Rebuilding My Grocery Store Price-Book

I am going to the grocery store today and I have decided to rebuild my grocery store price-book. I have recently begun to lose weight and I now enjoy eating healthy foods. My old grocery store price-book is outdated and filled with food prices for unhealthy junk food. Here’s my method for buying groceries.

Update - I’ve created a free grocery store price book for you to download and print.

1. I shop at two grocery stores and a local “dollar” store.

2. I keep a grocery price-book. I list the items that I buy on a regular basis, and I write down the price of those items EVERY time I go shopping.

3. Whenever I find an item at its “rock-bottom” price, I buy it in bulk.

4. I buy generic foods.

5. I use coupons, but only for items that I would “buy anyway”.

6. Kroger, our local grocery store, and my favorite, doubles coupons up to .50. So, if I have a coupon below .50, I use it at Kroger.

7. If I have to make a choice between a healthy food and a “good price”, I NOW choose the healthy food. In other words, I eat apples EVERY DAY. So, I am going to buy apples, no matter what their cost. Still, I try to shop around and buy the lowest-cost apples, but I am going to buy apples, period.

8. Healthier foods are more expensive (generally speaking) than unhealthy foods, but I have found that I can still eat well and live on a grocery budget.

9. I do not make a grocery list. I keep my grocer price-book and I stock-up or avoid, depending on the data in front of me.

10. Inflation is real. I don’t care what anyone says, or what the fed does, or does not do, my old grocery price-book clearly shows that food prices have gone up, in some cases dramatically, over the past 2 years.

11. Water is free. I have no need for sodas. Still, I am a soda-addict. So, I just avoid that aisle.

12. I shop on Tuesdays. Why? I like Tuesdays. Tuesday is my favorite day of the week. I don’t know why, but it always has been, and I assume, it always will be.

13. I prefer to shop alone and I wear my iPod and catchup on my favorite podcasts. (May I suggest one of my favorites, The Overnightscape?)

14. I use the calculator feature on my cellphone. I like to know the per ounce or per item price of a good.

15. I can spend about 3 hours in a grocery store. Seriously, I actually enjoy shopping for groceries. My wife, on the other hand, HATES the grocery store. Since I’m an awesome 21st century husband, I do the grocery shopping.

16. I pay cash for my groceries.

17. I keep my receipts and I glance over them after I get to my car. I’m not a jerk or a psycho. I’ll let a few pennies slide. As much as I like to save money, life is too short to kill myself over a couple of pennies. Plus, for all you frugal shoppers our there, it is NEVER a good idea to ‘burn bridges’ between yourself and a local store manager. Trust me, there will come a day when a good relationship trumps that 32 cents you feel you’re owed. Breathe in, breathe out.

18. I hate rebates.

19. I love rebates.