How to Lower your Grocery Bill with a Price Book

Price book helps keep track of prices and enables you to know which store has the best prices for the items you purchase most often. As a result, you can plan your grocery shopping trips accordingly to save money.

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Cost of living has risen significantly in the last few years. Grocery shopping is one of the most crucial part of our lives. We can’t ignore the fact though that it is becoming increasingly difficult to afford many items from our grocery shopping list.

An average family spends around $160 per week on groceries. That adds up to $8,320 every year! Yet some families spend just $50 per week or less on groceries.

Ever wonder how do they do that.

Probably they make their own bread and coffee. But many others make use of a price book to keep track of prices and get the best deals.

What is a Price Book?

A price book, or a price comparison chart, is a collection of information on products/items that you purchase routinely at different stores for personal, family or household use.

Having one can make a huge difference for your family as well. Knowing which items are cheaper at your local grocery store compared to other areas around your local area can give you the upper hand in terms of saving money.

Why Use a Price Book?

There are several reasons why using a price book will save you money on groceries. When using price book, you will:

• Know which store has the best prices for your favorite items.
• Be able to save money.
• Plan your shopping trips without wasting time or money going from store to store looking for cheaper items.
• Save gas and fuel costs with proper grocery trip planning.
• Avoid impulse buying.

Free Printable Price Book

If you wish to use pre-made template, feel free to download and print this Free Printable Price Book Template.

This powerful tool that helps keep track of the best prices in your local stores. Knowing the prices upfront is one of the best strategies to keep the expenses in check.

When you see an item on sale in a flyer, you can evaluate if the reduced price is actually the best price in your area.

How to use Price Book Template?

To use this price book template, you can list major items you shop for frequently at grocery stores. Bread, milk, cereals, vegetables, some other occasional stuff for special occasions.

Write down the prices of those items every time you go to the store, with the brand name, price and unit price. Once you have enough information about an item, you will be able to compare and figure out the lowest price.

Know the Unit Price for Grocery Items

Unit price for each item is the most important part of this system. Unit can be per pound, gallons, liters or an item.

It is mostly listed on the label of those items but you can also calculate it by dividing the total price by the unit.

For example, for 4 boxes of Cheerios, each one is 525g. Total price for 1 box (595g) is $3.94. $3.94 divided by 1 box (595g) is 75c per 100g.

Estimating the price of the product based on unit per price is very important to make sure that you are getting a great deal. Unit price is very important because no matter what the size or quantity of the product is, you will be able to compare rationally.

How to Create your own Price Book?

Alternatively, you can create your own price book – adding the columns and information of your choice.

Creating a price book is a great way for anyone who buys household goods or personal care items on a regular basis. No matter if it’s weekly, monthly or even yearly. It doesn’t take much time and can be done in one sitting, once you have all the information.

Let’s take a look at how to actually create one.

• Gather your receipts from the past month or two.
• Sort through the receipts and pull out all of the items that you have purchased.
• Make a list of these items, including the price, date and store where it was purchased.
• Create a table or spreadsheet with four columns: Item, Price, Date, Store.
• Record each item in the appropriate column with the date you purchased it.
• Write down the price per unit or weight.
• Track your purchases for a minimum of four weeks.
• Use these items to create a grocery list.

In order to determine which store has the best price, compare the lowest priced stores from each category. This will give you a better idea on where it’s cheaper for certain items, compared to other areas in and around your local area.

If there is not a large difference between one store’s prices to another, you can pick the store that is most convenient for you.

Creating a price book doesn’t take long at all; the longest part is probably creating the table or spreadsheet if you choose to do so. However, it’s all worth it in the end, especially if you’re looking for ways to lower your grocery bill.

Know when to buy or not buy with Price book

A price book is a great way of knowing when the best time to buy certain items are and which store offers prices that are cheaper than others.

As well, utilizing this tool can help you know when it’s not a good idea to buy an item, even if it is on sale. All of which will help you save money on groceries as well as other household goods and personal care items.

These are an effective way to lower your grocery bill, as they allow you to compare prices between stores and find the best deals.

You can also become more aware of what items are typically priced higher or lower at different stores, which can help you make more informed decisions when shopping.

Overall, using a price book can be a cost-effective way to reduce your grocery bill.