Local news just did a piece on the Grocery Game

[Robin in Tx]

Two shoppers, one a member of the grocery game and the other a self proclaimed "savvy shopper" who shops sales and regular coupons, went head to head at a local Kroger to see who could get their groceries for the better price (similar items on each list). The results were (subtotal before coupons/total after coupons):

 

Grocery Game: 126.95/43.12

 

Savvy shopper: 152.51/97.19

 

Wow. Pretty impressive!

 

I really want to see a side by side comparison of what they bought, though, to make sure it really is the same stuff.

[Momof2kids]

I really don't get why this is so big. I've tried the GG but the lists were full of stuff I don't need or want. Dog food, diapers, hemmiroid creme, pain medication and junk food.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

[Pamela H in Texas]

Robin,

 

I'm sure it was either the same stuff or similar (like size but not brand).

 

When I did the grocery game, I think I only once saved less than 50% (early in the process) and after a couple months (it takes about 10-12 weeks to really get going completely) I regularly did 65-90%. To be honest, unless it was only on a couple items, I didn't regularly see over 80% though like you hear of some people doing.

 

I LOVED buying two hundred something dollars of stuff for $40-$100 though. I only spent over $100 once and the one time I tracked it (Oct to Dec several years ago) averaged $30/week (granted, that was a time I was trying and we ate a little less healthy due to trying to get as low as possible on the game and because of time commitments). Still, if you imagine buying $600 worth of groceries for the month and only spending $200, that ain't bad, esp since you're getting all your cleaning and paper goods too!

[Twinmom]

Well, I'll chime in here since I've been doing the Grocery Game for years...I'd be willing to bet you my weekly grocery budget that they were the same or nearly so! I kick hiney every week using the GG, and I was a "savvy shopper" even beforehand. Saved enough my first year with the GG to pay for DD to go to private school for a year, just on the grocery budget! This past (and very average) week, for example, I spent $109.13 and saved $117.26 at Harris Teeter. The register wouldn't let me check out until they had a manager override! :D In case you are wondering what was in the cart, I'll tell you it was some meat, some produce, some cleaning supplies and tolietries, and a few healthier boxed foods like cereal and pasta. I once got over $800 worth of groceries in one day...but only spent about $200!

 

If you look at the GG list on any given day, you may see that pileup of stuff you'd never use. The thing about it is, there are just plain ole weeks like that no matter what you do! Sales run cyclically, everything comes up about once every 12 weeks. So on the hemoroid creme weeks, I just don't shop at all. I've built up a stockpile that allows me to do that and still have everything I need save maybe bananas, eggs, or something like that. You have to look at the overall picture, not the specific week.

[Michelle in AL]

What is their source for coupons? I just use the few on the grocery game's web site, coupon bar, smart source and red plum. I only save about $8/wk from coupons. I don't get how others are saving so much by using coupons unless they're counting Buy one get one free deals.

Any tips?

[Twinmom]

Buy more papers! That's where the vast majority of their coupons are found. Skip the printables altogether...the higher value coupons are usually in the paper. I get a minimum of 3 papers a week...used to get 6 when I was building my stockpile. The $1.50 or so per paper is easily made up in the purchase of just one or two coupon items at the rate you save with the GG. The other tip I'd offer would be to take more than one trip to the store, same day or not. Our stores here will only double 3 "like" coupons at a time (meaning per checkout), but don't care if you shop every day or even twice a day. So, if there's something I have lots of coupons for and really want, I'll keep on going back or shop with kidlets and give them a handful of coupons to try out!

[Pamela H in Texas]

sheesh TwinMom, between your post and my experience, I'm almost ready to go back!

 

Trouble for us is meeting with congregation at 10am when everything is sold out by 10am two towns over which is where we'd have to shop (2 stores at that) to do it.

