Price Per UnitOne of my pet peeves while shopping is to see the packaging get smaller or more air put into the bag or the item in a box will be smaller when the box itself stays the same size. Of course the prices don’t get smaller, they either stay the same or go up in price. Downsizing the item, but not downsizing the price isn’t anything new and it seems to be a popular trend with the weight of Americans going up and up.

That is why it is so very important to take a look at the price per unit and compare them when you are grocery shopping for the best deal, especially now that food costs have gone up over the last year. When I do my large shopping trips I can get out of the store for about 175.00 with enough food for the next 6-8 weeks. This last shopping trip, I got everything I needed and the price was just about 225.00.

If you are unfamiliar with checking price per unit, it would be on the shelf sticker with the full price of the item. If the information isn’t handy like that, then having a calculator (cellphone calculator works) handy when you shop is a good way to determine the unit price. Just divide the price of the item by the ounces, lbs, servings, etc. and you would get the unit price.

The importance of unit pricing is handy when you see some new packaging on an item that you buy regularly. For instance:

Additional Reading:
12 Ways to Cut the Grocery Bill
Bulk Buying Comparison
Store Brands vs. Name Brands

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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com where this is a repost from: Price Per Unit. Dawn is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years.