Tiffany Raiford
Earlier this week I ran into the grocery store to pick up blueberries and grapes, a bottle of wine and subs from the Publix sub shop. This entire endeavor should have cost me less than $50, but ended up costing me over $150. Why? Because I cannot go into the store for three things and leave without 30 things that I’m not even sure I need. If this happens every once in a while, it’s likely all right. The problem is that this happens to me on a regular basis; as in three or four times a week. I spend thousands at the supermarket every month – and I still have nothing to show for it (my husband disagrees with that one, but I still have no Girl Scout cookies left, so it feels like a loss).
Supermarket traps are not new, but they are costly. We all have to learn to avoid these traps if we want to save money when shopping, and I have a few traps to share with you that you might not even know you’re victim to. Read on, learn more and save.
The Smell
Sometimes I walk into the store and walk by the deli and think, “Yum,” and then I’m starving for dinner. I will buy whatever smells amazing, take it home and serve it to my family. This happens all the time. It’s easier than cooking, but far more expensive thanks to my stupid nose.
Bagged Produce
I am a big prisoner of this one. I will almost always buy precut apples and baby carrots and things that are already packaged, cut up and ready to give to my kids. It’s so much faster, but it’s not cheaper. If we really want to save, we need to buy the real stuff.
Dairy In the Back
Have you ever noticed that the dairy products you need are all the way in the back of the store? This is something that grocery stores do on purpose. They like to put these items in the far back so that they require you walk through the aisles and aisles of things you don’t really need to reach what you do. The hope is that you will stop and take things off the shelves in other aisles, too, so that you end up spending far more.
Photo by Getty Images
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