As humans we are creatures of habit.  We settle into predictable routines repeated day in and day out. 

A person may read the same newspaper each morning, stop by the same coffee shop, socialize with the same handful of co-workers, and visit their favorite food truck for lunch every day. At home the same news channel are watched,  the same types of meals eaten, and the same type of music listened to.

Routine creates comfort and surrounds us with what’s familiar.  Yet our normal routines, our regular patterns of behavior can cost us dearly.  This is no more apparent than when it comes to shopping. Here routine behavior can be costly.   

Over years, even decades, our routine patterns of shopping behavior have been ingrained so that they become second nature. 

We’ve been shopping the same way for so long that it becomes almost impossible to change our ways.  In the process, our entrenched shopping routines – shopping ruts,  frequently blind us to cheaper alternatives. 

Yet every so often something comes along that forces us to change our routine behavior.  For some its a reduction in financial resources. For others its a health scare that necessitates more healthy eating. 

Yet, when we do venture out of our comfort zones and try new things a funny thing happens – we inevitably find new ways to save money!  

For me the jolt to my normal shopping routine came in the form of an nationwide economic meltdown just as I was making a crucial career change.  As a result I was forced to tighten my financial belt and make serious changes in how I spent money. 

Here are just a few of the ways in which my routine, my shopper’s rut cost me hard earned money. 

For nearly eight years I’ve known about Aldi supermarkets. Yet week after week, year after year I’d bypass Aldi stores and shop at my favorite local supermarket. 

Yet it took an economic downturn to force me out of my comfort zone and check one of these supermarkets out.  To my surprise, what I found was a clean store with great low prices.

Aldi’s claims that the typical consumer will save  20%  to 37%  off of regular supermarket prices.  I routinely save $20 a week simply by shopping at Aldi’s. 

But what if I’d stepped out of my comfort zone eight years ago when I first heard of Aldi’s? I could have saved $20 a week for nearly 12 years, making me $8320 richer today!

Bakery outlets are another change in my routine for which I am now grateful. I was first introduced to the concept of bakery outlets by my grandfather when I was a small kid.  

Yet once I was an adult my weekly shopping routine never entailed shopping at one. It was only in the past year that I was forced out of my shopping rut and experienced the enormous benefits of shopping at a bakery outlet. 

Not only can you get bread and other baked goods at a 50% to 75% discount over supermarkets but the products are frequently just as fresh as those found in your supermarket.  

I can easily save $25 a month by making a monthly visit to my local bakery outlet. My normal shopping routine was costing me $25 a month, or nearly $3000 over the last decade!

It was these changes as well as several dozen others that got me thinking of how my routine way of grocery shopping blinded me to cheaper and often better alternatives. 

So how do we break those shopping patterns that have been so deeply entrenched through weekly repetition?

You could wait for external factors to force a change in your shopping behavior or you could take the plunge yourself and just decide one day to do something different.

As the Nike commercial fondly advertises:  “Just Do It” 

Either way you’re bound to save money. 

Here are some examples of simple ways to break your normal shopping routine: 

• Try a local bakery outlet. Find an Entenmann or Wonder/Hostess bakery outlet near you.
• See if your supermarket has a store brand guarantee that allows you to return store brand products if you don’t like them. Then try a few of these products risk free. 
• Check out a local Aldi’s supermarket. Find a location near you. 
• Purchase a Sunday newspaper and clip a few coupons for things your family normally purchases. 
• Instead of just picking up the name brand item that you’ve been buying for years, try the item that’s on sale. If you are true to Tropicana Orange Juice but its not on sale, try the brand (say Minute Maid) that is on sale. 
   

Anything that gets you thinking or acting different when it comes to your same old shopping routine is a step in the right direction. 

Have you changed your shopping behavior to save money? If so what did you do? How’d you do it? We’d love to hear. Leave a comment below.

Many people are taking advantage of the great prices found at Aldi supermarkets.

Its estimated that consumers will save 40-50% at an Aldi grocery store compared to conventional supermarkets, and save 16-24% over large discount stores.

With these types of savings its no wonder that Aldi parking lots are filling up.

Yet the no frills shopping experience at Aldi’s is a little different than that encountered at other supermarkets. As a result, its easy to spot an Aldi newbie – someone making their first shopping trip at an Aldi grocery store.

Here are some quick tips on how not to look like a newbie when you stop by your local Aldi supermarket.

Bring a Quarter. When you go to use a shopping cart the first thing you’ll notice is that the carts are chained together. To release a cart slide a quarter into a small slot on top of the cart.

When you return the cart you get your quarter back. No quarter, no shopping cart. This apparently saves on labor costs as employees are not needed to chase down stray carts left in the parking lot.

Prepare for the Spartan Interior. You won’t find the bakery smells or large produce sections right as you walk through the door. In fact, the interiors of most Aldi stores are rather spartan – just food items lined on the shelves often in the same boxes they were shipped in. In many ways, the stores look more like small warehouses than supermarkets.

Expect a Quicker Shopping Trip. Don’t be shocked by the size of the stores. Compared to super-sized grocery stores, the size of a typical Aldi store is quite lilliputian. Yet the small size and open layout make the stores extremely easy to navigate so you’re in and out of the store quickly.

Don’t Think About Product Size. No you won’t have to chose between the small size, medium size, large size, or bulk size boxes of cereal. That’s because all of the products in the store are offered in only one size.

Remember the Guarantee. When you walk into an Aldi’s you might be surprised at how many store brands you’ll encounter – Happy Harvest pork and beans, Sweet Harvest fruit salad, Salad Mate salad dressing, and Berry Hill jelly just to name a few.

Aldi tests its store brand products on a regular basis to make sure that each product meets or exceeds the quality and taste of the national brand alternatives.

Better yet, they provide a double guarantee. If for any reason, you are not 100% satisfied with any product you purchase, they will replace the product AND refund your money.

Don’t Pull Out a Credit Card. Nothing will reveal that you’re a newbie faster than pulling out your credit card to pay for your groceries. You see the store doesn’t accept credit cards. Only cash and debit cards are accepted. This allows the store to avoid expensive merchant credit card fees.

Bring Your Own Bags. You won’t get free bags at this store. You can buy plastic or paper bags for a few cents. The better option is to purchase a few Aldi high-quality, re-usable cloth bags. These are extremely sturdy and can handle very heavy loads. At $2.99 a bag they are relatively cheap as well.

Pack Your Own Groceries. When you get to the check-out aisle you place your items on the counter. After the cashier scans the prices the items are placed back into your cart. From there you take them a short distance to another counter where you bag your own groceries.

Your shopping experience at Aldi’s will be slightly different. Yet the great prices and the money you save will be well worth it – and best of all, you won’t have to look like a newbie doing it.