I have been doing this for some time and thought it may help other people of like mind to save some moolah. If you want and enjoy saving some cash this may be a great idea for you too. When I told my mother about it she said, " I can't write down the prices from every store for every item there is!". No Mom, that is not how it works. So here is the gist of the thing and I can't and won't claim this idea as being my own.
1)Get yourself a little book, An address book is good because it has tabs with the alphabet on the side but any little notebook will work, you can add your own tabs and label them as you choose. You can even start without tabs and eventually add them later, or just take a notebook, any plain one will do to start our with. You can come up with a system that works for you as you go along.
2)Now that you have a notebook, start by writing down some prices that you see in the store, online or in sales ads, I write these prices as cost per ounce, or pound, or something akin to that. Use pencil. The prices you need to write down are on things that you buy the most often at first. If you buy a can of veggies, write down the best price you see for those veggies. If you are like me you purchase store labels, not name brands, some items I do buy name brand but not all that many. Only if I can't stomach the other stuff.
As an example, I see canned veggies at normally 79 cents a can, but I see a sale and the canned tomatoes are 50 cents a can. I write in my book under "canned" tomatoes-.50 and an abbreviation representing the place where I saw that price. Now, I know that .50 is the best price I have paid for tomatoes, if I see that price or any price lower than that it's time to buy. Remember you only need to keep the best price in your book, not a price for the item in every local store.
Here is an example of how I have saved by using this process. I love wheat thin type crackers. The brand name is around 2.50 a box. The store brand on sale is 1.39 and when I went to a grocery that sells out of the cardboard boxes, they had a sale at .99 cents a box. I bought several of them. (The remarkable thing is they are the same cracker, I swear. They look and taste exactly the same.) My new price in my book is .99 cents. If I must purchase before I find a price under 1.39 I only buy one box, if I hit on a price for 99 cents again I will buy several once more.
3) Categories: I have self labeled categories in my little notebook. Canned, Drinks, Meat, Dairy, Baking,Produce, Breads Dried and Snacks/junk. Well ya know, we all like a little junk once in awhile.
Some items you will find can fit in more than one category, just pick the category you think you will remember it in the most. I write canned milk under Dairy, not canned. Some items that one person may put under Breads I put under dried, such as oats or rice. You get the drift. Whatever works for you, it's your book so you do it however it works best for you.
4) Finding prices: A trip to the store where you know things sell at lower prices. I avoid the nice grocery stores. Look online at ads, it doesn't cost anything to gain access via the internet. Look for loss leaders, these are items usual prominently displayed on the front of the ad that stores use to bring customers in. I can sometimes find a bargain at Kroger's. I am not a couponer. Most coupons are for brand names and I can buy the store brand cheaper than I can buy a brand name item on sale and with a coupon. I can't get enough coupons where I live to make it worth the effort anyway. Most of my shopping is done at second hand stores, selling out of the cardboard box type stores. I even bought 7 tubes of Aim toothpaste at .49 cents a tube at the Goodwill last week. You buy it when you see it. You might try Costco or Sam's. Personally, I don't buy enough to pay for the memberships there and can do better elsewhere.
5) Why write prices down per ounce, or pound, etc. The reason for this is because boxes and other containers will come in many different sizes. Have you notice how many ounces are in a box of dry cereal? One box may be 12.6 ounces and another 16 ounces, but are different brands for the same price. It is much easier to keep track of prices if you do it by price per_____.
6) Buying eggs. If you buy one size then that makes it simple, but don't forget to check out the prices on the larger eggs. You may save more money buying larger and freezing the eggs. Price this item as price per egg for small, medium and large.
7) Tip, unless you are great at dividing and multiplying in your head carry a pocket calculator. I use mine all the time and have never been questioned at the store. No store manager has ever asked me what I was writing down yet. Just don't be really obvious about it.
8) Keep your book handy with you any time you are out and about. You never know what you may see. You may run across a farmers market or a going out of business sale and miss an opportunity to save.
9) Don't be fooled that buying in a larger quantity thinking that it will save you money per ____. I have seen smaller containers for less money per_____.
10) Don't be fooled by clearance aisles. I found some tuna once and it had no obvious price, I took it to the register to get a price check and I compared the price on the regular shelf. The item was on the regular shelf was priced less than the clearance price. I bought neither.
11) A price book can be kept on items that are not food. These items may be lumber, feed, fencing, toilet paper, etc. Just add more categories.
12) I spend time at auctions or working at home. A price book for me is entertainment where I am paying myself. I just love getting the best of the marketing teams, so don't let them fool you. I rather enjoy watching the shopping habits of others. They often make the same mistakes that I used to.
13) I keep a pantry and a home store. I rarely have to buy something on a need to basis. Keeping stocked has saved me a lot of money.
