Shop at the cheap stores In a reader survey we found the best overall prices were found at Aldi, Costco, Market Basket, Slater Bros., Shoppers Food Warehouse, Trader Joe’s, and Wal-Mart. The trade-off can be a more limited selection (such as at Aldi or Trader Joe’s) or you may have to buy in bulk (Costco).

Be smart about circulars Not all items in circulars are on sale. Manufacturers sometimes pay to have their products listed. The mere mention of a product in a circular can boost sales by up to 500 percent, even without a price cut.

Avoid store fake-outs Beware of the end-of-aisle bins, island displays, recipe-related item placement, and “middle-shelf” items. They might appear to be sale items, but that is typically where higher-priced and impulse buys are placed. Bargain items are often on the low shelves.

Be color-blind Color can be used to persuade you to choose one brand over another. Black, for example, is equated with luxury; yellow suggests an inexpensive product; and red screams discount. Ignore the colors and check out the unit prices instead so you can compare apples to apples.

Slice, dice, and chill it yourself If an item is packaged in a convenient way, the price can skyrocket. For example, we found sliced Jarlsberg cheese in a deli counter for $7.99 a pound. The same cheese, not sliced, could be found steps away in the dairy case for $3.99 a pound. We also found 16-ounce bottles of Snapple in a cooler at a checkout for $1.19. The same-sized room-temperature Snapples were 50 cents a couple of feet away.

Limit impulse buys Stick to a well-thought-out shopping list to avoid grabbing for things you don’t need. Then decide you won’t spend any more than, say, $5 on things that aren’t on your list. That way you won’t feel deprived and you won’t bust your budget.

Try store brands Gone are the days of ho-hum generic packaging and bland-tasting store brands. We pitted store-branded paper towels, plastic bags, canned peaches, french fries, and yogurt against national brands and found the store brands were just as good or better. Try them; if you find you like them, you might be able to save up to 50 percent on some items.

Ask for a bargain Many stores will match other stores’ sale prices or coupons as long as you have a circular to prove what the competitor is charging. The policy might be posted or listed in the circular, or you can ask the store manager.

Ditch unhelpful ‘helpers’ Kids (and sometimes spouses) want everything they see. They’ll distract you from your effort to shop wisely.

Don’t leave your store card at home It gets you big discounts on products in the store circular that are on sale without clipping coupons.

Watch the scanners Seventy percent of respondents in one of our surveys found that scanners made some mistakes on the prices of items they purchased.

Click any of the links below for a selection of articles from the August/September 2007 issue of ShopSmart;) Editor's Letter Greetings from ShopSmart Editor-in-Chief Lisa Lee Freeman Your worst shopping mistakes You bought that? Tell us about it--or better yet, send us a picture! How to spot a fake Think that designer jewelry is a steal? It might be a scam. See our tips to avoid getting taken. The best beauty sites Where to find great deals on cosmetics, perfumes and more. What's cooking online Need a recipe? Turn on the computer instead of cracking open a cookbook. A day in the life of a mystery shopper Where to find great deals on cosmetics, perfumes and more. Sunscreen dos and don'ts Get it right for maximum protection from UV rays. Can't find ShopSmart in your local bookstore? Order it online or call our toll-free number to get your copy now.