Price Book Data.....Part 2

More on the Price Book numbers......


Ground Beef...2.28/3.69  3.79/3.99   2.79/2.99   2.49/3.89  3.49/2.99  2.79/3.99
Chuck Roast....3.99/3.99  2.99/3.99     3.79/3.79   3.99/5.29  2.99/3.99  3.99/3.99
Hot Dogs....4.99/5.99  4.99/5.99    4.99/3.00   5.39/3.50  3.99/5.99  5.39/5.99
Pork....3.99/3.00  3.99/2.99   3.49/2.99   2.99/3.69  1.99/2.49  3.49/3.69
Bacon....2.98/3.50  3.99/3.50   3.99/3.00   2.98/4.00  3.50/3.49  3.99/3.50
Chicken Breast....2.99/3.09  2.99/3.49    2.99/3.99   1.89/3.29  2.99/3.19  .99/3.29
Chicken Whole.... .78/1.69  1.39/1.89    1.59/1.49   1.59/1.79  1.29/1.69  1.59/1.69
Salmon....10.00/7.99  0.00/7.99   9.99/7.99   6.99/7.99  6.99/7.99  11.16/7.99
Cheese....1.77/2.99  2.00/2.00    1.75/2.00   1.66/2.00  1.50/3.00  2.00/2.50
Butter.....3.00/3.50  3.49/3.98    2.50/2.50   3.00/3.00  3.49/3.50  3.00/3.50
Eggs....1.93/1.50  1.79/1.89     1.83/1.53   1.25/1.99  2.09/1.99  2.09/1.99
Carrots.... .90/1.00  .75/1.29    .90/1.69   .90/1.00  .75/.78  .99/1.00
Potatoes....1.48/2.50  2.99/2.99  1.50/2.00   .94/2.50  2.00/3.99  2.99/2.50
Celery.....1.69/2.59  1.99/1.89    2.99/1.50   1.49/1.50  1.99/2.50  1.99/2.59
Onion..... .49/.75  1.69/1.00  .59/1.69   1.69/.75  1.25/1.99  1.29/1.50
Salad Greens....2.50/1.95  2.50/1.85   2.50/1.85   1.99/1.85  2.50/1.85  2.50/2.50
Pasta..... .88/1.00  1.00/1.00   1.00/1.00   1.25/1.25  1.00/1.00  1.00/1.00
Spaghetti Sauce.... .88/1.00  1.33/1.25    1.50/2.00   1.66/1.50  1.00/1.25  1.00/1.25
Coffee....5.65 lb/5.12 lb  5.65 lb/4.16 lb   (4.00)5.65/4.85*   4.32/4.80  5.65/4.80  3.87/4.35
Soup Tomato...1.05/.75  1.05/1.00   .50/.69   .79/.69  1.05/.75  .79/1.00
Soup Cream....1.00/.75  1.29/1.39    .99/.75   .99/.75  .80/.99  .99/1.00
Flour.....2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19   2.00/2.19   2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19
Sugar.....2.69/2.69   2.69/2.69   2.50/2.69   2.69/2.69  2.50/2.69  2.89/2.50
Brown Sugar...1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69    1.89/1.69   1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69
Honey.....4.00 lb/3.45 lb  4.00 lb/3.45 lb    4.00 lb/3.32 lb   4.00 lb/4.00 lb  4.29 lb/3.32 lb  4.00 lb/3.43 lb
Deli Ham...5.99/7.99  4.99/5.99   4.99/7.99   3.99/5.99  4.99/7.99  4.99/4.99
Deli Provolone...7.99/8.99  4.99/8.99   5.99/8.99   5.99/7.99  5.99/5.99  5.99/7.99
Frozen Pizza...4.49/4.99  5.00/3.33   5.00/3.33   4.00/5.00  5.00/5.00  4.49/3.33
Ice Cream...3.00/3.00  2.50/3.00   3.50/3.00   2.50/3.33  3.75/3.00  2.50/3.00
Frozen Broccoli...1.88/1.50  2.19/2.00    2.09/1.25   2.15/1.59  1.33/1.25  1.33/1.50
Soda....4.99/4.00  4.00/4.00   3.66/3.25   4.00/3.00  4.99/3.67  3.50/4.00
Chips....3.00/3.00  3.00/2.50   2.15/2.15   1.88/2.15  3.50/2.00  2.15/2.15


Now let's pick out our "Rock Bottom Prices".
Go through each item's weekly prices and find the lowest price for each item and when it occurred.


