<p><img class=" wp-image-4053 aligncenter" src="https://carolinacrossroads.news/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/gordon-t-long-2019-themes-shoppers-300x180.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="297" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 20px;"><strong>Are you paying twice as much for groceries as you should?</strong></span> It's easier than you think to cut your bill in half. Here's how one shopper does it:</p>
<ul>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Shop once a month</span>. This demands discipline, organisation and the ability to think and plan ahead, and keeps you from making 'impulse' purchases. I have a large refrigerator (with no freezer), a separate chest freezer and a storage area with shelves. If your excuse is that you don't have enough money to go just once a month, think about doing without junk food, sodas, energy drinks, cheap beer, cheap bread, snacks and other packaged garbage that provides empty calories and chemicals which make you fat, stupid, unhealthy and broke. This move alone will free up plenty of extra money.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Go prepared</span>. I take an Excel style spreadsheet that I developed which shows exactly what I'm going to buy at each of the two stores I shop. My list is generated based on last months purchases, plus any changes I want to make this trip, and allows me to compare prices right on the spot. If you just grab stuff off the shelf as you go by, your plan to save money is doomed from the start.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stay away from prepared and frozen meals</span>. They're expensive and loaded with stuff your body doesn't need.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Canned goods are cheap</span> and contain relatively healthy ingredients.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Know your products</span>. Many so called 'bargain items' (dish soaps, laundry detergents, shampoos, condiments, etc.) are <strong>watered down</strong> and offer poor value compared to concentrated brands.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Shop online</span> when possible, but take the time to learn your way around. 20% of my grocery and virtually 100% of my pharmacy type purchases are now made online. I use ebay, Alibaba and AliExpress mostly. I've found Amazon too expensive and don't appreciate that they make it as difficult as possible to comparison shop.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Never shop in Laurinburg/Scotland County</span>. Prices here are brain damage budget busters. No exceptions, not even Wal-Mart.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Shop in Rockingham</span>. It's a little further but well worth the trip. I go to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Aldi</span> first because they are the cheapest <span style="text-decoration: underline;">by far</span> and purchase most stuff there. I take my own <span style="text-decoration: underline;">reusable boxes</span> which makes checkout a snap. I would go to Lidl (which is right next door to Aldi) second, but I've learned not to bother. They're cheap but carry too much esoteric stuff I don't need which wastes my time. I go to Wal-Mart last to pick up the few items like produce, canned olives and Pom juice that Aldi just doesn't carry. Wal-Mart's Rockingham prices are lower than Laurinburg, but they still can't compete with Aldi.</li>
	<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join Costco Wholesale</span> (Charlotte) and buy stuff in bulk. Costco is especially great for canned goods, mayo, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc. I stock up once a year and come back loaded to the gills.</li>
	<li>Remember, nobody looks out for your interests better than <span style="text-decoration: underline;">YOU</span>.      </li>
</ul>
<p>I'm saving thousands of dollars, eating healthier and feeling better than ever. <strong>Here's what got me started:</strong>  </p>
<p>Scotland County, North Carolina business owners are toughing it out, but <span style="text-decoration: underline;">negative population demographics, exploding property taxes, government subsidized competition, the Internet and neighbouring counties willing to offer better services at lower prices are stiff headwinds to buck</span>.</p>
<p>Even local used car dealers, which had been considered largely immune from current trends, are experiencing erosion as buyers increasingly migrate online (in some cases to dealers hundreds of miles away) for the largest selection, best pricing and lowest cost financing. Online dealers generally guarantee their vehicles to be exactly as advertised and often offer free delivery right to your door. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">You never have to even visit the dealer</span>, This trend, while still in its infancy, is moving fast and is about to shake things up big time.</p>
<p>I used to spend over $2,000 every month shopping in Scotland County. Today, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">I don't spend a dime</span>. I haven't shopped in the county for over two years now because I found many local businesses are simply not doing their best to help customers, themselves or their community.</p>
<p>Despite Laurinburg citizens being up in arms over the city spending millions of dollars it didn't have on an extravagant new 'Williamsburg' style Municipal Complex it didn't need, most businesses chose to remain silent as this disaster played out. The money squandered on this worthless project meant already hard pressed customers would now have even less money to spend at local business for the next <span style="text-decoration: underline;">forty years</span> while this boondoggle's bonds were being paid off. Unfortunately, none of this seemed to matter to the local business community.</p>
<p>If the business community doesn't care about its customers, let alone itself, why should we care about them? If the business community now thinks higher property taxes, higher sales taxes and more taxpayer funded (but privately owned) nonsense like 'Art Parks' and art studios with trendy coffee shops are going to turn things around, they are truly delusional.</p>
<p>Rotten apples spoil the entire barrel. Our family used to do business with numerous small mom &amp; pop Laurinburg businesses. One example, was the Machine Shop. They were absolutely great. Their pricing was fair, they were creative, hard working, on time and never said No to any project we brought them. Unfortunately, once we stopped shopping in Scotland County, it no longer made sense to travel there and we needed to find a new machine shop in Rockingham. We did and while this was great for us, it meant that a good local Laurinburg business lost our trade forever. This remains true for other Laurinburg small businesses too.</p>
<p>There is a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">hidden cost</span> when local business leaders stand by as customers are abused and bled out by high taxes, a government operated Chamber of Commerce and a parasitic Ruling Elite bent on feathering their own nests.</p>
<p>Once we stopped shopping in Scotland County, it didn't take long to discover that even Wal-Mart pricing is lower in neighbouring counties, and Wal-Mart can't even begin to match Aldi and Lidl's rock bottom prices. We now save 50% on our grocery bill alone by shopping outside Scotland County. This allows us to have a nice, relaxing sit down lunch for free in Rockingham while still leaving plenty of money in our pockets for other things. Who said there was no free lunch?</p>
<p>Things are never going back to the good ole days when local Laurinburg businesses had customers by the Gucchi's, and it's going to get even tougher for those that refuse to understand what's happening and adapt. Scotland County shoppers now have plenty of options to get virtually everything they want and need for less from neighbouring counties or online.</p>
<p>CCN pays close attention to rapidly changing economic, social and political trends. Here's a video from one of our favourite financial gurus Gordon T. Long. We hope you find it helpful.</p>
<p>Best wishes on your money saving adventure!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<center><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CEvckj8hmKc" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></center>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333;"><em><strong>Sources:</strong></em></span><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GordonTLong" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Gordon T. Long</span></a></p>
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