When you first walk into a supermarket, your senses may explode at the vibrant colors of fresh produce, warm aromas from the bakery, or colorful posters advertising the weekly specials. You are experiencing the result of careful planning and strategic marketing that supermarkets employ to encourage and even excite the customer (you!) to buy as much as possible.

How many times have we entered a supermarket with a list of specific items to buy, and exited the store with 25%-50% more items than were on our list? Thoughtful planning is the key to a successful supermarket trip, with “successful” defined as buying the best quality, highest nutritional value foods at the lowest available price. Successful also means sticking to your budget and avoiding impulse purchases. Becoming familiar with a store’s layout will help you to go directly to the foods on your shopping list and avoid the browsing that may encourage impulse buys.

Being savvy to a supermarket’s advertising (example: “Buy 10 cans for $5.00” really means 50 cents each but the powerful suggestion is to spend more by purchasing all 10 cans) can help control extra expenses. Understanding terms such as “unit price” can help you find the best buy. The unit price is the cost of the item per weight of food and is useful when comparing similar items (example: Pasta A costs $1.29 for 12 oz. and Pasta B costs $1.39 for 16 oz.; the unit cost for Pasta A is $0.11 while Pasta B is $0.09 and therefore Pasta B is the better buy). Reading the food label for nutritional value and ingredients can help ensure that you are buying the best possible product for your health condition or nutritional needs.