Weighing Your Produce CAN Save You Money

A few month's ago, we discussed weighing your produce as a potential money saving tip. I didn't have any experience with the idea at that point, but a recent trip to the store with my wife changed that. Here's what happened:

• She wanted to buy lettuce and the two heads of "regular" lettuce were listed as $X.XX (I didn't get the exact price) for what was supposedly 22 oz.
• The "organic" lettuce was listed as $X.XX (the same price as the regular) for what was supposed to be 12 oz. (almost 50% the size of the regular option)
• My wife thought they felt about the same and weighed them both.
• They both weighed 22 oz.
• She got the organic lettuce.

Whether or not you think organic lettuce has any more value than non-organic lettuce, the point about produce not always reflecting the stated weight holds. So weigh your produce to make sure you're getting what you think you are -- as well as potentially saving you some money (if a pack of potatoes is the same price as another pack, buy the heaviest option.)

And for those of you who have kids, here's a time-saving tip as well as a way to keep your kids busy/interested during shopping: have your kids weigh the produce while you keep shopping. My wife assigns the task to our 12-year-old. He weighs two options and tells her which is the heaviest. He has fun and it helps my wife shop faster.

Comments

[Christine Lerios]

Just yesterday, my husband and I were at the grocery store when he picked out a watermelon and goes, "Hey - look, only $5.99 each!"

Me: "$5.99 each? Or per pound?"

Him: "Each...wait a sec, lemme get a bigger watermelon."

We picked out the biggest one in the pile - it was easily twice the size of the original one he picked up. Maybe 15 pounds? We'll be eating watermelon for at least a week.

[dino]

You can also look for mislabeled prices in the deli. The other day chili relleno's were labeled at $1.99 lb when they should have been 1.99 each. The guy I sold them to bought four for $1.99. The computer rang them up at $1.99 each but the store has a accurate price guarantee and we had to sell them for the labeled price at $1.99 per lb. We had to change the label as soon as he was gone.

[Elithea]

Another tip is to always shake the water off produce that is sold by weight. My local grocery sprays lettuce every 3-5 min, and all that water can make a big difference in price.

[Grey]

I always wonder if I'm the only person weighing produce - I never see anyone else doing it. I usually do it because I'm working towards a budgeted total on my bill, but this is another great reason.