 

But it sure was nice to have $150-200 months and have TONS of food and supplies rather than $400-500 months with worry about who's eating what when (did you eat the carrots? No, you can't have grape nuts for a snack. I was going to use that in the stew!).

[Pamela H in Texas]

BTW, I did 1-2 papers per week. Honestly, I'm a wimp when it comes to getting ready to go to the store.

[Mom0012]

I've been doing the grocery game for a year and a half and we don't eat any processed foods. Even if we wanted to, my son has tons of allergies so we can't unless I was going to make separate meals each day. I pretty much shop around the perimeter of the store and I save a lot of money.

 

Yes, many of the things that are listed each week are things that I am not going to buy. However, I revolve my menus around the things that are on sale that I can buy and I keep our grocery budget at $100 a week which is amazing compared to what I spent in the past. That $100 includes all household supplies as well - tp, paper towels, cleaners, medications, etc. It also includes at least $10 a week of items that I need to buy at the health food store for my son who is on a gluten free diet. I live in a very expensive area, so $100 a week is very good here.

 

Lisa

[Laura R (FL)]

You know, I don't think any of my stores double coupons. So for me, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a store brand than a name brand with a coupon. I don't see the big GG savings working around here. Am I missing something? Maybe I need to check it again myself...

[Moxie]

You know, I don't think any of my stores double coupons. So for me, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a store brand than a name brand with a coupon. I don't see the big GG savings working around here. Am I missing something? Maybe I need to check it again myself...

 

 

That was how I felt when I did it. The only store on my list is twice as high as WM so even with a coupon (none of our stores do double coupons) WM was cheaper or close enough that I didn't want to hassle with going to two stores. We're getting Aldi's here this fall, I hope that causes a little more competition.

[Twinmom]

Laura, I'd suggest that you get on the GG boards and ask for people in your area to comment on their savings. They can tell you (and will, in frank terms I'm sure!) the advantages/disadvantages to the GG where you live, and they can also tell you which lists are the best to purchase. Some stores are better than others!

 

When I first started, I spent a lot of time hanging out on the GG boards learning the ropes. They were very helpful. One of the best tips I got was to file my coupons as whole inserts, and not to cut them all out. Since the GG list tells you exactly where to find the coupons you are looking for, this works well. I just staple all my inserts together (like pages to like pages) and file by date. When ready to shop, I pull the inserts I need and clip only the coupons I want to use. 20 minutes to prepare to shop, tops. I couldn't do it otherwise with four kids, homeschooling and a traveling DH!

 

Oh, and another tip...rainchecks are your friends! I won't shop on Sunday unless I have to, which leaves me with Monday or Tuesday afternoons most weeks. If things are sold out, I get rainchecks and get the stuff the following week. If it is a really hot item, that also gives me time to order more coupons (I use www.thecouponclippers.com).

 

Good luck!

[Twinmom]

You know, I don't think any of my stores double coupons. So for me, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a store brand than a name brand with a coupon. I don't see the big GG savings working around here. Am I missing something? Maybe I need to check it again myself...

 

Just thought of something else...portion size is a big way to save with coupons. Buying more of a smaller size with a coupon sometimes makes a big difference, esp. when you are talking about store brand vs. name brand. That said, do a comparison with the store brand as you shop...sometimes they ARE actually better than the name brand even with the GG (but it's rare in my area). Also, the GG will list store brands when they go on sale, even if you can't use a coupon for them. Best sales end up on the GG list, coupons used or not.

[Renee in NC]

I really don't get why this is so big. I've tried the GG but the lists were full of stuff I don't need or want. Dog food, diapers, hemmiroid creme, pain medication and junk food.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

I feel this way!

[Tammyla]

I live in an area where no one doubles coupons, and have store policies of one coupon per item. I'd love to try the GG, but in my area, it seems like the savings wouldn't be there.

 

I love the idea of buying more papers for coupons though. Good tip. Thanks.

[Kimber]

How many members in your family?

