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It's easy to be overwhelmed by the high cost of groceries, and many consumers react by simply biting the bullet and handing over the cash. But savvy shoppers can save quite a bit of money without a lot of effort, and all it take is understanding how grocery stores price their items and how they try to steer us into spending more than we plan to. By knowing the tricks, any shopper can save big bucks.

Michelle Jones is a graduate of the University of Georgia and holds a master's degree in clinical psychology. In 1997 she began working for Consumer Counseling Credit Service (CCCS ) in Atlanta, a charity that provides free counseling and money management assistance to financially distressed families and individuals. Today she is the organization's Vice President of Counseling. She offers these insider tips to help you save money on your next trip to the grocery store:

• Compare unit prices.
  Make sure you always look at a product's unit price, as this lets you compare the price of competing products that are package din different quantities. By listing the product's price in ounces, pounds or individual item, the unit price lets you see which brand gives you the better deal.
  
• Create a price book.
  Create a price book and take it with you to the store. Write down the price of an item by name, item number and unit price, and then compare it with other stores.
  
• Look at high and low shelves.
  Many stores put the most expensive items at the eye level of the average shopper, so people will be more likely to grab them. To save money, look at the higher and lower shelves for less expensive items.
  
• Watch items being scanned.
  It's a good idea to keep an eye on the cash register when you go through the checkout line. There's an average of two percent scan error during checkout, and if you watch closely, you might catch some mistakes.
  
• Skip the impulse buys.
  Forty to sixty percent of the money that we spend at the grocery store, says Jones, is actually from impulse shopping. You can save lots of money by simply making a list, sticking to it, and avoiding the temptations of items not on the list.

For more information on saving money on groceries, check out the following organizations or websites:

CCCS
www.cccsinc.org

Family Education.com: Cutting the Grocery Bill
www.familyeducation.com/article

All Things Frugal: Saving Money Buying Groceries
www.allthingsfrugal.com

The Dollar Stretcher: Coupon Strategies
www.stretcher.com/stories