Keeping A Price Book

How a Price Books saves money:
This works on the bulk buying principle.  When you find the very best price you can, you buy in bulk to "lock in" that price for yourself for as long as that price lasts you. For example, a few weeks ago Hy-Vee had a sale on shredded cheese, $1.00 per 8 oz. package. This was really a HELL of a deal, as I regularly pay $1.99 for 8oz of cheese at Aldi or on sale other places. I have payed upwards of $2.49 for 8oz of cheese when I was in a pinch and needed it right away for an event.

I bought TWELVE 8oz bags of shredded cheese. That seems crazy, right? Let me tell you why I did that. The expiration date on the bags were all August 2014 or later. So I calculated how much cheese I would use between now and August.  2 bags a month was my (conservative) estimate, so I bought enough cheese to maybe last us the 6 months, effectively locking in my cheese cost for the next 6 months at $1.00 per 8oz.

Had I not had a price book, I may not have realized what a great deal this was. I knew within seconds that I had been recently paying $1.99 or more for 8oz of cheese, so I could easily see this was HALF PRICE CHEESE and folks, it doesn't get better than that.

How I Keep My Price Book:
Since I've now got a 3rd eater at my house, it was high time for me to pick up the price book I started a few years ago and make it work. My original book was paper/pencil, though I've now advanced to an iPhone app: ValueTracker, which costs $0.99.  The buck was worth it to me to always have my price book with me (since I've always got my phone.)  The price book doesn't really work unless you always have it with you when you are at stores.

I put in prices using my receipt after I get home, and calculate the per unit (ounce, pound, whatever) price. I also update prices using the weekly sale flyers. If I used a coupon I note that (though really I don't use coupons often).  (I Plan to share my personal price book here soon!)


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To be Frugal.

Being frugal and living within your means sometimes means asking yourself difficult questions about what you really need and what is important to you. But, being frugal can also be a fun challenge, and a way to use your creativity and smarts. It is also a way to buck the system, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Almost everyone I know feels like they don't have enough money. I am here to tell you that even with a very small income, you have enough money to cover your basic needs and live a full, fun life. Being frugal is a way to get the very most out of what little money you have, without feeling deprived.

One of my very favorite writers on the subject of frugality is Amy Dacyczyn, the author/editor of The Tightwad Gazette. I recently re-read the entirety to The Tightwad Gazette and my "frugal fervor" has been restored. The problem is that Amy retired in 1996, and while the ideas in the Gazette stand true, many of the tips and details have become outdated (and were originally somewhat localized to Maine).

My mission is to do what Amy Dacyczyn did for Maine in the 1990's, for Lawrence, Kansas, in the 2010's. A lofty goal to be sure, but it won't cost me any money to try!

-Jessica Gish Bergin