well i dont quite get the hang of a price book.......so i have come up with what seems to work for me

i bought a binder (splurged and spent 99 cents on a basic white 1 inch with a pocket on the front and the back)

1 pack of 200 sheets paper (20 cents)

1 package of 8 colorful tabbed dividers, with erasable tabs (this was also a splurge at 99 cents)

i had gotten a very slim calander, that shows a whole month, that folded in half (i guess its a cheap, slim line version of a planner?)  (i got this some time after the first of the year for something like maybe 50 cents? i dont remember)

leftover from when i was still a freshman in high school (a pencil pouch that fits in the binder on the the 3 rings)

i havent fully mastered my version of a price book yet so what worked (is working, needs to be adjusted still learnin how) but i put my dividers in, put some paper in between each divider.  In the front pocket is where i keep my calander(for when bills are due and what we have budgeted and other misc needed in a calander) my penil pouch is the first thing in my book. inside of it, are my coupons, paper clipped by my catagories that we use, a pen, i need to replace the calculator i should have..... the first section is what im using for my "pricebook" but i dont write everything down, that seems to be too time consumin and i cant get myself to do it the way every one does, ounce, store, price etc) i take my entire receipt , cutting if needed to fit the page, and tape it too the page. i know its kinda waste of tape, but it works for me ---this is where im still working on it (i havent set it up to be tabbed by store yet)

The 2nd tab   has the recipies that i would liek to try --the ones that come off  cereal boxes and whatnot

3rd tab is one that im working on, of master menus of the things we like with the ingrediants listed

4th tab is  for the misc that we buy dated, with how long it lasts and cost (for example, scott toilet paper a 24 pack purchased on 9/1/2007 for 4.98 with a 1.00 off coupon--the 4 packs are 69 cents and only last 2 days)

the rest of the tabs im still working on, and im still trying to get it perfected, but so far, this is what works for us so far....how is your price book set up?

latte

Dear Latte, Maybe you aren't cutting all f the coupons that are findable in your neighborhood?  I have so many that I keep them in a shoebox (in alphabeticale order), that also holds a calculator & paper,  I have a strict shopping list,&,for each item, I jot down its cost,  Then,  I add all the prices up to see if I have enough Food Stamps tocover what I've bought, keeping in mind that later in the month, I might find good loss-leaders at other stores.

I do not keep a price list, but I do pay attention to my sense of how much I am willing to pay on a product,  I used to be able to get a 7oz can of chunk tuna for 50cebts; now it has gone up to 60!

i have them grouped with about 20 to 50 per paper clip bundle, ones that expire soon, dairy, snacks, cereals, canned goods, condiments, meats, pet, and frozen items...theres never any produce coupons here, milk coupons  are only for organic milk (ouch at 4.99 a gallon) and im the only one i know that gets the paper, let alone uses coupons.....although i have been known to raid the local recycle bin for coupons and for comics for wrapping paper..........and the average price for a can of tuna is from 50 cents for store brand, water packed, and the name brands can occasionally be found on sale for 65 cents

ps deb --hope you enjoyed yoru holiday:)

THank you, Latte, for your good wishes for the holiday season!  We just passed the Day of Atonement, 10 days after the New Year.  Thursday of this week Succot begins (the holiday of "booths").  It ends 9 days later with Simhat Torah, the anniversary of starting reading the Scriptures all over again.

Someone asked me in Private Messaging to explain about Jewish holidays, & I asked her to post her question on Kosher Living in the Frugal Food forum, & I'll discuss all of the holidays as they arise.

How are you doing with the price book now?

 i gave that version up! i couldnt get it to work for me(im not organized i know this, i try so hard, but i cant find a system that works for me to be organized)

so my reciepts are all in a box for now (i need to sort them by month and store)

my notebook i was using, is still tabbed, but i had been writing my grocery list (with the prices and any coupons that i have) and just saving those lists in my binder.... that didnt work too well either, but better then what i was doing

 now ive got this massive coupon "mess" that takes up an accordian file, a few folders, ziploc bags, a box, a shelf........but it kinda works

Dear All, I'm now keeping a stringent price book, into which I enter EVERYTHING I buy in groceries.  I use a thrift-store blank book (well, it's a baby journal, but it has many blank pages.).  I have an index at the front, & I enter "beverages" or "dry goods," etc. on the appropriate pages.  My entries look like this:

5/25 S GGcanned corn 50cents

The S means Safeway.  When 2008 is over, I'll start new pages.  OR when a page gets filled up, I'll strart new pages. 

Yours in Him, Deb

Latte,

If it is any consolation, I can't seem to develop a working pricebook either, lol.

Brandy:

Latte,

If it is any consolation, I can't seem to develop a working pricebook either, lol.

 

 Ditto for me too!! I try to do it mentally but when foggy, I am often off by as much as $1.