Does anyone use The Grocery Game anymore?

[momofkhm]

I tried it once and got so caught up in buying things at a great price I was actually spending more money so I stopped. It was just like yesterday when I was at the store with dh - chicken was under $2 a pound so we bought 8 packages. We are not going to eat chicken 8 times this week! But that was 1/3-1/2 of the grocery budget this week. I remember spending an entire day running around to 3 or 4 stores to get the best prices on stuff.

 

So how do you make it actually work?

[Renthead Mommy]

Both times I tried it I could not save enough to cover the membership cost and newspaper costs. Some weeks I could not even save enough to cover even just the newspaper. Coupons just seem to only be for crappy packaged food that I would never buy, or could make from real food easily enough. And I am not what you would call a great cook or anything, just basic, but I don't but boxed stuff like Hambuger Helper and the like.

[*Michelle*]

I had much the same experience. I didn't mind the running around when I just had one kid, but I can't do it with four. Sometimes I think it would be worth it for toiletries, but I'm much more brand loyal now then I was then. I don't feel like switching shampoo or face wash every couple of weeks.

 

I do pretty well just focusing on buying perishable items that are on sale and getting the rest online.

[FLDebbie]

I have never heard of the Grocery Game, but it appears it is a paid service. I am a couponer but would never pay for coupon match-ups when it's all over the place on the Internet for free. My two favorite sites are southernsavers.com and IheartPublix.com (if you don't live in the southeast those won't help, but there are likely sites for where you live). That's one way to save money. Also, I spend $4/week on newspapers understanding that some weeks papers will net more coupons than others. You also have to remember that you might buy a newspaper this week and not use a coupon for another month or so. I also get coupons from my sister and a friend who don't use them. So, I look at it as about $200/year overehead, but I save WAY more than that.

 

As for the chicken, freeze it! You can either freeze it the way it is or cook it up and then freeze it. I will usually freeze some plain uncooked, some plain cooked (great for quick salads), and some cooked in recipes.

 

I used to go to two or three stores (all very close by), but now only go to Publix unless Winn Dixie has a great sale (which isn't often enough for me to want to go in there) and I'll go to CVS for the drug store deals. I also used to buy some odd stuff we wouldn't buy, but also pretty much stick to our regular food. Yes, a lot of coupons are for pre-packaged junk, but there are also plenty of coupons for spices, oil, razors, yogurt, or cheese that we'd buy anyway.

[Slartibartfast]

I do use some coupons, I like totallytarget.com. I had not seen the Publix one, I will check it out. We love Publix, we like the customer service and that they treat their employees well.

 

I find that often the products are not something I am going to use, I don't tolerate msg very well and nitrates give me migranes so I probably don't save as much as I could. I print most of my coupons, that allows me to pick and choose. I also sign up on websites for coupon mailings. In addition to food I do use them for things like personal care products or OTC meds.

 

Some stores will take a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon, that is generally what I try to do. Target will do this as well Publix but I don't know who else. Bi-Lo does double coupons so that is another thing to consider. I would call around for coupon policies to the stores in your area. What may seem cheaper isn't always.

 

Sometimes Target has deals where you can get a $5 giftcard with certain purchases. For instance, there is a $2 coupon for my husband's contact solution. (I couldn't get it off a coupon website but I did manage to get it off the Re-Nu website) A box of 2 is 12.99 but it came with a giftcard. With the coupon and giftcard it is more like $5.99. Since we will go back to Target I like getting the giftcards. I am saving them up atm.

 

Whole Foods has coupons. One day I managed with coupons to get boxed coconut milk for a very good deal. But I bought several and my daughter thought it was terribly embarrassing.

 

Somethings are just not things I want to leave laying around. I bought a bunch of pepperoni with coupons thinking, "I can stick these in the freezer and use them for pizzas (I can't eat pizza anyways. boo) or sandwiches every now and then," but apparently my husband thinks pepperoni is a snack. I failed to stick them in the freezer in time. :/

 

I also use coupons for canned soups, pork n beans, and chili which I can use for canned food drives and things which involved canned goods for admissions into things.

[Slartibartfast]

I think I saved about $30 this week and that covers the cost of at least one package of printer ink for our printer.

[Erica in OR]

I used to, but gave it up when we had newborn twins and it was pretty obvious I'd never be able to get to the store(s) by myself every week. I was on it long enough that I could gauge what was a rock-bottom deal on things that we usually ate anyway. If I want to match up coupons now I use fabulesslyfrugal.com, since they have Fred Meyer matchups as well, which The Grocery Game never offered.

 

Erica in OR

[Mom0012]

I got tired of running around to 4 stores a week. I never went over our budget because of the deals though. I set it at $100 a week and would first figure out what I absolutely had to buy for the week and what the cost would be -- usually about $30. I'd spend the remaining $70 on sale items and stock up. I often did what the OP did and spent a big chunk of the money on meat when it was on sale and then stuck it in the freezer. Even before I stopped using the GG, I quit with the coupons. Those never seemed to work out for me. It always seemed like the store either wouldn't have the item with the coupon on sale or in stock or the coupon would not be available in my area. I was spending way too much time on the coupons for the little savings I gained.