Holy crap. I just knocked $104 off my grocery bill this week!

[thatsright]

Well I just signed up for the 4 Week Trial. I'll let you folks know if its really worth it in the long run.......

BUT, I'm a single guy and I only spend on Average $35-50 a week on Groceries, so I don't think the potential savings will be realized. Even more so, since I there really isn't a Costco/Sam's Club around here. And I've never been one to buy 20 Rolls of Toilet Paper, and end up paying more than I would just getting 4 Rolls at the Stop And Shop. But 'Terri's' rule is a good one to stock up, so that in a few weeks you won't 'need' as much to buy on a weekly basis.

I just checked my new list for the Local Stop and Shop, and I didn't see ANY coupons I would of used this week. But thats not to say next week will be the same.

STILL, I'm very skeptical that this will Pan out for me, at least.

But for only a BUCK, why not (Just cancel folks the day before your trial runs out or you'll get hit with the $10 fee......)

And thats my $0.03

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: Shanti
I shop at Costco for the things that are a good deal there(coffee, ground beef patties, chicken breasts) and WinCo for everything else.
I am always amazed when I can get a very very full cart of groceries for $100 at WinCo when $50 gets me two bags at Albertson's or Safeway.
When you look at the prices, practically everything at Winco is at least 20% less than the other stores for the same brands, and 40-50% less if you buy the generic brands.

I shop for a family of 5.
We spend about $100 a week on groceries.

Mmm...one of the many reasons I miss Oregon. WinCo rules! So does Trader Joes!

 

[Danman]

Mmmm.......but I don't have a newspaper subscription.....that means I would have to get one. Hrmmm, RossMAN find me a hot deal on my local newspaper at cheap prices!

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: freesia39

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: freesia39
you know, if the premise is to buy in bulk what's on sale with coupons, i do that already.

1. clip coupons EVERY WEEK. for things you need/regularly buy, would consider buying only if on sale, and even some random things you never would know about
2. scour ads for sales every week. when on sale, buy.
3. check your local paper. every sunday, the big three markets advertise in the LA Times, and offer some "extra" savings.

Thank you for the detailed post, it really helps a lot.

I don't think we'll need GroceryGame.com because we already do this. Clip coupons on Tue and Sun, look for sales every week and use double coupons against competitors.

BTW - How's your Canon S400 been so far?

LOVE it to death. the bf figured out the features so he was taking continuous "action" shots at the clippers game and took some video that turned out pretty darn good. and i figured out how to take black and white pics!

Awesome, glad to hear you like it

I wish this were available in our area (Portland, Oregon 97266) so I could at least test out the trial.

 

[wyvrn]

Meh. I do this already. Buy the bulk non-perishables like cleaning supplies, toothpaste, and paper. Another way to save is to go to Farmer's Market and buy in bulk with several other families for the discount, then divy up your veggies and fruits when you get home.

Edit-- look farther down for my couponing post. Still don't need the list to save money.

 

[SP33Demon]

Anyone else try this yet? I'm going to sign up 2day.

 

[CPA]

I have been doing this for about 4 months now and I think it works pretty good. Not everything that is on sale is listed, but it does help me get organized and KNOW AHEAD OF TIME things that are on sale and what I can expect to pay after coupons and rebates. But, sometimes the list is not correct and items aren't marked as what is on the list. This is rare though.

I save on average about 48-50% on my bill at Kroger. My best was a bill of about $385.00 that I ended up only having to pay $180 for (I have a family of 6). The cashier and bagger applauded me on that one. My total bill has been averaging about $135 (before it was about $190/week) now that I am stocked up on things and about every 4 weeks I only need to grab milk, fruit and veggies.

So far, the $10/month is worth it.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: cashman
Mmmm.......but I don't have a newspaper subscription.....that means I would have to get one. Hrmmm, RossMAN find me a hot deal on my local newspaper at cheap prices!

You don't have to subscribe, they sell it in stores...

I've been doing this for about a month now, saved enough to make it wortwhile for sure.

 

[StageLeft]

Hmm I need to look into this!

 

[wyvrn]

I haven't subscribed to the list, and I still save a lot of money. I just browsed Fatwallet's grocery coupon forum for a while to see how they do it. Kudos to *Rossman* for turning me on to FatWallet. Anyway, here is how I did my first time out couponing/salesing:

Kroger:

Total Paid: 12.37
Total saved: 14.47
percentage: ~53%


CVS:

total paid: 10.xx
total saved: 10.xx
percentage: ~50%


Walmart:


Total Paid: 8.00
total saved: 26.40
percentage: ~75%

So I paid around $30 for stuff that at normal price, costs $80. It took me approximately 30 minutes to clip and organize the coupons from the Sunday paper. Kroger doubles everything up to 50cents, and triples up to 39cents. And it's always nice when Kroger puts the items on sale every week that have coupons in the Sunday paper I also wait until Sunday evening, when I can buy two Sunday papers for $1 each instead of the normal price of $1.50 at my local grocery store.

