How to Compare Grocery Store Prices

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Bill Rae. I'm with Alumni Financial Services at Seminole, Florida. I've been in the finance in the business world for well over thirty years. And you may ask, where does that qualify me to be comparing grocery shopping prices? Well, let me tell you. Over the years I've learned a few tricks. One of the things I've learned about grocery shopping and specially when you're comparing prices is first of all, you need to plan your trip. Now, I'm talking a little bit to you guys bit here right now . If you're like me in the old days, I used to walk out whatever struck my fancy, went in the car. Today, we have to be much more serious to make sure our money goes a lot further. So, when you're out there shopping, what you want to do is make sure that you plan your trip to that even the grocery store. One of the things you need to do is know the difference between a durable good and a perishable good. Now, if it can be in the freezer or if it can be in a counter, stay a while and you get a good buy on them. Those are the ones you want to stock up on. Your perishable things such as lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, those type of things, you may want to start buying smaller quantities to make sure you're getting good buys on it. I took the liberty beforehand to run to four different stores and I just want to caution you this since this is unscientific I won't mention the names of the stores. Two of them had those store cards or if you brought it in you get a discount out. What I found was interesting is the range of prices, for instance, on a box of cereals, when with the card from $2.50 to without the card to $4.29 on two of these stores. The two other stores that didn't have the cards at the end of the day when I bought ten items identical of each one of these stores, I found out something interesting. The stores without the cards were less than the store with the cards even using the cards. so, when you comparison shoppin', don't get hooked into what they call impulse buying at the end of the counter, make sure you know what you're going for, make sure you know what you're looking for, try to buy store brand items as much as possible, they generally tend to come in at a lot lower price. And again, when you're out there shopping, if you get a sale and you use the coupons and do watch them, there are many out there. There's an interesting one growing called USA savings, they tend to offer a percent off across the board rather than items but however you do it, you need to go grocery shopping like you're buying or shopping for a car or a mortgage for a home or anything else that's of high interest value to you. Make sure you compare apples to apples. A big pretty box doesn't mean it's always full. Look at the quantity inside that box versus the price. Every one of them has a unit price. You'll be surprised, after a little bit of checking and watching, you'll be able to be as sharp as my wife when she goes out. Use coupons, use store brands, don't get hooked in high quick purchase items and be very careful on bulk buy. Sometimes you overspend your budget buying too much of something you really don't need. If it's durable, it'll last, you might have a bargain. If it's not, you may had just lost your money. Well, thank you for the time today. My name is Bill Rae. I'm with Alumni Financial Services and always we're here to help you save money."