Find the price per 100 g or per litre

Free everyday life tip: Find the price per 100 g or per litre (step 5 of 10 from "Grocery Shopping That Saves $50 a Week").

Every shelf tag in a grocery store has two numbers: the retail price (the big one) and the unit price (the small one, usually per 100 g, per kg, or per litre). The retail price tells you what you pay today. The unit price tells you what you are actually getting for your money. A 400 g box of cereal for $5.00 is $1.25 per 100 g. A 750 g box of a different brand for $7.50 is $1.00 per 100 g — cheaper per serving even though the sticker price is higher.

Train yourself to look at the unit price first. Within two or three shopping trips, it becomes automatic. You will start noticing that the 'family size' is not always cheaper per unit than the regular size, that name-brand tomato paste costs double the store brand per gram, and that the fancy small jar of honey is four times the unit price of the big one. This one habit saves more money than clipping coupons ever will.