One roundup a week. Written on Sunday night, posted Monday.
Last updated 08/24/2026
A price book is a list of what a thing normally costs and what the lowest price you have ever actually seen was. It is the only tool that lets you tell a sale from a sign. Mine lives in a notebook; this is the part of it worth publishing.
Hold is the price at which I buy normally. Stock up is the price at which I buy several. Central Ohio, two stores, 2026 prices.
| Item | Usual | Hold | Stock up | Logged low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken thighs, bone-in, per lb | $2.29 | $1.49 | $1.39 | $1.29 |
| Butter, per lb | $4.29 | $3.99 | $3.79 | $2.99 |
| Eggs, dozen, large | $2.79 | $2.29 | $1.99 | $1.49 |
| Canned tomatoes, 28oz | $1.19 | 89¢ | 79¢ | 74¢ |
| Dried black beans, per lb | $1.79 | $1.49 | $1.29 | $1.19 |
| Cheddar, 2lb block | $8.99 | $7.49 | $6.99 | $6.49 |
| Yellow onions, 5lb bag | $3.99 | $2.99 | $2.49 | $1.99 |
| Rice, long grain, per lb | 99¢ | 85¢ | 75¢ | 69¢ |
| Apples, per lb, in season | $1.79 | $1.29 | 99¢ | 89¢ |
| Composition book | $1.79 | 99¢ | 50¢ | 25¢ |
Pick fifteen things you buy every month. Write the price down every time you see them, dated, for eight weeks. That is enough to know what usual looks like, and after that the book maintains itself because you only write down the surprises.
Do not start with fifty items. I did, and I stopped after nine days.
08/24/2026 — the apples line previously gave the 3lb bag as the better unit price. Weighed bags ran under the tagged weight; loose is the safer buy and the row now reflects loose only.
“Usual” is what the shelf says on an ordinary Tuesday, not the manufacturer’s list price.
A logged low is a price I saw and wrote down. It is not a target and it is not a promise it will come back.
A regional chain and a discount grocer four miles apart. I do not drive to a third store for a saving under about four dollars, because the petrol eats it.