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Tip 4. Find the lowest price.
My first stop was to a standard convenience store. They only sold large-sized eggs and each carton was $2. Convenience food stores are always on the pricey side, so I wasn't surprised that they charged twice as much for a dozen eggs. Next I visited our local gourmet grocery store. They have a reputation for carrying all types of odd and exotic foods, along with regular, everyday items. Their egg section was a maze of sizes and varieties. The lowest priced, medium-sized eggs were $1.29 a dozen. In addition they offered large, extra large and jumbo sizes. The jumbos were $2 a dozen, extra large was $1.89 and standard large eggs were $1.59 a dozen. This wasn't all they offered though. Taking up an entire shelf were what I like to call specialty eggs. Some were labeled vegetarian fed, others were guaranteed natural or high in omega-3 fatty acids. Cage-free, free-roaming, and organic were other choices. The highest priced, at $3.79 a dozen were organic brown eggs, high in omega-3. They had cute little stamps on each egg like a little belly button, identifying their brand. Finally I had come close to finding the elusive $4 eggs so many readers had written me about. When we are trying to reduce our grocery bills as low as possible, it is irresponsible to buy $4 eggs, especially when on the same shelf, in the same store, they can be had for as little as $1.29. Even the $2 eggs from the convenience store are a better buy than the $4 eggs. When we have plenty of money we can afford the luxury of buying with our conscience. When we are scraping for every penny it is foolish to spend so much on eggs when economical alternatives are right there on the next shelf. We have an obligation to ourselves and our family's to look at all of the options available for eggs and choose the ones which which cost the least. There is nothing wrong with buying $4 eggs if you can afford them. I'm sure their added value is worth it when money is in abundance. When times are tight though, the lower priced eggs are the only choice. This type of buying works for all of the decisions we make at the market. We can buy the most expensive version or the least expensive version, the choice is ours. Obviously when we are trying to save money we need to take the time to look at all of the choices available and put the lowest price version in our shopping carts. The first step to finding the lowest price is to be able to examine all of the options the store has to offer and then choose the least expensive one. Usually store-brands and off brands cost less than name brands. Sometimes larger packages are less per ounce than their smaller neighbors. Comparing the unit price, the cost per ounce or pound, is the only way to determine the best buy among different sized packages. Determine the unit price by dividing the total price by the number of ounces or pounds in the package. If you're not quick with numbers then a calculator can come in handy for this process. These activities may take more time than you are accustomed to spending in the store especially as you get used to the process. It does take more time, but the investment pays off by allowing you to discover the lowest prices on all of the items you normally buy. The amount of savings can be astronomical, especially if you currently buy mostly name brand items. Which brings us to the subject of brand loyalty. Don't waste your time on it. Brand loyalty takes a big chunk out of our budget. Manufacturers spend a lot of money advertising their products and creating a sense of loyalty in their customers. We pay them for the privilege of being brainwashed into thinking their brand is the only one that will suit our needs. I can't afford to pay a big company to brain wash me, and it disgusts me that they would be willing to put me into that situation in the first place. Sometimes we have to buy name brands to get a specialty food we need for our dietary requirements. That's fine. If there is a perfectly good store-brand version of the same item and it costs less, it's the one we should be placing in our carts.
The next step to finding the lowest price is to find a discount supermarket. Some grocery stores make themselves famous with quality and variety, others focus on selling their products at a lower price than the gourmet market down the street. Some common discount chains are Walmart Supercenters, Aldis, Save-A-Lot, Big Lots, and Dollar General. Most products, although not all, cost less at these discount stores. Lets go back to my sugar-free spaghetti sauce. At the gourmet market it cost a reasonable $1.29 a can. At my local Walmart I can buy the same item for only 89¢, or 40¢ less. Now some people may think that sugar-free spaghetti sauce is $4 a jar because that's the price of the most obvious choice at the gourmet market. Those of us willing to take the time to dig around and find the bargains know that we can get a similar product for less than $1. This isn't magic. I don't get special prices because I live in Appalachia or because I'm the Hillbilly Housewife. Granted in New York City or San Francisco the prices will be somewhat higher, but even in these places there are lower priced alternatives. You can buy an economy brand or an expensive brand. The choice is yours to make. We can choose to shop at an upscale market or a discount chain. Which will save us the most money? We can choose to buy the the most expensive item because it's the most obvious or we can take the time to compare prices within the store and purchase the least expensive product that meets our needs. Which one will stretch our dollars the furthest? Once we find the lowest price it's important to record it so we won't have to go through the time consuming process of finding it again. This brings us to the next tip: 5. Keep track of prices with a price book.
Copyright Hillbilly Housewife 2005-2007
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