The Grocery Game

[dvcfamily41801]

Sorry to ask about this, I tried to search but had no luck. Can anyone share any info on this? I saw on the website that there is a "free" trial but I did not know if I would be charged anything afterwards.

Thanks for any info!

 

[ilovecraigandcooper]

i love the grocery game! when i signed up the 4 week trial was $1 and then as long as you cancelled before the 4 weeks was up you wernt charged anything else. (during the trial its all the same price so sign up for all the stores in your area). my mom and i love this website! its so easy and fast and color coded so you can easily just scan to see whats free/really cheap. another website you might want to check out is couponmom she also has stores lists and her site is free! (but i still think that grocery game is totally worth the money)!

 

[SandrA9810]

huh?

i didn't know going to the grocery store was a game...

 

[ilovecraigandcooper]

OH ITS A GAME ALLRIGHT!!! especially when you walk in with your COUPON BINDER!

 

[brenalexacamp]

I've been doing the grocery game for over a year now-do the 1.00 trial, get all your stores-and before it runs out- either keep all your stores or pare down to the ones you are finding the best deals at.
I consistantly save 60% or more every week.
It takes some planning, cutting coupons-getting into a stockpile mentality but when your kid asks for brownies to take to school the next day-and it's 9:00-you are covered.
Going to a pot luck- you have everything-and you paid the lowest price for that 12 week cycle.
I will never shop another way-it costs me 15.00 every 3 months-I save 5 ties that or better each week! i spend 100-120 a week for a family of 5,3 dogs, and that includes food, h& B and cleaners. I don't buy the junk or hamburger helper-prepackaged stuff. We save so much on non food items, canned goods, getting meats on a good sale- there is a lot of wiggle room for lots of fresh stuff.
You know that lady that comes out with the tiny amount on the receipt? I am one of them.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

I did the grocery game for a while, but then I found a website where I can get the same information for free for where I shop (Publix) so I canceled my subscription.

It's a good way to make couponing easy, and I thought it was worth the money until I found out I could get it for free.

But to answer your question, you have to give your cc information up front for the free trial, and if you don't cancel within the specified time period they start charging you.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

Yes, the 4 week trial is free and you do need to cancel if you don't like it. But they make cancelling very easy and it's all done online, no questions asked. You can see right up front on the main page exactly how much your subscription would (or does) cost, the date it's going to be charged and what stores are available in your area.

I've been using it for over a year and I do like it. It is a convenience and, for me at least, a big time saver. I find that I am much more likely to use my coupons and save a good amount of money if the process is easy so I clip my coupons, get my printouts from the Grocery Game, and hit the stores.

It takes a time commitment (for me, Sunday evening with a cup of decaf, the Sunday paper and some scissors... ) and a little planning but I save more than enough to make the small subscription price a good deal.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I just started a few weeks ago and I save a lot. I went from spending $125-$150 a week for a family of four to spending $75-$80 a week. It's worth it to me.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Thanks for all of the replies! I am still just not getting it. I use coupons and love to clip them but it just seems like they NEVER have any good ones in our paper. I even joined one of the trains and was spending more on postage than I was actually using them.

I guess I would have to give it a try for a month and see how it goes. I do my big big shopping at Wegmans which is on the list, but it is not close to my home so I only go up there every other week. Otherwise we live right across from a food store but it is so much more $ and that is where I have to run to to pick up those in between things (bread, milk, eggs, juice...which annoys me to no end because seriously Wegmans is SO much cheaper!!!!)

Does it work if you are also buying store brands?

Sorry to keep asking so many questions. I think that I am going to have to wait until we get back from WDW before I sign up for the trial.


Thanks again!!!

 

[Lucille1963]

Make sure they cover the stores that you shop at. I went to sign up and realized that they don't cover some of the major stores (ie Dominick's). Also consider how you shop. Since I don't buy a lot of prepared foods, mixes, etc. and I don't like what freezing does to the texture of meat I realized that this probably wasn't for me.

I am jealous about the amount of money that you all save though!!

