- Only buy items you need, not want.
- Shop weekly to get familiar with their prices and offerings, enabling you to spot values and get knowledgeable of general prices per unit to compare to other stores/sales prices
- Buy only those things that will not expire before you can consume them.
- Analyze your spending and identify items you buy in small quantities regularly.
- Buy the staples - you know their normal prices and can lock in a good deal.
- Ignore specialty items unless you've done your research - If you really needed that Garmin, you'd already know the going price for that model anyway, wouldn't you?
- Stay away from junk food. It might be cheaper here, but the health benefits save you quite a bit of money in the end if you buy the apples in bulk and not the cookies.
- Compare their online price to store price - many times they are actually cheaper online, many times in the store. Drops online may indicate a future drop in the store or future discontinued item. Wii games for example are up to 10% cheaper online and doing some research on a Nikon Digital SLR camera, there were much better kit lenses available online than in the store.
- Avoid weekend crowds. The biggest bang for your time spent is knowing prices to be able to spot values. If you can't take your time and observe, you won't be able to spot the values.
- Don't buy for convenience. Products that are marketed with convenience in mind are usually charging you for it.