 

Kimberly

[Joanne]

I really don't get why this is so big. I've tried the GG but the lists were full of stuff I don't need or want. Dog food, diapers, hemmiroid creme, pain medication and junk food.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

I need to get back "on" the grocery game.

 

It was invaluable when I had the daycare. This might help you. Don't think of TGG as providing your basics (I go to WalMart for that). Think of it as a stockpiling program where you build stores of *only* the things you use at the cheapest price possible. I was careful to only buy what I used/would use and buy those in quantity. Eventually, over the course of months, is when I realized the most savings because I needed to buy less "main groceries" as I was using GG items purchased at rock bottom.

[Twinmom]

How many members in your family?

 

Kimberly

 

If you are talking to me, we have six. When we were buying six papers a week, we actually had seven since my mom lived with us.

[Jenny in Florida]

I really don't get why this is so big. I've tried the GG but the lists were full of stuff I don't need or want. Dog food, diapers, hemmiroid creme, pain medication and junk food.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

Yes, IF you buy the exact same items (or another, similar brand), then I'm sure the Grocery Game and other, similar gimmicks will get you out the door with less out-of-pocket expense than going it on your own. However, I buy so few items that are regularly "couponed" that these sorts of things just don't work for me.

 

After the recent discussions about this, I did my own experiment. I made up a list of items I regularly purchase and went to two different local grocery stores. I wrote down the shelf prices for the name-brand merchandise (and played fair by noting when things were on sale) and then noted the price I usually pay for the store brand or generic. I discovered that, simply by shopping the way I do, I consistently saved over 20%. And that was before I did a single buy-one-get-one-free deal and without taking into account store sales on my preferred items. (And, of course, without spending money on a membership of any kind.)

 

I then went to the Grocery Game website and looked at the coupons they had up for free and couldn't find a single one on a product I regularly use.

 

In response to recommendations from various folks, I've also checked out some of the other blogs and websites that tell you how to combine deals at various stores, but, again, I have yet to find anything that makes it worth going to a store at which I don't normally shop just to pick up the single item I want.

 

We are currently doing an experiment to see if a wholesale club membership would be a good deal for us. I got a 60-day free membership at BJ's, and I am tracking what I buy and how much I'm saving. My current estimate is that, once you subtract the membership fee, we would save about $300 per year. Now, that's nothing to sneeze at, but it is, for me, questionable whether it is worth the hassles involved.

 

I don't know. I'm always intruged by these things, but I suspect it's just not meant for people who live and eat the way we do.

[tinkgumby]

I tried TGG for a while, and I did stock up on a lot of wonderful things for super-cheap. It was great knowing I had a backup on many things I regularly use.

 

BUT . . . I suffer from chronic fatigue, and it really just took too much effort for me, on top of everything else I was doing. It can save you lots of money, but you have to be willing to put a certain amount of time and energy into it!

[Diana in OR]

I've been doing GG for a couple of years now. The downside of it for me is that I don't like the timing of the lists. I don't like shopping during the 3-day window the list gives me.

 

There is only one store in my town that doubles coupons, and even at that, it will only double max. 4 coupons up to $.50 value, so at best, I save $2.00 with my doubler.

 

Having said all that, I think of GG as more of a marathon than a sprint. I use maybe 5-10% of the coupons in any given week. I was surprised at how many things I do use that there are coupons for. Keeping a healthy supply of coupons on hand is the key, imo. $1.00 coupon off a jar of name brand mayonnaise that is regularly $4.00 isn't much of a savings. However, if I wait until that mayo goes on sale for $1.99 and I use my coupon, I get it for $.99/jar.

 

We don't eat many processed foods. Here are the coupons I currently have in my binder:

 

Scott Toilet Paper (my brand of choice)

OxiClean

Ziploc Bags

Best Foods Mayo

Ken's Salad Dressing (I usually get it for FREE)

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice

Eggland's Best

Tuna

Mrs. Dash Salt Free Seasoning

Dole Pineapple

Pasta

Granola Bars

Almonds

Sour Cream

Cheese

Cheerios

Toothpaste

Bandaids ( I won't buy generics. They fall off.)

