Tracking Your Progress
It's important to know what you are really saving on groceries. Using a spreadsheet is a good way to do this.
The shopping spreadsheet below is an excerpt from my savings log and represents one month of activity. Each line represents a deal I put together. Tip: Be sure to check out the Essential Spreadsheets page. When, Where, & What Key Date = The shopping trip date Store = Where I bought the item(s) Brand is self-explanatory Item is self-explanatory Best Price Section Key Store = The store with the lowest everyday price # = Number of the item purchased Each = The base price Total = The total I would have paid if I had paid the base (lowest everyday) price We Paid Section Key # = Number of the item purchased Base = The base price at the store where the purchase was made Base Diff = The difference between the best price and the base price at the store where I purchased the item - the amount I need to beat Coupon = The dollar amount of coupons presented Sale = The amount of the cents off sale BOGO = The value of the buy one get one sale Each Net = The net price paid for each item after all discounts, sales, and coupons Total = The total amount paid for all items in this deal We Saved Section Key Amount = The total saved on this deal % = The percent saved on this deal Observations 1. While some of the amounts saved seem small, the savings really add up fast. Scroll down and you'll see that in the month of November 2011 we saved a total of $162 or 32% compared to the best everyday prices (there are two adults and two small dogs in our household). The total base price difference of ($82.96) was offset by $49.14 in coupon savings, $19.23 in sale savings, and a whopping $179.12 savings attributed to Publix BOGO sales, resulting in the net one-month savings of $162.53! Continued above... |
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Note: To arrive at the BOGO saving amount, divide the number purchased by 2 and multiply the answer by the We Paid base price. 2. While not readily apparent, the Best Price store is not always Wal-Mart. For example, neither Wal-Mart nor Target carry Old El Paso refried vegetarian beans; therefore my price to beat is the Publix price. 3. For sale items, the number of an item purchased correlates to the consumption rate (how fast we use up the item) and the sale frequency (how often the item is on sale). 4. Be sure to compare apples to apples. If the sale size of an item differs from the size of the base price item, convert the base price to account for the difference in product sizes. Example: Item Planters peanuts - 12.5 ounces Sale Yes - Publix BOGO sale Publix everyday price $3.89 for 12.5 ounces Publix BOGO unit price $3.89/25 ounces (12.5 x 2) = 15.6 cents per ounce (one can is free) Wal-Mart's best everyday price $3.88 for 16 ounces Wal-Mart's apples to apples unit price $3.88/16 = 24.3 cents per ounce Unit Cost Comparison Wal-Mart $.243 Publix $.156 Difference $.087 per ounce Publix's BOGO unit cost is 8.7 cents less (36%) 5. Before you go shopping, fill in your deals as I have done here to make sure that you are actually going to save. After your trip, verify that each deal turned out as you had planned and record any unexpected savings. 6. Finally, remember that this is not a contest. Just do the best you can; eventually, you will be an informed, savvy shopper. NEXT: Strategic Summary |
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