| Hi Maddie in ky - I made my own. I dug around in my pile of "stuff" and used a small vinyl 6-ring loose-leaf note book with sheets of paper that are 3-3/4-inches x almost 7-inches. I have index tabs that cover the alphabet. I purchased a 6-hole zipper pouch at an office supply store and kept my grocery money in there and slipped my coupons in the front sleeve and a REALLY thin calculator I had in there as well. It was small enough to slip in my purse. I found a black vinyl "Day Runner" organizer at a thrift store in December and I moved everything into it at the beginning of this year. It has a place for my cash, a zipper pouch for change, it holds the same 6-hole paper. I added some "Day Runner" dividers that have a pouch in them and I keep my coupons in them. I keep a running grocery list on a sheet at the back of the book, and a list of non-grocery purchases I need to make. I also have a calculator and some other organizer things in it like a pad of paper, a plastic zip-lock pouch, a mechanical pencil... You can make them as plain or as fancy as you need. If you Google - Grocery Price Book - you will find some printable sheets for a price book, and also good examples. Here's the information you will be accumulating on each food item you choose to track. I kept one "cheat sheet" with these things written on it until I got accustomed to what to write. DATE: STORE: BRAND: SIZE/PRICE: UNIT PRICE: ------------------------- PEANUT BUTTER (name of food at the top of the page) Date: 8/31/08 Store: Aldi Brand: Peanut Delight Size/Price: 18-oz. / $1.39 Unit Price: .077 cents/ounce So this is what you'll now find on any given sheet... PEANUT BUTTER 2/4/09 Dillons Kroger 18-oz. / $1.79 .099 cents/ounce I use one side of the sheet for the above information and the back of the sheet for inventory, if necessary. From: "Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn page 32 "I began by writing down prices on sale flyers and from my grocery slips. I made a few trips to compare prices of specific items." It takes a little work to get it put together, but once you have it, you'll find ways to make it work quickly for you. You probably won't want to put EVERYTHING you purchase in it just things you know you want to compare prices on. So when the sales flyers come and you see peanut butter is on sale someplace, you can quickly flip to that page in your PRICE BOOK and see if it's a REAL bargain. Then I look on the back and see if I can realistically add it to my inventory. Peanut butter is one I really have to track not only how many I have, but use-by dates so I don't get more than I can use. Always take note of SIZE of foods. One week we were purchasing 6-oz. cans of tuna and all of the sudden they were 5-oz., so you need to recheck those unit prices. I've also run across both 5- and 6-oz. sizes so you have to run the numbers to see the unit price. You can't always assume the larger size of something is the least expensive. I'll go back to an old example of peanut butter from my old price book: Peter Pan - 28-oz. / $2.46 / .087-oz. (on sale) Kroger - 28-oz. / $2.49 / .088-oz. Kroger - 18-oz. / $1.00 / .05-oz. (on sale) Start by making one sheet for each of the foods you commonly purchase that you would need to know prices, and fill in the information as you have time. Hope that helps you out... -Grainlady |