Grocery stores are designed to encourage spending — so how do you cut down on impulse buying? Of course you take a list and never shop hungry, but also it helps to know marketing, reports Donna Montaldo of About.com. "Avoid ... ploys designed to draw your attention to a particular product," she advises. "Knowing some of the tricks of the trade will ultimately save you money." That includes steering clear of end-of-the-aisle bins, recipe-related item placement and items on the middle shelf. "This is, typically, where higher priced and impulse products are placed," she notes.

— Advertiser Staff

SAVE THE PLANET

AUTHOR MAKES GOING 'GREEN' EASIER

Environmental design is the wave of the future. Want to know more about such things as healthy buildings, green roofs and ecological footprints? Check out Jerry Yudelson's "Green Building A to Z" (New Society Publishers, $16.95). The engineer who has chaired the steering committee for the world's largest green building conference for four years can tell his alternative architecture from his zero-net-energy buildings.

— Advertiser Staff

FINAL WORD

"Listen to that inner voice. It won't steer you wrong."

Kyle Chandler | "Friday Night Lights" star and father of two on parenting, in Best Life magazine