Dear Internets,
I am seeking your collective wisdom about grocery shopping methods, strategies, and frugal tips. And more specifically, do you use ‘The Grocery Game?’ And if so, is it worth it?
I am on the last week of my $1 free trial, recommended by Jill at The Diaper Diaries. (She has some lovely tips on Frugal Fridays.) Although there are no double coupons where I live, and only a couple of grocery stores listed, I am enjoying the new store I found, and the new information that makes me feel like a more empowered shopper. I think I’ll keep trying it for awhile, but I’m not quite sure if it’s worth it.
What about you? Do you Grocery Game? Do you use Coupon Mom instead? (seemed very overwhelming when I peeked at it yesterday). Do you just chuck it all and shop at Aldi? (which I really LOVE so I’m not sure how to combine my Aldi/Grocery Game strategy)
Or do you have your own top-secret-fool-proof-fail-safe system?
Enlighten me, Internets. I will hear and obey.
To share more of your collective wisdom, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for BACKWARDs WFMW.
I did the trial of Grocery Game and I really liked it, and definitely saved a ton of money. However, it really just wasn’t very practical for me. We do our shopping as a family (for some reason my husband loves to go with us and thinks of it as bonding – weird), so dragging around four people to eight stores wasn’t working out so well.
But if you have the time and you have the willingness to do all the driving every week, then it’s great.
I do LOVE coupon mom, though. I just go on there and look at my states best grocery deals. Since I only shop at Super Target, I only look there, and then get what I want and move on. It’s a pretty good compromise.
Wow. All that cuteness and talent AND you speak German? You are truly an inspiration.
I just shop at Woodmans. It’s cheap, it’s all there, and Bean likes it best and thus behaves well. Works for Mama.
I have played the grocery game and I miss it so much! I lived in Texas where they had it and now we do not in my small town in Arkansas. I spend a fortune in groceries here. It really did help me to have “the list” all ready for me. If you do it long enough it will be less time consuming. My friends in Texas have been doing it for a couple of years and I know that it has helped them a lot!
I just clip the coupons I think I might want to use, sort them by category in excel. Then I pull up the weekly ads for the stores by us online. I check to see if there are any sales matching my coupons and for anything I need.
A little more complicated than using the services like grocery game, but it’s free and only takes me a few minutes each week. I usually save 50 to 70% percent when I shop doing it this way.
Hi there! I use the Coupon Mom, and I love it. I was intimidated at first too, but I finally just forced myself to read her free e-book about the system. Once I did that, it wasn’t complicated at all, and I save about 50% every week on my grocery bill.
Never heard of the grocery game unless it is Supermarket Sweep.
I’m off to check it out now. I AM a huge fan of Aldi’s.
Although I don’t have any words of wisdom (sorry), I JUST signed up for my trial at the suggestion of a friend. So far I am liking what I am seeing but I need a system myself. I am definitely coming back here to see what other people have to say…
I like Couponmom.com and it’s free!
Not familiar with the grocery game, but over here in Ireland, I do all my grocery shopping, well most of it, online. It saves big in money; they deliver good stuff (‘cuz if not, they’re obligated to redo order). Online shopping usually means good prices + saves time= happy me!
I order from work and it appears the next day. It is fab. Costs about 5Euro about 3 dollars.
Other shopping is done at the butchers (all our meat) and fresh produce when found at farmers’ markets.
I just chuck it all and shop at Aldi’s. That and Sav A Lot (like aldi’s) Between the two I get just about everything I need.
I used the Grocery Game through the $1 trial membership. I realized that I could do it myself, because the membership fee would not have been cost effective for us. It got me started on the right road though. And I found that a lot of circulars in our area are available on-line. ALSO, the free coupons listed on the main home page of The Grocery Game can be accessed even though your membership has expired.
Good luck! I’m going to try coupon mom as well.
Grocery Game? What in the world – I never knew you could win at this thing called shopping! I don’t have the time or the energy to go to more than one or two stores so ALDI is my favorite place! Besides, I never found that coupons or deals really compared much to discount store prices.
I used to shop at three or four stores every week. That was before I had two kids! When my second was born, I switched to one store (Vons) using the Grocery Game. For me, it works out to a little less than I used to spend (when I was buying loss leaders at every store) AND I only have to go to one place! Vons doubles coupons, though, so I’m not sure if it would be as helpful for you if no one doubles them in your area. Also, I’m not familiar with Aldi’s, so I can’t speak to that idea.
Bottom line for me is that it allowed me to shop at only one store without breaking the budget.
sorry, nothing from me….but your title made me smile.
I’ve wondered the same thing about the Grocery Game. Now I’m a little confused. I will just wait for more comments before deciding.
And…You had me going there for a minute. Backwards. Ha! I get it!
Can you tell I’m tired?
I love Grocery Game! I’ve been doing it for over 2 years now. Living on Long Island, I have a lot of grocery stores to play with. I save a lot of money. I currently have two that I use via GG. That would be one factor in deciding if it is worth it to you. Frankly, if your store doesn’t double coupons, I’m not so sure I’d bother. That’s why it’s good they do the trial run, so you can see your percentage of savings each week.
Still, comparing what I pay for membership with what I save each week, it is well worth it for me. I like the idea of someone else telling me what is on sale and where to find coupons for it. I don’t clip my coupons any more. I slip each circular into a page protector, with a date and the initial of the coupon company (V for Valassis, for instance), and keep them in a three ring binder. Saves a lot of clipping time.
One suggestion, no matter how you save money at the grocery: put those savings into a bank account! I have on-line banking, so when I get home, I just transfer the funds, rounded out. So if I save 42.10, I transfer 40. I saved enough this year to buy a new computer for $700 when my old one ‘kicked’!
I suggest that anyone who is interested should do the trial run. It’s cheap enough, and then you can see if it works for you. (Or should I say…’uoy rof skrow’? Ha, ha, your title is funny!)