Saving some green at the supermarket

Where is it in the store
Want to save money on cheese? Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert says head to the dairy case, not the deli counter. The cheese in the dairy case is “typically the same quality,” he says, and you’ll pay considerably less for it.

Expect to pay more — on a per unit basis — when you buy things near the checkout line. At one store, I found a 12-piece package of Eclipse gum at the checkout stand selling for 99 cents or $8.25 per 100 pieces. In the candy aisle, I could get a 3-pack of 12-piece packages for $1.99 or $5.53 per 100 pieces.

You’ll probably pay a premium price for a single cold beverage at the front of the store. A 20-ounce bottle of Snapple iced tea in the checkout line refrigerator was $1.43 or $1.15 a pint. A 4-pack of 16-ounces bottles in the beverage section was $2.75 or 69 cents a pint.

I found the same dramatic difference with Diet Pepsi. A cold 20-ounce bottle at the register was $1.43 or $1.15 a pint. A six-pack of 24-ounce bottles was $3.99 or just 44 cents a pint.

Convenience is costly
Time-starved consumers are immediately attracted to convenience foods, such as pre-packaged salads and cut-up produce. You’ll pay a lot more to have someone else do the work.

On my weekend shopping trip I found a one-pound bag of whole carrots selling for 99 cents. At the same store the eight-ounce bag of shredded carrots was $1.49, about $2.99 a pound.

To save money, buy the whole food and do the chopping, shredding or cutting yourself. In some cases, Phil Lempert says, it may be cheaper to buy a bagged salad mix because you won’t have any waste. This can be true when you buy several different ingredients for your salad or you live alone and can’t use everything before it goes bad.

Save with store brands
Consumer Reports says store brands will save you up to 50 percent without sacrificing quality The magazine’s deputy editorial director Kim Kleeman says you can find many store brands “that are just as good, sometimes better than national brands.” In fact, many store brands are made by the big manufacturers.

Store brands usually come with a money-back guarantee. If you don’t like the product, just bring the unused portion back to the store.

A final tip
Don’t assume everything that’s listed in a store’s weekly circular is on sale. Manufacturers sometimes pay to be listed here. And don’t rely on pictures. Consumer Reports found an ad showing chicken legs and thighs, when only the legs were on sale.

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