Ground Beef...............2.28 WEEK 1/STORE 1
Chuck Roast....2.99 2.99 WEEK 2,5/STORE 1
Hot Dogs....................3.00  WEEK 3/STORE 2
Pork............................1.99 WEEK 5/STORE 1
Bacon..............2.98 2.98 WEEK 1, 4/STORE 1
Chicken Breast........... .99 WEEK 6/STORE 1
Chicken Whole........... .78 WEEK 1/STORE 1
Salmon.......... 6.99 6.99 WEEK 4,5/STORE 1
Cheese.......................1.50 WEEK 5/STORE 1
Butter.............2.50/2.50   WEEK 3/STORE 1,2
Eggs.......................... 1.25 WEEK 4/STORE 1
Carrots................ .75  .75 WEEK 2,5/STORE 1
Potatoes......................... .94 WEEK 4/STORE 1
Celery.....1.50 1.49/1.50 WEEK 3,4/STORE 2,1,2
Onion.............................. .49 WEEK 1/STORE 1
Salad Greens....1.85 1.85 1.85 1.85 WEEK 2-5/STORE 2
Pasta.................................. .88 WEEK 1/STORE 1
Spaghetti Sauce................. .88 WEEK 1/STORE 1
Coffee...........................4.16 lb WEEK 2/STORE 2
Soup Tomato...................... .50 WEEK 3/STORE 1
Soup Cream.....75 .75 .75  WEEK 1,3,4/STORE 2
Flour......................................2.00 WEEK 3/STORE 1
Sugar..... 2.50  2.50 2.50 WEEK 3,5,6/STORE 1,1,2
Brown Sugar...1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 WEEK 1-6/STORE 2
Honey................3.32 lb  3.32 lb  WEEK 3,5/STORE 2
Deli Ham.............................. 3.99 WEEK 4/STORE 1
Deli Provolone......................4.99 WEEK 2/STORE 1
Frozen Pizza...3.33  3.33  3.33 WEEK 2,3,6/STORE 2
Ice Cream...2.50  2.50  2.50 WEEK 2,4,6/STORE 1
Frozen Broccoli...1.25 1.25  WEEK 3,5/STORE 2
Soda........................3.00 WEEK 4/STORE 2
Chips.......................1.88 WEEK 4/STORE 1

My data tells me that only 9 items were ever less expensive at Store #2.
Going further, 3 items were equally cheap at both stores on different or the same week(s).
And a full 20 of my 30 items were less expensive at Store #1.
So if for whatever reason I can only get to 1 grocery store during any given week, in general, I am better off making the trip to Store #1, rather than Store #2.

This information, that Store #1 is lower on prices for things I buy on average than Store #2 threw me for a loop!  Store #1 is a local Shursave affiliated market.  Physically the store is tiny, with 5 aisles and a very limited selection of brands.  It's what you would call a neighborhood market.  Store #2 is part of the Weis grocery chain, which is a regional mega-market.  It's like a Shop-Rite, a Kroger, an Acme, a Publix, a Harris Teeter, a Giant, etc.  It's a large store with all the amenities(fresh fish dept., bakery, pharmacy, etc.), bells and whistles as it were.  One would assume that the bigger market with all those choices and extras would offer lower prices, huh?  I guess because they probably have unprofitable extras to keep customers shopping there, and all the extra bills(electricity and rent for the much bigger space as well as many more employees to pay), the customer ends up paying for it all in higher food prices.
Just goes to show that more choices and bigger stores aren't always good for the customers bottom line.

Now let's take that last list and remove the Week/Store information from it.....


