ATLANTA — Anybody who’s been to the grocery store lately has felt the pain in their wallet at checkout.
Grocery prices keep going up, up and away, but Channel 2 consumer adviser Clark Howard has come up with several things you can do to squeeze every dollar at the grocery store.
Filling your cart doesn’t have to mean you’re emptying your wallet.
Howard says making a list based on what deals are available before you shop is key.
Apps like Flipp and Grocery Pal let you search for deals in specific stores while you build your shopping list.
Howard’s top picks for guaranteed savings include Aldi, Lidl, Walmart and Costco Wholesale.
“Something that makes Aldi different than virtually every other supermarket is almost 100% of the items are their own label,” Howard said.
The private label means less money spent on advertising and more savings for you. If you don’t like something, Aldi will let you return it and replace it for free!
Another way to stretch your dollar at Aldi is to try buying in bulk. The low prices make it easy to stock up.
Howard’s next store on his list is Lidl. Most of Lidl’s products are also private labels.
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One big difference between Lidl and Aldi — to get the best deals at Lidl, you need to use the app.
“One thing that Lidl does a great job at is private label paper goods. I love their super premium toilet paper and their paper towels, but you get the best deal if you buy the family size,” Howard said.
Howard said as much as he loves Lidl and Aldi, he goes to Walmart as well because he feels its selection is so much better.
“The prices for canned goods, any packaged goods are so cheap here compared to the normal price and our traditional supermarket,” Howard said. “You want to really save money? You buy the store brands.”
The number four place in America where people buy groceries now will probably surprise you. It’s Costco Wholesale.
Despite being a wholesale club, Howard said you don’t have to buy everything in bulk.
“When you buy things that have long shelf life, you’ll go through it and you’ll save a lot of money,” Howard said.
He said one trick to finding the best deals at Costco is to look for prices ending in 97. That means it’s on final discount.
If you do nothing else, Howard says the most important thing you can do to save money is buying what’s on sale when you’re in the store.
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