How would you like to save one-third or even one-half on some of the grocery items you buy?
You can do it, but you have to know where to look.
KMBC’s Jim Flink put some local stores to the test to see if he could buy items cheaper just by shopping around.
Flink tested three different kind of stores — Price Chopper, ALDI and Wal-Mart.
His shopping list was simple: oat cereal, a can of corn, a box of macaroni and cheese, eggs, ravioli, bananas, bread and bacon.
Flink only bought off-brands and always bought the cheapest item available. He did not use any in-store discounts or coupons.
In some cases, the price difference was remarkable.
For example, macaroni and cheese was 63 cents at Price Chopper, 50 cents at Wal-Mart and 33 cents at ALDI.
Flink reported that ALDI was the low price leader on every item purchased. ALDI sold oat cereal for $1.49, at a savings of 35 cents. Canned corn sold at 39 cents, versus a high of 63 cents.
And ALDI also sold a dozen eggs for $1.39 versus a high of $1.78 at Wal-Mart.
The smallest savings found was for a can of ravioli, there was only an 11-cent differential.
The greatest savings difference was in bacon, although the sizes and quality were clearly different between the ALDI bacon, which sold for $1.79, and the bacon from Price Chopper that rang in at $4.28, Flink reported.
In total, Flink spent $13.62 at Price Chopper, $11.59 at Wal-Mart and $9.11 at ALDI.
Some more tips to cut your grocery bill are to stockpile. Stores discount most items only once per 10 to 12 weeks, so if the item won’t go bad, buy it while it’s on sale.
Also, shop on Sundays — that’s when the coupons and circulars come out, and Consumer Reports found that families can save more than $600 a year by utilizing them.
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