Kotex

Disposable Razors

Loreal Lipstick

Dog biscuits (Don't have time to make my own. Don't want to, either.)

Sunscreen

[lv2sing]

I learned much of how I save money from the Tightwad Gazette when she was first writing it, but I have never heard of this? I am going to google it, but would love to hear more about it! Thanks ladies!

 

Ronda

[Jenny in Florida]

I kept my finger on the pause button and took notes of every item I could identify that these ladies bought or that showed up on the Grocery Game lists they showed. And I now know why I can't get things like this to work for me.

 

All together, I wrote down 51 items. Some of them were generic categories from the "shopping list" they put up on the screen. Most were specific brand-name products that showed up on the Grocery Game lists or were shown in the ladies' carts or being rung up at the cashier.

 

Of those 51 items, there were only 12 in terms of general categories that I might purchase: produce, juice, rice, pizza snacks (for my lazy husband to make for himself nights when I'm not home to cook), chips, pain reliever, canned beans, raisins, spaghetti, tortillas, artificial sweetener and pasta.

 

There were a few general categories on the list that were things we do buy, but only specific brands. For example, "dental hygiene products" were on the list shown on screen. Well, we do use toothpaste, but only a specific, natural brand. I do watch when that one goes on sale at the health food store or pharmacy and stock up, but I would not be willing to buy another, mainstream brand just because it was on sale. Similar thing with laundry detergent. We regularly buy one of two or three brands, whichever is cheapest, and I stock up when I can. However, I would not buy either of the brands shown in this segment, no matter how cheap they were.

 

I think there were 5 of those: toothpaste, shampoo, cat food, deodorant, laundry detergent.

 

The remaining 34 items--more than 60% of the list--were things that I not only do not buy regularly but would not buy, no matter what the price, because we would not eat or use them: meat, chicken, sweetened cereals, cake mix, gum, pancake mix, milk, pudding, canned frosting, brownie mix, canned soups, canned vegetables, Chef Boyardee products, Jello, marinades, baby wipes, canned mandarin oranges, granola bars, etc.

 

So, as I've said before, the thing is I'm sure that if these are products you buy on a regular basis, services like this one will save you money over not using them. However, if these aren't products you buy and you are not willing to be pretty flexible, it's probably not worth the investment in time and membership fees and lifestyle changes that would ne necessary to make it pay off.

[Diana in OR]

12 out of 51? That sounds about right for me. I would say, on average, I probably buy 1/4 of the things on my GG list. The key is, if you can wait until your preferred item is on sale with a coupon, you can save a lot. (Yes, there are coupons for a certain natural toothpaste.)

[Tammy]

I don't buy most of that stuff either. The time and effort that goes in to clipping and finding all those coupons....well....I don't have the patience for that, LOL! I only buy certain things when they are on sale (pizza, cookies, etc). If they are not on sale....I don't buy them.

 

I think the GG is good for people who eat a lot of packaged foods.....

 

Tammy

[jmgconner]

The Grocery Game provides more than just deals with coupons. We use it to take advantage of when things are at their lowest at a particular grocery store. Sometimes, we will only use one coupon, but we will save big because we bought meat or cheese at their lowest price. I agree with the person that said you have to look at the big picture and not concentrate on one week.

[Jenny in Florida]

12 out of 51? That sounds about right for me. I would say, on average, I probably buy 1/4 of the things on my GG list. The key is, if you can wait until your preferred item is on sale with a coupon, you can save a lot. (Yes, there are coupons for a certain natural toothpaste.)

 

Oh, I see those coupons, and I use them. The thing is that the brand we buy is stocked by exactly three stores in this area, only one of which is on the Grocery Game list. So, sure, I clip the coupons and watch for the sales, but it's not worth more than $50 per year to have someone else do that for me. We just don't use that much toothpaste, you know?

