Have you heard of a pricebook? No? It is pretty simple and you can make it out of any notebook, maybe even with an app, and the best part is that it is completely customizable. This is one of your best frugal tools. And you can start one at any time. Here’s how.

1. Get a notebook. Ideally this would be something that you can carry with you whenever you are out shopping. Would an app meet this need? Perhaps, most anyone who uses a smartphone tends to have it when in a store.
2. Write down what you usually buy at the store. This works best with supplies that you pick up all of the time but look for the best price on. Meats, vegetables, grains, your kids’ favorite snacks, paper products. Anything that you buy on the regular.
3. Add in the lowest price you typically see on this product. It may be $0.99 per pound, $2.99 per box, whatever it is and the unit sold (per pound, box including the ounces per box, et cetera). This is your guide.
4. Compare this list to the local circulars in your area at the stores you usually shop.
5. Compare this list to the local circulars in new stores that you do not usually shop.
6. Bring the book with you to the store,  compare it to each item when you shop and you’ll start to get the feel for what is a good deal.
7. Whenever anything is on sale, write down the date.
8. Each week before you shop, browse the circulars for a deal and compare it to your list. You will start to see a pattern  of how frequently your items go on sale. This is when you stock up on items.
9. Store your items properly for their containers (like, no boxes in the basement if water seeps into your basement). For ideas on how to use your freezer to stash items, check out this post.
10. Once you have stocked up on a few items, you will start to get a good stash of items to use in your rotation of recipes. Notice the savings!

Take this a step further if you are feeling ambitious. Save your receipts to track your spending. Any tracking you can do here will help toward a better understanding of your spending habits.