I haven't subscribed to the list, and I haven't stockpiled yet. I just bought stuff I normally will use in about a 2week to 1 month's time frame. It was so easy, I regret not doing it sooner. This week Kroger has a huge Buy One/Get One sale including meats, baby items, canned items, cereals, snacks, dairy, etc.. I am going to make out like a bandit when I apply coupons on top of that

 

[amnesiac]

Been staying current with the coupons. My average savings is at least 45%, if not much more.

The best was two weeks ago when Vons had 6-7 items for free. Bought $25 of groceries for $5. Cashier was astounded.

Also, managed to get 6 packs of Dentyne Ice gum (normally 99 cents each) all for free. Thanks coupons!

 

[VictorLazlo]

It seems to me like anyone could figure this out on their own without paying for a subscription. Those of us who haunt the Hot Deals forum already know how to combine a PM with a rebate to get hardware for nothing. This is the same exact concept. I don't need a secret list to tell me what's on sale. Publix sends out flyers every week.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: amnesiac
Been staying current with the coupons. My average savings is at least 45%, if not much more.

The best was two weeks ago when Vons had 6-7 items for free. Bought $25 of groceries for $5. Cashier was astounded.

Also, managed to get 6 packs of Dentyne Ice gum (normally 99 cents each) all for free. Thanks coupons!

This is turning out to be a lot of fun. I figure with the savings we realize, my wife and I can put $100/month into a 529 account for our daughter. We only need $150 a month to pay for her education outright, so that's 2/3 of her education paid for by couponing

 

[ATLien247]

This is available in my area, but at a supermarket which I seldom shop. However, the supermarket at which I shop most frequently matches competitors prices. Would it be in my best interest to try to subscribe to the list, and then try to match everything? Or would it be better to shop at the Grocery Game's designated supermarket?

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: VictorLazlo
It seems to me like anyone could figure this out on their own without paying for a subscription. Those of us who haunt the Hot Deals forum already know how to combine a PM with a rebate to get hardware for nothing. This is the same exact concept. I don't need a secret list to tell me what's on sale. Publix sends out flyers every week.

It's not so much a new concept or secret list, but a way to get organized, simply and easily, before going out. It also provides deals that might not be published in the fliers and may point out items that I could buy relatively cheap or free that I may have overlooked.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: VictorLazlo
It seems to me like anyone could figure this out on their own without paying for a subscription. Those of us who haunt the Hot Deals forum already know how to combine a PM with a rebate to get hardware for nothing. This is the same exact concept. I don't need a secret list to tell me what's on sale. Publix sends out flyers every week.

"Teri" acknowledges that you could do that, but what makes her service better is that she tracks the sale trends to know when a product is going to be sold at its lowest price. They might have a sale on an item one week, and sell it for even less two weeks later. You're right though, you can save almost as much money by just watching the papers yourself.

 

[iwearnosox]

I just signed up for the trial, they only cover safeway in my area. Albertson's is typically more competitive, however.

 

[Crucial]

Another vote for Aldi here. I shop for a family of 4 and used to spend $125 a week on Groceries. At Aldis I spend $45-$60 a week and get more food.

 

[TallBill]

i should clip coupons.. meh

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: CPA
I have been doing this for about 4 months now and I think it works pretty good. Not everything that is on sale is listed, but it does help me get organized and KNOW AHEAD OF TIME things that are on sale and what I can expect to pay after coupons and rebates. But, sometimes the list is not correct and items aren't marked as what is on the list. This is rare though.

I save on average about 48-50% on my bill at Kroger. My best was a bill of about $385.00 that I ended up only having to pay $180 for (I have a family of 6). The cashier and bagger applauded me on that one. My total bill has been averaging about $135 (before it was about $190/week) now that I am stocked up on things and about every 4 weeks I only need to grab milk, fruit and veggies.

So far, the $10/month is worth it.

Yup, I've been doing "The List" too, and saving roughly 50-60% off everything I buy! I think it's definitely worth it, and saves me alot of time...

 

[mugs]

Just spent $35 on $75 worth of groceries.
Some great deals:
$.24 for a half gallon of Tropicana OJ
$.55 for a bottle of Fantastik cleaner ($2.49 regularly)
$.19 for a four-pack of O-Cel-O sponges ($1.39 regularly)

 

[jagr10]

The stuff I buy is rarely on sale. Usually it's the crap like ravioli cans and campbell's soup. I'm not going to stockpile that stuff.