Comparison Shopping with a Price Book?

Have you ever looked at the cost of an item on the grocery or drugstore shelf and wondered if you could find the item at a different store even cheaper?

If so you have just applied the concept of a price book. Amy Dacyczyn believed in the value of a price book. You can read a letter from her regarding saving money on your food bill where she also mentions price books here.

Amy who wrote The Tightwad Gazette, wondered if "the various sizes and brands was part of a huge conspiracy to confuse consumers?"  She says the keeping of a price book "revolutionized our shopping strategy more than anything else we did". 

If you don't know what a price book is, it's a frugal tool that people have used for years to purchase items at the lowest possible price. It is also how some frugal people build up their stock pile. When I find a good deal, I buy enough to get me through until the next sale, which is usually twelve weeks, although I usually buy them in quantities of ten. 

This week Food City has canned salmon on sale for $1.99 per can. I already have two cans of salmon in my pantry and we have this item for dinner about once a month, so I bought two more cans, which is enough to last the rest of the year. During that time I'm sure it will go on sale again and I can stock up again.  

A price book is related to the concept of watching the sales, but takes that tactic a step further. Some people use their price book to track actual retail prices of specific items on a week to week basis. Some people do not go that far into the details, but either way will work and I would use the one that you know you will do and works for you. 

Image Credit: The Tightwad Gazette

In a price book each page will contain prices for one item like the photo above. The pages of items will be in alphabetical order for quick reference. Amy includes her code for the name of each store, the brand, the size of the item, and the unit price. Doing this really gave Amy a feeling of control over her food budget. 

Some people today may consider a price book to be archaic. With a computer or smartphone these days people can go online and find the lowest price while staying at home. Or, if you are standing in a store it's easy enough to check the price of the same item in another store if you have your smart phone with you. 

Recently I needed to purchase Ibuprofen. I simply went online and compared the price of each bottle at Walmart and Amazon. I checked these two merchants because I can get free shipping with them. 

500 Ibuprofen at Amazon $9.99 

1,000 Ibuprofen at Walmart $13.98

As you can tell here, Walmart had the best deal on the Ibuprofen the day I checked. That might not always be the case though. It pays to check before making a purchase. 
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, my price book consisted of all the items I bought and the price I paid on a Word document. It was easy enough to change the prices as needed or check a price and I could easily print it out as it was only one page. 
If you'd like to read how Trent over at The Simple Dollar dos his price book, you can read about that here. 
Whatever system you use this is one frugal tool that will help you save money on your food bill. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

My Frugal Week

Image Credit

These are some of the things we've done this week to save money:

We shopped at Staples on Saturday the 28th and were able to pick up this free, reusable shopping bag. 

I gathered up all the nuts from all the stockings that Santa left and put them all in a big bowl. 

I did the same thing with the candy canes and fruit. 

Some of the oranges were actually from a school fundraiser. Pictured below is a box of oranges that I purchased through a school fund raiser. This is a 20 pound box of oranges and I paid $19.00 for the box, and there were 30 oranges in the box, so 63¢ per orange. Not the best buy, but supporting a good cause. 

Received a piece of mail with a nickle attached to it. :)

We had several no spending days this week. We have been out of school/work due to Christmas break and therefore had no reason to get out of the house, so we stayed home. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday we stayed home and spent no money. 

We ate every meal at home this week, and therefore spent no money on dining out.

I did a lot of reading, both on and offline this week. One of my favorite online articles of the week was over at Three Thrifty Guys, where Travis from Enemy of Debt shared his story of "How I Paid Off Over 100K in Debt". Very, very inspiring article. 

When we did venture out of the house this week we ended up at McKay's Used Books where we still had a credit left over from our last visit. So, I was able to pick up several new to me books that I want to read for free and we still have a credit left over for the next time we visit.

I was able to pick up Howard Lyman's "Mad Cowboy" book, which has been on my wish list at Amazon for a while now. 

I also picked up several other books. 

I picked up Ellie Kay's "A Tip A Day". 

I also picked up my favorite couponing book, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half". I had loaned this book out two years ago and haven't gotten it back yet, so I was glad to pick this one up again for free. 

I also went to Bi-Lo to run an errand, and while we were there we were able to enter a drawing for a $25o gift certificate for groceries. We were also given this free insulated reusable bag. 

My daughter had been wanting to see Wreck It Ralph on DVD, but I wasn't going to pay the $19.96 asking price, so we rented it on Redbox for $1.32. 

I purchased gas for $2.80 a gallon today using my Bi-Lo Bonus card and their fuel perks program. I saved 25¢ a gallon and purchased 11.36 gallons, so a total savings of $2.84. 

I was able to pick up three loaves of bread for garlic bread on the bakery reduction rack for $1.18 each.

I found a cheaper source of saltine crackers this week. Before the recession we paid 88¢ for a box of saltine crackers, but that price has risen to $1.78. 

While shopping at Fresh & Low this week, I was able to purchase Always Save saltines for $1.01 a box, which is a savings of 77¢. Continually looking for a better price on items we regularly purchase is a regular part of the frugal lifestyle. 

And last, but not least today we picked up several copies of the Sunday newspaper as there are five inserts in each one today. A good coupon day for sure. 

What are some of the frugal things you've done to save money this week?
Belinda

CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer

© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.

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