20 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill, Part 5

Here's part 5 of a Money Central piece titled "20 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill":

Beware of "discount store syndrome." Just because you're in a bargain store doesn't mean you're getting the best price on every item. "You have to consider whether it's a good bargain or not, and not mindlessly buy because it's a thrifty store," says Kay.

Her example: a warehouse club sells paper towels for 89 cents a roll that you normally see in your grocery store for 99 cents. Good buy? Not necessarily. If you have a 40-cents-off coupon that the grocery store will double, the grocery store cost is 19 cents. So do your homework before you shop.

Realize that sometimes the best bargain isn't the lowest price. There are times when you want to spend a little more on things that are important to you. For instance, a good-quality ground chuck with a little less fat or a loaf of really good whole-grain bread. Saving is great, but beware of buys that could be "penny-wise and pound-foolish," says Foreman.

"Your health is worth that," he says. "Medical bills are tough, even if you do have a good health plan."

Check your receipts. No matter how careful you or the store staff might be, mistakes happen. "I can't say it's widespread, but I do get reports of people saying they check grocery bills, and very often they find mistakes," says Foreman. "And, 4 to 1, they are in favor of the store."

Put your savings to work. Whether it's a trip, a car or a savings account, have some specific goals for the money you're not spending on food. Says Kay, "What good does it do to save all this money in the grocery store if you don't have a plan (for) what to do with that money?"

My thoughts:

Discount store -- This is so true! I always assume the big stuff at Costco is cheaper because it's big and at Costco. But my wife knows the prices of most things, and she calculates whether it's a good deal or not.

Bargain -- So true. Value is more important than price. Plus, if you don't like the taste of something, then a low price isn't really that great of a deal, is it?

Receipts -- My wife combs her receipts like a mad woman. In our state, if there's a difference between the price marked on an item and the price it scans at and the scanned price is higher, you get the difference plus a penalty of some percentage back. Once I got a $25 basketball rim (I know it's not a food item, but it was at a superstore that sold food too) for $2.50 because of a price marking mistake.

Savings -- We have a budget for food -- $400 per month for a family of four. That seems pretty good to me. What do you think of it?

Comments

[Cathy]

If it's $400 just on food (not toiletries or other things that people often buy at a grocery store), then I think that's pretty good, especially if you buy organic items. The Dollar Stretcher has a good article on this topic at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/990705a.cfm.