The Biggest Mistakes Women Make When Grocery Shopping

Find out which are the worst (and best) days for deals, where you'll find the priciest (and cheapest) items shelved and who you should never bring with you. 

By Lynn Andriani

 

Trying to Avoid Crowds

Anyone who's spent time catching up on their celebrity-gossip magazine reading while slowly making their way toward the register knows that Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days to shop. But while switching your weekly grocery run to a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday may save you a little bit of time, it probably won't save you money. Retailers know that most people shop on weekends, so that's when they offer their best deals, says Roger Davidson, who has held senior positions with major grocery chains such as Supervalu, Wild Oats Markets and Walmart. Stores often start their sales on a Thursday and run them through a Sunday, which is the busiest day. Another reason to head to the store on days when it's crowded: Research shows we're less likely to buy unnecessary items when we're surrounded by many people. If you really love having wide-open aisles but still want to benefit from markdowns, try Thursday or Friday mornings.

Not Realizing They're Low on Detergent

When Kasey Trenum, a money expert at Savings.com and cofounder of the online, money-saving course Time2SaveWorkshops.com, first started trying to cut her household spending, she looked at where most of her money was going—and it turned out that items she bought every few weeks, like detergent and diapers, were her biggest expenses. So Trenum began looking for coupons and buying those products when they were on sale or she had a coupon (or both)—not just when she was running low. She's been doing this for years, and just a few weeks ago used coupons to score six bottles of detergent, four containers of fabric softener and two packages of dryer sheets for less than $8 total.

Avoiding Products Shelved at Eye Level

We've been trained to look high and low (literally) for the best deals, but sometimes the least expensive items are right in front of us, says Davidson. Do a quick scan up and down before you put that can of green beans in your basket, he advises, since many retailers are starting to place items with value prices at eye level—especially cheaper store brands (which, Davidson reminds us, are usually the same quality as national brands, since many of the companies that make them also make store brands).

Enlisting Their Partners to Help

We knew shopping with kids isn't recommended if you want to spend less ("But Mom, I neeeeed these cocoa-fruity-yogurt-cereal-cupcake bars!"), but we didn't realize that bringing a man along also meant we'd likely wind up with a bunch of things we didn't set out to buy. Davidson has done research that has shown men are less strategic when shopping and tend to throw more impulse buys into their baskets. (Additionally, this eye-opening article reveals that 60 percent of purchases are unplanned—regardless of the shopper's gender.) If you do have to bring your kids, give them a job—Saving.com's Trenum lets them push the shopping cart—to distract them.

Going to Dollar Stores Just for Extras

Trinkets and small gifts (e.g., floral nail files, colorful pens, 20-packs of hair elastics) aren't the only things worth buying at dollar stores. These retailers can be gold mines for canned and bottled foods—think pickles, olives, salsa. And while we're on the subject of non-traditional places to buy groceries, avoid stocking up on food at drugstores, says Davidson. They tend to price everything from chips to pasta higher than supermarkets do.

Falling for Half-Aisles

Experts who lay out grocery stores know that a long aisle with no escape route can be off-putting (Davidson says a lot of people will look down it and think, "I don't need anything there,"—even though they very well might). So designers are starting to put cross aisles in (they're like cross streets, running perpendicular to main aisles), since their research shows there's a greater likelihood a shopper will be drawn to them, thinking there's an easy way out if she doesn't find what she's looking for. That isn't to say short aisles have expensive items and long aisles have cheaper ones—but it is a reminder that we can easily get seduced into making an impulse buy in a short aisle, so remember to stick to the script. Get what's on your list, and don't pay attention to an aisle's length.

http://www.oprah.com/money/Save-Money-on-Groceries--How-to-Save-Money-on-Groceries

5 Moments You're Most Likely to Overspend

 

 

 

 

 

Little things can trigger impulse buys. Knowing these unexpected times when you may be getting spendy can help you keep them in check.

By Candace Braun Davidson

When You're Avoiding the Crowds

You may be tempted to tackle your shopping list at 7 a.m. on a weekday, when Walmart is practically guaranteed to be blessedly empty. But shopping at crowded stores could help your wallet: We're less likely to buy unnecessary items when we're surrounded by swarms of people, a Journal of Consumer Research study found. It's like we go into survival mode, where we immediately think of what we need to get in and get out (and emerge relatively unscathed).

When You've Opened Another Bank Account

It's hard to resist the $50 cash bonus for opening an extra account or starting a "fun" fund to get you through those slogging winter months, but a May 2013 study found that people tend to save more when they have just one place to deposit money. That's because they have a better knowledge of how much is there—and how much they're spending, researchers say. When our income is spread across a few places, we can easily justify a purchase by thinking, "Oh, but I have money in that other account, too."

When You're Buying Something Embarrassing

If you've ever bought some candy, a magazine or a collector's edition Seinfeld DVD box set to deflect from what you really need to pick up (ahem, antifungal foot cream), you're not alone: almost 80 percent of people spend money on unnecessary extras to divert the cashier's and other shoppers' attention, finds a July 2013 study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

If the thought of buying just the item you really need makes you anxious, search for a distraction purchase you'll use, like paper towels or toothpaste. It may even save you a 10 p.m. grocery-store run in a few weeks.

When You Could Use a Little Support

It's no surprise that we're likely to splurge when we're feeling down, but 75 percent of women say they're shopping to treat someone else, finds University of Hertfordshire research. Sadness can make us crave others' support, and buying gifts for those we care about can help us feel more connected to them, explains Sheconomics co-author Karen Pine, PhD, who conducted the study. Plus, when money is tight, it's easier to justify spending on someone other than ourselves.

