Dave Ramsey cash system I really need to be careful with every penny.

The Grocery industry is trying their best to stymie my efforts! A lot of the information in this article I knew and was a great refresher but some was a little new to me. It never occurred to me that the cart I used might have an RFID tag on it tracking my movements! That's a little freaky.

I did know that most people shop counter clockwise. When you walk into Winco you have practically no choice but to turn to the left down an aisle of all sorts of name brand "deals"...which aren't always.

Did you know that End-caps are not always the best deals for items? The more I've paid attention while shopping, and couponing, the more I've realized this.

One thing that I've never considered doing is buying a large cut of meat and having it sliced by the Deli service people.

"Instead of buying your cold cuts at the deli counter, Bankrate's Patel suggests you buy a whole cooked ham, a full turkey breast or a hunk of roast beef (preferably a cut that's on sale) from the meat section. Then head to the deli and put the store employees to work for you."

I haven't ever tried this and I'm not sure which stores will do this but I am going to ask around.

My favorite grocery section is the Bulk Section but, as the article points out, it's not always the cheaper option. Be sure to do the comparisons and not get suckered into thinking you're saving when you're not!

The article doesn't talk about coupons...I think it should have because I'm sure that brands pay to have their coupon blinkies included in the store, just like they pay for product placement on the shelves.

Be alert and pay attention when shopping and you'll automatically save money.

Oh...and watch the cash register at checkout!

"According to ABC News, U.S. shoppers lose $1 billion to $2.5 billion a year on scanner blunders. Those checkout slip-ups appear to peak during retail crunch times, like the holiday season, when customers are in the biggest hurry."

At Fred Meyer on Sunday I was buying a clearance set of pajamas for Marshal. They were marked $10.97 but rang up $15.97...Half off of 15 is not as good as half off of 10! :) I caught it and saved myself those few bucks!