How to Shop Smart

This article will give you a few tips and tricks for shopping smarter for essentials like milk. The most common place to buy something is not necessarily the best place to buy it.

Let's start with milk. It is a staple and on most people's weekly shopping list. While many people buy it at the supermarket as part of their weekly shopping trip or stop at the grocery to pick up an extra gallon it is cheaper elsewhere. Drugstores often use milk as a means to draw in customers. They either price it low all the time or run frequent sales on it. This also holds true for other grocery items. If you are going to be going there for milk get into the habit of checking their weekly ads and comparing it to your grocery list. Buy the items where they are cheaper.

Stop buying makeup anywhere but at the drugstore. If you pick it up at the supermarket you are probably paying more for it. Drugstores usually price it cheaper and often run specials or have coupons on makeup and other personal care items. If you are buying it at a department store you are paying upwards of 50% more than necessary for comparable items. Paula Begoun has written a book about it called "Don't Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me."

Buy drugstore brand over the counter medications. They have to be the same ingredients. Be sure to check that they are the same strength. You can save up to fifty percent this way.

Most savvy shoppers know about the sales at the end of a season or holiday. Drugstores have great sales when this happens. They have a limited amount of floor space and have to get rid of the items quickly. Therefore, they tend to give deeper discounts more quickly than larger stores.