It's Just a Game.....

But, it's a "game" that is saving us money! You can play along too, if you wish. What game is it? It's called The Grocery Game. This "game" is very similar to Coupon Sense, if you do that. I think this might be a little bit cheaper than Coupon Sense. It is $1 for the first 4 weeks as a trial. Then, it's $10 for the first store for 8 weeks and a graduating scale of cost thereafter. They look up stores that are in your area (including Wal-Mart, which price matches, CVS, Walgreens, etc.) and compare shop for you. They tell you which coupons to use, the date the coupon came out, which source it came from, how many of a certain product to buy to get the best deal, and at which store is the best to buy a product. The "game" takes into account that you have already signed up for the grocery store's savings card, preferred shopper card, V.I.P. card, whatever you want to call it.

I admit that I was more than a tiny bit skeptical about the whole thing. I've heard of Coupon Sense and know others use that and like it. I was pretty doubtful that I would save money, at least enough money to make it worth signing up to do this, but in the end decided to give it a whirl. I mean really, what can $1 for a month's trial hurt, right?

This is a HUGE deal for me. I made a commitment to Adam (and myself) to spend money more wisely this year. I loathe going to different grocery stores and running around town, especially with gas at - or above- three bucks a gallon. It's ridiculous to do that when the money you would save in groceries is going to gas for the car, not to mention two screaming kids along the way and at each stop. But, because of my commitment, I decided to give this a try. I went to Albertsons this morning to get the items that I needed there, according to my list and how The Grocery Game said I would save the most.

When I gathered up all of my things, I went to the checkout lane, loaded everything up with Onie B's help and waited for the grand total. Before the preferred card was scanned and coupons given, it was about $52 or $53. After all was said and done, I walked out of there paying only $20.81. It quickly made a believer out of me. I think I will continue to do this. I couldn't continue on and go to Fry's as it was time for naps, but I'll have to go later tonight once the kids are in bed. I'm excited to see just how much money I can save. Now my "game" has begun...how cheap can I get something and how far can I make my dollar stretch. Can't wait to find out.

I just have one question...why do you have to spend money to save money? Isn't that more than a little ironic? I don't understand!

UPDATE: I got back from Fry's a little bit ago in which I finished my grocery shopping for the week. At Fry's before my V.I.P. card and coupons the total was $136.30. After my card and coupons......drum roll please..........$75.81. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I saved a total of $60.49. Not bad for someone who hates running around town from store to store. I'd say I did a pretty good job of stretching my dollar.