Stocking up for your holiday meals?… it’s a great time to review some of the little known techniques stores use to get you to spend more:

#1) Bigger Shopping Carts. When you’re dieting, you’re not supposed to use big plates, because it subconsciously makes you eat more. And apparently that rule applies with shopping carts too. The bigger your cart is, the more food you buy. One study found that when they doubled the size of shopping carts, people bought about 40% more.

#2.) They Lower Prices on Popular Products, Then Raise Prices on Other Things. For example, they might have a really good price on eggs . . . which everyone buys . . . but they make up for it by marking up everything else. They get away with it because when you see a good price on something like milk or laundry detergent, you naturally assume they have low prices on everything.