Obviously most American’s are struggling. The price of gas is ridiculous, the price of food is on the rise, and the cost of living is getting higher by the day. All of these things are a given. For many of us the only option we have is to make our dollar go further. This year brand names are seeing the largest decrease in consumer spending in the last 70 years. Learning the necessary skills of bargain shopping, price comparison, and saying NO can mean the difference in whether or not you can afford to eat.

In today’s economy you have to find creative ways to spend your money because it doesn’t go as far as it used to. Because of this you may find yourself standing in front of a food item that you normally would buy and deciding on how much you really need it or if you should spend your money on something else. The item that gets me the most is Oreo’s. One package of double stuff costs about $2.98 at Walmart. I find myself, these days staring at the package and the price tag considering how much I really need to get the bottle of laundry soap a couple aisles over instead. Then I have to walk away and tell myself that I really didn’t need them anyways because I am trying to eat healthier, knowing that this isn’t the truth because eating healthier is much more expensive than buying a bag of cookies.

A lot of people don’t know the proper way to price shop. There are many considerations to keep in mind when looking at the price of an item. How badly do you need/want it? What is the price per ounce? Is there a less expensive alternative? Does the less expensive rate within 80% of the quality of the brand name? Is the quantity worth the savings or in other words do you have to buy more than you need to see a savings? Do you have coupons? Will another store have the same product cheaper? Is it worth the gas to get to the other store? Is price shopping even worth the headache to save a few cents when it makes you crazy? Are you still reading this blog? Do you know that I am talking to you?

Anyways, it is definitely worth price comparison if you are on a fixed budget. I usually shop at stores that have the best price even if you have to bag your own groceries. I have found that when buying bread that going to a local Hostess or Wonder store is always going to be your best bet. For medicines it is better to stick with the larger stores that have a pharmacy. For meats you want to find a large store that has a meat department and always check their specials. You can sometimes find 50-75% savings by checking the meat department specials regularly. Either way just pay attention to your options and you can stretch your dollar quite a ways.