Shoppers Price List
A lot of people have a spending plan (budget). A lot of people use Quicken to keep track of their investments. But, not many people have a shoppers price list. A shoppers price list, what is that? Here is a sample of a shoppers price list.
| Date | Item | Store | Price | Comments | |
| 12/15/03 | Powerade, 32 oz | Albertson | 0.99 | SALE | |
| 1/9/04 | Powerade, 32 oz | Target | 1.19 | ||
| 1/9/04 | Gatorade, 20 oz, 6-pack | Target | 4.29 | ||
| 12/13/03 | Dove Beauty Bar, 2-pack | Target | 2.09 | ||
| 1/9/04 | Dove Beauty Bar, 8-pack | Target | 7.69 | ||
| 12/7/03 | Sensodyne Tarter Ctrl, 4-oz. | Drugstore.com | 4.99 | E-bates.com rebate is $0.30 | |
Basically, a shoppers price list is a list of frequently purchased products and the price for each product. It is a great way to keep track of the stores with the best prices for each product.
This is just a very basic model to help you get started. You can add other factors such as no sales tax if shopping on the internet, double-coupons at certain stores, 5% cash rebate at grocery stores, etc.
You have already read from fellow bloggers about "A penny saved is more than a penny earned." So, lets put that to good use here.
Here are some comments about the various categories. The 40% home category may seem high. But, it is right on target. My average tax rate is about 29%. So, 0.71 * 0.40 = 28.4%, is on target with the standard maximum 28% gross income for ... Read
Now that I know how much is coming in, I need to allocate it to the various expense categories. I did a search on the subject of budget. And I found no shortage of ideas. It just seems like everyone has their own set of ... Read
If one has a Palm-based PDA, check out HandyShopper. It's a freeware application that allows you to build shopping lists, supports multiple stores, and can track prices at multiple stores (user must do data entry).
Starting out with a program like this is a pain in the butt, typing in everything you might purchase. But after a few months, it's smooth sailing.
You can even optimize your trips through stores by inputting aisles where your goods are found. You can then make 1 pass through the store. Awesome.
HandyShopper is basically a list application on steroids that would make ball players jealous at it's power and size.
http://www.freewarepalm.com/database/handyshopper-english.shtml
It alone may be worth getting a cheap or used Palm PDA just for it alone.
