News - Thrifty Living

POSTED: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Ten tips for grocery shopping dads

My dad never stepped foot inside a grocery store. We ran out of milk one weekend when Mother was gone and Dad served up a bottle of prepared liquid starch, growling there was nothing wrong with the taste.

Times have changed and many dads now make the weekly grocery run. Grabbing frozen pizza and chips doesn't cut it in our economy and nutritionally is even more insane than serving starch. So what's a man to do beyond clipping coupons and avoiding shopping while hungry? Here are a few tips to help navigate the grocery aisles.

Sign up for customer-loyalty programs.

Such large grocery chains as King Soopers and Kroger have customer-loyalty cards that shoppers flash at check out to save on designated items. Some of these programs also are tied to further incentives, such as double coupons and savings on gasoline purchases.

Never shop with the kids.

While older children can make great assistants, impatient toddlers tend to grab or demand items you don't need while limiting the amount of time you can spend comparing prices. If you don't want to come home with bags full of Count Chocula and candy bars, leave the kids at home.

Bring a calculator to keep a running tab of purchases.

You may think you're not spending much and can afford that bag of pretzels, but a calculator will make sure there are no unpleasant surprises at check out. If you're good at math, keep a running total on the back of your shopping list, rounding up to the nearest 10th of a cent.

Shop the perimeter.

Perishable necessities usually are located around the perimeter of stores, so fill up on milk, bread, etc. before heading into the center aisles.

Look high and low for cheaper prices.

Stores stock higher-priced, name-brand items at eye level, so make sure you stretch and bend for better prices.

Check out store-brand alternatives.

Many manufacturers roll products off a conveyor and slap different labels on the same merchandise. Generic or store-brand products are usually the cheapest on the shelf.

Forget brand loyalty.

Your mother may have preferred Skippy Peanut Butter but that doesn't mean you're forever pledged to a single brand. Scan and compare the contents if you're concerned about quality.

Compare unit costs -- not product prices. Most stores now include the unit cost in small print next to the product price. While that giant pack of toilet paper may appear cheaper, a quick scan of the per-sheet unit price often reveals a four-pack of the generic brand is much cheaper.

Use cloth bags or recycle your plastic bags.

Sure this is good for the environment, but many stores also knock a few cents off for each bag you bring from home.

Keep an eye on the scanner.

Grocery stores are infamous for incorrectly ringing up sale items. Forget the impatient shopper behind you in line and challenge prices you think are wrong, but keep in mind coupon deductions often aren't rung up until the end of the sale.