Ground Beef........2.28 lb
Chuck Roast......2.99 lb
Hot Dogs.............3.00 

Pork....................1.99 lb
Bacon.................2.98 lb
Chicken Breast.......99 lb

Chicken Whole.......78 lb
Salmon.................6.99 lb
Cheese..................1.50 8oz
Butter.................2.50 lb
Eggs......................1.25 dzn

Carrots.................75 lb

Potatoes................ .94  5lb

Celery................1.50 bunch

Onion.................... .49 1lb
Salad Greens......1.85 bag

Pasta...................... .88 1lb
Spaghetti Sauce....... .88 can/jar
Coffee......................4.16 lb

Soup Tomato............ .50

Soup Cream...............75

Flour....................2.00 5lb

Sugar................. 2.50 4lb

Brown Sugar.......1.69 2lb
Honey...................3.32 lb 

Deli Ham.............3.99 lb

Deli Provolone.....4.99 lb

Frozen Pizza..........3.33

Ice Cream..............2.50

Frozen Broccoli.....1.25

Soda................3.00 12pk

Chips....................1.88 bag

These are my current ROCK BOTTOM PRICES for these items. *From here on out I will abbreviate ROCK BOTTOM PRICE as RBP.
These are the prices at which I will buy these items.  These are the prices at which I will stock up on these items, if I have the room to store them.
I can now take these prices and transfer them into my little notebook.  I take this notebook with me(along with a calculator and a pencil)to the grocery store.  If I see an item I want to buy that is "on sale", I'll refer to my RBP list to see if the item is truly on sale at it's lowest price.  If it is, I buy it.

I can see that I need to amend my new RBP list already, because Store #1 has Butter on sale for $2.00 lb.
So I will change my RBP for Butter and make sure I get up to Store #1 this week and stock up.  Butter can be stored in your freezer for a year or more.  This, along with how much butter I have left in my stockpile and how much we use in a month, will affect my decision on how much butter I will buy this week(unless they have a store limit on how much you can purchase).

If I know a RBP price doesn't come around often, I calculate how much of that item I will buy now(according to how much I have to spend and if I have somewhere to store it at home).  You want to buy enough to get you through to the next time that item goes on the best sale price.

If your data tells you an item goes on sale every 3rd week, then you need to buy enough to last your family 3 weeks.  If your family eats 1 box of spaghetti once a week, that means if spaghetti goes on sale every 3rd week, you need to buy 3 boxes of spaghetti when it's on sale to avoid buying it when it's not on best sale price.
Now if you know that your best buy price is .88¢ on spaghetti and you go to the store one week and they are having a special (loss leader or clearance) sale on a brand of spaghetti so that it's .50¢ a box that week, knowing that the best price is .88¢, you instantly know that .50¢ a box is a "one of a kind" special deal and you should stock up according to how much space you have to store boxes of spaghetti, how much extra cash you have in your food budget to pay for extra spaghetti and how much spaghetti your family will consume before the "use by" date on the boxes(though most items can be used well after the "use by" date).

For me personally, if my family ate 1 box of spaghetti per week and the RBP for this item came around every 3rd week, I would buy 4-5 boxes of spaghetti when it was RBP.  Since I have the space for an extra couple of boxes of spaghetti, I'd buy 1 or 2 extra at the RBP.  Pasta is good to have on hand anyway and you never know when you may need an extra box(for trying a new recipe or having unexpected company to dinner and you need to stretch the meal, etc.).
Now if I hit a .50¢ a box one time deal,depending on the "use by" dates, I'd buy 20 boxes.  I probably would be tempted to buy MORE than that but, boxes of pasta take up a fair amount of room and unless you store in airtight buckets, grains can fall pray to weevils as well as mice if you are storing your foodstuffs in a garage or basement.

Now that you have the RBP for the store you shop at most(or a couple of stores), it's time to go see if you can find a lower RBP at other stores you may shop at also.
If you have a produce market, a discount food outlet, a restaurant supply store, an ethnic food store, a bulk foods store, a warehouse store, etc., that you either shop at already or would go to, check their prices out on items you purchase on a regular basis.  If you find only 1 item that's lower in price, it's still may be worth it.
Say you find that spices at the bulk food store are much cheaper than at any other store.  The only thing is that it's quite a distance to drive and you can't be traveling there every week, because if you're using lots of gas, there goes your savings on the food!  So you figure out how often is worth it to you to go to that store.......once a month, once every 3 months or longer?  Pick how often and then calculate how much of every spice you would probably go through during that interval(and throw in a bit more just in case so you don't run out too soon).  Now you have your list and amounts to buy so go figure how much money you need for this trip.  Once you have the funds, go stock up on your spices.  Now you don't need to worry about finding a deal at the grocery store and buying spices for a month, 3 months or longer.

