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

[Clancycat]

I've been doing the grocery game for about 7 mos now. It's been great! I've saved so much money and have been able to build up a decent stockpile of many of the items we use frequently. Anyone who is at all curious, sign up for the 4 wk trial-- for $1 how can you go wrong? I have found that the cost of the paper as well as the regular cost of the grocery game have definitely been worth it, I save much more than I spend on those.

Another good coupon site is thecouponclippers.com. Also I've gotten some great coupons on ebay.

 

[Mskanga]

The key in all this is each stores individual coupons policies, I know that no store around me ever doubles more than .50 coupon, meaning the maximum savings on anything is $1 .
My way of saving is always checking the flyers , always matching the sales to my coupons ,and always doing price matching when possible , although this is only done at walmart because the other stores do not price match.
To say that people will be able to save up to 75% of their shopping bill may not be correct , it all depends on the stores coupon doubling policies, a lot of people don't have stores that will double coupons to more than $1.

 

[lbgraves]

That is true. Our main store here doubled up to .50 every day. They ran specials 3-4 times a year where they doubled or tripled up to 1.00. The thing is, I was able to take full advantage of these sales by being prepared & getting multiples of coupons.

 

[cruisnfamily]

The stores around here don't double coupons at all. You can still save if you use the coupon when the item is on a good sale though.

A question for those of you doing the grocery game....How often are items green? For the 2 stores near me there were blue items and black items but no green items for this week anyway. I wondered how often that happens.

 

[Mskanga]

Let's not forget also the ones that have limits as to how many coupons they will double, I know my shop rite has a limit of 3 , what I do is a break up the purchases in however many orders I need. They have never said a word to me....

 

[bjkj]

The items that are green (free) seem to happen once or twice a month. It doesn't happen very often, but it sure is fun when it does. The key is to try and get everything stockpiles to where you do most of your shopping from the blue (the rock bottom price).

 

[lbgraves]

Let's not forget also the ones that have limits as to how many coupons they will double, I know my shop rite has a limit of 3 , what I do is a break up the purchases in however many orders I need. They have never said a word to me....

Oh yes. Our store started the 3 limit here too. That is one reason that I am not trying to keep up with it this summer. I just went 2 1/2 weeks without going to the store. I missed out on those deals but am thankful that I didn't have to go with the kids for that long.

 

[Nicolepa]

I usually shop at our local Win-Co which is totally cheap (think it might be only on the West Coast though...). I am wondering if the savings are worth going to the Albertson's (more expensive) store that it recommended? We have done cost comparison and we usually already save about 25% by going to WinCo over Albertson's without any coupon use. Thanks for your advice to those who are already saving with the coupongame!

The answer is yes. Albertson's puts a ton of loss leaders in their ad each week. I only shop for sale items at Albertson's, never my regular groceries, unless it's just one or two things. I usually save 70-80% at Albertsons (and they don't double coupons here). The other nice thing is that Albertson's (at least ours) takes competitors coupons so that saves me from having to go to two stores.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

For those talking about double coupons--neither the grocery game nor that free site equivilant publishes the list with double coupons in mind--unless your particular store happens to have them. It assumes one value per coupon.

While it would be a beauty to walk out with a cart load of groceries for $2....I am quite content walking out with it costing half as much as it would have .

 

[Mskanga]

For those talking about double coupons--neither the grocery game nor that free site equivilant publishes the list with double coupons in mind--unless your particular store happens to have them. It assumes one value per coupon.

The grocery game does publish their list based on full value of double coupons , not to $1. Here is a list they publish:

this is the link where it can be found:
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/index.cfm?function=text&method=whatistgg

As you can see all those discounts and savings are very often based on saving more than $1. That list is not realistic being that most stores will not double ( much less triple ) to more than $1. If this is the example they use based on that store coupon policies , is not right , it's not based on coupons face value without doubling.
I guess what I am trying to say is that people can do the same exact thing by being a bit diligent and organizing their coupons and checking their flyers for sales, that's what I do and I get the same exact results, except I don't have to pay anyone to tell me what's on sale and what coupon I can use. JMO.

