Grocery Game Bonanza!

Late Monday night and Wednesday morning I did my shopping. I know some of you have read my past posts on The Grocery Game and how I use it to lower my grocery bill. I won't go into it again, just click the link if you want basic information about it.

My latest haul was great! Here are my totals:

Walgreens
OOP $4.17 Saved $2.98 $3 in RR (they are doing the same thing that CVS is doing with the ECBs)
CVS
OOP $28.57 Saved $$24.44 $8 in ECBs
BiLo
OOP $38 Saved $64.55
Publix
OOP $19.34 Saved $20.79
Bloom
OOP $19.48 Saved $48.04

That's right I got $270 worth of groceries for $109. For this I bought

4 cases of diet coke
2 packages of huggies diapers
3 cases of bottled water
2 bags of goldfish crackers
2 3pound bags of white rice
12 yoplait yogurt
bread
orange juice
milk
3 hamburger helpers
2 frozen pizzas
bananas
apples
8 bags of knorr side dishes
2 large jars of Helmans' mayonaise
3 bottles of Dawn
3 boxes of cookie crisp cereal
6 boxes mueller pasta
3 tins of pillsbury biscuits
2 french's mustard
plastic cups with lids
6 boxes of pop tarts
3 bottles of All detergent
4 packages of kraft cheese slices
8 eggo waffles
15 pounds of chicken breasts
2 tins of altoids
colgate toothpaste

I've not shopped like this in a while. Usually I spend about $50 a week getting milk, juice, fresh fruit and veggies, cheese and a few items we are low or out of. But, with these deals, I just couldn't pass them up.

Some of you have asked how I organize my stockpile, but blogger isn't allowing me to upload pictures at the moment. I'll do it as soon as it lets me.

The Grocery Game Part Two

Here are some answers to your questions.

When you start gaming, as they call it, you will spend the same amount the first 4 to 6 weeks. The reason is even though you are getting that box of Cheerios for $2.25 you will buy 3 or 4 boxes to stock up. That is the crucial part--you are stocking up. You will do this for the first month to month and a half then you will do what the gamers call cherry picking.

It is funny, when you first get your list you are so excited. I remember coming in the door and telling my husband how much I spent and bringing in bags and bags of groceries. Then you hit week 8 and are kind of let down because you are only getting 9 or 10 things. The thrill of the hunt is kind of out of it. You have to deal, but you are saving tons of money.

I've compiled a list of tips to help you get started:

Cut ALL your coupons. Not just the ones you think you are going to use. The first couple weeks I only cut the coupons I thought I was going to use. Guess what? I could have gotten Hungry Jack boxed potatoes for FREE. Would I normally buy them? No. But free, I'll take and work them into a casserole any day of the week. I could have gotten glucose monitors free, razors free, cat food free and Cover Girl makeup free. Another reason is to trade. I never use Tide--I'm allergic. I also never use cat coupons, certain restaurant and others. Know what I get in return? Diaper coupons, stain fighters, yogurt, granola bars. All things we go through tons of in my house. What you do is get on a train once you join the Grocery Game. You and several others will trade coupons to your heart's content.

Shop alone. Seriously. All the saving money gurus tell you to and they aren't joking. You can't concentrate on what you are doing with munchkins. Sunday got away from me so I went Monday with my 1 year old. For some reason, I thought I could manage him, coupons and a cup of coffee. "Clean up on aisle 1!" That was me spilling my coffee. Again. Usually I go on Sunday morning and leave the kids at home with Daddy. I spend about an hour to an hour and a half cutting and organizing my coupons, getting my list ready then I'm out the door. I hit 3 stores which are all within the same block and I'm home.

Get organized. Nothing and I mean nothing will piss you off more than knowing you have a coupon for Tropicana OJ that will get you a carton for .69 and not being able to find the coupon. It'll happen. About 3 or 4 weeks into this you will have 200 to 300 coupons to manage. Yup you saw that right, 200 to 300. Some do the accordion file, some do individual envelopes. I have a 3 ring binder with trading card sleeves and use it. It is a life saver. My clipping, organizing and shopping go much quicker now.

So, you may ask, what are you doing with 12 Gillette Fusion razors and 6 glucose monitors and all that makeup that you didn't pay for? Easy. I sell it on ebay and pay for my Grocery Game fees. Not everyone knows you don't have to pay for these items, you know.

The Grocery Game

Some of my friends have heard me talk about it and how I have saved a lot of money on my groceries by doing this. Here is a bit of back ground first. The Grocery Game is on online service that links up your coupons with sales run in your area. The idea is that sales run in 12 week cycles. There is the regular price, the sale price then what they call the rock bottom price. The Grocery Game then matches up coupons with the rock bottom price to get you the best deals. You then stock up for (ideally) 12 weeks then go on your merry way.

I know it sounds too good to be true. Usually when something sounds too good to be true it is. Here is my story. I have $800 a month for "house items". This includes, groceries, clothes for me and the kids ( boys ages 4 and 1), hair cuts, school and sports supplies, lunches out, playdates, birthday gifts, my clothes, my haircuts, craft supplies, shoes, coffee and other odds and end. Usually I barely managed to do just groceries on the $800 and half the time didn't even manage that. It wasn't that I was spendy. I clipped coupons, poured over sales fliers and did all that. I just wasn't doing that well at it. Now, I average about $450 to $500 a month at the store. That leaves me with $300 for clothes, hair cuts, shoes, crafts and the like. I wasn't able to do that before. EVER.

I went to Publix this morning after dropping the munchkin off at school and here is what I bought:

milk
2 engergy saving lightbulbs
2 instant Quaker oatmeal
Kosher Salt
2 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Coctail
2 Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner (the big box)
2 Publix Graham Crackers
2 Dole Romaine Blend salad
2 Pillsbury Grand Biscuit
Tropicana OJ
Imported baby swiss (from the deli)
bananas
Yukon potato
Goya coconut milk
Publix peanut butter
Billy Bee Honey
Onion
Carrots
apples
Publix napkins

Shelf price:97.44
Out of pocket: 57.63

You can look at this and say, well, you didn't buy paper towels, toiled paper, cereal, meat, soup, etc. That's right, I didn't. I didn't because I have 4 packages of paper towels in my garage that I paid less than $4 for. I have I also have toilet paper that I paid less than $4 a 24 pack for. I have about 6 boxes of cereal all obtained for less than $2.25, many soup cans all less than .50. I have a freezer full of meat from a Bloom sale a few weeks ago where they had chicken at $1.49 a pound and ground beef less than a dollar pound.I have a chuck roast obtained for just over $2 a pound and pork chops around $2 a pound. I will go to the grocery store probably Thursday for more milk and fruit then not again till the weekend.

Here is what I DON'T pay for: toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant and razors.

Here is my CVS receipt:

4 cases of coke
insulated lunch box
gilette fusion razor
2 stayfree pads
carefree pad
newspaper
mary englebreight magazine
covergirl foundation
covergirl powder

Shelf Price: 75.19
Out of pocket: 19.45

You can sign up for a month's worth for $1 at The Grocery Game. I am saving money like a fiend. There is a referral program. Be sure to give them my email (bethwietrzykowski@gmail.com) and if you sign anyone up do the same. You will get a month for free. As of now, I pay $20 every 2 months and it is worth every penny.