WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times are taking your financial questions about all things money. Then, every week, we set out to answer your personal finance-related question.
This week, John in Rogers Park asked how he can spot a deal at the grocery store.
Whenever I go to the grocery store, it feels like I’m taking a math quiz. Figuring out the price of a “buy 2, get 3″ deal seems wholly calculated to deceive customers just trying to get the best price, or when a sign says sale price too often it isn’t. There seems to be no transparency in pricing. How can we end this?
Solving the math
Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumerworld.org, a guide on ways to save money and consumer scams, has been a consumer advocate for more than 40 years.
If you’re not sure a sale is good, he said the answer is simple: You have to do the math.
Dworsky said last week his supermarket offered a deal on a one pound bag of pretzels — buy two bags and you get three bags free.
“That sounds like a good deal, but I went online to look up the price of how much was each bag,” he said. “Each bag was $4.99. … Basically, you’re getting five pounds for $10. That’s $2 a pound, and I instantly knew that wasn’t the greatest deal because at another supermarket, the store brand I can get 11 ounces for 99 cents.”
Check other stores
Comparing prices at different stores can save you money. That’s because an item on sale at one store could actually be more expensive than the store brand at another grocer, Dworsky said.
He also said buying the larger size isn’t always the best deal.
“If you had a coupon and the small size was on sale, you may do better than buying the large economy size,” he said. “This is why we have unit pricing in many states.”
Checking the item’s tag to see the price per ounce or per pound can help make comparison shopping easier.
“You don’t have to take out your calculator. You can see Brand A is 17 cents an ounce and Brand B is 23 cents an ounce, and you can instantly see which is a better deal,” Dworsky said.
‘Look for the facts’
“Don’t play the game,” Dworsky said.
Sometimes a sale can be really good. If so, stock up. But not every advertisement is true, and there’s even been some legal cases over it, he said.
“When the item is on sale — buy one, get one free — they make the item $5.99 a pound. When it’s not on sale, the regular price is $2.99 a pound,” he said. “Watch out for that. Get to know the prices so you can spot, have they inflated the regular price to accommodate the sale offer?”
Bargain hunting can help you spot the best prices and know if a sale is truly a deal.
“Don’t fall for the hype. Look for the facts,” Dworsky said.
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