Apr 3, 2009 11:49 pm US/Eastern
Money Saver Report: Comparative Grocery Shopping
The Key To Finding The Best Food Prices Is Right In Front Of Your Face; All You Need To Do Is Stay Local
CBS 2 HD Hidden Cameras Find The City's Best Deals
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
With the average family spending anywhere from $6,000-$12,000 a year on groceries, sometimes coupons alone can't cut it when it comes to bringing down prices.
So CBS 2 HD sent undercover cameras in search of the secret tips to finding the best value.
Meat, fish, fresh produce … they pad a grocery bill faster than anything else. So check out these bargains:
Flounder, $3.50 a pound; grapes, $1 a pound; pork tenderloin, just $3.29 a pound. If you guessed a big sale or far-away state, you'd be wrong.
First, check out the big chains. At Food Emporium and Whole Foods boneless chicken breasts are $5.99 and $4.69 a pound. But shop with the locals in Chinatown and pay half -- $3.29 pound. Pork tenderloin rings up at a little over $3 a pound in Dak Cheong Meat Market on East Broadway.
When asked how they do it, one of the market's employees told CBS 2 HD: "We earn just a little bit, that's why. On 14th Street, Whole Food Market, they get $10 a pound."
Ten bucks? Try triple the price -- at $12 per pound.
Let's look at fish. Flounder is $3.50 a pound at Number One Long Hing Market. But head uptown to the big guys and you'll pay four times as much-- a whopping $17 per pound at Food Emporium.
Tim Zagat, who co-founded the Zagat's Guide, said our little, local neighborhood markets are the secret weapon to save money.
"You've gotta know there are bargains to be found," Zagat said.
Added a customer at one of the local market: "The food is so inexpensive relative to everything else."
And stop thinking of grocery shopping as a chore and more of an adventure. More bargains: green grapes, $1 a pound. That's a third of what the stores uptown are asking.
Upper East Side resident Michael Mai said he knows how the prices stay low.
"They earn little bit and get a lot of customers," Mai said.
It goes beyond Chinatown. Look for local bargains in the shops of Astoria and Flushing in Queens, on Arthur Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. And with food prices predicted to gobble up 8.5 percent of our income this year, searching for good prices may become more of a priority.
For even more strategies on finding deals, please check out the following links:
Better Budgeting
Coupon Mom
The Dollar Stretcher
Grocery Coupon Guide
Grocery Savings Tips
Wesabe
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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