In the quest to save money, it became patently clear to me that I needed to change the way I shopped. Many of the items I purchase regularly vary wildly in price from store to store. The solution to getting the best price is to create a list of the items that you use regularly and divide that list further by best every day price by store. For instance, many thing are cheaper at Wal-Mart, so keep a Wal-Mart list. Some items are cheaper at Dollar General or Family Dollar, so keep a list for those stores as well.
What may help is a price book. If you track the prices at stores you will see which items are the cheapest off sale at each store and which items seem to cycle through and go on sale fairly often. Why pay $11.99 at Food Lion when you can get the same pack of diapers at Dollar General for $10? Knowing your prices, and what a good price for an item really is, is a key to saving money on groceries. If you keep a printable list, you can simply print a copy out before you go shopping and cross out any items you don't need this trip and add sale items that make them cheaper to buy them at that particular store.
As I mentioned in a previous post, knowing that CVS often has diaper sales coupled with Extra Care Bucks, can net you huge savings. If the diapers aren't on sale there, then they are more expensive than other stores. Two bucks may not seem like a lot, but if you are paying two dollars more each pack by buying them at the more expensive store, multiply that by 52, and that isn't just pocket change. Knowing your prices and which stores have the best every day price will save you money long term.
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