Any "Grocery Gamers" out there?

[Cajun~at~Heart]

I found out about the $1 trial offer to The Grocery Game
https://www.thegrocerygame.com/con__dollartrial.cfm
and I'm wondering if it's worth it... I try not to buy too much pre-packaged stuff and I'm a fan of generics in most cases.

Those of you who've tried it, would you give it a thumbs up or down?
What has been your best deal so far?

Thanks for your input!

[arahzel]

Thumbs down.

The stuff they provide -- I enjoy doing on my own. Add to that, my local grocery store (Winn Dixe) was only updated on the Sunday before the sale ended, meaning I only had 3 days to shop at those prices! It was a waste of time for me instead of the timesaver it is touted as.

Maybe it's better for other areas and other stores. *shrug*

Anyway, good luck with it! I use hotcouponworld.com. I've mentioned it a lot here lately, lol. It's because it's REALLy helpful. You get together with other REAL people who shop the stores and know the deals. And it's free. That's the best part.

[arahzel]

Here's a good deal, I did this week though, at CVS.

(3) packs of diapers @ $9 each = $27
(1) Pledge duster @ $4
(2) heath bars at $.69 ea.
- (3) $2 off Huggies coupons
- (1) $.55 off Pledge Duster refills coupon
- (1) $4 store coupon
=

All that for $25.75 incl. tax. I also got a $15 ECB (like store credit) when I bought the items. I turned around and bought:

(5) 12-packs of soda for $11
(2) Herbal Essences hair products at $5.99 ($3.99 + $2 on clearance)
- (2) $1 Herbal Essences coupons
- (1) $15 ECB.

It ended up being $.16 out of pocket.

So all that for $25.91

[krisnic]

I have used it, but prefer Hot Coupon World too. It's free and better in my opinion.

[Denvergirlie]

I am, love it.

Yes you can only shop the last 3 days of the grocery store circular, but hey who really cares? I save tons. My biggest problem is that I don't need to buy much anymore because I have such a great stockpile. I have one more week before I am billed again and am goign to let it laspe for a bit, just beacuse I don't need to buy anything other than some fruit, veggies and milk. I have everything else we could use for the next 6 months. I always say try it, you will save money, if you dislike it after a time, let it go. All in all $15 for 8 weeks really isn't that much and you will save that amount and more.

[Cajun~at~Heart]

I'm also tempted to join Costco, but the membership fee has kept me away so far. How different is the Grocery Game stockpiling method from buying in bulk from Costco? Better savings?

[arahzel]

I would think, especially if you are couponing, that it would be cheaper to buy individually if the store you shop at is having a great sale. You'd have to get multiple coupons for items though.

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by Cajun~at~Heart

I'm also tempted to join Costco, but the membership fee has kept me away so far. How different is the Grocery Game stockpiling method from buying in bulk from Costco? Better savings?

Costco doesn't take coupons, except for the coupons they send out and they also take formula checks. Nothing else. Some prices are great, some not so great.

I would never compare the two myself.

Grocery game tracks store flyers with coupons from the Sunday paper, they tell you when the price is cheapest to buy. You might get a coupon in the July newspaper, but not use it until September.

[veggijessie]

Originally Posted by Cajun~at~Heart

I'm also tempted to join Costco, but the membership fee has kept me away so far. How different is the Grocery Game stockpiling method from buying in bulk from Costco? Better savings?

I got a Costco card and gave the 2nd card to a friend and we split the membership fees. So we pay 22.50 a year and we both have 1 card. I don't know if it is okay with costco's membership agreement but the customer service person was very cool with it. It also saves a ton on gas. They are normally .08 per gal cheaper than any where else.

[Radish4ever]

I love it and I also LOVE Hot Coupon World forums! Most of my great deals are actually on HBA items. This week's great deal got me 4 free shampoos, 4 free conditioners, and 4 Hershey's Cocao Reserve chocoalte bars!

One thing I have noticed is that you should buy newspapers with a large subscription base. Instead of buying my local paper, I actually buy 4 copies of the Houston paper each week. I MORE than make my money back on the newspaper investment and have a good time!

What I love is that you can get FREE info on Hot Coupon World and on the GG message board for Target as well, which often has great clearance items to use coupons on!

[Cajun~at~Heart]

Thanks for the excellent tips/suggestions/opinions everyone! Feel free to post more... I'll check back.

What are "HBA" items? I don't know many abbreviations : yet.

I think I will give "The Game" a test run, but it looks like I'll also be visiting Hot Coupon World. Now I need to get busy clipping & organizing coupons!

[Radish4ever]

HBA is "health and beauty aids"

[chime]

I think it's worth the $1 to try it but it really varies a lot. Every area is different and I think it really depends on who does your local list. Here the list is updated on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. We don't buy a lot of prepackaged stuff (and I've had to be careful getting a "great deal" on something we'll never use!) but they also list fruits, veggies, cheese, meat, etc. I use it a lot for that, plus paper products and shampoo and such and have been saving around $70 - $80 per week.

-kim-

[schellie]

i looked at the site and thought about trying it. The only store that came up for me was Walgreens. So I guess Im not going to try it after all. But, thanks for the link anyway even though you are actually looking for opinions on the program.