How to make a price book

 This is possibly one of the most influential things you can do to reduce your grocery bill. 

Seriously. Unless you live in a seriously isolated area and have only one purchasing option for groceries, this is something that will make a really big difference. 

I mentioned in a recent post that I use this technique. I've only recently started using it in this format regularly after I realized that looking up prices on a store's website in the middle of an asile to price compare was really impractical. I had a basic idea of prices at different places in my head before this, but having it written down has been much better. 

I used a note taking app on my phone to set mine up; others might be more comfortable with a small notebook or index card binder (something small and easy to keep in a purse). I prefer the app because it's easy to re- organize if I need to, or create a new page if I realize I need it. Do what works best for you. 

 Each item gets its own "page." 

I grouped mine by stuff likely to be found in the same aisle so that it's easy to find pages while I'm shopping to update or check.  

When I was first setting this up, I sat down and created a page for each and every thing that we consistently buy that I could think of. It's not that hard to create new pages, but it's less work to enter data if the page already exists. 

I enter data as I grocery shop. The data entry looks like this: 

I write down the store, the unit size, the price per ounce (or pound, for bigger stuff), and sometimes the brand. I either do it right there in the store, or I'll take a picture of the tag with my phone and write down the information when I get a moment at home (or a few days to a week later...for me, it's really better to do it in store). 

A few notes about the data I collect:

- I generally only jot down the cheapest price for a given item in each store, not all the prices on all the brands. The only exception is where cheapest isn't actually economical or worth it, like dish soap (the cheap stuff is diluted with a lot of water and you have to use more of it). In those cases, I write down the price for the type or brand we use. 

- Sometimes (like in the vinegar example above) I find out that the price differences aren't worth changing my shopping habits over. 0.04¢ per ounce is not worth remembering to grab something at a certain store , but 10¢ per ounce definitely is. 

- This strategy allows us to use our resources more efficiently. We don't drive to a certain city a couple hours away just to grocery shop but if we're already in that area for something else, we have the data to know if it's worth it to stock up at stores we don't usually have access to. 

This is why we brought a box of canned tomato and chilies home from an Aldi's in Oklahoma when we went on vacation this past summer. They were a better price than the same groceries at home.