Avoid Supermarket Temptations!
6 08 2007
Do you find yourself putting items into the shopping cart that weren’t on your list when you got to the supermarket? Retailers actually arrange their stores to encourage impulse — and often unhealthy — buys! Just think about the candy bars right by the cash register or the aroma of fresh baked goods that greets you as you walk in the door. Is this a coincidence? Not a chance! Fight back with these tips:
- Make a list, so you’ll know what you need and go straight to it!
- Shop the outer walls of the store, where fresh produce, meats, dairy, and grains are displayed. Avoid inner aisles that are filled with processed items!
- Never shop on an empty stomach! Plan supermarket trips after a meal, when you won’t be as tempted!
- Read labels. If it’s high in fat, calories, salt, and preservatives, put it back!
- Avoid “free” samples. This little taste often winds up triggering an unnecessary purchase.
- Bring a friend to help you stay focused.
Now you’re a savvy shopper! Take that, marketers!
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Joe, great tips for saving money at the grocery store and for shopping healthier!
Most times my wife does the shopping alone as any time the kids and I go with, we end up spending more and buying more junk. If I do go with, I try to wander the store a little bit with the kids but without the cart to avoid the temptation of throwing things in.
Derek,
My main problem is SAMS club I used to go in there on a Friday or during the weekend and I would eat any free sample that looked delicious. I try to his Wal Mart Supercenter later in the day on the weekends if I have to go just to avoid the free sample booths set up.
My other thing I am still working on is making sure I have eaten something before I go to the store because if I don’t I am sunk. I get so hungry I head for the junk and get something that I can inhale on the way home. Once I went to Wal Mart and I had let myself get so hungry I ended up getting a package of M and M’s off the shelf by the cashiers counter and ate it while I was shopping and I held on to the empty wrapper until I got done shopping. I sheepishly told the cashier that I couldn’t wait till I got up to the register to pay for the un opened package and she of course told me it was ok and that I am not the first person who had done that.
We don’t go to Sams all that often and when we do go, I usually hit all the samples while my wife shops.
It is amazing to see how much more you tend to buy when you are shopping hungry. Not sure if you allow links here but I wrote a post last year on my personal finance site on a few tips to curb impulse buying, particularly at the grocery store.
Derek of course I allow links lol go ahead and add it I would like to see the article.
Okay, thanks. I wanted to ask before I plastered my link in here.
How to Curb Impulse Buying