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#1: Come Prepared

Did you know smart shopping starts before you even leave the house? One of the golden rules has always been: Don’t shop on an empty stomach!

Shopping when you are hungry is the absolute quickest way to overspend – and most of the time, you end up buying junk. (We’re sure buying a gallon of ice cream for dinner seemed like a good idea at the time.) Eat before you leave the house and your wallet will thank you.

And while we’re at it, please leave the cell phone at home! Not only is talking while shopping annoying to other customers, it’s another guaranteed way to distractedly fill your cart with things you don’t really need or miss a good deal.

Next: Paper or plastic? Neither!