Understand grocery store prices to save more money.

Want to save more money at the grocery store? Just do the math.

My high school math teachers would probably be surprised to know how much I love numbers. I crunch numbers up and down the aisles whenever I shop. Rarely does anything go in my cart without reading the tag, knowing what a ‘good’ price for that item is (mental comparison shopping), and doing some quick math in my head. This is how I save money at the grocery store.

Retailers are masters at getting us to shell out more money than we intend. Have you ever gotten home, looked at your receipt, and thought, “That item cost how much?!” Price tags, special pricing stickers, flyers, and more are meant to help us shop spend. Being a smarty pants about what grocery prices really mean ensures we will spend less and save more.

Here are a few examples:

BOGO (Buy One Get One) sales are everywhere.

There are myriad varieties of BOGO pricing. Knowing what you’re saving will help you decide if the BOGO is a deal. The trickery of BOGO is that shoppers are enticed to buy more than they need in order to get the deal. Here are BOGO sales broken down into actual savings per item:

Buy One Get One Half Off (also seen as BOGO 50% off)  – each item is 25% off…lousy deal

BOGO Free – each item is 50% off…pretty good deal

BO Get 2 Free – each item is 66% off…good deal

BO Get 3 Free – each item is 75% off…great deal

Buy 2 Get 1 Free – each item is 33% off…not-so-good deal

Clearance Sales

Clearance sales may be enticing, but look closely at the price. Just because the word ‘clearance’ is used, doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a clearance tag on an item that is on sale for only a few cents less than the original price! Don’t let those clearance tags fool you.

10 for $10. Good deal?

Buy 10 for $10 or Buy 5 for $10 etc. First, do the math in your head or take out your calculator app. 10 for $10 is $1 each. 5 for $10 is $2 each. Know how much you’re spending for each item before getting sucked in. Then, look at the tag or check the flyer to see if you must buy 10 or 5, or whatever the magic number is, in order to get the deal. If you don’t, only GWYN (get what you need.) If you’re required to buy the higher quantity, ask yourself if you need that many of the same item. It’s not a good deal to buy 10 for $10 of something when you only need one! The store has gotten you to spend more than you needed to.

Similarly, there is the deal with a set minimum. Have you seen this before?  $2.50 each (when you buy 4.) Basically, the deal is that you get the sale price only if you buy the quantity they set. If you don’t buy the required quantity, you’ll be paying full price for each item. You’ll see these offers on common items like chips and cereal. Do you need four bags of chips or four boxes of cereal? Yes? Then, get four! But if you don’t, it’s better to just GWYN at a better price.

Price Per Unit

This is my favorite. Check out the price per unit. The unit price is printed on the tag and tells the shopper how much the item costs per pound, ounce, or other measure. Recently, I was comparing boxes of tea bags and the unit measure was per teabag. My hot tea habit is more expensive than I thought! It is amazing what you will learn by comparing the unit price. I saw a half-gallon of soy milk for sale at a unit price of 4.8 cents per ounce. The club size (2 half-gallons) was also 4.8 cents per ounce even though the sticker said, “Buy Large, Save Big!” In this case, buying the larger amount didn’t net even a cent of savings.

Coupon Deals

Ever received a coupon offering $10 off $25? Frequently these coupons are not good deals at all. $10 off of $25 converts to a 40% discount which isn’t too shabby. But let’s say the coupon is for $20 off $100. The retailer is hoping you’re impressed that you now get $20 off your purchase. Except, when you look closely, you see that this is only a 20% savings. Meh, not impressed. It’s better to use the coupon with fewer dollars off but yields a higher percentage of savings.

Next time you shop, be a smarty pants, save more money, and don’t fall for the tricks!

Download your free grocery pricing cheat sheet HERE!