shopping cartThere are a lot of scams, rip-offs, and other bad deals out there that most of us know to avoid and stay away from. We know to stay away from almost all extended warranties because they’re just not good deals. We know to not buy a used car without having it inspected otherwise you’re just asking for trouble. We know always to shop around on big ticket items because the first place we visit almost always won’t have the cheapest price. There’s one bad deal out there that most of us buy into every time we enter into a grocery or big-box store that causes us to almost always spend more money than we would have otherwise, and that’s the shopping cart.

Think about it. A shopping cart allows you to carry around more items in the store than you would have otherwise been able to. Since you have the capability to carry more stuff around the store, you usually end up taking a lot more stuff with you and spending money that you otherweise wouldn’t have on things you simply do not need. How many times have you been in a grocery store just to get a few things and then you didn’t get one or two of the less important items or an extra 12 pack of pop because you just couldn’t carry all of it? Not having a shopping cart subconciosuly forces us to only buy the most important things that we need at the current moment.

 If we go to a big box store and intend to purchase quite a few things for groceries or around the house, we tend to buy the things that were on our lists as well as a few other things that would be nice to have or make life a bit more convenient, even though we really don’t need them. We casually throw items in the cart because the bills going to be pretty big anway, so what’s the harm in one or two more items?

In some cases, using a shopping cart is inevitable, say if your purchasing groceries for a week for a family of four. In the case that you are a single person only buying groceries for yourself for the week, consider making it a rule for yourself only to carry a basket isntead of a cart. You will be able to fit more than enoug food in the basket to feed you for a week, and that way you won’t be tempted to purchase a bunch of junk food, soda and beer because you won’t be able to carry it to the counter. I’ve put this into practice in my own life for almost 6 months now and have never spent more than $30 each week on groceries.

If you do not absolutely need a shopping cart for your trek to the store, don’t take one. If you have to purchase a lot of items in the store, come up with a list before hand and resolve only to purchase on the list. This way you will be less tempted to make an impulse purchase or two. By limiting the amount we carry, we will be much less tempted to pickup other items that we quite frankly do not really need.