Price Book, etc.

I had made a price book when I started this whole frugal thing, but over time let it slide because I knew where the bargains were and my pantry was well-stocked. Now that I need to replace numerous items, I decided to start a new price book. I was surprised to find that a store here that is supposed to be cheap (it's a big chain but old and a little dumpy--clean, but dumpy) is actually anywhere from a few pennies to as much as a dollar or so more per item! Now, in all fairness I only check a short list of things I buy myself. Maybe the overall store is cheaper. But the store where I usually shop, which is modern and very bright and clean, actually has more things cheaper! So just because a place looks cheap doesn't mean it is. A price book is the only way to know. And one thing that really surprised me is that for many items, Target--of all places--is the cheapest way to go! I had a nice surprise at CVS yesterday. They had Hot Pockets on sale 2/5. I had a dollar off two coupon. For some reason the HPs rang up 79 cents! The coupon wouldn't go through so I thought maybe I'd just picked up the wrong size. But the cashier checked and the coupon was for any HPs! I don't know what was going on with their computer, but I managed to get 2 boxes of Hot Pockets for about 60 cents. Sometimes, you get a break in life.