Price Book, How it Can Help You Save

Do you track your local prices? Do you know a good deal when you see it? With a price book you will be able to know if a deal is a good one or not.

A price book is a great tool that can help you spot a good price when you shop.

If you haven’t made your own price book yet, you are overpaying for your groceries.

What’s a price book?

A price book is a place for you to record the best prices you see when you shop.  It can be a notebook or a 3 ring binder. Mine is an old day planner. I printed copies of my price book sheets. I record the best prices I see with the date, and what store I found that price.

It makes a record for me so I can track what’s the best price I’ve paid for an item over the last month, or three month or year

It sounds like a lot of work but it does not have to be done all at once. In fact I suggest you start slow. In fact you don’t even need to go shopping to get started.

Start with Just 10 Items

To make it more manageable just pick your ten most purchased food to start.  Do you buy milk each week shop? Check the online sales fliers for each store in your area. Record the best price you see in your price book. Write the date, store, size of container, and price. Then figure your price per ounce or pound which ever is appropriate.

Do this for your other most purchased items. Once you have your first 10 items you purchase the most, add more as you purchase them.

Use Your Receipts

An even easier way to get started is to use your receipts for groceries you’ve already purchased. Look them over and record the prices you paid with the date and the store in your price book.

You can do this while you are sitting and waiting at a doctor’s office, waiting for your kids at a lesson or even binge watching your favorite show. Just enter in some of your prices in your price book. In no time you will have many items tracked.

How to Use Your Price Book

Then when you see a sale in a weekly sales flier you can check to see if the price is a better deal than what you usually pay. Just refer to your price book page.

If it is a good deal stock up on enough to hold you through to the next sale. Remember, if it is a good price add it to your price book. You can add the price change to your price book even if you’re not ready to purchase the item that week.

Our goal here is to see what the best price is on your ten most used items at the stores you shop. Once you watch for a few months or about 12 weeks you’ll start to see trends.

Adjust and Add As You Go

As you go through the year add any new prices that you see that beat the previous best price.

You will be able to see the trends (how often an item goes on sale).

Why is how often an items goes on sale important? If you know how often an item goes on sale you can estimate how many you will need to buy to have enough until the next sale.

By purchasing even just a few extra cans or boxes when you find them at your low price, you can avoid purchasing them when they are not on sale.

In time you will have a good stock of food and other items on hand. This will save money because now you will only be purchasing the item at the low price and passing on purchasing the item when the price is high.

Examples of Prices from my Price Book (updated for 2023)

Lunchmeat $2.99 for 8 ounce package
Peanut butter $1.49 for 16oz (I try to buy at $.09 to $.10 per ounce)
Flour $2.24 for 5 pounds (sometimes I purchase a 25 to 50 pound bag when I can find it at a better price)
Cookies $1.39 or less
Toothpaste $.25 or less
Toothbrushes $.50 or less
Soymilk 64oz for $2.49
Cereal $1.99
Milk $.99 per half gallon
Canned Diced Tomatoes $.88/can
Canned Green Beans $.50/can
Olives $1.49/can (my buy price used to be $.99 but I’ve had to raise it since the prices have gone up so much)

Best Prices = Time to Stock Up

When you know your best price on an item you know when to stock up. When you know how often an item goes on sale you know how much to buy to hold you over to the next sale.

Once you get some prices in your price book you’ll have a guide to help you know when to stock up and when to wait.

It’s all about having the knowledge so you can make the most of your grocery dollars. Like the stock market, you want to buy low to save the most money. And stock up to have enough on hand until the next sale comes.