Know Your Prices

If you see an ad for something on sale, do you know if you can get a better deal at another time or at another store?

An advertised price doesn’t mean it’s on sale.  A sale price is also not always the best available.  I see this every week in the grocery store fliers.  Well, I see them online since they no longer arrive on my driveway.

When certain items are advertised as “buy one, get one free,” I have to consider which store is offering the deals.  If I usually get something on sale for $1.99 at one store, but another store has the BOGO offer, I need to know the other store’s normal price.  If the BOGO deal costs $5.00, it’s not as good of a deal since that’s the equivalent of $2.50 per item.

I generally buy stuff at certain prices, not just “sale” prices.  For example, I usually buy 8-ounce bricks of cheese (store brand) for $0.99.  I constantly see them on sale for $1.99, $2.50, etc., but I wait until they’re the “right price.”  That’s actually a relatively new deal.  For years, I was paying $1.67 per brick because they were constantly on sale for 3 for $5.  The $0.99 deal isn’t offered as much as the $1.67 deal, so I will buy it for $1.67 if I really need cheese.  After all, it’s a staple that’s always in my house.

I don’t buy ice cream very often for obvious (fat) and not-so-obvious (hypoglycemia) reasons.  About once per year though, I get a great deal that I can’t refuse.  This weekend, I got that deal.  For $0.99 each, I bought two boxes of ice cream sandwiches (12-pack, store brand) and two boxes of pomegranate fruit bars (6-pack, store brand).  Yum!!  If I try really hard, I can make the 36 deserts last all summer.  Naturally, I did eat an ice cream sandwich right after I got home from the store.

Of course, this applies to much more than groceries.  How much does any item cost at different stores?  Do any of the stores price match?

The next time you see a sale price, maybe consider if it’s the “right price.”  That price will be different for everyone.

Linda 🙂