The Art of the Game.

Okay, so for a few years now (off & on) I have been playing a game...It's called The Grocery Game. What is the Grocery Game? It is a great way to save hundreds of dollars on groceries a month! This woman, name Teri, who came and spoke in our MOPS group a while back, started this company - she was a stay at home mom with a limited budget and growing kids. To be able to shop for her family's needs, she began to clip coupons and shop when things were on sale. After a while, she realized how much money she was saving and started The Grocery Game to help others do the same!

The Grocery Game tracks sales trends in supermarkets and then compares items on sale with coupons that have been printed - giving you, the consumer, an inside track to get food, toiletries and household products for the lowest possible price! It's only $10 for 8 weeks of service and the only other thing you need is the weekly Sunday paper (because that's where you get the coupons). Check out TheGroceryGame.com to read up on more about this cool company! I love getting bargains. I also love getting free stuff and so this has added a fun twist to my grocery shopping!

When I shop using The Grocery Game, I don't just buy whatever is on the list, just because I have a coupon...I usually like whatever products I choose to be at least a 60% savings. Why? Well, beyond basic food necessities, we don't have much money left over, so I'd rather be able to get as much as I can with what I have remaining. The great thing is that since double coupons have come back into some grocery stores, they are practically paying me to take the groceries!!!

This week, the sales cycle was focused in part on cereals and packaged snacks - which is fun since my family loves fun snack foods - but they cost way too much to buy on a regular basis! Here's what I was able to buy - 4 boxes of Kellogg's cereal, 2 boxes of Pop Tarts, 2 boxes of Fruit Snacks, 2 boxes of Rice Krispy Treats (yummy!), Cheez-Its, 2 bottles of syrup, and some individual candy bars. I also had a few healthy things to purchase such as natural peanut butter, pineapple juice, cheese, etc. When I checked out, my total price, before my Vons card or coupons was $82.62 - why does junk food cost sooo stinkin' much???? AFTER my club card and coupons (keep in mind these are double coupons), my total was $26.22!!!!!! Yes, that's a 68% savings! Isn't that just fun? Besides that I got the 2 boxes of Pop Tarts for FREE because the sale price was so low that with the double coupon, they cost nothing! The other thing is that in the Sunday coupons, there was a $10 rebate coupon for eligible Kellogs purchases - so really, my total spending will have been $16.22.

If you aren't into junk food, be encouraged that sales in grocery stores cycle over a 12 week period. This week just happened to cover cereal & snack foods, pet food, cleaning products, etc. Next week, the focus will be other categories! Aaron just loves the guessing game when I get back from the store to see how much we saved! It just SO FUN!