Does Where You Shop Really Make a Difference?

I know there are items that we purchase often and sometimes it’s easier to pick them up at whatever store I’m at. The other day, I was wondering about shopping this way. You might be wondering the same thing, does where you shop really make a difference? Hmm.. let’s see.

If you are shopping without price comparing you might be paying a dollar or more for the same exact item than you would at a different store. It can really pay to know where to shop to get the best price on the items you use the most.

How Much Can You Save By Where You Shop?

Here’s an example of what I mean that I found in our local paper. I won’t name the names of the stores but as you can see by the photo below there is a big difference in the sale price of the Jif peanut butter. The size of the jar is the same but the price is quite different.

Now look at the Smucker’s Jam. The sale price at each store is much closer but look at the regular prices. At the first store the regular price is only $2.79 but at the second store, the regular price is almost $5 for the same exact item. You can see the prices better in the photos below.

I know I wouldn’t want to shop the second store for jam when it’s not on sale.

If I bought the peanut butter and jam at the first store it would end up costing me on sale $4.49. Now those same two items at the second store on sale are going to cost me $5.99. It’s a $1.50 difference on two items.

Which might not seem like much but multiply that on 10 items you might purchase in a week on sale and you’d end up paying $15 more at the second store.

Another thing to consider is that not all items are on sale when you need them. So let’s look at the regular prices of these two items at these two stores.

First Store Regular Prices
Jif 16 oz Peanut Butter $2.49
Smucker’s Jam or Preserves 18 oz $2.79

That comes to a total of $5.28

Second Store Regular Prices
Jif 16 oz Peanut Butter $3.99
Smucker’s Jam or Preserves 18 oz up to $4.99

That comes to a total of $8.98

If you purchased a jar or peanut butter and a jar of jam each week at the regular price over a year you’d pay $274.56. But if you purchased the same peanut butter and jam at the second store it would end up costing you $466.96.

That is a big difference for the exact same items. It’s almost $200 a year.

By making the one change and shopping the first store you could save $192.40 over a year. That’s not taking into account sale prices that will come about every 12 weeks or so.

If you stocked up at the first store each time the peanut butter and jam went on sale and purchased 12 jars each to last you until the next sale. Over the year, you could save $41.08. Not as big of a savings but still enough to eat out with the family.

Saving with Sales, Milk

Another item many families purchase is milk. We don’t use much milk since the cat and myself are the only ones in our family that can drink it. I purchase it on sale when I can.

Milk in our area goes on sale for $.99 a half gallon every two to three weeks. When it’s not on sale it’s $1.85 or more a half gallon.

When I pay attention to the sales and purchase the enough milk for a week or two when it’s $.99 I can really save some money over a year.

Let’s say our family uses 4 half gallons a month. On sale, that’s $3.96 but when it’s not on sale it would be $7.40 which is almost twice as much.

Let’s say the milk goes on sale twice that month, which it often does, I can easily purchase milk on sale and not have to pay the full price at all. In that scenario of purchasing all of our milk when it’s on sale, I can save $44 over a year.

Not near as much as the peanut and jam saving but still not bad. It would only take a little planning on my part to make sure to purchase the milk when it’s on sale.

Just think if you could find 10 items you could save $40 a year on by picking them up on sale or by shopping at a store that has a better price, it could end up saving you $400 a year. Now that kind of money could pay for so many other things and you would still have the same groceries you are used to eating.

It’s amazing when you think about savings over a year isn’t it. I hope these examples help you to see that a small change of where you shop can make a big difference in cost of your groceries over a year.

To get the best deals on groceries you need to know which stores have the best prices on the items you purchase. Where you shop really does make a difference in how much you will spend on groceries each week.

What items do you think you could save on by doing a little comparison shopping? I would love to hear what items you have found for less at a different store.

Find More Money Saving Ideas

10 Ways to Save Every Day
Why the Dollar Store is Keeping You Broke