Is Price the Bottom Line?

As I teach Grocery Smarts classes I inevitably get asked "how many stores do you shop at each week?". As the number of active sale lists grows on the Grocery Smarts website, the number of opportunities to score some amazing deals also grows. But in answer to the above question I usually pick one store, judging on what sale items I am most interested in and then pick up a few necessities while I am there, like bread and milk.

I stumbled across a great article over at The Simple Dollar entitled The Variables of Purchase: Is Price the Bottom Line? I loved the concept that saving dollars is only one aspect of saving in general. As the author says "why would I regularly abandon the lowest possible price? For me, there are a number of factors at work."

I agree with several of the author's points, such as product convenience and customer service. That is why sometimes my shopping habits do not have ultimate rock-bottom pricing, but in my opinion sometimes there are other things more important than money. Make sure to read the article and decide for yourself.