Check Prices, Receipts, Save Money

Tellers, cashiers, computers…basically, anyone that handles your money can make a mistake.   This is why it is ultra important to check all your receipts all the time.  You will be surprised by how many mistakes you might find and how much money you can save.  But what if I told you, there is a way to prevent many of these mistakes from costing you money.  That’s right…a cashiers’ mistake does not have to cost you a dime if you just pay attention.  While shopping, it is important to not only look at the prices of items, but also to commit prices to memory if you can.   Even if you do not remember the exact price of an item, knowing the general price point will make it easy to spot a mistake once you get to the check out. 

In order to notice a discrepancy in price you have to pay attention.  I know…your cell phone is ringing, the latest gossip magazine is calling your name and what that other customer has in her cart are all things that can divert your attention.  What is she doing with all those rutabagas anyway?   But really, you are losing money here.  On a recent trip to the grocery store I noticed that the clerk rang up each of my 3 cans of corn for more than twice the amount that they were marked on the shelf.  Now firstly, if I did not remember the price of the corn, I would not have realized that there was an error.  Secondly, if I had not been paying attention to the clerk as he was ringing up my items, then I would not have noticed that there was a difference in price. 

I immediately notified the cashier, who alerted the manager and resolved the inconsistency immediately.  Not only did this save me money, but because I realized a mistake was made while I was still in the line, I saved time too.  Who wants to come to the realization that you overpaid for an item after you have already left the store.  If that happens, you have a few choices:

• You can either waste time and gas by driving back to the store immediately to resolve the issue.
• Put the receipt in a drawer or other place for safe keeping so that you can deal with the issue another day (of course, later on in the week when you look for the receipt you may discover that you have misplaced it).
• Or just forget about it and absorb the loss.  

After all, it is only a couple of bucks anyway.  But as we know, a couple of bucks can add up rather quickly.  If however you did not know this, you now do.   Go on and be a beacon of “savings knowledge” to others.

Happy Savings,

Lisa-21 Smart Ways
www.21smartways.com