Pricebooks

thriftlady_2

Does anyone out there have any experience of keeping a pricebook as discussed in The Tightwad Gazette?

Its a notebook in which you record the prices of items in different shops so that you can keep track of the cheapest source of a particular item.It seems popular on US thrift sites but I wondered if it was workable in the UK.Do prices vary that much between the major supermarkets?

Bogof_Babe

I have read about these but I don't think they would work so well in this country, as our main supermarkets are so close on basic prices unless they are running promotions on certain things, which obviously rotate from week to week. It would be a full time job to keep track, but there are web sites that specifically do these comparisons to save us the trouble!

This is one of the best for groceries http://www.fixtureferrets.co.uk/

kiwichick

Maybe not between the major chains but if you wereto takenote of what you normally spend on what items at, say tescos, you could then try shopping at ALDI, LIDL, NETTO etc and compare things you could buy from there to your normal shop. You could also note down which worked for you in terms of taste compared to your "normal" brand? Also handy for fruit and veg compared to prices at the local market Iwould think.

Katgoddess

Also medicines and toiletries as the prices can vary between supermarkets and Wilkinsons/Savers

kiwichick

On a similar note, did any of you know that Iceland is only £1 for 4 pints of milk? Tesco is £1.11! Cant wait tillI've got a 2nd freezer and can get lots to stock up on rather than getting the dear stuff which is nearer tome.

Sweet_Pea_2

I sort of did this, we did our usual weekly shop at Sainsburys. We used to spend approx £80 per week for 2 adults and 2 under tens. I thought that this was too much so I kept all our receipts for a couple of months. Then I did my weekly shop at Asda and compared all the prices. Then I did a weekly shop at Aldi and compared those prices too. Since then I have stuck with Aldi, I found Asda were a few pence here and there cheaper but once I had paid to park my car it worked out more, and was also further away (about 8 miles further) so not really cost effective.
Aldi was significantly cheaper (for example - 1l Robinsons Apple and Blackcurrant - 95p, 1l Aldi Apple and Blackcurrant 42p) I had expected the food to be reasonably Ok as had shopped there in the past, but was pleasantly surprised, I found most things were good and some things I preferred to named brands.
I also kept a note of prices of dustbin bags etc in Wilkinsons and compared these and found Aldi to be cheaper for the same product.

maryb

I found fixture ferrets doesn't always have every offer - for example this week I was looking for a cheap salmon and I knew they often have offers round about Christmas. There was nothing on fixture ferrets but when I went into Sainsbury's they had whole salmon half price.

I agree the main supermarkets are much of a muchness - but not always. With online shopping it should be easy to check prices for the main supermarkets from their websites. Every now and then I try and get organised to do this but I don't have the excel skills to be able to keep a proper record

tootles_2

Charmin toilet paper Tesco over £5 in wilkinson just over £3.00

EagerLearner

Hi all - just resurrecting this thread as I would be interested in setting up a price book (either notepad or on my PDA) - just need inspiration and to learn from someone who has done it!

lil_me

I use a small note book, hardback now after many others which dropped to bits, got mine from Tesco. It's quite hard keeping up as prices change a lot especially recently so using pencil I find is best. Getting some prices online can save some time. Putting prices per kilo/litre etc works better for me as not all 'bags of' something are the same size in different shops.

I think Squeaky uses a PDA one for it.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I do this!

I made a little A-Z book and list regularly bought items/staple foods with the bottom price and where I can get it. If I see a 'bargain' I check my book and if the price beats the £ per kg/item then I bulk buy. Its easy to be sucked into so called bargains otherwise.