 

And I should have mentioned that, of those 12 items, about half are things for which I am picky about brands (since many include non-vegan ingredients), otheres are things I buy only when they are on sale (canned beans and pain relievers, for example) and most are things I regularly buy generic. I also already stock up on them when the sales are good. Pasta, for example, was recently buy-one-get-one-free for a couple of weeks, and I now have enough to last us several months. Ditto with the pain reliever.

 

I just went through and added it up and figured out that I would spend about $60-70 per month on those items if I paid full price. I estimate that I regularly save an average of 30-35% on these items just by buying generic and watching sales and stocking up, which brings it down to no more than $49 per month. So, even if I got 50% off on all of those items for a whole year, I would save no more than $300. In order to get the Grocery Game lists for the two stores I regularly use that are available through this service, it would cost me almost $100 per year, meaning that my net savings would be only about $200 annually, or less than the savings I would get by joining a wholesale club. (And remember that I wasn't at all sure that will turn out to be worth it.)

 

Again, if it works for you, that's great! I just think we live a lifestyle that doesn't gel well with this approach.

[Shelly in VA]

My experience, too. Generally, I stick to the outer aisles of the grocery store - dairy, produce, meat, etc., so I can match ads to coupons on the couponable items I buy pretty easily.

 

Plus, the area where I live didn't actually match with the GG stores - the GG listing said we had a Giant, which is the parent company of Martin's and Safeway, but since we don't have an actual Giant store the ads and sales didn't match my local store. The only stores that I could actually match up were CVS and Rite-Aid, and while I did stock up on a few things, I didn't think it was worthwhile since I couldn't use GG in the actual grocery store.

 

Shelly

[clarkacademy]

Will someone please tell me what the grocery game is?? I have never heard of it before and how do you double your coupons ? This may be something I want to learn about.

[Kay in Cal]

You really have to clip paper coupons... the ones on the site are not nearly enough. I actually have people from church who save and give me all their coupon inserts that they don't use. No expense to me...

 

The BEST is when our local stores have TRIPLE coupons. We went to the store every day during that time period two years ago... and I still have enough free Windex/Hand soap/Air freshener to last me another year. Stocking up is key--as I remember I got 12 free bottles of barbeque sauce that week. It's all gone now...

[Faith]

I can't tell you the hundreds and hundreds of dollars I've saved printing online coupons and getting double coupons each Sunday. Go here to see what coupons will be in the Sunday paper http://www.taylortownpreview.com/. I shop CVS, Walgreens, Homeland (double coupons), Walmart. I use http://www.afullcup.com/upload/index.php http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/

http://forums.slickdeals.net/index.php

 

and numerous frugal blogs for tips and freebies, samples and such. I don't use Grocery Game but I have friends who use it and save. I just went to Walmart this week and saved over $20 in coupons. I usually save over $50 in coupons or more each week. I walk out of CVS with a hundred dollars worth of stuff FREE after I roll my ECB's. Coupons are so worth the savings. HTH

[Faith]

Will someone please tell me what the grocery game is?? I have never heard of it before and how do you double your coupons ? This may be something I want to learn about.

 

 

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

 

Certain stores will double coupons for you. We only have Homeland that will double coupons up to $1 but many other people have Kroger and other stores that will double and even triple a coupon. HTH

[lighthouseacademy]

I've been doing the grocery game for a year and a half and we don't eat any processed foods. Even if we wanted to, my son has tons of allergies so we can't unless I was going to make separate meals each day. I pretty much shop around the perimeter of the store and I save a lot of money.

 

Yes, many of the things that are listed each week are things that I am not going to buy. However, I revolve my menus around the things that are on sale that I can buy and I keep our grocery budget at $100 a week which is amazing compared to what I spent in the past. That $100 includes all household supplies as well - tp, paper towels, cleaners, medications, etc. It also includes at least $10 a week of items that I need to buy at the health food store for my son who is on a gluten free diet. I live in a very expensive area, so $100 a week is very good here.

