Does anyone use the grocery game list to save money on groceries?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

waiting as well....it was up soon after 8am last week.

I am proud to say for the first time in a long time--we did NOT have to go to store mid-week. This is unheard of for me YEAHHHH!!!! So I'm at $117 for the month. We'll see what happens today.

 

[cruisnfamily]

waiting as well....it was up soon after 8am last week.

I am proud to say for the first time in a long time--we did NOT have to go to store mid-week. This is unheard of for me YEAHHHH!!!! So I'm at $117 for the month. We'll see what happens today.

Do you have a needs list? I bought so much last week that I was hoping not to really need much but of course the list has grown all week. it's mostly odds and ends like pickle spears and cat litter. There isn't really any food, food on my needs list. Can't wait to see what's on the list today! I was hoping it'd be up already but I guess not.

 

[cruisnfamily]

The list is up!

 

[Ladybugsy]

I don't have time to read through this whole thread today as I'm already late, but wanted to ask a couple of questions. Can this be used at Walmart Supercenter where they honor all competitor's ads? It would at least save you from going from store to store? Does the list tell you of unadvertised ads as well, and are there usually lots of those?
Thanks
Rory

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Do you have a needs list?

Yes I do...I print the list and then copy our needs onto it. That is what I did last week.

This week I am going to try liquid fabric softener--they happen to have one on the list. However, I need fragrance free---so if it is available....what a lovely coinky-dink...if not...oh well, I'll try something else.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't have time to read through this whole thread today as I'm already late, but wanted to ask a couple of questions. Can this be used at Walmart Supercenter where they honor all competitor's ads? It would at least save you from going from store to store? Does the list tell you of unadvertised ads as well, and are there usually lots of those?
Thanks
Rory

While the list does not have Wlamart availablle----you could use it. However, not all items on the list will be listed in the ad. But it could save you time. I think wal-mart would need the actual sales add and not the list printout--but I am not sure.

It would take me more time to travel out to Wal-mart as it is 15 minutes away--while I have WD and Publix within 2-3 miles of my home.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

about to leave for the store...I must say a weird side affect is.....it seems as though I should be buying more stuff. But alas--we'll see how many impulse purchases I do (let's hope for ZERO!) and if we succeed in making it through the week.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Yes I do...I print the list and then copy our needs onto it. That is what I did last week.

That's exactly what I do!

 

[cruisnfamily]

OK, here's my report for today. This is week 3 for me on the gg. Much better than last week! I'm very pleased with my savings using the list.

Publix(went there only for the blue items on their list)
Retail price $61.91
I paid $34.66
Savings $27.25(44%)

Winn Dixie(used my gg list and bought all my needs here)
Retail price $183.28
I paid $108.27
Savings $75.01(40%)

Total Shelf Price $245.19
Total Paid $142.93
Total Savings $102.26(42%)

I'm really thrilled this week!

The only problem is, the cupboards are now stuffed and I dont' have room to store anymore stuff. I've finally started to stockpile and I've now got some personal care stuff, laundry soap, tuna, soups, juice boxes, and snack foods piled up. DH and I discussed it and I guess I need to clean up some of the junk on the shelves in our garage so I can begin to store stuff out there. I'll never be able to really stockpile fridge or freezer items though because we don't have an extra one and we've decided it's not something we want to do at this point.

So, everybody who's doing the grocery game, post your savings this week!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Week 3 for me....week 2 for August
All stores together:
Retail: $219.70
Paid: $142.31
Savings $77.39 (35%) [down from 40% of last week due to non-sale regular use items that do not have a substitute]

8/7/2005 Wal Mart (for allergen free liquid fabric softener)
Retail $5.24
Paid $4.24
Savings $1.00 (19%--non-grocery game related)

Winn Dixie (bought only blue items and NEED items that were cheaper than publix)
Retail $79.89
Paid: $45.17
Savings: $34.72 (43%)

Publix:
Retail: $134.57
Paid: $92.90
Savings: $41.67 (31%)

For Publix, I had "infiltration of need items that wouldn't ever be on sale....so if I removed their numbers the "grocery game" items were
Retail: $96.82
Paid: $58.15
Savings: $38.67 (40%)




August total so far:
Retail: $415.85
Paid: $259.59
Saved: $156.26 (38%)

So worth that "$1" I spent on the game .

