Sunday, April 7, 2013

Meal Tip #3: Price Matching + 3 Strategies to Make it Easy!

This is the third post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!
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Price Matching is my number one go-to strategy for saving money at the grocery store. Every week, I go through the sale ads, base my grocery list around what is on sale according to my grocery price book, and then price match my way through the checkout line. It takes a few extra minutes of prep at home, but the payoff is awesome! 


Where I Price Match
I know that a lot of people have varying opinions about shopping at Walmart. While I can't say that it's my favorite place to go (too many people!), it is really convenient for us. Why? Because Walmart has an awesome price matching policy. They will match just about anything in a competitor's ad. Honestly, it's a brilliant marketing move because I now know that I can get just about everything on my list at the cheapest price possible in one place.

But what a lot of people don't know is that you don't even have to have the ads with you to price match. I've come across people in the store visibly debating with themselves about whether to go with version A or B of a product. I've mentioned to them which product is on sale, and they inevitably respond, "Oh, but I don't have the ad with me." Guess what? They will still honor the price match even if you can't "show" it to them! With that being said, they do keep a book of ads at the customer service desk that they can double check customer's prices against if something doesn't seem right. And yes, I've also watched them catch customer's lying about sale prices. But as long as you are honest with the price matching, it's a great tool to cut your grocery costs and save time!


As a bonus, they also let you price match other store brand sales to Walmart's store brand! I just learned about this one! Every Walmart is different, so make sure you check with a customer service manager before trying this (note: check with a manager, not a store employee. The turn over is huge, so a lot of employees don't know the rules). I now price match HyVee, Best Choice, Save-A-Lot , etc all at Walmart and it reduces the need to drive around and pick up loss leaders elsewhere.


Top Three Strategies for Easy Price Matching
in the Checkout Line
1. Go early in the morning and learn which cashiers are experienced. I go first thing on a weekend morning to beat the rush (again, too many people). I can now count 3-4 cashiers who know me, plus I'm on a first name basis with the Customer Service Manager. Best Walmart advice? Learn which cashiers know how to price match quickly, and then engage them in conversation and be polite. They are people too, and enjoy being treated as such! It makes the whole process go more smoothly.

2. Group all of your price match items at the end of the transaction. When I check out, I put all of my regular priced items on the belt first, then use something large (like a sack of potatoes or a couple boxes of crackers) to separate the first half of the transaction from the last half. Then, when the cashier gets to my order, I let her know that I'm price matching everything "from the row of bananas to the end." It makes it much simpler for them to ring the first part through quickly and then stop before running through the end. Whatever you do, do not mix your price match items in with your regular items. It will be a complete headache for the cashier as they have to back out any of your sale items and adjust the price again.


3. Know exactly what the cost of your price match items are. I take my ads, a list of the sale items that I might like, and a highlighter to the store. As I pick up my price matched items, I highlight them on my list along with the sale price so that I can find them easily at the register. I rarely use the ads in store, but having them with makes it much easier to "prove" a price if necessary. The one thing you want to avoid, is looking through your ads, trying to find a price while the cashier, and everyone else in line waits on you. It's just bad manners.


I'm not an extreme couponer. In fact, I don't use coupons very often because I just don't have time to hunt them down. Instead, I use this price matching tactic to reduce our grocery costs as much as possible. All it takes is a few minutes of planning to cut dollars off of your grocery total!

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What is your best in-store strategy to save money while grocery shopping?

8 comments:

  1. I love to price match and then use coupons that I happen to come across as ll. I too just learned that you can ad match store brands which is fantastic. Thanks for the great post.

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    1. I've loved getting to price match the store brands! It helps so much! :)

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  2. One of the cashiers at our WalMart will do price matches she knows even if you don't ask :) Saved me about $15 a few weeks ago. Ours stopped doing the price match for store brand stuff though, has to be the exact brand, though a few of the nicer cashiers will still do it.

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    1. My favorite cashiers will do that too! They are so awesome! Hmm...bummer they won't do the store brand price matches anymore. It's probably worth asking about periodically though...just a thought!

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  3. I love the price matching at Walmart. I didn't know about the store brand matching, though! I will have to look that one up for the Belton Walmart! --Andrea at Blue Ridge

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    1. I'm not sure if Belton does that, but would love to know when you find out! Sometimes I find my way that direction.

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  4. These are great tips! I've never tried price matching, but I just may try. Coupons are a bit of a hassle, but price match not such a biggie.

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    1. I feel like it's easier, so that's why I do it. I think you'll like it if you give it a try!

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