Do You Keep a “Best Prices” List?

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Something I've done from time to time (and have resurrected recently) is keeping a “best prices” list. I remember my friend Sue had incredibly detailed price lists back in our budget-obsessed early 20s, but I've only sometimes done the practice, and usually only for commonly bought items. But let's discuss — do you keep a best prices list? What things go on your list?

What My Best Prices List spreadsheet Looks Like

At the moment, I've got a Sheets document saved in the cloud that basically lists things like the retailer, the product, the price, the quantity in words, a column for “math” and then the price per units. The tricky thing about retailers is that they will change all sorts of small, tiny details to obscure who has the better price. For example, toilet paper — how many sheets per roll is a pretty common piece of information, but not always — they may also change whether the toilet paper is two ply or single ply.

Like I said, my list generally includes commonly bought items, even if they are smaller purchases like toilet paper, diet Coke, eggs, and more.

Am I saving a lot of money? Well, look at it this way — I sometimes will go out of my way to go to a big store thinking they have a better price on soda or eggs, but then once I get to the big store I end up buying a lot of other stuff that I probably don't need. (I like to joke that it's the entrance fee, especially to places like Ikea or Costco.) But if I know that the eggs aren't that great of a deal, I won't make the detour and then don't pay the entrance fee.

I've also found that it's a great way to recognize quickly when there is a really great sale at an unexpected store, and to stock up.

A third benefit: it gives me a marginal better sense of control over the incredibly volatile times we live in. Looking back over my life I think this is the best indication of when the “best prices” list rears its little head — the 2009 recession, times of big personal change, or a really large purchase or downpayment.

Readers, how about you? Do you keep a “best prices” list? What items go on your list?