HOwever--not sure I have complete confidence that I will be the shopper that buys $100 worth of items and pays the cashier $5. It actually makes me feel bad---as though my 30-40% is considered failure.

I'm going to see if I can spend less than $500 this month on groceries.

 

[cruisnfamily]

HOwever--not sure I have complete confidence that I will be the shopper that buys $100 worth of items and pays the cashier $5. It actually makes me feel bad---as though my 30-40% is considered failure.

Yup, I agree. I don't see me getting $100 worth of stuff for $5, although I'd be tickled pink if it ever happened. I agree that 30-40% doesn't sound good enough if you read over on the GG message board where those folks are saving in much larger percentages. I'm happy this week though, I'm finally starting to see it work. 1st week looked good, last week was bad for me, this week was great and I've started a stockpile. Looking forward to seeing if my savings in the 40%ish range will stay the same or will the saving increase? It kind of seems like it builds on itself, we'll see.

So worth that "$1" I spent on the game .

I agree! I probably won't keep both stores after the trial though, haven't decided yet.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I agree! I probably won't keep both stores after the trial though, haven't decided yet.

I will keep both stores for a month maybe. Their 88cent per pound produce deals are just too hard to pass up!

But I wonder if a sales add will just make that happen and I can save the $2.50 per month.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Well, this is the first week I used it and I must say I am quite happy! I had my list with me in the store and there were 2 women that said to me, "you use it too?" One woman had been using it for 2 years and said she was very happy with the list -

Vons

Total - $190.49
Saved - $ 81.90
Total bill - $108.59 -

I was thrilled -

One thing I noticed and maybe I will head over to the GG board to ask - but I noticed a lot of stuff on sale (significant savings) that weren't listed on the list -

Also, there was no meat listed on the list -

Are the list always like this?

Also, what about the ads on Wednesday? Are they included in any of the GG lists? Or are we on our own for the mid-week ads?

Thanks for telling me about this site - I think it is going to work for me -

Karen

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I had meat on my lists--not necessarily the kind I eat--but the past couple of weeks I have been stocking up on pork and just buying my chicken anyway.

Also--I noticed last week--some sale items not on the list. For one, they are working from the sale flyer---for two, it could be a one store special, for three---just b/c it is on sale, it might not be the best time to buy. You can always e-mail and ask. I figure as I get savvy--I will check for other things.

For example--the pork chops I got last week for b1g1 free...were still on sale at WD this week. So if you started today--you'd notice they were on sale but not on your list. Perhaps it was on an earlier list and you just missed it. Just an example. midweek ads around here are carryovers to the weekend--so the sales in them are incorporated into our lists (from what I have seen). They wait to combine them with the newly released coupons.

 

[ReneeQ]

I signed up for the $1 trial and got my first list today, for Publix. I wasn't overly impressed, but I know it takes time and not to get discouraged too soon. But a few things I don't get are:

The poptarts were on sale at Publix B1G1, making them 99 cents a box. This WAS on my GG list. AND there are 40 cent coupons out there, which my Publix doubles, making Poptarts 19 cents a box. The coupons WERE NOT on my list. (These coupons came out in SmartSource in July). I know the game rules say "ALWAYS TRUST THE LIST" so does that mean Poptarts are going to go less than 19 cents a box before these coupons expire? I find that hard to believe, but I know I'm not the expert. I'm having a REALLY hard time not using my 40 cent coupons towards the Poptarts.

How would I know if these coupons were already "used' on another list before I joined? I'm holding onto them because I'm "trusting the list" THINKING they'll be used later, but what if they've already been used and I have no way of knowing?

Also, there is currently not a Kroger list for my area. The Kroger ad came out today and has some really good deals in it, AND I have coupons for some of those things. So, do I use my coupons and get those deals, or hold on to my coupons and hope they'll be on the GG list before they expire?

Help!

