The Price Book- a Shoppers best friend

Familycorner.com defines a price book as, "A price book is simply a list of the items you use regularly and the best prices they sell for in the stores where you are willing to shop. It is an excellent tool for tracking prices, sales and buying opportunities. Prices in a price book should be listed by cost per unit so you can easily compare different size packages from different stores. When you see a deal in the weekly flyer or in the store, you will know instantly if it is really a good deal and worth your time to go out and purchase. Just because an item is on sale doesn't automatically make it a good buy. The regular price at some stores may be less than the sale price at others. Your price book is an invaluable tool to help you determine if a sale is really a deal."  Really, I can't come up with a better definition then that.

Your price book can be as complex or as easy as you want it to be. You can calculate price per unit*, or just list the regular price of each item at each of the stores you visit in your area. 

If you have an iPhone (which I don't, but DH does), there are several apps available for purchase that take all the guess work out if it.  If you are computer saavy, you could do a price book in Excel and print a copy when you go to market.

You can go old school, like I have.



I am in the middle of updating mine- our eating habits change, and products stop being sold, or we choose other products instead.  My Vons and Target columns are complete and my Walgreens column is about 1/2 done.  I am hoping to get the rest of the sheet completed by the end of the month.

*Price per unit helps you determine if the jumbo sized drum of applesauce is a better deal than a regular sized jar. take a look at the shelf tag- it should give you a price per unit (usually ounce or pound (lb.)).  If the price per ounce/pound on the larger container is smaller, then it is a good deal.  Here is an example of what the shelf tags can  look like:

This is also a great strategy to see if the store brand or a brand that isn't your usual brand is a better deal than what you normally buy.

The joys of being domestic

Yesterday, we had run out of fruit and lunch type things (soup in a can, cheese, yogurt, fruit, fiber 1 bars), so I made a list, organized my coupons and grabbed my price book. I was off to the grocer.

Recently, I updated my price book with more of the items that we buy, so I wanted to get the "Vons" column filled, so that I can complete it a little faster, scan it and get it on line.

Armed with my stack of coupons (about 10 of them were for free items (HEHE), and the price book, I set out. I was in and out in little over an hour, the price book slowed me down considerably- some of the items that we buy, Vons doesn't sell, so my hunt for those items was futile. Tue up side was that someone had coupon fairied a good deal of coupons- so I scored about $40 in coupons. Someone had left their catalinas in the cart I picked and 2 of them were "save .50 off your next purchase." So I scored a $1.00 off right off the bat!

The trip total: $79.87 spent out of pocket, saved $85.65 (that's combining Vons Club and Coupons)., Admittedly, therewere some items on the list that I did not purchase, even though I did have a coupon, because they were above my threshold. Tuna was the biggie.

I came home, unloaded the groceries and set to work on the cooking. My big score of the night was a 4 lb roast for $3.75. I seared it and tossed it in the crock pot over night on low. We're having an early dinner b/c T has a concert tonight.

My second big score was a box of stouffer's manicotti- a "family" sized box for $2.77. I figured I probably couldn't make it any cheaper, so we had that, a green salad and corn for dinner.

Last night I also started on this mornings breakfast. I cooked and chopped a package of maple sausage, and carmelized two small yellow onions and put them in a covered dish. This morning I mixed them with egg beaters and cheese and poured part of it into a greased muffin tin to make little omlette pouffs. The rest I poured into a greased basking dish and baked. We just ate- and they were OMG SOO GOOD!

This weekend I'll be posting more about my price book and how you can make one, and more about "the present box"- both complete with pictures.