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About Griffin daily news. (Griffin, Ga.) 1924-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1977)
Griffin Daily News Thursday, August 25, 1977 Page 18 Specially designed kits can help shoppers avoid wasting food dollars EDITOR’S NOTE: Sarah French, a Connecticut house wife, always thought of herself as a careful shopper, clipping coupons, comparing prices and watching for specials to save money. A one-month ex periment with an educational kit developed to help consumers cut grocery costs showed her she could save even more. But she also learned that the ex perts’ theories aren’t always practical. Here, in a last of a three-part series, is a look at her experience. By LOUISE COOK Associated Press Writer NORWAIJt, Conn. (AP) - Like millions of other women, Sarah French balances her food budget with an agility worthy of a professional economist, matching demand — the tastes and appetite of her family — against supply — her husband’s biweekly paycheck. In 12 years of marriage, Mrs. French has learned many of the tricks of supermarket shopping. She passes up displays of tempting, but expensive prod ucts, strategically placed to catch the eye of the shopper. She reads labels and studies the fine print in the ads. Mrs. French clips coupons, buys house brands, watches for specials and tries not to be swayed by the pleas of her daughter, Emily, 8%. “You’ve got to resist children,” she says. “Children want this or that. A lot of parents will buy just to keep the kids quiet.” Recently, Mrs. French learned a few more tricks from “Be a Better Shopper — Buying in Supermarkets,’’ a kit prepared by Cornell University experts. Before getting the kit, Mrs. French did virtually all of her shopping at one supermarket. A month later, she visited three competing stores to take advan tage of advertised specials. She paid more attention to prices on the second trip, comparing supermarket offerings. She stocked up on some items that were on sale. A I all new Fayva I I Cloud Climbers I I with crazy new bottoms! I A I X • Your feet never had so much fun i* [ \ Thanks to genuine suede Cloud Climbers I \ • Cloud Climbers are puffed all over Li I i with little clouds of foam y 1 • Cloud Climbers have crazy new bottoms I that always make a great impression < I ® Save on Cloud Climbers for the whole C* A' family now On sale for limited time only C / \\ I $ H MENS $4 C I > \ •' Reg. $18.90 lw I ? \ " gals $1 9 I I 0 V" //\ boys sl9 1 8 [W I \ Reg. $14.90 14a If AM kids $ lO I C AV\ Reg. $11.90 G, I A Sizes to 3 I ■ KIND OF SHOE STORE I I I : “""7 {■K Biq St*' | KM A R T f oo<U K RTE 16 S Hg| • Market Square Shopping Center X Pl 'c>V I i N GRIFFIN ~ Market Square Shopping Ctr. Route 16 (Across from K-Mart) Mrs. French rejected some of the suggestions of the experts, however. She said she couldn’t see herself spending the time to write down every purchase and price as recommended. She was dubious about finding space to store items bought, in large quantities, on sale. An attractive brunette who worked until the birth of her second child, Catherine, 3M> months, and who plans to return to her clerical job in the fall, Mrs. French also said that the experts did not pay enough attention to individual tastes. “There are certain things we will eat and it’s no use for me to buy other things,” she said. When it comes to changing brands to take advantage of a special, Mrs. French is selec tive. “Certain ones are worth the money. I wouldn’t switch no matter what the price.” Family members are particu lar. Emily, for example, prefers a particular brand of hot dogs. It would be a false economy to buy a cheaper brand, Mrs. French said. Heinz Biesdorf, the Cornell professor who headed the team that developed the Better Shop per kit, concedes that consumer preference can be a factor in shopping. But he argues that most people do not really taste any difference; they only think they do. If you honestly can tell the difference, Biesdorf says, you should try to decide which is more important — the taste or the money — and spend accord ingly. Biesdorf says his aim is not so much to teach people what to spend as it is to make them aware of the money they have and the use they make of it. Mrs. French is determined not to make concessions when it comes to quality. She says of food: “It’s one of the necessities of life and it can jolly well be enjoyable.” Mrs. French does her main shopping once every two weeks; the trips coincide with French’s payday. Perishables such as bread and milk are replaced more frequently. When she needs an item like milk, she says, “I try to go straight to the place (where it’s located), get it and get out of there. If you don’t, you’re doomed (to im pulse buying).” There are other shopping pit falls. “The things that bug me about supermarket practices are the things that are profit able for the supermarkets such as putting tempting items like their fresh baked cake right at the doorway where you’re bound to fall over it coming in the door,” Mrs. French says. “It took a long time” to learn to withstand temptation, she adds. “And it’s still hard to go by those little goodies at the door. I always stop and look at ’em. I never buy ’em.” Another danger: “You go to a store with a marvelous bargain and decide to pick up other things on which the store is making up the cost.” Mrs. French avoided such a trap on her most recent shop ping trip, after using the Better Shopper kit. Displaying adver tisements for ham, sausages and baby shampoo and discount coupons for spaghetti and soda, she said: “With luck, that’s all we’re going to get.” When she left the store 35 minutes later, Mrs. French had purchased the items on her list and nothing more. “This is the first time I’ve been in a store, bought exactly what I came to buy and walked out,” she said. Mrs. French decided on the spaghetti even though she al ready had four pounds at home. The price was right —l9 cents a pound with the coupon or about 30 cents less than normal. She had learned one of the basics of being