Saving on Groceries by Knowing Your Price Points
Knowing your price points is one of the most important tips for saving on groceries you can learn to do. It is also one of the things that is the hardest to do. Each person will have a different price point and right now with the economy each persons price point with probably fluctuate slightly over time. Price points also will vary by region as well. If the item is grown or raised closer to you, the price will be lower, while another item may have to be shipped in and that would cost that person more.
While it is easy to compare yourself to others and see that someone has a lower price point then you, try not to compare and worry. What matters is that the price point works for you and your families budget.
When trying to figure out how to save money on groceries by knowing your price point the first thing you need to do is look at your store ads and see what is on the front page.  The items on the front page are called loss leaders because the store looses money on them trying to entice people to shop at their store. These items will be at rock bottom prices for that store. These are the items you will want to purchase and you can start your price point at the prices they have there.
As a tool to teach you to save money on groceries, make a book where you write down your price points so as you shop you can compare the price of the item with your price point. I recommend using a small pocket spiral book for this so it is easy to bring with you. As you find items at a better price you can adjust your price point to know how much you will spend on the items you buy. Buy items only at your price points or close to those prices and stock pile them for the future.
To give you an idea of what my price points are I have started an spreadsheet. Please remember that these are my personal price points that work for us right now and are ment just to give you an idea of what they might be for you.. Yours will vary from these and in no way should you feel like yours should be where mine are.
If you want to know more about saving on grocery, check out more articles on how to save money on food.
Hey Melissa,
I have a question for you about your price points. Are the items on your excel sheet typically items that cannot be purchased with coupons?
In the end it will be the price I pay after coupons or if no coupons are available the sale price for the item. This is just the start of it. I should be adding to it each week until I get it all filled in. for the items I have in there right now, yes, they are items that don’t have coupons.
What a great tip. I never thought of doing that. I am actually the worst shopper, don’t even look at prices. I have been trying to get better lately and shop with intent to save money. Last week I only spent $200 at the store, that was a huge accomplishment for me. With a family of six it’s a challenge for sure! Thank you for your tips!
I SO needed these tips. I begged for coupon and saving help on my blog and none of the advice I got was nearly as helpful as many of your tips. Just added you to my RSS feed Also, here from the Stumble Upon party.
I’ll be back!
glad to have you here! be sure to check out the rest of the series!
The notebook is a wonderful idea…a handy little cheat sheet! I always tell my readers to at least focus on the 20 or so products you buy regularly!
This is a really great point. I try to use coupons but am not a master at it. I used one coupon for something on sale thinking it was a great deal and later realized that the generic was exactly the same price. I would have known that if I had a price book. It’s a learning process.
Wow – I have so much to learn!
This is great information. Having a price point list is key to saving money. I shared my own price point list for a whole-foods, organic budget recently too!
Thanks for sharing this. It is always good to see other price points through the country.