When you put back a pack of chicken priced $10.51 and select another priced $10.01, is it because you want less chicken or because you believe you are saving money?
How much per pound / ounce is the chicken? The less per pound, the more significant the 50 cents difference becomes. Also, it depends on what the chicken is being used for and what parts of the chicken we’re talking about not to mention what type of chicken it is. Is it going to be used for frying, baking, stewing, braising, BBQ, smoking, etc.? All things being equal, there are times when we go to a “pick 5” store where everything below 5 beans is considered a pick 5 item so naturally one would pick the higher priced chicken @ $4.99 rather than the one @$4.49.
Same item and no sale or anything, but sometimes I find myself taking the one on top, then discovering the one under was less and taking it instead. I guess I must be thinking I am getting out of the grocery store for less money and that is better. Maybe from the days of using cash and I had to keep the total down to not exceed cash in hand. I still do it and don't really know why. I went shopping to a bulk store with Zek and he noticed me doing this and was totally puzzled why I did this. I had no explanation except I am eccentric. The butcher putting more packages out, came to my defense and said a lot of folks do it.
I would buy the smaller if I wanted less chicken. Does anyone remember, decades ago, it used to be standard that the larger the size package of anything, the cheaper it was per unit. That made sense because of the cost in packaging. Then they got tricky and occasionally would sneak in higher prices per unit for larger sizes. So then they started giving the price per unit on the tags. Ya gotta keep an eye on 'em. Here if you get the family size ground beef, it is cheaper per pound. I usually get the family size and freeze most of it.
I'm finding that we eat a lot less meat than we used to, so I buy the smaller packages for that reason.
Just for the sake of being frugal, I more often than not, will choose the cheapest version of whatever I am buying, food or otherwise. This is not always true for more substantial items, but if it's a cheaper made item to begin with, I may as well go with the VERY cheapest.
What I was saying is if two packages of chicken or whatever are totally the same, except one has a quarter oz less thus the price is a few cents less, I pick that one. I felt relieved that the butcher said he can put 10 packages of hamburger out, all one cent difference because time consuming to get weight perfect, and people will dig through the bin and buy the lowest cost first, even if the lowest to the highest varies only by 10 cents. It is all the same meat at same price per pound, so it really doesn't make sense.
@Faye Fox I think it's personal satisfaction or maybe just a habit to choose the lower price if the meat packages LOOK the same. I do the same thing when choosing any meat products. I always pick the package that is the least....as long as it visually contains the amount of meat I was going for.
I prefer a chicken that weighs 3 ½ to 4 pounds. If you buy a really small chicken, you're getting less meat per pound. The bones will be about the same size so the more meat on the bones, the better value it is. I mostly fry chicken and one over 4 pounds is difficult to fry. It will cook hard on the outside before it gets done to the bone. If there is only a few cent difference it price, I'll just pick up one. Like @Nancy Hart , I buy the family size hamburger and freeze it in the amounts that will make a meal for us.
I only buy boneless, skinless chicken breast for cooking. The only bone-in chicken I buy is the rotisserie chickens. So I guess I don't give the price much consideration; I just pick up what I think I need.
If you only need the smaller chicken, you are still saving money. If you pay $10.51 for the larger chicken and throw part of it away, when the $10.01 chicken would have been plenty, you are wasting money.
Living alone, I am a great lover of leftovers. Also I hate to cook, so I make bulk things like chicken cheese enchiladas, chicken bean burritos, taco meat, and/or slow cook a small brisket that I cut into thin very tender slices for sandwiches. I buy my meats in bulk. I was raised by parents that went hungry during the great depression, so no wasting food for me. About the only thing I cook just for one meal is fish or shrimp and of course vegetables.
I buy the less expensive package if it's the same quality and sell-by date and spend less. I don't waste food either. A rule I never break - any meat that needs to be separated and placed in freezer bags is frozen that day.