I’ve worked on my Price Book over the past week entering my grocery data into the Open Office spreadsheet. It’s a respectable amount of data and over time should help me better identify where I need to make changes if any are needed, as I’m sure they will be. As I continue to make purchases or a price changes, the data will continue to grow. I want to be able to see some historical data so some items may be listed twice but with different values. I may also have an item listed twice due to a price difference for two stores. I have one store that doubles one like coupon per transaction in my area up to $1.00, and while I think that many of the items are overpriced at this grocery store, a doubled coupon will sometimes beat the price of another store.

I have a few items listed that don’t include pricing information yet. For these entries I either can’t locate a receipt for the item or haven’t purchased it in quite some time and can’t remember the pricing information. I still want to include it in the price book because it is something that I will purchase in the future. Having the incomplete entries on my price sheet for things that I already buy will allow me to fill in the price while grocery shopping.

The price book comes in handy when an item is available in different sizes. I can quickly compare the unit price instead of relying on the price of the item to determine which is the better price. An example is an entry for shredded cheese purchased at Aldi in a 12 oz. package and Kraft Cheddar Cheese purchased at Buy4Less in an 8 oz. package. The unit price for Kraft Cheddar Cheese is $.19 and the unit price for shredded cheese at Aldi is $.25.  While not a huge difference in unit price, it is a difference of $.48 for 8oz. Here’s where the price book helps stretch my budget. At the $.19 unit price I would pay $5.92 for four 8oz packages of cheese, but at the $.25 unit price I would pay $8.00 for that same amount of cheese. The $.19 unit price clearly wins out, but not breaking it down by unit price would make it difficult to determine the savings.

My price sheet is now in the front of my coupon binder, and over time I think it will allow me to reduce my grocery budget, or at least identify items that don’t vary in price. Instead of putting it into a plastic sleeve I’ve left it accessible so that I can write any notes that I need to. Check here for more on What is a Price Book.

What is a price book? A price book is an itemized list of grocery items that will allow you to easily identify the best price you’ve paid for an item in the past. Why a price book? I am starting a price book because I think it will help me determine areas where I can make further savings. I would like to see that the steps I’m taking are truly netting me the lowest price on an item at any particular time.

I also need a price book because I have a hard time remembering what I pay for items over the course of my shopping.  Sometimes this forgetfulness is due to infrequency of purchasing an item, and other times it’s just because I simply can’t remember all those prices in my head. I have a few items that I absolutely know the top price that I will pay for an item, like cereal for instance. I never buy generic cereal and I rarely pay more than a dollar for a box of cereal. I wait for a sale, combine the sale with my coupon and stock up while it is on sale. If it runs out during the sale, I get a rain check. The other thing a price book is good for is to determine if a sale price is actually a sale or if it is just the normal price.

A price book is really up to the individual to create since it is based on the items that they buy for their family. Since grocery prices vary by region and sometimes even in the same city, it only makes since that the price book is created by the individual that intends to use it. Price books are easy to start, and once you have an established price book, they are easy to maintain. To start your price book all you need are your last two or three grocery receipts which will give you the price. Then, hunt down the matching items in your cabinet or pantry to get the size of the product (unless of course you have that information memorized). With the price and the size you can determine the per unit price. The per unit price will be based on whatever makes sense for the item you are purchasing. If you are purchasing olive oil or a bottle of syrup it makes sense to use ounces. If you are purchasing sugar or flour it makes sense to use pounds for the per unit price. The per unit price will allow you to easily look at your price sheet and with the help of a calculator quickly determine if the sale price is truly a good price.

With a price book you will be able to identify quite easily if it is more economical to purchase an item in bulk at a club store or on sale at your local grocery store. Using a price book will also give you a clearer indication of a stores sales cycle and allow you to make your purchases during the lowest price possible.

I’m starting my price book in our Open Office program that is similar to Excel. This will allow me to put all my information in and easily add new items or categories, and then print the price sheet to keep in my coupon binder.  The great thing is that if the price doesn’t change there is nothing to do. The spreadsheet will allow the computer to calculate your per unit price. 

I will update my status on my endeavor to create a Price Book. Posting here will certainly give me motivation to get it started and finish it. 

On a side note, I’ve been searching for a coupon binder that zips. I can only imagine what I would feel like if my coupons went flying through the air. I finally found one at Staples a few nights ago. I went just to get a general price on the binders and after browsing the limited selection felt that the prices were a little steep. Prices varied from around $15 all the way up to $30ish. I had  passed a clearance rack on the way to the binders and thought I would give it a glance to see if they had any on clearance. Lo and behold a purple zipper binder (not my first color choice) was on clearance for $12 something. I thought I had better grab that while I had the chance. After I corralled the kids and finally made it to the register I was in total shock because the binder rang up at $2.50. I felt like I was stealing it. It was great! I further inspected the binder when I got home thinking there must be something wrong with it for the $2.50 price, but it’s perfect.