Same Store, Different Neighborhoodby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Feb 2008 04:24 PM When you see sales from one particular chain store, such as Acme, Shoprite or Krogers, do you assume that all of the prices are in same no matter which location you choose? You should think again. Just shopping on neighborhood over can save you as much as 10 percent on your grocery bill, even before clipping coupons! Even though supermarket chains may be owned by the same company, they charge different prices according to the neighborhoods in which they are located. A supermarket located in a suburb or upscale neighborhood will probably charge more on grocery items, especially basic staples, then will a supermarket located in a city or lower-income area. This is because the store has done extensive research to see what prices that area would support. Try switching to a different neighborhood and see if that makes a difference in your grocery bill. Most grocery chain stores now have their sales flyers online for you to peruse. You can type in the zipcode of the area you want to look at, and that particular flyer will come up. This can allow you to do "virtual" research before you visit the stores. Of course, you may only be able to compare sale prices, but this is a start. Friends of ours have known about this sort of thing for years. They live not too far from Philadelphia and have found that shopping within the city limits, a mere 15 minutes away for them, yields much lower prices. There is also a lack or limited selection of speciality items, such as gourmet coffee and organic produce, but they can always pick up those few items closer to home as needed. The difference in milk is pretty significant. At their home store, milk is priced at $3.54 a gallon. In the other neighborhood, milk is priced at $3.04 a gallon. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: How Much Did Groceries Cost in the 1980s? Two More Ways to Save on Diapers Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags Food, frugal, groceries, shopping, thrifty Discuss this article
|
Frugal categories |
