Price Books and Beyond
Two Reader Comments and a Response

Home Lifestyle Buying Food and Health Price Books and Beyond

Dear Louise,
Thank you for the great article in the Dollar Stretcher. I have a question for you, if I may. Regarding a Price Book: In our city, they have been known to arrest people and take them to court, if you go into a grocery store to make a price book. They think you are working for the competition, and they call it industrial spying. Do you have any suggestions on how to avoid this problem? The latest case involved a woman whose husband had been laid off, and they really were desperately trying to devise a new household budget based on their newly-but budget. They still took her to court. Thanks for any ideas you have. I am kind of timid about getting busted!
Trish K, Claire Kathleen's mom (5/17/97)

Louise,
You have described how I stock up in your article. The only thing I can add is using an Excel program is a great help! I can check the column in Inventory (on Excel) which tells how much I need to reach the goal. If I want to keep at least 15 jars of spaghetti sauce on hand. The computer will tell me in a moment how much I have and even how much I need to reach my goal. It tells me what I have paid for it in the past.

Each time we take an item from the basement, we record it on the computer. It only takes about 15 seconds to find the item and record it. We leave the Excel program open all day so we don't feel like it's too much work to do it.

I began using this method because I know good stewardship involves being accountable for what we have. When I started looking at my purchases not as just buying a few items, but I am responsible during my life time to spend thousands of dollars on purchases. That got my attention. I took one item. Considered the cost and multiplied that by a life time of buying. Wow! I spend a lot of money.

I tried years ago to follow this system on paper, but found it too time consuming. But when I told my husband what I wanted to do on the computer, he helped me set the system up. It didn't take long to set up, program wise. I spent a few days inventorying every thing in my cupboards.

I have one cupboard that is my "working cupboard." If I take one quart of honey out of storage and put it into the working cupboard, I record a 1 under the minus column for that date on the row marked "honey". If I buy 2 quarts of honey, a 2 goes under the addition column for that day on the "honey" row. I don't need to record every cup and tablespoon of honey that I use once the jar is in the working cupboard. At the end of the year I know how many quarts of honey I purchased, what I spent on honey, and how much we used.

The most time consuming part is faithfully setting down at the computer when I bring in bags of groceries or boxes of co-op items. Every thing is recorded before it is put away. Having it set in the office is motivation to get it done immediately. If one of the kids wants a jar of peanut butter because the one in the working cupboard is all gone, they have to ask before they can take anything out of the basement. And before I allow them to take it, I record it. That way we don't forget and end up with incorrect figures.

I just got the system started a few months ago, so I haven't had the privilege of looking at a full year yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.

We enjoy using the system, and don't feel enslaved to it at all. I think it is practical for every day use, but is also practice for hard times like job loss. I seldom buy any thing now unless it is on sale. And if I have a busy week and can't find time to make to the store or someone is sick, it's no problem. I have what I need for caring the sick on hand from medication to special items the kids want when they don't feel well. I also have a cupboard where I tuck away special treats that my husband and kids like and items for when company drops in. It doesn't get eaten because it isn't in a cupboard where it would be seen. However, it would show up on the computer if I did a search. (My freezer is also on the inventory. It saves digging for some thing I used months ago and forgot.)

This system is very helpful when keeping track of stocking up. Thanks for putting the method on the net. I'll save it for my children.
Linda

Dear Trish and Linda,
Good grief! What a sad situation. Other DS readers have reported the same hostile practices. You'll need to be careful how you go about this, then. Personally, I've never taken my price book into stores. I've never felt I needed to. If I want to record prices or other info, I write on the back of the envelope I carry my store coupons in. (I usually paperclip or staple my shopping list on it, too and use a pencil to check things off, so I already have a pen or pencil and paper out in sight, and an "excuse" for having them.) I write as I slowly push the cart along, so I'm not standing in front of any one section for a long time. In short, I avoid looking like I'm recording prices. I keep my purse in the child seat, propping it up near the cart handle so I can use it for a "desk". You could use a small note pad with a hard back for your shopping list and have plenty of room to add info.

A lot of my price book is based on the store ads and my cash register receipts. These items belong to you and can be marked up and poured over at leisure. Between the two, you'll get the best deals available for the items you buy regularly, and you'll soon catch on to the sale cycles for the items that make up YOUR staples; the things that have the most impact on your food budget. Since you're needing to be cautious, give yourself extra time to feel your way along and you'll eventually find a system that works for you and doesn't make you a target for unwanted attention. It will give you great satisfaction to find a way to work around them and save money doing it!

Some DS readers have reported that they try to create a more consumer (and price book!) friendly atmosphere by taking opportunities to chat with the clerks and managers of their most-frequently used store, perhaps working up to explaining what they're doing and why. The grocery chains in your area sound pretty militant, but ultimately consumers rule, so don't loose heart. Change may come slowly, but this doesn't sound legal to me and someone is sure to challenge the practice in court one of these days. In the meantime, what they don't know won't hurt them!
Louise

Editor's note: Have you been challenged by a store for recording prices? Please let us know. Send us the name of the store and which city and state it's located in. A brief explanation would also be helpful. We'll try to pass this information on to others. Perhaps if these stores lose our business they'll get the idea!

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