Grocery Price Comparison

I've developed a way to catalog the groceries we purchase most frequently and keep track of their prices (and unit prices).  I use multiple spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel, but OpenOffice.org is EXCELLENT and free.  I will show you our system and explain step-by-step how we do it.

• Compile a list of your most frequently bought items.  Ways to do this are to check your kitchen and pantry, read old grocery lists, look at saved receipts, or, if you have the time, go to your favorite grocery store(s) and write your list there.  You will undoubtedly add and subtract things in the future, so don't worry about this list being exhaustive.

• The most time-consuming step is to visit your favorite stores with this list and write down all the prices.  Keep in mind that prices fluctuate, so you'll be editing the numbers based on sales, coupons, etc.  Write down the UNIT price and note the size of the item.  Also write down the brand (or write generic).  Unit prices can be found on the price tag:  

• Open a new spreadsheet (I titled mine "grocery price list").  Decide how you want to organize your list.  If you coupon, I suggest using the same categories here as you do in your coupon organization system.  I use food, cleaning, health, beauty, baby, pets and home&office.  I have a different worksheet page for each.  To add a new page, click on the starred page icon as shown below. It can be found at the bottom of your screen.  To rename the worksheet, quickly double-click on top of the name you want to change (for example, "Sheet2," as shown below) and type in the new name.

• In your first column, list the products. In the next columns, list the stores where you shop.  In each row, list the price of the item at each store.  Note whether it was on sale, with a coupon, etc. This way, you'll know the high and low price points for each item.

• Add new items to the bottom of your list because you can always alphabetize them after.  *These instructions are for Excel users.* To do this, highlight the column you would like to alphabetize (all the rest of the data linked to each row will stay attached to the proper row).  Click on the "Data" tab at the top of the program.  Look for the "Sort & Filter" box.  In it, you'll see a button with an A and Z and down arrow.  Click this. The program will ask if you want to expand the selection to include the price data, and you do.  

Now it's just a matter of keeping you lists updated.  Happy shopping!