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Unit Price Decision Making: Budgeting

This document provides information on how to calculate and compare unit prices when grocery shopping to get the best value. It defines unit price as the cost per pound, ounce, or other unit of measure. The key is to calculate the unit price using the formula of total cost divided by quantity. This allows comparing unit prices between different package sizes, brands, stores, and with coupons to determine the true best value. Factors like store brands versus name brands and various package sizes should be compared using unit pricing to make informed budget-friendly grocery purchases.

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Julia Feldman
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213 views

Unit Price Decision Making: Budgeting

This document provides information on how to calculate and compare unit prices when grocery shopping to get the best value. It defines unit price as the cost per pound, ounce, or other unit of measure. The key is to calculate the unit price using the formula of total cost divided by quantity. This allows comparing unit prices between different package sizes, brands, stores, and with coupons to determine the true best value. Factors like store brands versus name brands and various package sizes should be compared using unit pricing to make informed budget-friendly grocery purchases.

Uploaded by

Julia Feldman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Budgeting

6.4 Plan a Food Budget


Activity

Name

Unit Price Decision Making


Read the Article, “How to Calculate and Compare Unit Prices at the Store” at the end of this worksheet.
Use what you’ve learned about unit pricing, plus your own knowledge of budgeting and consumerism, to answer the questions
below.

SCENARIO 1: At Grocery Mart, tomatoes are $2.75 per pound, or you can buy a 5 pound box for $11.
1. What is the unit price for the first tomato option?

2. What is the unit price for the second tomato option?

3. Based on price, which is the better value option?

4. If you were grocery shopping, would you buy tomatoes by the pound or by the box?

5. What factors did you consider when answering question 4?

6. Would your answer to question 4 change if we were talking about rice instead of tomatoes? Why or why not?

SCENARIO 2: You typically buy all of your groceries at Grocery Mart. This week, your favorite cereal is on sale there, 4
boxes for $10. At Food Market, where you don’t typically shop, the same cereal is on sale for $2.25 a box.
1. What’s the unit price at Grocery Mart?

2. What is the unit price at Food Market?

3. Based on price, which is the better value option?

4. Where would you buy the cereal, and how many boxes would you purchase?

5. What factors did you consider when answering question 4?

6. Would your answer to question 4 change if you knew your grocery budget for this week was $55?

In 1 or 2 sentences, describe the most effective way to use unit price in your grocery store decision making process.

1
How to Calculate and Compare Unit Prices at
the Store
Companies are always creating eye-catching container designs and bigger packaging to persuade us
to purchase their products. When we enter stores to shop for food, toilet paper, pet food, and other
products, is it an optical illusion or the actual reality deal if we're getting the most out of our money?
During special occasions, such as a barbecue or Halloween, our eyes might glance towards the
bigger product and ignore everything else. There is a way to figure out if you really need that huge
family size cereal box or get a better deal with smaller boxes.

1
Know what unit price is. The unit price of a product is basically what the cost of each
pound, ounce or gram, square foot or meter, etc., of the product is. In some grocery stores and
supermarkets, the unit prices are shown with the total price but this isn't always available, so it's
important to know how to work this out for yourself.

2
2
Know the calculation formula of unit prices. The math figure is Cost of Item / Quantity = Unit
Price. A simple example is given below:
 18 oz of peanut butter is $2.79
 $2.79 divided by 18 = $0.16 per ounce
 20 ball point pen package is $3.00
 $3.00 divided by 20 = $0.15 per pen.

3
3
Compare unit prices from different brands and sizes to know if you're getting the most out of
your money. For example:
 24 oz of vegetable oil from Store A is $2.49, which is $0.10 per ounce
 32 oz of vegetable oil from Store B is $2.99, which is $0.09 per ounce
 In this example, the better bargain is from Store B. You're paying $0.50 more overall, but
you're also paying less per ounce.

4
4
See how coupons can really affect final prices. At times when you use coupons in your
transactions, the unit prices really change and can affect what you choose from the shelves. Let's use
the example from above with a "Save $0.50 off one 24 ounce or larger vegetable oil" coupon, but
Store A doubles all coupons up to $0.99.
 24 oz of vegetable oil from Store A is $2.49, now $1.49 with doubled coupon
 32 oz of vegetable oil from Store B is $2.99, now $2.49 with coupon
 Store A's current unit price is $0.06, while Store B's unit price is $0.07.
 Because of Store A's doubled coupon price, the unit price changed and is now lower than
Store B, thus getting 24 oz of vegetable oil is a better deal than 32 oz.

5
5
Experiment by comparing store brands to manufacturer brands. You can also calculate with
other types of units, for example 4 versus 8 toilet paper rolls or the different amount of loads/ounces
of laundry detergent.

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