The grocery store has several tricks to get you, the consumer, to buy more things and stay in the store longer. But you don’t want to spend more money than you have to, so what’s a girl to do? Here I have a list of gimmicks/tricks the store uses. By learning about these tricks, you can become an informed consumer and make better choices.

Many of the tricks involve one concept: convenience vs. cash. Are you willing to pay more for that special basil pasta sauce, or can you make it at home and save money? You could buy that Lean Cuisine for $2.50 or you could make an equal (or better!) meal at home by purchasing the raw ingredients. Is the time that it takes to prepare a meal worth the added cost for the convenience item? Your call!

1. List. List. Did I say list?!?! Stick to it, don’t fall astray! If you derail from it, you will have unnecessary spending and impulse buying.
2. Notice how they place certain items at the checkout? This is when you are more susceptible to an impulse buy because you have to wait your turn at the checkout. Don’t succumb. Have patience, young super saver. Fight the urge.
3. Look at the unit price. Might need to yank out your reading glasses, because the unit price is the itty bitty tiny writing on the price label. It is the cost per ounce of the product. The heavier the volume/weight of the container, the lower the unit price*. But please see #4 below to clarify the asterisk…
4. Buying in bulk ≠ always saving money. Didn’t your mother ever tell you to not use qualifiers (always, never)? You will not save money by buying bulk. Check the unit price on the small and large container. Sometimes the small containers cost as much as the larg container in terms of unit price. Personally, I am tempted to eat more if I have a gi-normous container versus a smaller one, so I would rather purchase the smaller one, finish it, and then come back to the store to purchase a second.
5. Buy things that are not pre-prepared. Raw items are usually cheaper than the pre-prepared ones. This means you purchase all ingredients: the spices, the oil, the chicken. Think rotisserie chicken vs. raw chicken or sushi at H-E-B versus making it yourself. Think of all the knowledge you will gain by cutting that pineapple yourself instead of buying it pre-cut. Now think dollar signs and money saving. Cha-ching!
6. Don’t purchase something until you run out of it. A “no duh” statement, but true.
7. A little hint for next week’s blog: COUPONS. Stick it to the (grocery store) man by saving money!
8. Stores put the most popular items at eye level. This means that the cheaper items are above or way below eye level. Notice how bright and colorful they are, then see #9…
9. Store brands. Store brand quality is comparable to some name brands. Especially true for canned products (but make sure to wash off the sodium before eating!).
10. Watch for “dump carts.” These are “sale” items all thrown into a basket and give the false appearance of a sale. Truth: the items may be regular price.
11. Watch for “end of aisle” sales. Same Truth: the items may be regular price. The flashy colors are to grab your attention and your money.
12. Get a smaller basket. Not only will you purchase less, but also you can people-weave to get out of the store faster.
13. Shop no more than once a week. More shopping = more spending.
14. Don’t rush, but don’t linger either. The longer you are in there, the higher the probability of buying extra stuff.
15. Arrange your list in the flow of the store. You will get in/out faster. It takes less than 5 minutes to do this and you will eventually get in the habit of doing it.
16. Watch out for the “discontinued” gimmick. Yeah, your favorite deodorant may be discontinued, but you don’t have to buy 5 sticks at the “discounted” price.
17. The aromatic smells. Yes, it’s true! Most stores will put the bakery very close to the entrance of the store. Why? To reel you in with the wholesome smell of baked bread, slow you down, and keep you in the store.
18. Organic items are more expensive. Up to TWO TIMES more expensive as regular products. If you’re on a budget, normal produce will do just fine.
19. Watch out for FIFO. No, that’s not fee fi foo fum. It means First In First Out. Grocery stores put items with sooner expiration dates closer to the front of the display. So check your yogurt, meat, bread, etc. to see if what you are purchasing expires in a few days. If it does, then you will throw it away, which means that you will come back to the store and buy even more. See the trend? This happened to me once…but never again!

It is completely ok to buy convenience items, don’t get me wrong. For example, if frozen broccoli is the only way you will ever eat broccoli, then by all means, eat it! But, if you are on a budget, think how long it takes to wash raw broccoli, then chop it, then cook it…we are probably talking about less than 10 minutes. Betcha it takes that long to defrost/cook it in the microwave! You will also get more nutrients out of fresh broccoli than frozen (less sodium, more Vitamin C, etc).

Tune in next week for part 3: COUPONS!

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.

A tempting sign to purchase frozen goods...but is it a real sale?!?

"Dump cart" at my local grocery store