Store Price Check

Jessica Carr
Feb 9, 2017
2 min read

So, I have this thing I do on Wednesdays. I don't know how many other people do it. I feel weird if I go into a store and don't buy anything... so I grab my cart, place my grocery bags in the front seat and open my binder across it. I place my phone & pen on it & walk around checking sale prices. I always grab my sub sandwich for lunch & normally grab a few other things we may or my not need so I don't feel weird about strolling around with nothing in my cart writing things down! I don't know, maybe I'm the only one who feels weird about it, ha! Anyways, my main shopping day is Friday, which of course is when the husband gets paid, so it only makes sense. I like to get there early around 8am after I've dropped the kids off because less people are there and it's easier to get around and not deal with so much chaos. It's my weekly ritual. So I walk down every isle and write down the prices of sale items along with things that I may or may not want a price for, even if it's not on sale... knowing what the price is so I know if it can be fit into my budget makes a huge difference in whether I go over budget or stay on budget! (last week I didn't get through the whole store since I went to do my taxes and that was a big mistake. There were things I needed prices for and had no clue what they were so I went over a lot. A trick I used to do was make a list of all items off my receipt so I knew what they would cost when I needed them and made a spreadsheet. Very helpful! I always knew what my total would be before I even went to the store!)

I of course write down stuff from the store ad also when it comes in the paper on Friday afternoons for the next week and clip the coupons I'll need and put them in my binder as well. Part of the reason I put my coupons and stuff in my budget binder is so I can write down my husband's check when it's in the bank at 830am and I can do the math of how much we will have after bills and if it's dire that I stay on budget or it's okay that I'm over a few. It's very helpful to have all that info with me! I normally just write all my prices down on the back of my last weeks grocery list but I recently decided it would be nice to make a printable for that task... so here it is! I'm hoping this can be helpful for others!