3. THE VALUE OF A PRICE BOOK
Of all the things I have done over the years to save money, time and energy, creating a Price Book is the one that tops the list. Of course, when I first started collecting prices for the items on my grocery list I had no idea I was building a resource that would save us thousands and thousands of dollars over the years. I was simply making a note of where I could get the best prices for the things I wanted.
And that’s basically what a Price Book is: a guide you can quickly refer to so you know the lowest possible price for your grocery items, and where and when to buy them.
The concept of a Price Book is most likely new to you. It’s not something we Australians are familiar with using. But it sure makes shopping and saving money easy. Simply by recording the price of every item you buy in a little notebook, you have a ready reckoner of just where you’ll be able to get the very best price.
Setting up Your Price Book
You will need:
A three- or four-ring binder
Paper to fit the binder
Hole punch
Divider tabs to fit the binder – one for each item category
Step 1
Start saving your grocery dockets and junk mail. You’ll use these to record the price of things you buy while you are preparing your Price Book. Itemised supermarket dockets are a Price Book’s best friend. On them, products you buy will be listed by name, and usually size or weight, as well as the item price, so you can jump start your Price Book by recording data from every receipt you can find.
Step 2
Copy and print the Price Book page template to fit your binder (see p31). I prefer A5 as it’s small enough to take shopping with me if I feel the urge. You may prefer A4, as you’ll get more prices per page with this larger size but it’s not as convenient to carry with you. Print off a few copies – you’ll be surprised at just how many individual items you actually buy.
Step 3
For convenience (and your sanity), develop a list of store codes. Use an abbreviation for each supermarket, discount store and warehouse store you shop at regularly. You can use my codes for the national stores or create your own simple codes for the shops you frequent so you’ll be able to see at a glance where the best prices are.
I use the following codes in my Price Book:
A = Aldi
C = Coles
CC = Costco
W = Woolworths
RS = Reject Shop
GL = GoLo
IGA = IGA
FL = Foodland
DM = Dandenong Market
CM = Carribean Market
DMO = Discount Meat Outlet
BC = Baiada chicken outlet
TM = Tasman Meats
UW = Universal Wholesalers
Occasionally something I buy will come on sale at a shop or outlet I wouldn’t normally visit. In this case I just write the name of the store in the ‘Store’ column in case I create a code for it and then forget what it means!
Step 4
Decide on the categories you’re going to use for your Price Book. I use the same categories as the Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet (see p28), in alphabetical order, for convenience. The categories in my Price Book are:
Baking
Beverages
Bread
Cans and Jars
Cereals
Chemist
Condiments
Dairy
Deli
Frozen Foods
Frozen Vegetables
Fruit and Veg
General Groceries
Herbs and Spices
Kitchen Products
Laundry Products
Lunches
Meat, Poultry, Fish
Miscellaneous
Spreads
Staples
Toiletries
Treats and Snack Foods
Wraps and Bags
Each category has a tabbed divider, with its name written on the tab. Being alphabetical, they are easy to find when I am updating my Price Book or looking for a product price.
Step 5
Each Price Book page has six columns: Brand, Size, Price, Unit Price, Store and Date. At the top of the page there is space to write the item name, its category, the maximum price you are prepared to pay and the sale cycle frequency. See p31 for an example of what a Price Book page looks like.
Cheapskates Tip: Keep a calculator handy for unit price calculations – it makes working them out so much easier. I have a small calculator tucked into the front pocket of my Price Book. I also keep a couple of pens in the pocket so I don’t have to go searching when I want to do a quick update. To find any item’s unit price, divide the cost of the item by the number of units (grams, kilograms, millilitres, litres, pieces, etc).
Now give each page in your Price Book an item name, eg soap powder, cornflakes, milk powder, rice, toilet paper, etc. On this page you will faithfully record the date, store and price for that item every time you buy it, or see it on sale somewhere. File them in their categories so you can find them in a hurry.
Step 6
Start recording your prices and building up your Price Book. I like to begin by putting the receipts in date order. This makes it easier to see the sale cycle develop. You’ll see how particular stores have items on sale at three-week, four-week or six-week intervals. You’ll also see that the sales follow each other. When an item is on sale at Store A this week, it will be on sale at Store B in the next couple of weeks, Store C the following week and then back to Store A to start the cycle all over again.
Watch the sale cycles and fit them into your once-a-month shopping. If you miss the sale one month, it will fall into your shopping cycle either the next month or the one after. When it does, stock up. Buy as much as you need to last until the sale cycle falls in line with your shopping cycle again.
