New Year’s Goal – to save money

I just got back from a grocery trip, and I got $85 worth of groceries for only $$22.05! Yes, my friends, I am a smart shopper. I will share a few tips with you below, but be sure to come to our January event (info posted below) for even more information and help on how to get lots of groceries cheap and free!

The What: Almost a year ago, a close friend of mine introduced me to a revolutionary way to do grocery shopping – The Grocery Game. The concept is to buy the things you need only when 1) they’re on sale and 2) you have a coupon for them. Combine the sale with the coupon(s), and you’ve got a really great deal! This way of shopping lends itself to another concept – stockpiling. When you can get paper towels for 75% off, why not buy 5 packages and save them for when you need them? Over time, you will primarily only need to shop for things that are cheap and free. These two concepts empowered me, and I have been shopping smarter ever since. In fact, the following is a list of items I have received 100% free (or had the store pay me to buy) in just the last six months:

4 4-packs Dannon yogurt
1 McCormick seasoning
2 Weber grill seasonings
4 bottles barbeque sauce
1 box Wheat Thins
1 ½ gallon ice cream
5 boxes Kraft mac-n-cheese
1 box Barilla pasta
1 can Cool Whip
1 3-pack Rolaids
10 Koolaids
1 Land O’ Lakes butter
1 bottle liquid Coffee Mate creamer
1 pack Hormel pepperoni
2 Betty Crocker warm delights
2 cans Pillsbury biscuits
2 bags Ricola cough drops
2 bags Halls cough drops
1 Fruit2O water
2 Beechnut baby foods
1 bag nut clusters
5 packs tuna
6 Maruchan noodle dinners
1 4-pack Gillette disposable razors
8 Covergirl eyeshadows
4 Suave deodorants
2 Listerine pocket packs
6 cans Lysol neutra-air
1 box haircoloring
1 Dawn dishsoap
3 boxes dog treats
1 tube Crest toothpaste
1 tube Crest ProHealth
3 Airwick I-motion
1 Airwick Warmer
4 pairs Playtex rubber gloves
1 box Playtex disposable gloves
1 can Herbal Essence hairspray
2 Oral B toothbrushes
2 cans Betty Crocker frosting
2 Scotch Brite scrubbers
1 Febreeze noticeables kit
1 pack Bic Soleil razors
1 Snuggle liquid fabric softener
5 Nivea bodywashes

The Who: Anybody can do this. If you have time to review a spreadsheet of deals, pick the ones you want and gather your coupons, you can do this! It may take more time to get started, but once you have a groove, it will become second nature.

The How: I was initially concerned about how much time it would take me to match up the sales to the coupons, but fortunately I don’t have to. There are numerous websites devoted to this very thing. I have tried more than one, but my favorite is http://www.TheGroceryGame.com. I prefer this site because it has a large variety of stores to choose from, has more deals than any other site I’ve used and is very user-friendly. Unlike other sites, this one does charge for a subscription. However, the cost is minimal, it is well worth it, and you can try it FREE for one month. Before you get started, it is a good idea to already have some coupons from previous weeks. You can get your coupons from the Sunday Courier Journal. (They’re always just $1 at Dollar Tree stores.)

The Moment: I must admit that at times, I was frustrated about how much time it initially took to get started, how to best organize all those coupons, which deals to do when I didn’t have enough time or money for them all, and where to store all this stuff I was stockpiling. My breakthrough moment when I knew it was all worth it came when I walked out of my third grocery store one Saturday and only spent half of our 2-week grocery budget. Yes – half! (No, I didn’t skimp on food; we had way more than plenty.) And while there are cons to this system – like collecting coupons, taking time to get the hang of it, and it only including packaged, name brand items – there are also some great pros – like saving lots of money, trying new things for free, and getting name brands that I wouldn’t ordinarily buy.

This system has changed my way of grocery shopping and managing our home, and I hope it can change yours too. Leave a comment below and be entered to win lunch with a staff member or faculty wife. And be sure to join us at our event this week to learn more about the way of grocery shopping that is sweeping the nation. Information is posted below.

To show you how easy the Grocery Game is, see this screenshot of deals at Kroger last week. It shows original and sale prices, applicable coupons, and final savings. Wow!