the grocery game?

[kmeyrick]

Has anyone tried the grocery game? Does it work? I went to grocerygame.com, and it seemed too good to be true. But my sister and I wanted to maybe join it.

[stephaloo]

I tried it. It didn't work for us because we don't really purchase the items that are on sale. I do just as well if not better using a few coupons and cooking from scratch.

[gurumama]

I did it heavily in 2005 and got my grocery bill down to $40/week. Then DH was dx with Celiac disease and living GF is impossible on $40/ week (well, it is for us...).

I learned a lot of great strategies from the women on their message boards, though.

[notwonamesalike]

We use it. Our grocery bills are around $60.00/week for 2 adults, a baby in sposie dipes, and a dog.


We've been doing it for over 2 years. Our bills were around $30/week until this year when we were determined to increase our fresh fruits and veggies. Hence the higher price.

It includes meat/produce/fresh fruits and veggies/paper products like toilet paper/paper towels/over the counter meds/health and beauty products/etc.

We eat tons of fresh fruits and veggies now - several meals are organic each week, and we don't eat a lot of processed/boxed stuff. We cook from scratch a lot.

If you are interested in trying it out, It's $1.00 for 4 weeks. I recommend picking up the largest paper in circulation in your area for the coupons each week. We pick up 4 each week for the extra coupons (although many people pick up one or two.) I would get two at minimum so that you can use 2 coupons for buy 1 get 1 deals.

The first 4 weeks, if you don't already have coupons from previous weeks, you might not notice such a large savings, because many of the items listed for you will have coupons from weeks earlier. After 12 weeks, you should have everything you need!

If you decide to try it out, let me know - I'll send you my email address to use as a reference (full disclosure - for every 3 people you refer, you get 8 weeks of the grocery game free.)

[Ary99]

I had high hopes for the grocery game. Unfortunately, it didn't do much for me for a couple of reasons. I live in a city with a virtual grocery monopoly. There are no double coupons or anything. Wal-Mart is not included her lists, and while I realize it is an evil empire, I also live across the street from said empire and do shop there regularly. I tried it out, but cancelled before joining. I have to say though, it made me pay much more attention to my coupons. I save ones for products I might not normally buy b/c sometimes there's a sale and it's free, or nearly free.

[SusannahM]

Don't pay money for information like this. Go to free forums that have the same information, if not more. Here are a couple of good ones to get you started:

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php
http://www.afullcup.com/upload/cmps_index.php

I think it's really individual whether couponing is going to help you much or not. It did help us for a while, but when I started cooking from scratch and doing cheaper meals, our bill is down to $50 or less each week without coupons, so I don't feel spending time on coupons is worth it at that point. For others, though, it continues to be worth it. I think at least part of it is how much fun you're having doing it, it was stressful for me, not fun. Other people really have a ball doing it.

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by Ary99

I had high hopes for the grocery game. Unfortunately, it didn't do much for me for a couple of reasons. I live in a city with a virtual grocery monopoly. There are no double coupons or anything. Wal-Mart is not included her lists, and while I realize it is an evil empire, I also live across the street from said empire and do shop there regularly. I tried it out, but cancelled before joining. I have to say though, it made me pay much more attention to my coupons. I save ones for products I might not normally buy b/c sometimes there's a sale and it's free, or nearly free.

:

They also have virtually no healthy choices on the lists. You just don't get coupons for whole foods or anything besides chemical filled stuff. At least not here. This is the 2nd time I tried it (different state), 2nd time I found it worthless and second time I forgot to cancel my subscription so I'm paying money I don't have for something I can't use!!!! Doh!

[traceface]

Originally Posted by SusannahM

our bill is down to $50 or less each week without coupons.

wow! good job, mama. can you post some of your meal plans/shopping lists?

[SusannahM]

Originally Posted by traceface

wow! good job, mama. can you post some of your meal plans/shopping lists?

Well, that's kind of hard, since it changes according to what we have and what's on sale. That's kind of the trick. I'll try, though.