 

Lisa

 

I really want to know how you get produce, grains, and beans cheap... we are vegetarian and don't eat processed foods... and one of my daughters is allergic to eggs and all three are allergic to dairy... I have never seen a coupon for produce or grains or beans. Are there ever any?

[Diana in OR]

I really want to know how you get produce, grains, and beans cheap... we are vegetarian and don't eat processed foods... and one of my daughters is allergic to eggs and all three are allergic to dairy... I have never seen a coupon for produce or grains or beans. Are there ever any?

 

I buy my grains and dried beans in 5 and/or 25lb. bags from a co-op. That's the cheapest way I know of. Sometimes Costco has 10lb. bags of organic rice. If canned beans are really cheap, I'll buy a few-I consider those to be a convenience item. You might see an occasional rice coupon, but it's usually quick rice or white rice, which we don't eat.

 

GG does list produce specials, and usually indicates if a produce item is organic. Yes, there are coupons out there for produce. You'll see them if you start couponing much. A lot of times, they are for bagged produce, though not always. The coupons are often in the produce section on tear off pads. Not too long ago, Albertson's had several varities of bagged organic salads BOGO, which made the price @ $3.50 for 2 bags. Then there were coupons near the salad for $1.00/bag. Combined, it brought the price down to $.75/bag. Not bad.

[missplacedalaskan]

I did the GG for a couple of months and stocked up on LOTS of soaps, razors, shampoo, conditioner type stuff. When it came to actually buying food I found that the best buys were actually at Winn Dixie on their Buy One Get One Free sales.

[lighthouseacademy]

A lot of times, they are for bagged produce, though not always. The coupons are often in the produce section on tear off pads. Not too long ago, Albertson's had several varities of bagged organic salads BOGO, which made the price @ $3.50 for 2 bags. Then there were coupons near the salad for $1.00/bag. Combined, it brought the price down to $.75/bag. Not bad.

 

 

I used to coupon a ton but I have NEVER seen a coupon for produce. I do wish I had seen that deal you mentioned on albertson's though. I never shop there because they have so little of what I usually want, but they are across the street and I could have made a special trip for that.

[Twinmom]

I've seen some coupons for produce, and some deals where you get free produce when you buy salad dressing (or something like that). I've recently gotten bagged salad, lemons, clementines and apples on coupons. It's not frequent, but it's out there. There are also sometimes tear off pads in the produce section that have coupons for produce. I've actually seen it listed on the GG list that way...look for tear off pad near the cheese, for example.

[Faith]

I really want to know how you get produce, grains, and beans cheap... we are vegetarian and don't eat processed foods... and one of my daughters is allergic to eggs and all three are allergic to dairy... I have never seen a coupon for produce or grains or beans. Are there ever any?

 

 

Yes! There are produce and grain coupons out there! I just received lettuce and tomato coupons this past weekend. Grains are very frequent. Just have to get the paper and look for them.

[Diana in OR]

Yes! There are produce and grain coupons out there! I just received lettuce and tomato coupons this past weekend. Grains are very frequent. Just have to get the paper and look for them.

 

 

Other than rice, I haven't seen many grain coupons (or any at all that I can think of), oh, except for oatmeal.

[Faith]

Other than rice, I haven't seen many grain coupons (or any at all that I can think of), oh, except for oatmeal.

 

 

I have whole grain bread, oats, cereal, rice, cous cous, crackers, just to name a few of the coupons I've received. Their out there. Just have to look for them. :)

[clarkacademy]

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

 

Certain stores will double coupons for you. We only have Homeland that will double coupons up to $1 but many other people have Kroger and other stores that will double and even triple a coupon. HTH

 

 

 

Thank you Faith