a smart shopper: Buy on sale, even if you don’t need the item for immediate use. Since she only had one cou pon, she could not take advan tage of another basic: When the price is right, buy a lot. The main shopping trip of the day was an afternoon ex pedition to the supermarket closest to Mrs. French’s home, Emily and Catherine, who stayed home during the morn ing, came to the store. (Mrs. French said she tries to leave the children home when her husband’s work schedule per mits him to watch over them, but it is not always possible.) She entered the store at 12:28 p.m. The first purchase was a box of English muffins for Em ily. “She’s been begging me for them for weeks. That’s impulse number one,” Mrs. French said ruefully. Wheeling the cart past the produce department, Mrs. French paused at a display of potatoes. “The sign says Idaho, but the bag says Russet. I think I’ll pass.” Next comes a package of frankfurters — “I should have bought them at the other store; they were 10 cents cheaper,” chocolate chip cookies for which she has a coupon, crackers, flank steak — “It’s $2.38 a pound, but it’s pure meat,” some other meats, beer, fruit juice, soda, breakfast items, cat food, cheese and so on. Mrs. French was at the checkout at 1:15 p.m. Her bill was $32.26. Earlier in the day, she spent about sl6. She bought slightly less than usual because the family was going away for the weekend and because a current hot spell meant lighter and smaller meals. Four weeks before, Mrs. French spent almost $56 at a single supermarket. She nor mally spends about $75 every two weeks. With a family income some what above the U.S. median of about $14,000, the Frenches have a little leeway when it comes to food purchases. Mrs. French says she is aware of in flation, but feels there is little she can do. “You just sort of absorb it,” she says. Had she learned anything from the shopping kit? Yes, said Mrs. French, par ticularly about laws and regu lations on labels and pricing practices. She also was deter mined to continue shopping in at least two competing stores. She said she would stock up on paper products if there was a special — "I could probably store them in the attic." > r> fir On board Former Sen. J. W. Fulbright, D \rk„ has joined the board of directors of the Little Rock investments firm of Stephens Inc., officials said. (APi Boy Scouts are guests of Navy Boy Scout Troop 8, lead by Bill Corley, were guests or the U.S. Navy recently at the Navy’s Basic Training Center in Orlando, Florida. The Griffin scouts attended a graduation ceremony at the base as special guests of the commanding of ficer and later toured Disney World and Cape Kennedy where they witnessed the launching of the Viking space craft. On the trip were: Ronald Hudson, Lee Goodman, Gary Thompson, Clifford Conley, Greg Yevick, Jeff Grant, Charles Heaton, Warren Manor, Kurt Howard, Jeff Howard, Lance Greer, Rusty Nelson, Brian Nelson, Mark Strickland, Johnny White, Jimmy Smith, Tommy Smith, Todd Turner. Kevin Davis, Shelby Mobley, Phillip Stewart, David Bradley, Levan Kinard, Sammy Nelson, Larry Gossett and Ray Corley. Mrs. French questioned whether most shoppers would have the dedication, determina tion and organizational ability to shop the way the experts recommend. She also noted that many of the suggestions in the Cornell kit — first published in 1968 and revised this year — have become common i © —-91 Wants to beg off her bare invitation By Abigail Van Buren 1977 by The Chicago Tnbune-N.Y News Synd. Inc. DEAR ABBY: I met a very nice woman a few months ago and we started going away together on weekends. Now she tells me she belongs to a nudist club and she’s trying to talk me into going along with her to a nudey retreat. I honestly don’t think I could do anything like that, but I don’t want her to think I'm chicken. Any suggestions? BILL DEAR BILL: Tell her you’re afraid it will be the end of your relationship if you see too much of each other. DEAR ABBY: Our 21-year-old son recently married his high school teacher, who is 39. These two had been secretly seeing each other for three years. She was married and had two children, but because she fell in love with our son, she got a divorce. All this was done behind our backs. We didn’t know a thing about it until they had been married for nearly a month! Now that they are married, they want us to forget the past and accept them. We love our son but find it difficult to forget the deceit and coverup that went on during the courtship. How should we act now that they are married? HURT PARENTS DEAR HURT: Accept his wife and say nothing about the past. What was, was. DEAR ABBY: There are so many people in their 60s who are alone and lonely for companionship, and I know why. I am a man nearly 65. I’m retired and on Social Security. I own an old car and work a few hours to keep it running. For the past two years, I’ve been trying to find a lady to go steady with, but I've given up. I can’t afford it. I’ve met a lot of women about my age, and they are wonderful company. But the trouble is, they all expect a man to take them out a couple of nights a week, wine them and dine them, go to drive-in movies, and for drives and lunches. One of them said, “My company should be worth that much.” Well, how about MY company? I wouldn’t expect a woman to share car expenses, but if we both have about the same incomes and know how to stretch a dollar, we could have a wonderful time if we shared expenses. Neither one of us is a prize package anymore. Why act like it? LONESOME IN L.A. DEAR LONESOME: You’d be surprised how many lonely women in their 60s would buy the deal you propose. Why don’t you lay all your cards on the table? You could draw a queen. For Abby’s booklet, “How to Have a Lovely Wedding,” send SI to Abigail Van Buren, 132 Lesky Dr., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212. Please enclose a long, self-addressed, stamped (244) envelope. said in a LOW itai re A;’", I i f ■-■- DIAMONDS ENLARGED TO SHOW DETAII FR IE DM AIM’S HON. 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