Breakfast: eggs or oatmeal (oatmeal is flavored w/ honey, peanut butter, sometimes bananas)

Lunch: homemade bread sandwich (it varies what goes in the sandwich: pimento cheese, peanut butter, cheddar cheese, leftover meat, leftover veggies, sometimes just butter for me, I *love* buttered bread)

Dinner possibilities: pasta with sauce, simple cooked meat (we like to cook in the crockpot and throw a sauce like BBQ sauce in) with a veggie side (steamed veggies normally), just steamed veggies, homemade soup (bean soups are really cheap), lentils

We only drink water except for a little bit of milk (DD really loves milk). I will usually write on my list something like "veggie for a side dish" and then just look and see what the manager has marked down for quick sale. I cook our main dishes very simply, I like to cook but my creativity is usually reserved for creatively making soups or using up leftovers or baking.

We're trying to have a garden this year, we'll see how that goes. The seedlings are doing very well, but I need to carve out some time to actually get the stuff in the ground!

[texaspeach]

I tried it for 4 weeks, and then paid for another cycle (8 weeks) so I could get 'the full effect' since sales are on a 12 week rotation.

I don't really like it. We don't eat a lot of processed/convenience foods, clean with mainly vinegar and BS, etc. I was "saving money" but I was buying crap I wouldn't normally buy (like frozen pancake on a stick things! omg they are so good but horrible for you).

If you already clip and use coupons, and know you like the foods/goods that there are usually coupons for, then it might help you get the upper hand on sales. I did not clip coupons before trying the GG and didn't realize it was going to be almost all processed foods (not sure what I was expecting)

also keep in mind that the idea is to stock pile goods - if you do not have room for this, you aren't going to be able to save as much as you would if you could stock pile.

There are certain mainstream things that we use - like certain kinds of toiletries and TP, and I have gotten good deals on those things. It would be great if it included stores like target, though they don't double coupons afaik

I gave my mom the list to try out, and she loves it. but they do stock pile and she used to be a coupon queen - she likes it because it does all the work of matching sales to coupons for her.

[Cabrnay]

I also think it depends on your location. I get lots of whole foods. I only shop the outside of the store and save a small fortune on meat and veggies. I shop at Safeway.

[texaspeach]

Originally Posted by Cabrnay

I also think it depends on your location. I get lots of whole foods. I only shop the outside of the store and save a small fortune on meat and veggies. I shop at Safeway.

does your paper have coupons for fresh fruits and veg?

[Cabrnay]

No, but the store runs specials. I actually use very few coupons. It's the specials that I go for. I admit I'm not organized enough to figure it all out and as a mother of four, it's easier for me just to have the list there for me. Sometimes there are Safeway special coupons for fruits and veggies.

[Cabrnay]

and yes I am buying fresh fruits and veggies. Sometimes, the organics are on sale. I'm really happy then.

[texaspeach]

Cabrnay the reason I ask is because the grocery game is about clipping coupons. she matches coupons up to the sale ads in your area. the OP was asking about a specific website, not just about saving money on groceries, so I was confused by your post.

[Cabrnay]

It is grocery game. www.thegrocerygame.com It's not just about coupons. There are some coupons, yes, but she also points out the specials that are at their lowest prices. I'm sorry if I misunderstood.

[notwonamesalike]

Originally Posted by Cabrnay

It is grocery game. www.thegrocerygame.com It's not just about coupons. There are some coupons, yes, but she also points out the specials that are at their lowest prices. I'm sorry if I misunderstood.

This is true - not only do they use coupons, but they have advertised and UN-advertised sales on the lists.

I also shop at Safeway - and we don't buy very many processed/boxed/convenience foods. We eat mainly whole foods - with organics thrown in.

Another thing to keep in mind. Items that make my list that are free or pennies on the dollar that we don't plan on using, we pick up anyhow. We donate them to the local women's shelter and take the tax write off.