The “P” word! And you are wondering… oh no, is she going to start talk politics? Is it going to be more talk about Sarah Palin? Nahhh! I want to talk to you about price books. Yup… price books. What? You don’t know what a price book is? Get yourself a fresh cup of java and I’ll tell you all about it. It’s not too difficult, but I always like a good excuse to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

A price book is a notebook of sorts, in which you write down each item you purchase and at what store. I also like to write down the cost per ounce so I can compare easily. You can categorize the book by store, product, or categories, such as cleaning items, canned foods, etc.

Amy Dacyczyn (pronounced Da cision), author of the Tightwad Gazette, gave me this idea and it has worked well.

The idea behind the price book is that you can accumulate the cost for each of your most common items, thus determining where the best prices can be found. When something is on sale, you will know if it really is a good deal. You eventually get a sense of what is good and what is not.  I have used it to create goals for how much I spend on meals. My goals might be $3 for each breakfast and $3 for each lunch and $9 for each dinner. Your mileage may vary. At least with a price sheet, you will know where your money is going.

Another aspect of using this price book is that you can see seasonal trends for items. Produce are not the only items that fluctuate in price for the season. Turkey, ham, potatoes are just a few items that fluctuate according to the season or time of year.  You will learn when the best time is to purchase these items. Stock up! Plan ahead!

I have provided this price book for you in a .pdf format for your own use. If you prefer it in Excel, which can also be opened in Open Office, click here. Feel free to print, copy, distribute. I simply as that you not remove the copyright information and website at the bottom of the page.

Other reading on the topic can be found at the following:

• The Dollar Stretcher
• Get Rich Slowly
• No Credit Needed

Wait, I’m not quite done, yet. There’s another part of this picture. I have found a great little free program, which installs quite easily, wherein I can take all my data and set it up on the computer. The program can is simply called Shopping List and can be found here.

This program allows you to put in all your grocery items by categories. I will add an item so that it will say, for example:
Eggs Albertson’s 5doz. $8.19
Eggs Costco 5doz. $7.79
Eggs Walmart 5doz. $8.22

In this way, I can compare at a glance and make my shopping trip according to where I can get the best prices.

After I have all my information in, I can drag the items I need to shop for into the right hand area, as you can see in the image. This is my master grocery list. When it prints, it will list everything, including prices and the locations to shop (as I just described), as well as the prices by category. Plus, it will calculate the total at the bottom, so I know what to expect to pay when I go out.

Happy planning and shopping!

In my garage, I have a huge prize that I thought I’d share today.

My boys did a lot of labor in order to bring this baby home for us. It’s beautiful! It’s a restaurant-grade Vulcan stove range!

This thing is mammoth! It needs a lot of cleaning up!!! It has 2 ovens, side by side. There are only 2 burners, which are in the center with 2 huge griddles on both sides. The splash guard comes with and includes a warming shelf above. The below photos is the closest I could find. It is iron like the old fashioned cook stoves, and ready for propane.

This is something we would have for years to come!

It means we get to go back to having hash browns! It means… we get to sit down and actually eat fresh pancakes together… or bake multiple pizzas at the same time, instead of a lot of waiting!

The biggest problem now is finding a place to put it!  We have to tear something up to install it.
It is very heavy! We don’t have a place to set it up right now. We’d have to maybe add onto our kitchen so it could be on a cement floor. Our kitchen floor would would not handle it!  We are considering waiting until we move, which we are hoping to do sometime in the future.

Thanks for looking!

Yesterday, in this post, I shared a little about Azure Standard, a company that supplies businesses and co-ops with whole foods, grains, supplements and more. Today, I am going to share some of my favorite products.

When I started with Azure, I didn’t have a wheat grinder, so I bought my flour from them.  They have everything a person could want for all types of diets. Much of it, if not most, is grown on their own farm, Azure Farms. They carry wheat berries, oats, barley and corn for grinding.

Their seed, nut, and dried fruit assortment has been perfect for making granola and trail mix, along with their oats. We have very large bins in our pantry for large quantities of certain items such as flour, oats, sugar, rice, chocolate chips and dried beans.