 

[corndog]

We didn't it for a while, but found we did not buy enough processed foods to make it worth it.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thanks for all of the replies! I am still just not getting it. I use coupons and love to clip them but it just seems like they NEVER have any good ones in our paper. I even joined one of the trains and was spending more on postage than I was actually using them.

I guess I would have to give it a try for a month and see how it goes. I do my big big shopping at Wegmans which is on the list, but it is not close to my home so I only go up there every other week. Otherwise we live right across from a food store but it is so much more $ and that is where I have to run to to pick up those in between things (bread, milk, eggs, juice...which annoys me to no end because seriously Wegmans is SO much cheaper!!!!)

Does it work if you are also buying store brands?

Sorry to keep asking so many questions. I think that I am going to have to wait until we get back from WDW before I sign up for the trial.


Thanks again!!!

I would say to give it a try and cancel if it doesn't work out for you. To answer your question, yes it does work for store brands also. The list will name every item that is on sale. You don't always use a coupon.

Do you have an Aldi's in your area? I go to Aldi's for milk, bread, eggs and juice. It saves me a ton!

 

[ilovecraigandcooper]

Thanks for all of the replies! I am still just not getting it. I use coupons and love to clip them but it just seems like they NEVER have any good ones in our paper. I even joined one of the trains and was spending more on postage than I was actually using them.

I guess I would have to give it a try for a month and see how it goes. I do my big big shopping at Wegmans which is on the list, but it is not close to my home so I only go up there every other week. Otherwise we live right across from a food store but it is so much more $ and that is where I have to run to to pick up those in between things (bread, milk, eggs, juice...which annoys me to no end because seriously Wegmans is SO much cheaper!!!!)

Does it work if you are also buying store brands?

Sorry to keep asking so many questions. I think that I am going to have to wait until we get back from WDW before I sign up for the trial.


Thanks again!!!

if you dont think you're getting good coupons you may want to buy a larger circulation paper (if one is available in your area). i live in north georgia and our local sunday paper has coupons but not the same as the atlanta journal constitution. they are the same booklets (red plum, valassis, etc) but we were missing tons of coupons so we bought an AJC and compared and realized we were getting jipped! we looked at the spine of the coupon book (where the date is) and on the ones from the AJC it said "coupons for atlanta journal, etc" the ones on the local paper said "coupons for subsidairy counties" so...just a thought,if a bigger paper is available to you.

(i hope that made sense, when i kind of worded it weird but anyway my point was some of the local papers get a lot less coupons [and lesser quality] than the big ones)

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

I am still just not getting it. I use coupons and love to clip them but it just seems like they NEVER have any good ones in our paper.

I do my big big shopping at Wegmans which is on the list, but it is not close to my home so I only go up there every other week. Otherwise we live right across from a food store but it is so much more $ and that is where I have to run to to pick up those in between things

Does it work if you are also buying store brands?

I agree; I think coupons have gotten to be not nearly as good a savings. Lots more 55¢ coupons, which can't be doubled, instead of 50¢ ones, which can, at least where I live. And saving 40¢ if you buy 3 of something isn't much of a savings at all. You have to use your head.

I also find some really good online coupons, too.

To address your second concern, only using the GG every other week is not going to get you the very best savings. For instance, the basic premise is wait until things go on sale and buy with coupons. And not just any old sale, but the lowest price in the sales cycle. If you pay attention to prices already, you know when something is a good sale and when it isn't. So if you've been waiting for cereal to go on sale, for example, and you can combine the sale price with coupons and get the cereal for next to nothing, but it's not your week to go to that store, then you've missed the cereal stockpile opportunity. On the other hand, if you watch the sales for the store across the street from you and combine their sales with coupons every week, you might come out just as good or better in the long run.

I think it lists store brand sales, but generally there aren't coupons for store brands, so you're not maximizing your dollar there.

 

[SandrA9810]

Yes, there was a big complaint on the news about some areas not recieving thier coupons in the paper. And it was for the same paper (orlando sentinal). It was all based on "studies" that said that people in that area were not using coupons compared to other areas.

I've bought the sunday paper in some stores to find no coupon books or only one, but they exsist in other areas. And so I always have to try and keep a mental note of where I can buy the paper with ALL coupons. Very frustrating.

