Sunday, September 09, 2007
Show me the money...
The "money," you say? Yes, the money!!! I have discovered, through the aid of a dear friend, a money-saving little gem called The Grocery Game. This is such a cool site! So, you go to their website and find the spot where you can enter your zip code. Once you do this, a screen pops up with all the stores (grocery and drug) in your area that are a part of this network. For instance, when I entered my zip code, up popped Publix, Kroger, Ingles, Food Lion, Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid, and Eckerd.
Let me back up a bit and explain the principle behind this. The people at The Grocery Game search grocery (and drug) store ads by region. Their goal is to find the rock bottom price of an item, pair it with a store and/or manufacturer's coupon, and give you the super-low price. The list also gives the store's sale items as well. This "game" works in conjunction with the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper. The Grocery Game will even tell you which edition of the Sunday paper the coupon was in. Example: In today's paper, there was a General Mills coupon for $1 off 3 boxes of General Mills cereal. The list told me that Publix had General Mills cereals on sale Buy One Get One Free (limit two deals). It instructed me buy both deals and use the 9/9 coupon. The cool thing is, the list will also tell you the final price you will pay!!
This is not a free site, but the fee is minimal, and since I consider that my time is money too, this fee is way worth it for me. The fee is $1 for the first 4 weeks. This gives you unlimited access to every store in your area, so that you can decide which one will give you the best return. I chose Publix as my main store, not because I don't like Kroger or Ingles- I do- but primarily because Publix is about 2 miles from my house. Here is the important part: after 4 weeks, the charge is $10 for the first store and $5 for each additional store thereafter, but the billing cycle is every 8 weeks. So, basically, I am paying $1.25 per week for someone else to comb through the sales and combine those sales with coupons. Not a bad deal, eh?
The operating principle for this "game" is that you stockpile sale items and plan your weekly menus from your stockpile. Eventually, your "needs" list grows shorter each week because your stockpile will grow.
Now if you are like me- at least in this way- you might think, "This sounds all well and good, but I want to see some PROOF!!!" I'm glad you think that way, because I will give you exact totals from my receipts.
Kroger Dollar amount of groceries- $87.19 I spent- $61.66
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $83.26 I spent- $47.05
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $160.15 I spent- $106.44
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $160.82 I spent- $132.61
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $128.51 I spent- $96.22
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $167.31 I spent- $102.45
So, you can see how "real" the savings are!!! You can earn free weeks on this site, too. Just tell a friend to try it out, and make sure that friend enters your e-mail address (the same one you will enter when you sign up). If any of you decide to give it a try, would you be so kind as to enter my e-mail address? It is sdwilkersonATjunoDOTcom and y'all know to replace the words with cyber symbols!!
Happy shopping! Please drop back in to let me know if you tried it!
Let me back up a bit and explain the principle behind this. The people at The Grocery Game search grocery (and drug) store ads by region. Their goal is to find the rock bottom price of an item, pair it with a store and/or manufacturer's coupon, and give you the super-low price. The list also gives the store's sale items as well. This "game" works in conjunction with the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper. The Grocery Game will even tell you which edition of the Sunday paper the coupon was in. Example: In today's paper, there was a General Mills coupon for $1 off 3 boxes of General Mills cereal. The list told me that Publix had General Mills cereals on sale Buy One Get One Free (limit two deals). It instructed me buy both deals and use the 9/9 coupon. The cool thing is, the list will also tell you the final price you will pay!!
This is not a free site, but the fee is minimal, and since I consider that my time is money too, this fee is way worth it for me. The fee is $1 for the first 4 weeks. This gives you unlimited access to every store in your area, so that you can decide which one will give you the best return. I chose Publix as my main store, not because I don't like Kroger or Ingles- I do- but primarily because Publix is about 2 miles from my house. Here is the important part: after 4 weeks, the charge is $10 for the first store and $5 for each additional store thereafter, but the billing cycle is every 8 weeks. So, basically, I am paying $1.25 per week for someone else to comb through the sales and combine those sales with coupons. Not a bad deal, eh?
The operating principle for this "game" is that you stockpile sale items and plan your weekly menus from your stockpile. Eventually, your "needs" list grows shorter each week because your stockpile will grow.
Now if you are like me- at least in this way- you might think, "This sounds all well and good, but I want to see some PROOF!!!" I'm glad you think that way, because I will give you exact totals from my receipts.
Kroger Dollar amount of groceries- $87.19 I spent- $61.66
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $83.26 I spent- $47.05
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $160.15 I spent- $106.44
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $160.82 I spent- $132.61
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $128.51 I spent- $96.22
Publix Dollar amount of groceries- $167.31 I spent- $102.45
So, you can see how "real" the savings are!!! You can earn free weeks on this site, too. Just tell a friend to try it out, and make sure that friend enters your e-mail address (the same one you will enter when you sign up). If any of you decide to give it a try, would you be so kind as to enter my e-mail address? It is sdwilkersonATjunoDOTcom and y'all know to replace the words with cyber symbols!!
Happy shopping! Please drop back in to let me know if you tried it!
Labels: The Grocery Game
# posted by a suburban housewife @ 8:46 PM 