I hope this is helpful and if you have questions or suggestions ( I probably forgot something as I have been interrupted like 10 times), please just reply or comment. That is welcome.
1)Get yourself a little book, An address book is good because it has tabs with the alphabet on the side but any little notebook will work, you can add your own tabs and label them as you choose. You can even start without tabs and eventually add them later, or just take a notebook, any plain one will do to start our with. You can come up with a system that works for you as you go along.
2)Now that you have a notebook, start by writing down some prices that you see in the store, online or in sales ads, I write these prices as cost per ounce, or pound, or something akin to that. Use pencil. The prices you need to write down are on things that you buy the most often at first. If you buy a can of veggies, write down the best price you see for those veggies. If you are like me you purchase store labels, not name brands, some items I do buy name brand but not all that many. Only if I can't stomach the other stuff.
As an example, I see canned veggies at normally 79 cents a can, but I see a sale and the canned tomatoes are 50 cents a can. I write in my book under "canned" tomatoes-.50 and an abbreviation representing the place where I saw that price. Now, I know that .50 is the best price I have paid for tomatoes, if I see that price or any price lower than that it's time to buy. Remember you only need to keep the best price in your book, not a price for the item in every local store.
Here is an example of how I have saved by using this process. I love wheat thin type crackers. The brand name is around 2.50 a box. The store brand on sale is 1.39 and when I went to a grocery that sells out of the cardboard boxes, they had a sale at .99 cents a box. I bought several of them. (The remarkable thing is they are the same cracker, I swear. They look and taste exactly the same.) My new price in my book is .99 cents. If I must purchase before I find a price under 1.39 I only buy one box, if I hit on a price for 99 cents again I will buy several once more.
3) Categories: I have self labeled categories in my little notebook. Canned, Drinks, Meat, Dairy, Baking,Produce, Breads Dried and Snacks/junk. Well ya know, we all like a little junk once in awhile.
Some items you will find can fit in more than one category, just pick the category you think you will remember it in the most. I write canned milk under Dairy, not canned. Some items that one person may put under Breads I put under dried, such as oats or rice. You get the drift. Whatever works for you, it's your book so you do it however it works best for you.
4) Finding prices: A trip to the store where you know things sell at lower prices. I avoid the nice grocery stores. Look online at ads, it doesn't cost anything to gain access via the internet. Look for loss leaders, these are items usual prominently displayed on the front of the ad that stores use to bring customers in. I can sometimes find a bargain at Kroger's. I am not a couponer. Most coupons are for brand names and I can buy the store brand cheaper than I can buy a brand name item on sale and with a coupon. I can't get enough coupons where I live to make it worth the effort anyway. Most of my shopping is done at second hand stores, selling out of the cardboard box type stores. I even bought 7 tubes of Aim toothpaste at .49 cents a tube at the Goodwill last week. You buy it when you see it. You might try Costco or Sam's. Personally, I don't buy enough to pay for the memberships there and can do better elsewhere.
5) Why write prices down per ounce, or pound, etc. The reason for this is because boxes and other containers will come in many different sizes. Have you notice how many ounces are in a box of dry cereal? One box may be 12.6 ounces and another 16 ounces, but are different brands for the same price. It is much easier to keep track of prices if you do it by price per_____.
6) Buying eggs. If you buy one size then that makes it simple, but don't forget to check out the prices on the larger eggs. You may save more money buying larger and freezing the eggs. Price this item as price per egg for small, medium and large.
7) Tip, unless you are great at dividing and multiplying in your head carry a pocket calculator. I use mine all the time and have never been questioned at the store. No store manager has ever asked me what I was writing down yet. Just don't be really obvious about it.
8) Keep your book handy with you any time you are out and about. You never know what you may see. You may run across a farmers market or a going out of business sale and miss an opportunity to save.
9) Don't be fooled that buying in a larger quantity thinking that it will save you money per ____. I have seen smaller containers for less money per_____.
10) Don't be fooled by clearance aisles. I found some tuna once and it had no obvious price, I took it to the register to get a price check and I compared the price on the regular shelf. The item was on the regular shelf was priced less than the clearance price. I bought neither.
11) A price book can be kept on items that are not food. These items may be lumber, feed, fencing, toilet paper, etc. Just add more categories.
12) I spend time at auctions or working at home. A price book for me is entertainment where I am paying myself. I just love getting the best of the marketing teams, so don't let them fool you. I rather enjoy watching the shopping habits of others. They often make the same mistakes that I used to.
13) I keep a pantry and a home store. I rarely have to buy something on a need to basis. Keeping stocked has saved me a lot of money.
I hope this is helpful and if you have questions or suggestions ( I probably forgot something as I have been interrupted like 10 times), please just reply or comment. That is welcome.