Ms. Bradbury: Can I ask what website you use? I only shop at Publix... creature of habit... and love snagging up deals there. My sister always brags about how wal-mart is always cheaper per product even buying 1 and geting one free at the grocery store. But I can't stand shopping there... can't stand in lines... and people just aren't as pleasant as Publix employees.
To me it's the difference between the service you get at Disney compared to like Sea World. There might be a few good gems in the bunch, but for the most part they all look grumpy to even be working there and don't like to go out of thier way to provide excellent service.

 

[disbridemimi]

here is my advice- Start buying your sunday newspaper for a few weeks (3-4)and save all of the coupon flyers before you join the subscription. When I did the free trial it was telling me to use coupons from newspapers weeks ago that i had't started the game yet.

Basically this service tells you when to use which coupons to get thinks for next to nothing.

We did it for a while, its a bit of work when you start to get organzied. We would go to the grocery store and LOVE seeng a total go from 150 to 90 but after a few months we realized we were buying all kinds of stuff that we dont need or never use. Even if its just 50 cents after the sale & coupon, if it is taking up space I do not want it.

We did enjoy that you get to try all kinds of new products because when you get a 5dollar product for less than 40cents, of course you will grab it. And we got enough FREE toothpaste to last almost a year.

It is fun and you do save money, but you need time to cut out all of the coupons and some way to keep them all organized. I used a recipe card box with dividers. Its just really hard to turn down the "steals" for products you don't need.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Ms. Bradbury: Can I ask what website you use?

I completely agree about Publix. The employees go out of their way to be helpful - what a nice change! When people say it's more expensive, I don't get it. I guess it's all in how you shop.

The website is http://www.southernsavers.com/category/publix/

She even links to printable coupons, which is great because we don't get a Sunday paper anymore.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

if you dont think you're getting good coupons you may want to buy a larger circulation paper (if one is available in your area). i live in north georgia and our local sunday paper has coupons but not the same as the atlanta journal constitution. they are the same booklets (red plum, valassis, etc) but we were missing tons of coupons so we bought an AJC and compared and realized we were getting jipped! we looked at the spine of the coupon book (where the date is) and on the ones from the AJC it said "coupons for atlanta journal, etc" the ones on the local paper said "coupons for subsidairy counties" so...just a thought,if a bigger paper is available to you.

(i hope that made sense, when i kind of worded it weird but anyway my point was some of the local papers get a lot less coupons [and lesser quality] than the big ones)

That made perfect sense, in fact it totally happens. If we buy the Philadelphia Inquirer there are a lot more coupons in there. Thats a great idea!

I completely agree about Publix. The employees go out of their way to be helpful - what a nice change! When people say it's more expensive, I don't get it. I guess it's all in how you shop.

The website is http://www.southernsavers.com/category/publix/

She even links to printable coupons, which is great because we don't get a Sunday paper anymore.

That is how I feel about Wegmans. The employees are outstanding (I would love to become one!!!) and I think a lot less money. Their meats are a bit more expensive but as far as that goes, you get what you pay for so we always prefer to get ours there.

here is my advice- Start buying your sunday newspaper for a few weeks (3-4)and save all of the coupon flyers before you join the subscription. When I did the free trial it was telling me to use coupons from newspapers weeks ago that i had't started the game yet.

Basically this service tells you when to use which coupons to get thinks for next to nothing.

We did it for a while, its a bit of work when you start to get organzied. We would go to the grocery store and LOVE seeng a total go from 150 to 90 but after a few months we realized we were buying all kinds of stuff that we dont need or never use. Even if its just 50 cents after the sale & coupon, if it is taking up space I do not want it.

We did enjoy that you get to try all kinds of new products because when you get a 5dollar product for less than 40cents, of course you will grab it. And we got enough FREE toothpaste to last almost a year.

It is fun and you do save money, but you need time to cut out all of the coupons and some way to keep them all organized. I used a recipe card box with dividers. Its just really hard to turn down the "steals" for products you don't need.

I am going to hold off a few more weeks until we get back from WDW to join. I will have a few more weeks of coupons and have more time to get organized.

Thanks again for all the tips!!!