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RSSMoney Tip: Find the Best Deals Without Any Math
Do you ever go to the grocery store for an item and find yourself staring at the shelf wondering which size is the best deal? Your options are to either do various multiplication and division problems, or forgo the math and assume that the largest package is the best deal.
These days, the largest package isn’t always the best deal, and doing math problems over pennies is a waste of your time. There is a much faster and easier way to figure out the best deal with no math required, and it’s right under your nose.
Say you go to the grocery store and are faced with the following packages of q-tips:
- 300 for
- 500 for
- 625 for
Can you tell which is the best deal in under five seconds? You can if you know where to look.
In the tags above, you’ll notice a number in orange to the left of the price. That’s the unit price, which is the retail price on the tag divided by the number of units in the box. In this example, the 625 pack is the best deal at a little over 60 cents per hundred q-tips, while those same hundred q-tips are going to cost you 25% more in the 300 pack.
Unit prices are available on almost all grocery items, so the next time you go shopping, you can make smarter shopping decisions in less than five seconds with no guesswork and no math.
Thanks, unit price!
Do you pay attention to the unit price?
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October 2nd, 2007 at 8:53 am
I’ve noticed the unit price before – but I don’t always have that extra $1.39 (plus tax) to pay for 325 more q-tips – especially when all I need is a handful to clean my ear out real well (and yes, I know it’s really bad to use q-tips to clean your ear out, but it feels good!)
Oh, and for some reason the RSS feed didn’t have the entire article – instead it had the “more” link on there.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:18 am
Yah, I’ve used the unit price for a while. It’s amazing some of the unit costs out there…
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
nice tip….i’ve definitely done that before. it just seems like common sense to me; but that’s prolly only cuz i’m attracted by the bright orange color. most people probably don’t even look there.
did you read the herald yesterday?
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Of course you guys already use the unit price. I wouldn’t expect any less.
Sorry about the RSS feed. I implemented a hack to limit the front page but keep the feeds full, but I must’ve blown it out in the last upgrade. I put the hack back and it should be full feeds like normal from here on.
If it isn’t, please let me know.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:39 am
This may not be seen since I’m 5 months late, but….when looking at unit prices you have to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. I’ve noticed, for example, that Gatorade’s unit price was based on a gallon, where Powerade was based on a quart. So, if you’re not paying attention, Gatorade could appear cheaper. I’ve also noticed this with paper towels because of the sheet size.