For example if my favourite coffee is on sale at Store A on my shopping day, I buy two, using my slush fund (see Chapter 7). I know that I will be shopping again in four weeks and that it won’t be on sale then because it’s on a six weekly rotation. By working out the sale cycle I know that two tins of coffee will last me until it’s on sale again on my shopping day in two months’ time.
Cheapskates Tip: Every now and then you will find a really, really, really good price on an item and it will be in every store. This generally indicates either a huge price increase is on its way or the product is about to undergo a change of packaging or is being replaced or deleted from the regular range, so take the chance to stock up. This is when you’ll really appreciate the value of your Price Book. You’ll be able to check back to your Price Book and see how long it is since the price has been so low, what the usual sale cycle is for the item and if it really is an extra special price, and so worth using the slush fund to stock up.
Cheapskates Tip: As you shop each week, fortnight or month, note prices in your Price Book. If supermarket personnel confront you, explain to them that you are simply keeping track of prices for your own personal use when shopping. Be polite, and firm. If they continue the confrontation, report the staff member and the supermarket to head office. You are patronising their store, and for that they really should know that ‘the customer is always right’.
Step 7
You’ve scrounged through your purse, handbag and the fruit bowl for dockets, printed off Price Book pages, named your categories and entered your data, and now it’s time to shop. Like good wine, a Price Book’s value increases with age. At first, you’ll be filling in initial entries for many, many product pages but as time passes, the Price Book’s growth will give you a clear view of each item’s sale cycle.
Build your baby Price Book each time you shop. See a great special at Supermarket A, but you don’t need the product that week? Record it in your Price Book. Note the last time it was that price at that store and you’ll find their sales cycle. You’ll know to return next sale cycle, ready to buy.
After three or four months you’ll find that you won’t need to update your Price Book as often. With a mature Price Book, item entries slow. Once you’ve sampled prices at several supermarkets, the discount stores and warehouse outlets, you will only enter a new price if it is lower than your existing entries.
As your Price Book matures, be prepared for surprises! No single traditional supermarket has the lowest prices in every area, no matter what their advertising jingles say. Approach the Price Book exercise with an open mind; you’ll find surprising bargains and high price shocks in the most amazing places.
By the time you have three or four months of prices stored in your Price Book your recording will slow right down. You’ll have a good idea of the sale cycle and the lowest prices at each store. From now on you’ll only record a price if it changes. You’ll be in maintenance mode and shopping will be a breeze with your Price Book data.
The Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet
If you really want to save money, you track your spending, noting the leaks in your budget. If you want to save money on your grocery bill you track your grocery spending. Keeping a written record (either on paper or on your PC) of where your grocery dollars are going gives you a very clear picture of just how much grocery money is wasted (or not spent wisely).
I use a spreadsheet to keep a record of my grocery spending each month. I keep my receipts each time I shop and enter them into the spreadsheet when I get home, or as soon as possible after. I can see straight away where the money goes each time I visit the supermarket or greengrocer or butcher and I have an exact picture of how much grocery money is used for meat or fruit and vegetables or cleaning supplies or biscuits or snack foods. This is the information I use to keep my grocery bill under control, and it is the information you need to effectively cut your grocery spending.
I can see at a glance just how much is being spent in each category and pull back on the things that get a little out of control. When you know where your grocery money is going, you can start working on getting it as low as you can without starving your family. For a Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet template, see next page.
Ready, Set, Save!
Over time, you’ll build an impressive database of local supermarket pricing information. You’ll know that large tins of name-brand coffee will be offered on sale at six-week intervals, rotating around the three major supermarkets. You’ll know when to stock up on steaks, or soft drink, or diet foods. You’ll understand that toilet paper will be offered at 12 for $2.95 every six weeks and you’ll purchase six weeks’ worth during that buying opportunity.
You’ll also know, at a glance, when to buy in bulk and when to look for a better deal at the supermarket. Not all bulk purchases represent true bargains. With your Price Book, you’ll know to the cent when to load up on the big bag of flour, and when to pass it up in favour of the supermarket’s loss leader of the week.
Most of all, a Price Book will reveal your target price: a realistic, rock-bottom price goal for each item listed in your book. Whether it’s cereal for $1.99 per box or detergent at 9 cents per use, you’ll have the information you need to know when a bargain is truly a bargain.
Price Books. They give you a head start over the chaotic, ever-changing supermarket price game. Save money, save time, save energy and get organised at the supermarket with a Price Book!