Now that you have your RBP for 30 items, you can add as many items to your price list as you want.
Just add a new item to your Price List and on your next grocery trip, mark down(IN PENCIL)what the price is this week.
Every week you go back to the store, if the price is lower than the price you had recorded, erase it and mark the new lower price.  After 6 weeks or so of doing this, you'll have your RBP for this new item on your Price List.

Now, a word about maintaining your Price Book.
Like any tool, it won't be worth anything if you don't maintain it.
We live in a country with a fairly volatile economy.  Weather affects food prices.  Energy prices affect food prices.  Government regulations affect food prices.  We are plagued by pretty aggressive inflation currently.  So while those RBP in your Price Book are valid today, what goes on in our world affects those prices.
Every few months you need to take out your Price Book and go over your buy prices.
An example, my RBP for whole chickens use to be .69¢ lb.  About 4 months ago, I noticed that I hadn't seen that price for whole chickens for at least 2 months(since August).  At that point my new RBP became .79¢ lb. because that was the lowest price I had found for it since August.
I had to update my buy price for whole chickens in November because sadly, the days of .69¢ lb. chicken around here were gone.
Of course if I see whole chicken for less than .79¢ lb. again I will happily stock my freezer with it! 8-)
But my Price Book got updated.


I'll stop here for now as I feel this is getting quite boring and dry.
If anyone has an questions about Price Booking or How To Save at the Grocery Store in general, please leave questions in the comments or email me directly and I'll be happy to cover what is on your mind.

Sluggy

Today We Start Saving Money At the Grocery Store! How To PRICE BOOK

Ok, if you are an old frugal hand when it comes to the Grocery Store, this isn't for you.
But......if you regularly feel you spend too much on groceries, it's time to take control of your money!

Want to know my secret to saving money on groceries?
No, it's not coupons, though they DO help.

I keep a PRICE BOOK.
And you should too!
It's an awesome TOOL to help you keep more of your $ in YOUR pocket and out of the grocer's till.
It's not very hard to make one and it just takes a couple of minutes a week to update it.

And here is my Step-by-Step Guide to making one if you've never tried before.

Let's start 2013, a brand new year off on the right foot!


Here is what you need to begin--

A small notebook, notepad or even just a piece of loose leaf paper.  Something with lines is better than plain bonded paper.  If you only have bonded paper, get a ruler and a pen and make some lines on it.

Here is what I am going to use.  It's something I had here in the house, just taking up space.  I didn't go out and buy anything.

I've got a little notepad with a cover.
You need 6-8 different colored markers or pens.  Use what you can find around the house.  If you can't find 6-8 different colors, use the pen colors and marker colors you have....a blue pen, a black pen, a red pen, a black marker, a brown marker, a pencil, etc.  As long as you can tell a difference when you write with them, which instrument was used.
You also need a small calculator to take into the store with you.  If you have a smartphone just use the calculator function on your phone.

1.  The first thing you do is get out a piece of scratch paper or open a word document if you want to do this on your computer.
You are going to list 20-30 items you buy on a regular basis in the grocery store.  It can be anything.  Food products, pet products, health and beauty and/or paper products.

Here is my list of 30 items.

MEATS
ground beef
chuck roast
hot dogs-premium
pork
bacon
chicken breast
chicken whole
salmon

DAIRY
butter
eggs
cheese

VEGETABLES
carrots
potatoes
celery
onion
salad greens

CANNED/BOXED
pasta
spaghetti sauce
coffee
soup-tomato
soup-cream

BAKING
flour
sugar
sugar-brown
honey

DELI
ham
cheese provolone

FROZEN
pizza
ice cream-premium
broccoli

JUNK
soda 12 pack
chips-premium


And here is my explanation why I chose these items.....


