Are 100-calorie snack packs banging you for your buck?

If someone were to try to sell you a product you normally buy -- but, they offer you less of the product and at a higher cost -- would you buy it?

Of course you wouldn't. Or would you? In fact, maybe you already have, but just don't realize it. Well, if you've purchased a box of 100-calorie snack packs recently, I'm sorry to say that your mistake cost you. Quite a bit, actually. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently released some figures on this matter, revealing that consumers are spending a great deal of money for the convenience of pre-packaged portions.

Here's a quick look at how much more some of these 100-packs are actually costing you (based on how much bang you are getting for your buck).

Chex Mix - 248 percent
Goldfish Pretzels - 196 percent
Oreo Cookies/Thin Crisps - 187 percent
Pringles - 163 percent
Doritos - 148 percent
Cheetos - 118 percent

And so on and so forth. (For a look at the entire list, click here).

Frankly, I'm not much of a fan of these 100-calorie snack packs for any reason, price gouging certainly notwithstanding. They offer almost no nutritional value, not to mention that they usually contain a fair amount of sugar and sodium. And, let's face it, how many people actually eat only one of those damn packs? It's very easy to turn 100 into two or three hundred calories, while at the same time spiking blood glucose and insulin levels. Not a good thing if weight loss is your goal. And if saving money is your other goal, there's reason number two not to buy these 100-calorie crap packs.