When You're Reminded of the Time

The clock can rule our schedules, our thoughts and, as it turns out, our bank accounts. When a sign encouraged people to "spend a little time, enjoy C&D's lemonade," they were more likely to stop and buy a drink—and pay 51 percent more for it (compared to a those who saw a sign that asked them to "spend a little money"). Why? In the 2008 study from Stanford University, researchers found that 'spending time' makes us feel more like we're buying an experience, not parting with our hard-earned cash.

The subtle shift is enough to make us feel like we're investing in something to do—which most other research states will make us happier than material possessions—but in essence, it's just stuff masquerading as an experience.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/money/Moments-Youre-Most-Likely-to-Overspend-How-to-Spend-Less#ixzz2k7N6pVIn

5 WAYS YOU THINK YOU'RE SAVING MONEY BUT AREN'T

Avoiding these common mistakes can give that dollar in your pocket a little more company.

1.You're Not Buying a Shiny New Phone

Whether you buy it now or you buy it later, getting a new phone means paying for it. But keeping your current phone after your two-year agreement is up means you might be making payments on it long after you've covered the full price of it. Many service agreements charge a subsidized rate for a phone upfront—about $200—plus a monthly payment fee that's included in your bill. When the 24 months are up, that fee remains part of your monthly statement, explains Consumer Reports. Until recently, you haven't had many other options. But, as of March 2013, T-Mobile allows you to use your current phone on a lower-rate, "no contract" month-to-month plan. Unlimited minutes, text messages and 2GB of high-speed data costs $60 per month. A comparable two-year contract plan elsewhere can cost $100 a month, which means that sticking with your current phone—and staying in a contract—could cost you up to $40 more per month. If you really want a new phone, CNET found that opting for a no-contract plan and buying the phone at full price may still be cheaper than getting the same phone at a subsidized rate with a two-year agreement. An iPhone 5 and two years' service costs $2,020 at T-Mobile, but it can cost $2,600 elsewhere, the site reports.

2.You're Buying in Bulk

It seems like a good idea: Get more of what you use for less. But bulk buying is one of six leading causes of food waste, which can cost a family of four an estimated $1,350 to $2,275 each year, reports the Natural Resources Defense Council. When it comes to items without an expiration date, the problem often isn't using too little—it's blowing through too much, too fast: Turns out 53 percent of people don't use the recommended dose of laundry detergent—guessing or filling the cap to the top—found a 2010 study by Method Products, Inc. Some caps have fill lines halfway, some are two-thirds, but it's almost never near the top, says Merany Eldridge, spokeswoman for Method. (To combat this, Method's detergents use a pump nozzle for a more precise measurement, and an increasing number of companies offer single-serving tablets, like Tide Pods.)

3.You Refuse to Be Upsold at an Oil Change

Maybe you have a story like this: A friend brought her car in for a $30 oil change and wound up paying $3,000 for unrelated "urgent" repairs that turned out not to be so urgent. Still, the top things a mechanic might suggest are fluid changes, tire rotations and new brake pads—which you may genuinely need, says Austin Davis, author of What Your Car Mechanic Doesn't Want You to Know and founder of MyHonestMechanic.com. By letting the mechanic, who's already got a good look at your engine, check out key areas, you can save yourself an extra trip to a dealer or a surprise problem on your next road trip. Davis recommends keeping these facts in mind: Transmission fluid should be changed every 50,000 miles, the power steering fluid once in the car's lifetime (roughly 100,000 miles), and your tires should be rotated every 9,000-10,000 miles. "The front brakes need to be replaced about twice as often as the back ones, because that's where the stopping power is," he explains. If a mechanic urges you to change them, ask how thick the brake pad is compared to its metal backing—if the pad is thinner than the backing, it's time to replace them.

4.You Turned Down the Warranty

Warranties don't always make sense—like paying $3 for a two-year service plan on DVDs that cost $5, something we recently came across—but for expensive items you don't have the funds to replace, the extra reassurance could be worth it, says Manisha Thakor, CEO of MoneyZen Wealth Management LLC. About one in five people will have their iPad damaged within the first two years of ownership, reports SquareTrade, which sells two-year warranties for $99. (In our experience, frequent travelers and those who are a little on the klutzy side are well represented in this group.) Like many companies, Apple's standard warranty doesn't cover accidental damage, so any cracked screens, scratches or broken ports are up to you to replace. But the company does offer AppleCare+, which will cover up to two "oops" moments for $99 for two years, plus a possible $49 service fee. Wal-Mart also offers a two-year accident-protection plan for $69 for tablets that cost $500-$700.

5.You Bought a Pass to Save on Tolls

Getting an electronic tolls pass—such as an E-ZPass or SunPass—to use with your rental car can save you a few dollars on select tolls compared to paying with cash (up to $4.75 when crossing the George Washington Bridge or Lincoln Tunnel in New York), but if you're not hitting the tolls every day you rent the car, it may not be worth it. Some car rental companies charge up to $5 per day for use of the pass—even on days when you never pass a toll plaza. Plus, some advertised discounts come with restrictions. For example, you can cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco for half price with a FasTrak pass, but to get the full 50 percent off, you must have three or more people in the car and be crossing during weekday rush hour. Otherwise, using FasTrak shaves $1 off the $6 toll. USA Today offers a roundup of many of the major rental car companies' policies so you can check yours at a glance before booking.

http://www.oprah.com/money/Saving-Money-Cutting-Spending