Early in my relationship with Azure, my orders included additions to my kitchen arsenal. Cookie sheets, pizza pans, and lasagna pans, to name a few. They are stainless steel, which lasts forever. We’ve been using ours for over 12 years now and they hold up so well. The prices at Azure are very good. This is an investment, indeed. Metal bowls were also a must.  At that time, I had 5 children and our growing family was outgrowing my mixing bowls. Plus, if one wants to make bread, or anything else, in large quantities, at least one of these bowls are a must.

I found that they have a super selection of books that appeal to me and my family’s health. Books such as The Encyclopedia of Country Living, How To Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, Midwifery and Herbs, Prescription For Nutritional Healing, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause, books on vaccinations that got me to thinking, and many more, which are no longer listed. Perhaps I will share some of my favorite books in detail later.  We also found some books that work well with our home schooling. They are The Story of Liberty, Sweet Land of Liberty and the Boys of ’76, written by Charles C. Coffin. These are now required reading for our kids to be considered graduated from our homeschool.

Moving right along… Azure’s prices on baking products such as yeast, baking powder, garlic, and sea salt are good.  Anne to add amino acids in our meals, which is not only healthy, but improves the taste of the foods. I also have come to really enjoy brewer’s yeast on my popcorn, both of which I buy from Azure.

When I place my orders, I make a point to check out the current prices on produce, as I have found some very good buys, such as organic oranges for .65/pound.

I can do so much shopping without having to run to the grocery store.  This saves time and money.

Have I shared with you about Azure Standard? They specialize in natural, organic, earth-friendly foods and products. They deliver directly to customers, buying clubs and retailers by semi truck and UPS.

Let me spend a few minutes sharing about Azure. Maybe you’ve never considered using something like this for your groceries and other items.

I have been a member of Azure Standard since the mid 1990′s. They are out of Eastern Oregon, but truck their products all over and ship UPS to just about anywhere.

Some of the items I like to buy are pop corn, herbs and spices for the kitchen, baking powder, liquid aminos, oats, honey, etc.

Azure requires that you telephone them and set up an account, which requires that you pay for your first purchase BEFORE they ship it. After you have established a relationship with them, they will let you pay for your merchandise after you receive it, which is nice, because sometimes an item is out of stock and did not come out on the truck. If you have prepaid, you will be credited.

If you order on your own, you must have an order that totals $550, minimum; but if you order in a group, your individual order must be $50, minimum. In some areas, there is a three percent shipping fee for the truck. If you order via UPS, that’s a whole ‘nuther ball game.

I have a Yahoo Group, in which I coordinate our drop point. There are about 21 families in my co-op.  Not everyone orders each month. As a matter of fact, since Azure recently raised the minimum for the group to $550, we plan on ordering less. I digress.  I use the Yahoo Group calendar feature to send out reminders when the upcoming deadline is for ordering. I also communicate the coordinating of when we will be meeting the truck to get our merchandise.

It only takes moments for the truck to unload. Often, they drop at homes in residential areas, businesses, or in a parking lot. It is recommended that if you need to use a parking lot for your drop point, that you ask permission from the lot owner first.  The driver calls ahead of time and lets you know when he will be there.

I doubt if I have covered everything you might want to know about Azure Standard.  This link is a great place to read about getting started with Azure from their website. One of the first things that must be done is to find out if they deliver in your area and if there is already an established drop point.

Tomorrow, I will share with you some of the items I really like and use often. If you have questions, please feel free to ask and I can address them.

Monday was Miss Abigail’s 4th Birthday. With that big event, came the privilege for her to get to go onto the front entryway and go into the kitchen. We train our little ones for boundaries.

Checking out the kitchen.

Now you are probably wondering what these whacked out people are doing by not letting their crawling babies and toddlers into the kitchen and onto the entryway. What’s up with that? That’s a good question!

There are snakes in them thar parts! Our front door is left open most of the summer. There are too many ways in which a little one could be in danger if they wandered out by themselves.

Have you ever had a toddler try to “help” you by cleaning up and throwing away their shoes, toys, and what not? Have you become exasperated when the little ones get into cupboards? Have you had close calls when they are under foot and you are carrying a heavy boiling pot of potatoes across the room to drain? Yikes! This can all be avoided with training.

Maybe this put a new idea into your mind. Maybe not. Are there areas in which you wish your babies and toddlers didn’t have access to? Do you put up baby gates or train? I’d love to hear from you.

The little ones do, indeed, go into the kitchen, but they are always carried by someone to their seat.