Today I came to the conclusion that most people do not know how to grocery shop and they just buy what is in front of them. My dad did most of the grocery shopping when we were growing up. Those days were days of one car families, and with my dad's schedule he would pick up "the bargains" on the way home. We had shelves down in the basement (oh how I miss my basement) and there were always extra cans of everything so that my dad was ahead on shopping. He would eventually reach a point where most items were bought when they were on sale. Now, maybe he didn't stock up on just necessities; but he was a wise shopper even when it came to his buying Hershey's Syrup. Back in the old days, Hershey's syrup came in a can; and there were always cans on the shelves (my dad loved his ice cream and Hershey's syrup at night).
I was in Sam's today (haven't been there in probably over a year), and I probably spent more time watching people shop than I did on shopping for the things I needed. When I shop in Sam's, I do the math in my head; and on most items you do better shopping at grocery stores or even Wal-Mart which makes me laugh because you would think their prices would be the same being owned by the same company. There are a few things I like to buy at Sam's because those items are cheaper and they are great for food storage. If you are stocking up on Tylenol (Sam's own brand on these things), Motrin, Alleve then Sam's is the place to purchase them. And with Swine Flu threatening, I advise you to go stock up.
I watched shoppers putting all different things in their baskets without even doing the math. The bargain shopper in me wanted to go up to these people and say, "what you are doing right now is spending much more money than in other stores. Do the math and you will see." For example, we stock up on 24 packs of bottled water. I have gotten them as cheap as $2.99 a case and sometimes as high as $3.99. Cases and cases of Ozarka water were in grocery carts and I thought, wow I need to check that out. Thinking I would get a great bargain today on water, I went to the back of Sam's ready to stock up. The water was $4.99 a case. Again the bargain shopper in me wanted to yell at them and say, "put that back. Go to Krogers, go to HEB, heck you can even get it cheaper sometimes in Walgreens and CVS".
Maybe the economy is fine here in Beaumont and you can just throw your money away when it comes to Sam's Club. As for me and my house, we'll continue to bargain shop and use my coupons.
And if you are looking for a great place to get coupons and deals, go to
http://www.beingfrugalisfabulous.com/
Click on what you need, print out the coupons and get out your scissors. I may not be the smartest cookie on the planet, but when it comes to shopping I like to think my brain goes into "smart shopper" mode.
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4 comments:
I've noticed that when I try to go to stores that advertise "lower prices," (like Sam's) I always end up spending more. I like to stick to my H-E-B where I know I'm not getting priced gouged. And, I love going through those circulars and seeing what's a good deal.
I really like how you're sending email updates on good deals because sometimes I forget what a good price is. They really seem to help.
You're welcome Holli. I know in this economy every little bit helps especially when we are trying to get ahead in our storage. I'll keep those e-mails coming.
I LOVE coupons and good deals. I want this coupon expert lady from Utah who I heard about to come teach me how to work the system. That'd be awesome.
my mom took me to sams the other day and she was helping me be a smart shopper. i dont really look at prices of things i normally get, so she was able to tell me if things were a good deal. another website thats good is
hip2save.blogspot.com
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