Most of us are experiencing shock at the checkout counter as the cost of our groceries continue to skyrocket. It's so difficult to live from payday to payday that the idea of trying to stock a pantry, let alone build a reliable preparedness program, almost seems like a joke. Except it isn't much fun to pinch pennies until they scream and always have more month than money.
Get enthused about putting buying power back into your pocket and being able to have the budget to build a preparedness program at the same time. The skills and strategies that you will find in my blogs are NOT the typical "how-to-shop" tips. Your money is worth a lot more attention than just a collection of random tips. Tips, even when accumulated, will not teach you the strategies and systems you need to gain significant buying power.
Living providently, stretching your budget, and obtaining the security of a reliable, well maintained preparedness program all go hand in hand. One of the main concepts behind both Provident Living and Beating the High Cost of Eating is to understand how to make your pantry (no matter how small you think it may be) a money management tool. The essence of the Pantry Principle is to buy a the right price, and have sufficient provisions on hand to meet any need that might arise. there are some significant keys to understanding how to do this. Two are knowing when the price will be right and knowing what is a good price. More information on these two skills is forthcoming. Stay tuned to this blog site as we help you on your journey of gaining more buying power, while at the same time creating a pantry and obtaining the provisions to fill it. in additional blogs. (Stay tuned)
In the meantime to get you started you must recognize that an essential element of making shopping a success for your budget is price recognition! Let me explaing how to get to the point that you knopw what is a good price. If you don't know what things cost on a regular basis, you won't be able to recognize a good price when you see one. This is a crucial point and you will hear it many times from me. Even with prices rising and changing on a seemingly daily basis, the rule still applies. So before you can read the ads, or shop a "sale," you have to do your homework.
Let me show you how to easily gain price recognition. Begin by listing ten items that you consistently use. These items should come to mind easily; bread, hamburger, cereal, oranges, toilet tissue, and so on. Remember, this will apply for foods, non-foods, groceries, staple goods, office supplies or whatever things you buy and replace on a consistent basis. Use a page in your notebook or palm pilot. Create a page that will function as a worksheet on which you will record the date and prices.
Over the next several weeks, jot down the price of each of these items whenever you see it in the ads or in the stores, even though you may not be buying at the time. Continue recording the prices of the same items for as many weeks as it takes for you to be able to recognize a good price. It won't take more than a few weeks if you are consistent at checking prices. Though prices may fluctuate, you will soon recognize a normal price range for each item. Use this page as a resource when you read the ads and before you go to the store. A quick glance at the recorded prices will allow you to immediately recognize a good price, and even better a bargain price.
When you have become familiar with the prices for the first ten items start a new list of ten more items and continue these steps. (Keep the prior list. It's a resource, remember?)
Recognizing a good price is crucial to greater buying power. I can't emphasize how critical this one skill is. It is the foundation skill that supports almost all of the other money saving techniques that I discuss in my blogs or on my website or that are found in my books. It is important!
If you will do your homework you will know whether what you want is "on sale" or "for sale."
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.
Living providently, stretching your budget, and obtaining the security of a reliable, well maintained preparedness program all go hand in hand. One of the main concepts behind both Provident Living and Beating the High Cost of Eating is to understand how to make your pantry (no matter how small you think it may be) a money management tool. The essence of the Pantry Principle is to buy a the right price, and have sufficient provisions on hand to meet any need that might arise. there are some significant keys to understanding how to do this. Two are knowing when the price will be right and knowing what is a good price. More information on these two skills is forthcoming. Stay tuned to this blog site as we help you on your journey of gaining more buying power, while at the same time creating a pantry and obtaining the provisions to fill it. in additional blogs. (Stay tuned)
In the meantime to get you started you must recognize that an essential element of making shopping a success for your budget is price recognition! Let me explaing how to get to the point that you knopw what is a good price. If you don't know what things cost on a regular basis, you won't be able to recognize a good price when you see one. This is a crucial point and you will hear it many times from me. Even with prices rising and changing on a seemingly daily basis, the rule still applies. So before you can read the ads, or shop a "sale," you have to do your homework.
Let me show you how to easily gain price recognition. Begin by listing ten items that you consistently use. These items should come to mind easily; bread, hamburger, cereal, oranges, toilet tissue, and so on. Remember, this will apply for foods, non-foods, groceries, staple goods, office supplies or whatever things you buy and replace on a consistent basis. Use a page in your notebook or palm pilot. Create a page that will function as a worksheet on which you will record the date and prices.
Over the next several weeks, jot down the price of each of these items whenever you see it in the ads or in the stores, even though you may not be buying at the time. Continue recording the prices of the same items for as many weeks as it takes for you to be able to recognize a good price. It won't take more than a few weeks if you are consistent at checking prices. Though prices may fluctuate, you will soon recognize a normal price range for each item. Use this page as a resource when you read the ads and before you go to the store. A quick glance at the recorded prices will allow you to immediately recognize a good price, and even better a bargain price.
When you have become familiar with the prices for the first ten items start a new list of ten more items and continue these steps. (Keep the prior list. It's a resource, remember?)
Recognizing a good price is crucial to greater buying power. I can't emphasize how critical this one skill is. It is the foundation skill that supports almost all of the other money saving techniques that I discuss in my blogs or on my website or that are found in my books. It is important!
If you will do your homework you will know whether what you want is "on sale" or "for sale."
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more. Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
2 comments:
Great ideas! I'm going to start being more aware of the prices I see.
I'm excited to read your upcoming blogs!
Barbara,
Good info. And I loved your advice to find the things "on sale" not just "for sale". So often ads show something as being "on sale" and yet, when you check the price, it's no different than is was a week ... or a month ago.
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