How to Find the Best (and Worst) Deals in the Grocery Store

GENERIC. i worked at a Contadina Tomato plant in Hanford CA one summer running the 860 gallon tomato paste vats. Each vat got 100 pounds of salt and a 3.75 bag of Contadina seasoning. When Contadina reached it's 500 MILLION can limit, we made plain label tomato sauce. EXACTLY the same ingredients for the next 300 million Plain Label Cans.

I ama firm believer in generic brands, and buy them often, but there are some things that just are not as good. I will spend the extra for Miracle Whip, diet coke, A1 steak sauce and ranch salad dressing any old day!

Under 3.00 for deli meat? Not in my local stores!

Microwave popcorn in a paper bag? Hmm. Guess the manufacturers spent all that money developing the heating strips for nothing? If you're not going to do it right, don't use a microwave. You'll just burn the kernels. Instead, pop it the old-fashioned way... some oil in a pot, popcorn, heat... melted butter to top it off.

You'd be surprised what people return. I work at the return desk at a grocery store, and I've seen peopl bring back cake because they thought it was too dry... after eating more than half of it...

How many people think generic items don't taste as good as the brand name? Those people are out there. But it begs the question: does my grocery store have a manufacturing plant for: peanut butter, bread, crystal light, coke, macaroni, etc? The answer is no. The generic items are produced by the same companies that make the brand items, then relabelled for the stores to sell, cheaper. A friend of mine who worked at Bumblebee tuna, even told me that the tuna they sell as generic, is actually a higher quality than the name brand. Food for thought!

Not all stores allow you to break a group (the 3 for 99 cents). You make be shocked to find that two cost more than 3 because the sale price only applies if you take units of 3 of the item. Also watch the buy one get one deals, too good to be true is just that. Albertsons is real good about they have to be identical even if there are six varieties of the item all posted at buy one get one. Mix and match does not always apply. Also, if you are buying meat that is buy one get one take only two that are very closely matched in weight. If you need more, you need to come back through the line as many times as necessary. They will match a high priced package and a lower priced package for the buy one get one. So if you buy 4 and two are 3 pound packages and two are 2 pound packages they match a 3 pound and a 2 pound package twice.

Also, you need to remember what the shelf or ad price is as many times they purposely do not update the cash register and you have to argue to get the sale price. Really makes grocery shopping a joy.

Wow....most of that crap we shouldn't be eating at all....and leave behind the little clusters of grapes in order to not waste?....so you expect other people to buy up all the little bits you leave behind?....uh...no...they go in the garbage.....it's a nitwit article folks....

I agree about trying the generics. I do disagree however with the thought that if you don't like them, ask for your money back. Really? These are sold as lower cost alternatives. If you like them, great! If not, buy something else the next time. Boo-Hoo, my 89-cent can of beans or two and a half buck frozen pizza weren't as tasty as I'd hoped. That's life and it's called learning. The store of manufacturer doesn't need to hold your hand and give you free samples to get your business. If you like their product, buy it again. If not, vote with your wallet and try something different till you're happy.
Taking your empty can of peas back to the store for a refund is ridiculous and you should be ashamed of yourself.

I tried to popcorn in a lunch bag, and it works great!!!!! You don't add oil, nothing!! And it is good.

RE the fruits; not so bad for lemons or other "single" fruits/veggies, but many stores have signs requesting that bunches of bananas, bags of grapes, etc., NOT be broken up. So, that depends where you shop. As for buying prepackaged meat; that also goes for other cuts of meat like beef, chicken, etc. whenver you can, try not to buy the pre-cut meats for stews, etc., you'll often pay more than if you buy a roast and cut it up yourself. I agree with buying generic items such as canned goods; unless you can tell a difference, why bother buying the brand names? One other way to save money, etc.; make a shopping list before you go to the store and stick to it when you shop; when I go shopping, I very seldom see anyone besides myself looking at a list while they shop, they all just seem to be browsing! Guaranteed if you do that, you'll spend a whole lot more money.

food is just so darned expensive..and what really is bothersome.is the fact that the farmers don't get paid jack sheet for their work..it,s the big business of retail marketing....WHAT A RACKET

I can’t imagine walking up to a counter and returning food because I don’t like it. First of all, the time and aggravation involved is not worth it. Second, isn’t part of the risk of trying something, well a risk? Maybe I’m weird, but I would be really embarrassed to return half eaten food and ask for my money back.

Pretty good tips here, even though most are too obvious without the reiteration! We KNEW dat microwave popcorn is a waste of time! The spay for oil is a wonder as a mere pat of butter has been fairly consistently effective without spending $10 for a special sprayer. We use a sturdy but cheaper egg slicer to turn block butter into pats for easy, convenient butter rationing.

I work in a grocery store, and if something is prepackaged like greens or bok choy or nappa or carrots or celery or even vine ripened tomatoes they are not allowed to be broken up, if you do this we will not sell it to you this way. As for grapes and cherries some people divide them up but don't just throw them into the bin - put them in another bag because they will get bumped and moved so much that they will get squished. Stuff like bananas and apples and most kiwi and such are sold separately, bananas are in bunches because they stay green longer that way as they all share nutrients, if you only want one banana then take only one. But as for returning opened food, that is not acceptable at all in any store I know of, you bought it and ate it you can't return it. In the store that I work in if food is taken out of the store and returned even if only because it was the wrong price or you found out you had some at home, it gets thrown away because it could have been tampered with. Now if something was wrong with said food you are welcome to return it, but not just because you didn't like it.

i save money by buying the things i like when they are on sale..things like bacon, ground beef,crackers and things 'regular people' eat ..also i do not buy seasoning packets - if you have a habit of buying these try to get away from them by using your own spices and seasonings..i don't buy expensive dried spices and here in california we can buy them in cellophane bags which are inexpensive but very good... i'm sorry but i do not fit into the SELF lifestyle here. no i'm not really sorry.over and out.

Lets see, you buy something eat it and don't like it so you take the empty package back for a refund. That is total #$%$ The grocery store may give a refund but the cost of that refund will be passed on in higher overall prices.

1. And just how much do the brown lunch bags cost? If you really want to cut costs save those paper bags you get from the bakery when you buy donuts. Or the paper bags some stores have around for ice cream or wine.

I am a deli manager at a major chain store. Sam obviously you dont shop with us. We have controls in place for everything you speak of. Salads are all coded and rotated and discarded daily. Meats are kept cold and wrapped tightly and slow movers are discarded as well. We clean daily and deep clean weekly. We have our own company sanitation inspections 5 times a year. State and local inspections several times a year and I am required to be certified every 3 years in a state run sanitation certification class. Which is an 8 hour class with test. I take food safety and quality seriously. As as far as associates touching themselves. This is policed very strictly in my department. Any associate that has touched any unsanitized surface must immediately wash their hands and change their gloves. This means any part of their body or any non sanitary surface. Obviously the slicers, knifes, and product are all sanitary. The slicers are sanitized every 2 hrs at least btw per state regulation. And Sadie, I dont know what kind of deli you work at but sounds scary. Well it is Nebraska.

Does the author of this article really believe they are tellling the average consumer something they did not already know? I think not!