 

[cruisnfamily]

As you can see all those discounts and savings are very often based on saving more than $1. That list is not realistic being that most stores will not double ( much less triple ) to more than $1. If this is the example they use based on that store coupon policies , is not right , it's not based on coupons face value without doubling.

I don't see where on that list they are counting on the doubling of coupons. Yes, some have a savings of more than $1 because they are combining the sale prices with coupons...some things are B1G1F and stuff. But nowhere are they saying "take your $.50 coupon and get $1.50 off" or anything. At least I don't see it.

people can do the same exact thing by being a bit diligent and organizing their coupons and checking their flyers for sales, that's what I do and I get the same exact results, except I don't have to pay anyone to tell me what's on sale and what coupon I can use. JMO.

I'm sure people can do the exact same thing but to get these exact results, I think it would be a tremendous amount of work which is something I'm not willing to do. Yes, I saw the free sites that list similar info for free but the format is not as friendly and it just tells you sales, not rock bottom prices. I've been shopping the sale flyers for about a year now but I've never gotten anything free and I don't think I've even saved as much as I could have. The price is so reasonable($1.25 per week plus a newspaper) that I figure it's worth trying. If it helps me significantly, then I don't mind paying for the convenience of somebody doing all the work for me. If your way works for you, that's terrific but I must admit, I'm not dilligent enough to do it on my own.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Mskanga--you are misinterpreting the list. I went yesterday--used "1" coupon valued at $2.50 and still took advantage of the rest of the savings.

It is a list designed per particular store....so it is MY Publix where I live who does NOT use double coupons and the list reflects that.

I do not have the time nor diligence to do it myself---and they save hours of work that I would have to do. I know me and what I am capable of.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

There is a free sight that was posted earlier that I verified their list against the list and they are nearly identical except no color coding. And you can "hide" products so that the list you print is just what you will buy.

I'm very into visuals--and I personally liked the sight.




edited to send myself to the naughty corner for being combatitive (sp?).

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I can see the doubling now---but if your store doesn't double--the list will not reflect a savings that is impossible to obtain.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I can see the doubling now---but if your store doesn't double--the list will not reflect a savings that is impossible to obtain.

Where? I dont' see it? I'm curious as to if I'm possibly misreading something.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Where? I dont' see it? I'm curious as to if I'm possibly misreading something.

Oops, I get it, you have to do the math. It doesn't actually state "double" or anything. Now I'm off to read my list to see if it assumed doubling that my store doesn't do.

Thanks for the heads up MsKanga but I don't believe my personalized list showed doubling. It will make a difference if it does. I'll let you know.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Where? I dont' see it? I'm curious as to if I'm possibly misreading something.

For example--the very first one--the dressing is on sale for $2.50 (for this particular store--very important!)..coupon is for a $1.00 by the final price is 50 cents.

$2.50-$1.00 is $1.50 ---the coupon had to have been doubled to get to the final price of 50 cents.

But it is imperative to understand...you are not given a general list with that assumption--you pick the store that YOU shop at and it is customized for your area. The only variant would be the original price could vary a little bit.....but the savings will NOT reflect something that is impossible to obtain at your store. I will never see a list like this for my publix.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just verified my list and it did NOT incorporate any doubling...freebie list was nearly identical so I will assume it to be the same idea.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I don't believe my personalized list showed doubling. It will make a difference if it does. I'll let you know.

OK, big sigh of relief my list does NOT reflect doubling. I actually did the math on all the blue items. So the savings I can take advantage of are without doubling. Perhaps that is why I won't see as many green items. It's harder to get free stuff without doubling.

Lisa, did your list have any green items? We'll have to compare weekly since we're both in FL.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

No green items!