 

[cruisnfamily]

The poptarts were on sale at Publix B1G1, making them 99 cents a box. This WAS on my GG list. AND there are 40 cent coupons out there, which my Publix doubles, making Poptarts 19 cents a box. The coupons WERE NOT on my list. (These coupons came out in SmartSource in July). I know the game rules say "ALWAYS TRUST THE LIST" so does that mean Poptarts are going to go less than 19 cents a box before these coupons expire? I find that hard to believe, but I know I'm not the expert. I'm having a REALLY hard time not using my 40 cent coupons towards the Poptarts.

How would I know if these coupons were already "used' on another list before I joined? I'm holding onto them because I'm "trusting the list" THINKING they'll be used later, but what if they've already been used and I have no way of knowing?

Also, there is currently not a Kroger list for my area. The Kroger ad came out today and has some really good deals in it, AND I have coupons for some of those things. So, do I use my coupons and get those deals, or hold on to my coupons and hope they'll be on the GG list before they expire?

Help!

Well, I'm only on week three so I can't be positive I'm giving you the correct advice but here's my thoughts.

Those coupons were almost definitely already called for and I can't imagine the poptarts will get any cheaper than this and I would go ahead and use the coupons. Even if they were to go to say $.15 what have you lost? $.04 a piece?

You're lucky your Publix doubles! Where are you located? I'm in FL and nobody doubles anything.

As far as the Kroger thing, if they have good deals that you want to buy and you have coupons for the stuff too, I would go ahead and use them to increase your savings. Even if they're called for later and you don't have them, you've probably already gotten the same bargain or better at Kroger.

You might want to post these questions on the GG boards but if it were me, I'd just go for it with the coupons!

 

[ReneeQ]

Thanks Cruisnfamily! It makes sense the coupons have "probably" already been called for, as I can't imagine not using them. I have taken your advice and created a login at GG and posted the questions there also.

 

[lbgraves]

With deals that you are spotting that are not on "the list" just use your common sense. If you are getting something that cheap...get it! You guys are doing great!!! Just think that "only" 40% you are saving is going to add up quickly. If you spent $500 per month on groceries & cleaners that is $200 a month that you are saving.

Kroger is on cutouthunger.com's site so you can get some idea about the sales in your area there. I have used that list in the past & it was quite helpful, even if it was for a Kroger in another state. They have relatively the same things on sale so it helps.

 

[donnajon]

Actually, I think the Pop-Tart thing with the coupons missing is a mistake. I have been following it and the coupons have not been used. I would definitely go ahead and use them.
Ok, CruisinFamily, not to make you jealous or anything since you don't get the penny coupon for Publix (which was for a dozen eggs - and I noticed the coupon said it was valid only in 4 states -SC, GA TN and I don't remember the other but it wasn't Florida), but in addition to our penny coupon in the paper we had a Publix $5 off any $25 purchase valid 8/7 - 8/10!!

Week 6 and tonight at Publix I spent $36 and saved $42. I also went to Super Bi-Lo - they are not on the list but have great deals on meat so I make my own list - and spent $86 and saved $63. Had to buy diapers so that always throw the curve off. I had a coupon good for a free package of jumbo Pampers but Publix and Bi-Lo both only had Mega sizes so I had to settle for store sale of $2 off and a catalina of $3 off. My best deal was on Eclipes gum. I've never used it before but they had a flavor on closeout for $.49 and I had four $.50 off coupons which doubled so I made $2.04 off of that. I also bought some soup that my son likes that was on closeout for $.59 and I had todays coupon for $.40 off of two - which doubled making my soup cost $.19 a can!!! I wish I had had more coupons.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Ok, CruisinFamily, not to make you jealous or anything since you don't get the penny coupon for Publix (which was for a dozen eggs - and I noticed the coupon said it was valid only in 4 states -SC, GA TN and I don't remember the other but it wasn't Florida), but in addition to our penny coupon in the paper we had a Publix $5 off any $25 purchase valid 8/7 - 8/10!!

I got a $5 off of a $30 purchase from Publix in my sale flyers this week! So at least I did get that one. Wish we had the mystery coupon though!