Shopping and Food
Stores, groceries, returns, eating out
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Types of stores and warehouse memberships
Supermarkets, big-box stores, dollar stores, pharmacies and warehouse clubs: what each sells and when a membership pays off.
4 min
Returns, receipts and price matching
How returning things works, why you keep receipts, what price matching and price adjustment mean, and the 3-day cooling-off rule.
4 min
Coupons, loyalty apps and sales seasons
How Americans pay less: store apps, digital coupons, rebates, and the big sales like Black Friday and back-to-school.
4 min
Online shopping and home deliveries
Ordering online safely, shipping times, pickup lockers, buy online pick up in store, and what to do when a package does not come.
4 min
Clothing and shoe sizes, and dressing for the weather
How US sizes work, how to read a size chart, and how to dress in layers for cold winters and air-conditioned summers.
4 min
Thrift stores, yard sales and Buy Nothing groups
How to furnish a home and dress a family cheaply with secondhand stores, free local groups and online marketplaces.
3 min
Food delivery apps and their hidden fees
How DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart and similar apps work, what the fees add up to, and how to pay less.
3 min
Grocery basics: layout, unit prices and date labels
Where things are in a US supermarket, how to compare prices per ounce, and what "best by", "sell by" and "use by" really mean.
4 min
Finding halal, kosher, vegetarian and home-country food
Where to find the food you eat at home, how to read halal and kosher marks, and how to ask about ingredients.
3 min
Eating out: ordering, refills, the check and tipping
What happens in a US restaurant from the door to the tip, including free water, refills, splitting the check and to-go boxes.
4 min
Paying at the register, self-checkout and ATMs
Tap, chip or swipe, "debit or credit?", PINs, cash back, self-checkout steps, ATM fees and paying in dollars with a foreign card.
4 min
Understanding US prices, fees and price words
"Starting at", $9.99, "plus fees", resort and service fees, BOGO, MSRP, and how to find the real total before you pay.
4 min
Cooking in a US kitchen: stoves, ovens and food names
Gas and electric stoves, the oven, the garbage disposal, US names for common ingredients, and kitchen safety.
4 min
Complaining about a company and getting results
Customer service steps, card disputes, and where to report: CFPB, FTC, FCC, DOT, your state attorney general, BBB and small claims.
4 min