Clever Homemaking

One of the easiest and quickest ways to save money is cut your grocery bill. You can cut your grocery bill dramatically just by knowing the lowest price on the items you buy the most. Not only will you know which store has the lowest price, you can also stock up when the price hits rock bottom. (You can also spot the best time to use your coupons for even more savings!)

There are many ways to create a pricebook. Some people use a spreadsheet on the computer . Some people keep one master list of those items they buy the most. Others, like me, keep a sheet for each grocery item. I’m going to show you how to create your own pricebook by describing how I created mine.

My pricebook is contained in a three-ring planner. The reasons I chose this planner:

• the size of a standard three ring binder. This allows me to use any standard 8.5 x 11 paper. Special sizes or special hole configurations make it hard to customize your own book using your own paper.
• has a zipper closure around the edge of the binder. I keep my coupons in my pricebook as well as pockets with loose leaf paper. A zipper ensures no accidental coupon/paper spills occur.
• has pen holders. I find it necessary to mark items off my grocery list while I’m shopping. My pen also comes in handy when I remember something in the middle of the week to add to my grocery list. Everything I need is in one place.
• has a built in calculator. This is a luxury and not a requirement when building your pricebook. A standard spiral or notebook is all you need, but the built in calculator was a wonderful benefit to my purchase. If you find yourself really utilizing your pricebook and find a calculator necessary, you can purchase a calculator with built in binder holes. You can also get a small calculator that will fit in a pocket inside your book.

The first page in my pricebook is my shopping list for the current week. It is organized by aisle/food type.

My coupons are directly behind my shopping list. I have several pocket pages that hold my coupons. You can use baseball card pages, photo pages, or dvd pages to quickly sort your coupons. I also have a separate zipper pocket page that holds the coupons that match my shopping list. These are pulled while creating my list and kept together to easily hand the grocery cashier. If I will be visiting more than one store, they are simply separated by the use of paper clips.

My “pricebook” is behind my coupons. As I mentioned, I use one sheet of paper per grocery item I purchase. The sheet of paper lists:

• the item. For my example, we will use “sour cream”.
• the lowest price I have found. This is at the top of the page. I keep it updated each time I purchase the item for a lower price per unit.
• the date. Each row starts with the date of purchase (or sale). I will sometimes write down the price of an item from a sales ad even if I’m not purchasing the item that week. This helps to track trends at your grocery store.
• the store. I use a code for each store I visit.
• the brand. For example, “Daisy” brand if my sour cream is name brand stuff or simply “Generic” if its the store brand.
• the price. The price I paid for the entire package. For example, I paid $.84 for 8 oz of sour cream.
• the price per unit. For example, my sour cream is .11/oz. (.84 divided by 8 oz)
• sale information. Was the item on sale? It helps to know what the item costs at its regular price at each store vs. the sale price. You can also note if you had a coupon to use. This will help track trends as well.

Behind my “pricebook” I have a pocket large enough to hold several sheets of paper. In this pocket, I store blank grocery list sheets for creating my shopping list and some blank pricebook paper for adding additional items to my pricebook.

I also have an additional pocket where I stick my grocery store sales ad. Sometimes you will find the need to double check the advertised sale versus what is advertised on the shelf.

The completed pricebook is surprisingly easy to use when:

• creating your shopping list. A great way to save money is to create your menu for the week based on the sales in your grocery stores’ weekly flier. Your pricebook will help you determine if the advertised sale price is truly a sale. If the item matches your lowest recorded price, it might be a great time for you to stock up. Over time you will spot trends within your pricebook which will help you determine how much you should stock up before the lowest price will appear again.
• at the grocery store. When I grab my grocery cart in the store, I unzip my pricebook and open it across the front section of the cart. The first page is my shopping list, and I simply mark off each item as it goes into the cart. Occasionally you will come across unadvertised sales and managers specials. This is where easy access to your coupons and your price sheets really come in handy. One flip through your coupons plus a glance at your lowest recorded price will let you know if you have truly stumbled upon a great deal.

Use your receipt from the grocery store to enter the prices you paid during your latest shopping trip. After a while, you will only need to update your pricebook when you find a lowest price for the item.

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Pricebook Template