MEATS
ground beef-this is the most used beef for us. I look for 80% or higher.
chuck roast-a cheaper cut that can be slow cooked and taste as good as other cuts
hot dogs-premium types like Nathan's/Sabrett's/Hebrew National
pork-boneless one, either cut up chop style or whole
bacon-any brand
chicken breast-on bone, not boneless, always cheaper than boneless
chicken whole-for roasting, soup/stews, cut up yourself, versatile
salmon-our preference and expensive, need a deal

DAIRY
butter-needed for so many things
eggs-ditto
cheese-block or shredded in bags, 8 oz. size--cheddar and mozzarella-both usually on sale for same price during sales

VEGETABLES
While many veggies go on special seasonally, these ones are needed year round in many dishes.
Mirepoix (your carrots/celery/onions)form the basis of so much in cooking. Potatoes are versatile and good as a filler too.  Fresh salad greens are a must for my family.
 
carrots
potatoes
celery
onion
salad greens

CANNED/BOXED
pasta-a staple in our house, no brand loyalty, something is always going on sale
spaghetti sauce-ditto
coffee-so expensive, worth finding a deal on
soup-tomato
soup-cream --I use these 2 soups in dishes frequently.  They are building blocks or can be eaten as soup.


BAKING
flour-a staple no one should be without, unless you are wheat allergic-then buy rice of coconut flour
sugar-another staple sweetener
sugar-brown--ditto
honey-we use a lot during the winter both in cooking and tea

DELI
ham-we don't use this much but it freezes well.
cheese provolone-an augmentation to the cheddar/mozzarella mix, can't find in blocks here

FROZEN
pizza-no brand loyalty, any name brand or premium house brand
ice cream-ditto
broccoli-a "go to" veggie for my family, like to have it stocked

JUNK
soda 12 pack-something is always on sale but we tend to be brand loyal
chips-premium, any brand


Now here are some other items I didn't include but you might want to....
Milk(our state has regulated prices so it's useless for me to price book this)
Rice
Condiments like ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo
Spices
Bread
Pet Food
Shampoo
Toilet Paper

You don't have to put everything you buy on this list and you can expand or change up stuff on your list after we get 6 weeks or so in.
This first list is just to get you started.

Now that you have your list of 20-30 items, go list them down in your notebook/notepad/sheet of paper.
It will help you if you visualize your grocery stores floor plan and list your items in the order in which you visit that section of the store from first to last.
If your fresh produce section is first, start with fresh veggie items, if the meat section is first, begin with the meats when you write your list.....

2. Pick one of your writing instruments to be your WEEK ONE color.  I'm going with the black marker I wrote my list of items with.

3.  Take your notebook and pen/marker for Week #1 with you the next time you go grocery shopping.

4.  As you go through the store, note the price(or if there are more than one of that product you would consider buying, note the lowest price for similar items/sizes).
* Since sometimes you may be comparing 2 different sized items here, if there is no shelf tag giving the per oz. information, use your calculator(or phone app)to figure which product is less money.

The first time you take your Price Book to the store and have to write down the prices it might take you a little extra time to do your shopping.  It won't take much extra time, 10-15 minutes maybe.  If you are pressed for time, maybe go to the store the first time and NOT buy anything, just do your price book so you can concentrate on getting it right.

5.  Now you put your Price Book away until the next week's sales ad begins.  Just put it on the shelf and next week when you head out the door to grocery shop(hopefully you have a LIST at least!lol), grab the Price Book and another color of marker/pen and repeat Step 3 and 4.

We will do this for the next 6 Weeks.  Then we will sit down and analyze our data and see what the sales cycles look like in our stores.

*** If you want to compare prices between 2 stores as well, it's easy to work that into our Price Book.

WEEK ONE--When we go to the store and write in the prices, just put a letter or symbol next to Store A's price and a different something next to Store B's price.

For example--I shop regularly at Weis and a local market named Carone's.  Week One I will go to Weis and note that ground beef is $2.99 lb. and I'll put a little W next to that price.  Then I'll go to Carone's that same week, and note that ground beef is $3.29 lb. and I'll use the SAME COLOR PEN to write $3.29 but put a little C next to that price.  I now can look back in 6 weeks to see that the best price was $2.99 and Weis had it during Week One.

The Grocery Sales start here on Sunday, so the next sales week is 1/6-1/12.
So I will wait until Sunday to give everyone a chase to get their supplies together and get their items listed in their PRICE BOOK before I go start filling in WEEK ONE's price data and post it.

So why don't you come along and try this?!
What have you got to lose?
Not much I'd say......but you potentially have pennies and dollars to gain when you are giving less money to the grocery stores.  8-)

Sluggy