Great Tips When Out Shopping

BY STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN The Fixer

Globalization, increasing energy costs, the rise of Asia as an economic power -- all can seem pretty abstract at times.

Until you buy milk and find the cost has jumped 22 percent in a year.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Americans spend about $1,848 per capita on groceries each year. That's a lot of Cheetos. Seeing as how that figure is growing higher by the moment, The Fixer has some ways to save money at the supermarket.

First, realize that grocery stores purposely spread their staple items -- veggies, fruits, breads, eggs, milk, etc. -- as far from each other as possible, so you've got to go through the entire store to shop. Because of this, you need to bring a list and stay focused -- and preferably shop without the kids (see below).

Some more tips:

• Never shop on an empty stomach. There's a reason why the store bakery is making bread all day. It has been proven that shoppers who smell baking bread buy more. Ditto for the free samples. So eat something before leaving home, and stick to your list.

• Don't pay a "kid tax." Manufacturers pay stores to place expensive kids' items at a child's eye level in the hope that the kids will beg you to put it in the cart. We stooped down in the cereal aisle to check out the colorful boxes at our knees and could see why kids would grab the expensive Fruit Loops Smoothie cereal, which will set you back a whopping $4.29.

• To coupon or not to coupon. That is the question -- and the answer is: Only if you'd normally buy it. We found a coupon -- again, at a kid's eye level -- for fruit roll-ups, but it required us to buy two boxes (for a total of $6), and then we'd only save 50 cents. Better to save the whole $5.50 and forget it.

• When a sale isn't a sale. Manufacturers love the coveted end aisles, where the store puts up a "sale" sign and you assume it's a great deal. Sometimes it is, and if you find a "loss leader" in a product you need, definitely stock up. But we found Cheez-It crackers on an end aisle on sale for $3.29 for 10 ounces, or 32.9 cents an ounce. When we went to the regular cracker aisle and looked below our eye level, we found a better deal: a 16-ounce box for $4.79 or only 29.9 cents per ounce.

• Bulk is not always better. Consumers have been trained to assume that "family-size" packages are cheaper. Not always. Check the unit prices to compare. We found an eight-roll package of paper towels for $9.99 and assumed the bigger, 12-roll package would be cheaper. But at $14.99, that huge package had the exact same unit price. Unless we needed tons of towels, we'd be better off with the little one.

• Holiday creep. It's only February, yet the Easter candy is on sale in the hope that you'll buy it now, eat it all this week and come back to buy more before Easter. Do you really need that $3.49 bag of Easter M&Ms, even if it is marked down to $2.55?

• Stupid claims. We thought we'd struck gold with the 200-ounce Gain laundry detergent we found on an end aisle. A bright label screamed "33 percent more," making us think we were getting 33 percent more than we'd usually get at the same price. A closer look found fine print saying "more than the 150-ounces." Well, duh, yes -- 200 ounces is 33 percent more than 150 ounces. So it's meaningless!

• Scanner errors. In our little trip, we got hit with a 20-cent overcharge at the scanner, a reminder to watch carefully at check-out time, too.

For more on saving money at the supermarket, check out The Fixer on WFLD-32's "Good Morning Chicago" at 8:45 a.m. today and The Fixer's buyer beware video at www.suntimes.com.
Protection from debt protection

Dear Readers: If you've ever bought something expensive on an installment plan or by applying for a store card on the spot, you may have gotten something unexpected in the process: a debt protection plan.

Some stores push these plans -- for a fee -- at the time of the sale, hoping to hook consumers before they have a moment to think about whether they really want, or need, such a plan.

Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) this month introduced legislation that would give consumers a little breathing room. HB 5577 would require retailers to wait at least three days before offering customers a debt protection plan.

It also would require the consumer to sign a separate contract if they want debt protection -- and would force the seller to clearly disclose both parties' obligations.

This sounds fair to The Fixer. Let your state legislators know what you think. The bill is up for a hearing in the House Consumer Protection Committee on Tuesday.