Wednesday, March 6, 2013

:: Frugal Fodder ~16~Adding Notebooks ::

Last week I told you I was considering 'Note-booking'  (or journaling) again.
With the planting of the garden on Sunday, I was able to easily get my hands on my Garden Notebook. That is the only book I've been keeping up with the last couple of years.
Just finishing up our NO SPEND MONTH...



I decided a price book would be another book, I should make.

I have never kept a price book. I was usually in the stores every week and familiarized myself with the prices better then. Now, however, I tend to only shop once a month.  That makes it difficult to get the sales when they're running and keeping the pantry stocked is a little trickier.
I'm considering spreading the food budget out for the month--but have to take gas prices and travel into account also.
A Price book, for me, would  also be the place to keep recipes, menus and notes about new dishes we've tried; likes and dislikes. 
For some of you, an App on your smart phone may keep prices for you and allow you to scan bar codes and do the work for you digitally. As you all know, I don't use a smart phone...I use a dummy and it's just a phone. So my price book will be pen and paper.

I'm totally okay with that! 

Elaine @ Sunny Simple Life talks about price books here.
Manic Mother

Along with Garden and Price Books--

  • A Skills & Project Notebook ( I just need to dust it off!) and 
  • A Budget Notebook   (probably do this on the computer) 
  • A Daily Task Manager-- this would be a Week-At-A-Glance type book. 
    • Pen and paper NOT Digital  :)  

I'm finding that with my etsy shop, gardening, egg collecting, baby sitting, dr. appts, house hold management, etc.; I'm a little bit more distracted and forgetful than I used to be!  That is driving me some what batty!

I know I asked you before if you used notebooks-- some of you do, some don't.

How about Price books?
 Do you use one?
Has it worked for you and has it helped you to save money on groceries?



 

Let us no grow weary in well-doing; for in due season we will reap, if we faint not. ~Galatians 6:9

 

9 comments:

Sandy said...

Shopping once a month would be hard
for me to save money... I usually make
a once a week trip to my local grocery
store when they have buy one get one
free and that is a huge savings..
As for a note book, although I have
a smart phone I still use note books
for all my 'notes to myself' sitting
on my desk... Like you I like notes
this way.
Good post
Sandy

Melanie said...

Using a dummy phone too! Hey, it does what I need it to do, why upgrade and pay more?
I use a project notebook, it does help. There are lists of projects that I want to complete, along with notes and ideas. It gives me a direction to go in. It also helps me realize what we have accomplished, an encourager I guess. It is nothing fancy, but it does the job!
I shop for groceries every other week, or less if need be. I am not currently using a price book, I buy what we need and we only have a couple of stores close by. A save a lot opened near by. The brands are different, and prices change. That is the biggest reason that I have resisted making a price book. Everytime I go to the store, the prices have changed again, no matter which store. It is kind of hard to keep up with, for me it seems that a price book would be to difficult to maintain. I have a budget for food expenses and this seems easier for me. But if you have a better idea, or a suggestion of how this would work better - I am all ears!!!

dl@frugalhacks.com said...

I agree with Melanie concerning a price book. Food prices really seem to fluctuate too much in my area for a price book to remain accurate. I also use a food budget as my guide and it seems to be pinching me right now as we seek to eat healthy and prices always seem to be on the rise. I do have a notebook with recipes that I make frequently, but do not update this as often as I should. One of the best notebooks I keep is the one by my laptop. I write down in this small journal the date and any online orders I have placed or phone calls made regarding doctor appointments, etc. This saves me much heartache and trying to remember moments!

My Repurposed Life said...

nope, never heard of a price book... back in the day my mind was like a steel trap! I remembered all the prices, and shopped accordingly. Now, it's too hard to remember them because they go up too fast. :(
don't journal, but really looking forward to keeping up with that perpetual calendar jamie gave me for my birthday.

gail

Angel said...

I don't have a price book, but my extended grocery list (made on excel) has the price out beside it from Walmart. That helps me to compare when I go anywhere else. So I sorta' kinda' sometimes use it that way. ;)

The Boston Lady said...

Hi Pat,

The grocery store I shop at primarily here has an online link with weekly specials and virtual coupons that link to their rewards card. I find this very handy to check and click on deals before going to the store. I'm not sure a price book would work for me for food items, but I can see keeping one for less fluctuating-pricewise items. Cat litter, paper goods, coffee, sugar, etc.Ann

Anonymous said...

I take my inlaws shopping, so I do go weekly. But I do the bulk of my shopping at Aldi, and only get things I can't find there elsewhere. Also, I do not buy any processed foods.

Liz @ Quirky Vistas said...

I use a notebook. I don't have a smart phone either. I like paper and pen and a paper notebook makes it easy to find things I've noted there. I was keeping track of everything I spent last year for probably the first four months. It took a lot of time so I gave it up. I did get in the habit of buying things in bulk that could hold, like paper goods, etc. and I'm now working on strategically buying based on the sales and creating a bit of a stockpile. Nothing seems to last long though, esp. now that I have two of my kids here for the time being. Writing things down helps make me pay attention to what I'm spending, even if I don't do the tallies and analyze it. Keep at it.

Natacha said...

Hi Pat,
Thank you for visiting my blog!I tried to send you an answer to your question about homeschooling, but I have the feeling that my message got lost somewhere in cyberspace:-((.
Our supermarket started a home grocery delivery system for 5 euro and I am actually saving money (and time and energy!) by having my groceries delivered to my home. I save on petrol (+/- 1,50 Euro) and it is so much easier to stick to my shopping list when I don't have the kids with me ("can I have these cookies please?", "can you buy me some chewing gum?".... ). I use this service once or twice a month and I really love it.