Use Sound Investment Principles

The principle is simple: buy low, sell high. Or in our case, buy low and eat low when prices are higher.

It sounds simple, but buying low is one of the hardest things to do, whether we’re buying stocks or groceries.

Human nature gets in the way. We buy because we need something today. We pass on bargains because we already have some.

Over the years, I’ve learned a simple truth:

Need is expensive. Patience is cheap.

It’s why investors often establish a “buy price” before they ever enter the market. They decide in advance what price they’re willing to pay for an investment.

Grocery shopping works much the same way.

A purchasing question is no longer do I need it.

The question is, what price are you willing to pay?

If you’ve decided that $4.99 a pound (2026) is your buy price for ground beef, something magical happens:

At $8.99, you walk away.
At $6.99, you walk away.
At $4.99, you buy.

You don’t have to argue with yourself in the meat aisle. You already made the decision.

In fact, you may buy even if you already have some ground beef at home.

Because once you’ve established a buy price, the question changes.

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The question is no longer

“Do I need this today?”

It’s

“Do I have enough to get me to the next time I can buy at this price?”

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If the answer is no, you buy.

And just because ground beef is at a low doesn’t mean you’ll be eating hamburgers every night for the next month.

You’re not buying this week’s meals.

You’re buying future meals at today’s prices. A Portfolio of options.

Building Your Portfolio

Over time, you’re replacing high-priced purchases with low-priced purchases.

You stop buying food because you need it today.

Instead, you begin buying each item when it reaches its low.

You pass on high prices. You move on opportunities.

One week, it might be ground beef. The next, cheese. Then butter. Then pork shoulder. Then coffee.

Eventually, almost everything you buy is purchased at a low price.

You’re not just buying dinner.

You’re buying future meals at today’s prices.

You’re reducing your exposure to future price increases.

You’re giving yourself options.

Options build security.
Options build peace of mind.
Options create breathing space.

And eventually, another shift in thinking occurs:

Food purchased at the right price and stored properly becomes an asset.

The Store Isn’t Setting Your Price. It’s Making a Bid.

Once you’ve established a buy price and begun building your portfolio, something else changes.

You stop reacting.

You stop buying because you’re out.

You stop buying because you’re afraid prices will go higher.

You stop buying because you need something for dinner tonight.

Instead, you begin to choose.

You choose when to buy.

You choose what price you’ll pay.

You choose when to pass.

You choose when to move on an opportunity.

The grocery store isn’t setting your price.

It’s asking:

“Will you buy this at this price?”

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Often, the answer is no.

And that’s what all of this really buys you.

Not just lower grocery bills.

Freedom.

The freedom to wait.

The freedom to say no.

The freedom to take advantage of an opportunity.

The freedom to change your mind.

The freedom to avoid paying today’s price because you planned for tomorrow.

And perhaps most importantly:

The freedom to stop reacting and start choosing.

Because the more options you have, the less vulnerable you are to being forced into a decision by circumstances.

Here’s What You Need to Make This Work

Start a Price Book

Before you can establish a buy price, you need data.

A price book is simply a notebook, spreadsheet, or database where you track the items you buy regularly. Dedicate a page to each item.

Don’t worry about tracking everything. Start with the items you buy most often.

A price book doesn’t just tell you what things cost. It teaches you how to think about buying them.

Over time, your price book will tell you everything you need to know:

Because after a while, you’re not just recording facts.

You’re recording lessons:

I should have bought more.
I bought too much.
I forgot that this item goes on sale every six weeks.
One store isn’t my best source for chicken.
$1.99 chicken is a stock-up price.
I don’t need to panic because another sale will come.

And that’s why I think the price book may be the most important tool in your entire system.

Because the price book is where:

Data becomes knowledge.

Knowledge becomes judgment.

Judgment becomes freedom.

Eventually, you’ll find yourself needing the price book less and less because you’ll begin to recognize your buy prices instinctively. Every now and then, we all get a little careless. If you need a reset, pull out your pricebook.

The price book doesn’t just teach you prices. It teaches you judgment.

Know How to Compare

This is getting easier as many stores are including ounces and/or pound pricing.

But still, we need to know how to convert:

ounces to pounds: multiply ounces by 16
pounds to ounces: divide by 16
liters to ounces: multiple liters by 34 approximately
and sometimes how many ounces are a serving. (for everything from food to laundry detergent)

Learn to compare different forms of the same item:

block cheese versus sliced, shredded, or chunked,
frozen juice versus bottled juice,
powdered, concentrated, and ready-to-serve products.
and any number of things.

Know when a price is good not because the store tells you it is, but because you’ve figured it out over time.

Establish Your Buy Price

Once you know what a good price looks like, establish your buy price.

This is the price at which you stop thinking and start buying.

Write it down.

Use a notebook, spreadsheet, app, or database. You’ll refer to it over and over again.

Your buy price isn’t necessarily the lowest price you’ve ever seen. It’s the price at which you know you’re getting good value and can confidently stock up.

Keep a Buy Sheet

Don’t wait until you’ve run out.

Keep a running list of items that are getting low, separate from this week’s shopping list.

That way, when you see an item at your buy price, you can purchase it before you need it.

This prevents one of the most expensive mistakes in grocery shopping:

Having to buy something because you’ve run out.

Need is expensive. Patience is cheap.

And yes, train everyone in the household to add items to the list!

You’ll find that many items go on sale about once a quarter (every three months), while other items cycle differently. Seeing these cycles helps you learn when best pricing might be for an item and judge not only when to buy but also how much. Check out Cyclic Changes in the Market.

Learn to Think in Opportunities

The goal isn’t to buy everything all the time.

The goal is to recognize opportunities when they appear.

Over time, you’ll begin to recognize:

seasonal lows,
holiday promotions,
loss leaders,
clearance opportunities,
and recurring sales cycles.

Eventually, buying at a low price becomes less of a strategy and more of a habit.

And you’ll find your home filled with food that costs far less than if you’d bought it only when you needed it.

Play the Long Game

Food prices aren’t random. They move in cycles.

Some weeks are stock-up weeks, and some weeks aren’t.

Sales cycles don’t follow your paycheck. Seasonal pricing doesn’t follow your paycheck. Holiday promotions don’t follow your paycheck. And neither do the needs of your family.

That’s why flexibility matters.

The goal isn’t to chase every sale. It’s to recognize true opportunities when they occur and leverage them when they make sense for your household.

That’s a very different approach to grocery shopping.

The goal is not simply:

“Spend less money.”

The goal is:

“Bring home the most groceries for the least amount of money over time.”

That’s a completely different mindset.

Play the long game.

Create room.

Create flexibility.

Take advantage of opportunity.

I’d recommend checking out Strategy Seven: Maximize “Profits” and Minimize Losses next.

It’s all about what to do with your grocery bounty once you’ve brought it home – how to store food properly, extend its life, reduce waste, and protect the value of the money you’ve already spent.

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To start at the beginning of the series, Winning at the Grocery, see The Twelve Strategy Overview