Grocery Price List - article by Whimsical Wire Articles

Create a customized grocery price list book and save!

Have you noticed how grocery prices have shot up in recent weeks? It's getting to the point where you must have a firm grip on your grocery budget. Serving nutritious and satisfying meals while keeping your pocketbook intact is quite the challenge these days. Here's one way to cut your food bill and recognize a truly good buy.

The concept of a grocery price list book isn't new, but it works. We all have certain items we buy at the grocery store every month. Your standard list contains favorite foods, staples and household goods, such as light bulbs and brands of cleaning agents. Unless you have a photographic memory, it's next to impossible to remember the price of every item you buy. Certain food prices fluctuate seasonally. Is today's sale price a good buy? A grocery price list book solves these problems.

A spreadsheet program makes this a snap. To begin, go through your food stores and list each item on a separate row. You may want to break items down by categories, such as meats, produce, dairy, etc. Add brand names if you buy more than one brand of a product, such as coffee.

To start your grocery price list profile, take grocery bills you have from past shopping trips and enter the price or sale price you paid, the store name and the date. Enter the unit amount, using ounces for cans, per-pound prices for meat and produce and so on. Now list items such as cleaning agents, paper towels, pet food and other staples. If you've forgotten anything, you can add it as time goes on. You'll soon have a list of every item you usually buy.

For your next shopping trip, take out the grocery sales flyers before you make your list. If chicken's on sale this week, plan a chicken night for this week and stock up if your freezer has the room and if the price is right. If your favorite coffee is on sale, now's the time to stock up, if your budget allows. Take advantage of the best sales and try to work these items into your menu this week.

When you get home, take your receipt and make your entries on your spreadsheet. It may be several weeks before your grocery price list book becomes truly valuable. For example, you'll notice that certain items, such as coffee, go on sale every six weeks, like clockwork. You'll save a bundle by gearing your coffee purchases to this cycle. You may also see patterns developing in some of your other purchases. Buying bread at the bakery thrift shop instead of the supermarket can add up to significant savings. Within a couple of months, it's easy to spot which stores have sales on items you buy regularly, and when the sales occur.

This simple record keeping can give you at least a 20% reduction in your grocery bill. Try it. You'll save money!

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