Living Behind The Curve

Every Monday is Intents and Purchases day at Living Behind the Curve.

Here’s a fabulous idea for a project!

Get yourself a tiny notebook.

On each page, write the name of something you consume.

Every time you’re at a store or perusing a sale flier, write down what that item costs.

Now remember to take the book with you every time you shop.

Sound like fun? I don’t particularly think so either.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the concept, a price book is used to track regular and sale prices of goods, usually groceries and consumables. With this data, you know if something is a good deal in comparison to other deals you can get, and you know where to go for the best price when you need something. I was first introduced to the concept in Amy Dacyzyn’s Tightwad Gazette. Get Rich Slowly sums Amy’s concept up nicely here.

While I have kept a price book several times in my life, I gave up the practice for several reasons:

• I’m forgetful. I never remembered to take it with me when I was shopping.
• It’s expensive. Price books take time to maintain. I’ve found that one hour of my time per week is more valuable than the few cents I may save on chicken.
• It’s inaccurate. Gas prices change, and food prices change with them.

A lot of good can come out of price booking, however. Because of the research I’ve done in the past, I know that (at current prices) powdered milk is cheaper in the tiny boxes from the grocery store than it is in bulk from the discount grocer. I know that when we run out of the 20 or so pounds of pasta in the basement, I won’t pay more than 25 cents per pound to replace it – a sale price that has been consistent over the past few years. I also know that WaWa always has the best price on half and half, no matter how much dairy fluctuates.

Because of this, there are certain things I still do track loosely, on a reference sheet that I keep in my pocket on our shopping days. I’ve found that I get the most value from tracking these items, because the sale prices are fairly consistent and we buy them often enough to keep the data current.

• Meat and poultry (priced per pound, by cut)
• Toilet paper (priced per roll)
• Laundry detergent (I use the small bottles of concentrated detergent, because it’s easier on my back – but it’s expensive, so I buy multiple bottles when it’s on sale)
• Shampoo and conditioner (Again, we buy in bulk when the price is too good to pass up –- we probably won’t need any for another year)

While I’ve learned a lot from my price booking experiences, I plan to stay with my reference sheet for now. What are your experiences with the tiny book of numbers? Tell me all about it in the comments.