Loss Leaders and Budget Breakers

Shopping here in Mexico is a bit different than in the States. I'd never seen a market like this one in Culiacan, Sinaloa, prior to moving down here. The sights, the sounds, and the smells are, well, memorable!

One thing I really miss, though, are the weekly grocery ads. I used to love the coupons I could clip to get a $.25 gallon of milk with a $25 purchase or frozen juice concentrate at $.10 each (limit 10, of course). The stores here don’t have coupons, but I still manage to find great deals sometimes. The question comes up then, when is it really a good deal and when is it just causing me to overspend?

Loss leaders are those items the grocery store has put on the front of their advertisement page to lure you into the store. That 25 cent gallon of milk, for instance, is bringing you into the store not so that you will get a good deal on milk, but rather so that you will spend that $25 in their store. They know that most people who come in to the store to redeem that coupon will spend well over $25. If there’s an Oreo display right next to the milk, they’ll recoup their loss on the milk that much faster.

Budget breakers are basically any items which are not on your list. More specifically, though, budget breakers are generally not necessary – no matter how cheap they are. Potato chips, for example, are budget breakers. I’ve tried to explain that to my husband for years, and he’s beginning to understand…finally! Even when Pringles are on sale for $.99 and you’ll save $5 on 5 cans, I can still save you more by simply not buying any.

So, when does a loss-leader become a budget breaker? Generally, if it’s something that you would not buy if it wasn’t on sale, you ought to skip it. If the sale price still leaves the item more expensive than its generic equivalent, skip it. If there’s a way to make the item at home or to make a reasonable substitute for cheaper, skip it.

What’s the best “loss leader” bargain you’ve seen lately? What are some inexpensive snack foods you’ve found to replace the way-too-expensive-and-unhealthy potato chip?