Comments on: Creating A Price Book – Putting it into Use

By: What I have learned (so far) about “couponing” « Acting Our Wage

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:06:50 +0000

[...] You can read more about creating your own “price books” HERE. [...]

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:35:34 +0000

Here’s the thing I think is the coolest about price books. WalMart (and many other stores) honor competitor’s advertised sale prices which saves on gas if you know your prices. Our WalMart honors your price book, too. Sometimes a manager will phone to confirm a price, but mostly they just ring it up. I guess they think you’re pretty serious if you have all the prices from all the grocery chains written in a notebook.

By: lynette355

lynette355 — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:27:09 +0000

I understand why a price book if you have access to different stores. But in my lil town we have 1—yes 1 grocery store. And the 2 dollar stores. Not much selection.

To shop else where requires a 60+ mile round trip. I just do not see the sense in paying for the gas and time to go “out of town” for items I can find here. Even at a lower price.

I look for other ways to save. Discount meats and fresh produce. What is on sale and where can I stock up on items.

Any other ideas?

By: China4

China4 — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:45:57 +0000

I mentioned my little old granny in another post, but given the fact that she was the Queen Of Thrift, I’ll mention her again here.

She had grocery shopping down to a fine art. She’d cut out all of her coupons throughout the week, then hop on the bus and do “the route” each Saturday morning, stopping at 5 or 6 grocery stores before returning home with her bounty.

I once asked her if she’d like me to drive her instead (I lived with her at the time) and she looked at me with that sweet little astounded look she had and flat out refused my offer. After all, she claimed, she’d already paid for her bus pass!!

At 20, I thought her time was worth something. But now, at 49, I very much appreciate her frugality.

China4

By: momstheword

momstheword — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:13:50 +0000

Great post! Many years ago, when my husband was out of work for a year, I started my first pricebook and it just saved us so much money.

I printed my form from organizedhome.com but then my husband tweaked it a bit to make it better for our use.

I keep the current sale flyers and my pricebook sheets in a folder instead of on the computer. I carry a little spiral notebook in my purse that has a list (aphabetized) of the lowest rock-bottom price for the items that I purchase. I update that as needed. That way, I always have an idea in case I see a great unadvertised sale while I’m out.

I price shopped at several different stores, recording their prices and then compared to find the best stores in our area. I do most of my shopping at Winco (which accepts coupons but not internet coupons) or Costco.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:25:04 +0000

This is great, I’ve been wanting to start a price book for awhile now, but have been unsure how to go about doing it efficiently. Is there anyway you could post a sample of your spreadsheet?

By: Jaimie

Jaimie — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:20:57 +0000

Oh, and I didn’t mention – the reason I still go to Aldi (the one out of the way for me) is there are about 10 non-perishable or semi-perishable (can be frozen) items there that cost at least $1 less than any comparable items at other stores. Each. So I buy those at once in one trip. Things like kitty litter, bagels, frozen quick foods, sugar free drink mix, some soups and condiments, cereal bars, some cereals, breads.

By: Jaimie

Jaimie — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:16:11 +0000

@ Mother Hen – I have my price book on my computer in a spreadsheet, sorted by item, then a line for each store. I don’t bring it with me – I plan out the shopping in advance and then use my receipts to enter new data.

@ Camille – I have 4 stores I go to. Three are all on my way home from work (two of the three are across the street from each other, the third is literally next door to where I work in the same plaza). The 4th (Aldi) is a bit of a hike and I plan my trips there to be only once a month if I can help it and stock up on the items there that I cannot beat the price of.

For me and my situation, it doesn’t add much time or gas to go to three stores vs one. When I used to only go to two stores (Aldi and Walmart, a Walmart was on the way home from Aldi for me) it would take about 90 minutes round trip. Now, going to three stores on my way home from work adds about 60-90 minutes to my overall coming home time, so actually, it sort of saves me time to do it this way instead. But that’s for my situation. Everyone has to evaluate what works for them as far as where stores are located and the time it takes.

I have found once you get used to a store’s layout, shopping with a specific list and only going to the areas you need takes much less time than continually browsing.

By: Camille

Camille — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:15:06 +0000

My question is, how many stores do you go to on average? Also, with gas going back up, don’t you spend the pennies you think you are saving just by running around more? Not to mention what your time is worth.

Just curious.

By: Mother Hen

Mother Hen — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:03:05 +0000

The trouble I run into whenever I try to make a price book is format. Do you have any advice on that? What sort of book? Spiral notebook? 3 ring binder? What kind of columns? Do you sort by store or item?
Thanks!