3 Sneaky Grocery Aisles Are Draining Your Wallet by $120 — How Frugal Shoppers Dodge Cart Bloat
Grocery stores are designed to make you spend more — whether you realize it or not. According to Cheapism, those tactics may include larger grocery carts, free samples and strategic aisle layouts.
What you may not realize is just how much those tricks may cost you. For instance, just three “sneaky” grocery aisles may be quietly adding more than $120 to your monthly bill, according to some money pros.
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Read on to see why those aisles may be good ones to avoid and what experts recommend for easy ways to save on your weekly grocery bill.
What Are the ‘Sneaky’ Aisles?
So what are the “sneaky” grocery aisles draining hundreds of dollars from your grocery bills each year? You may not be surprised by the answer. They’re the snacks and candy aisle, the beverages aisle, and the prepared foods and frozen meals aisle.
“The center aisles with snacks, beverages and prepared foods are built to push impulse buys,” said Andrew Lokenauth, founder of Fluent in Finance. “Snacks and candy sit at eye level in oversized ‘value packs’ that feel like deals but aren't. Beverages come with flashy health claims that push shoppers into spending two to three times more than needed. And frozen prepared foods land near registers to catch you when your guard is down.”
Perhaps the least obvious of these aisles is the beverage section. Shoppers may reach for single-serve drinks marked up well above generics, along with pricey sodas and so-called “healthy” juices, all packaged and placed to catch attention — especially for children.
How Do You Avoid These Aisles?
Speaking of children, one way to avoid higher-cost aisles — and make shopping more engaging — is to turn it into a family game.
“When you make a grocery list, you’re usually sitting at home being rational. When you go to the store, you’re hit with sensory overload and so much temptation,” said Melanie Musson, a finance expert with Quote. “Stick to your list. Time yourself to make a game out of it and see if you can best your last week’s record or bring down your average shopping time.”
Cody Schuiteboer, president and CEO of Best Interest Financial, has some more simple advice echoed by many finance experts: Shop the perimeter first, where produce, dairy and proteins are typically located, and treat the center aisles as a list-only zone.
“Never shop hungry, never shop without a list and never let a tired child steer the cart toward the candy shelf,” he said. “Those three habits alone routinely cut $400 a month off a grocery bill, and I have seen that recovered $400 become the difference in a mortgage approval.”
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This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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