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View Full Version : Third Day "Real" Grocery Game


Debbie
06-16-2008, 05:45 PM
Hello all.......

As if you didn't notice it already, the price of everything but our paychecks is going up up up. I want to make an honest effort at being frugal when I shop, mainly at the grocery store for the very best deals on the very best products available. Other deals will come in handy and will be great, however, you just don't need those every week.

I thought perhaps we could all help one another in finding the very best deals and maybe even some coupon swapping/sharing. Recipes, meal planning and shopping list. Under, $10, $20 meals perfect for a family of 4 or 5 etc. And saving on expensive household cleaning products and necessities. We could also share sites where you can obtain free samples or products without the sales gimmick.
There are plenty of on-line coupon clubs that come with a fee, or are marketing gimmicks. At www.coupons.com., this site offers free printable coupons, however, only a few change weekly. There is another site called the www.grocerygame.com which you can get a 4 week trial for $1 per week. After that, it is overpriced and overrated. Especially when you can find deals on your own that aren't listed on the site.

With all that said, I thought we could all put our heads together and figure out how to win at this high price grocery game being played right inside the grocery stores. List our savings, encourage one another and watch some money saving money magic happen.

If this takes off nicely, we may want to start a new thread for you to list great bargain and other money saving coupons that you have available, but don't use or are not able to find a store with the product. I'll start with a couple of great deals I came across this week:

Coupons.com site
$5.00 off coupon/ Lysol Nutra Air Freshomatic Kit with freshener
$9.99 Publix
$5.99 Super Target
My cost $.99 cents

$3.00 off 2 Boxes of Kellogg's Smart Start Cereal
$3.99 each at Publix
$2.50 each at Super Target & Wal-Mart
My Total cost $2.00 for 2 boxes, $1.00 each

$2.00 off any Bausch & Lomb eyecare product
$2.36 Wal-Mart (Travel kit with 4 oz of solution plus contact case
My cost $.36 cents

$2.00 off any Bausch & Lomb eyecare product
$2.37 Wal-Mart Bausch & Lomb box of 50 pre-moistened eye glass lens tissue
My cost $.37 cents

B1G1 (buy one get one free)
Bag, Dove Chocolates - $3.19 max coupon value
$3.99 each, Publix (with coupon, cost would have been $4.79 total. $2.38 each)
$2.50 each, Wal-Mart
My total cost $1.81 or $.91 cents per bag

Publix Sunday ad in weekly add:
B1G1 Dole Salad blends; $3.49 for 2
$2.00 Publix in store coupon good on 2.
My total cost $1.49 for 2 bags or $.75 cents each

Newspaper ad Sunday's paper
B1G1 any Pledge Furniture Polish
$3.99 each at Publix
$2.00 coupon on the Pledge cans
My total cost $1.99 for 2 cans of furniture polish

Wal-Mart GREAT DEALS!
Break Stone Real Butter. 8 oz box (2 sticks) $.75.
$1.50 per lb less any coupons you may have
$1.00 per tub of Break Stone Whipped Butter
$.60 each, 32 oz Powerades

$2.12 Yoplait Yoplus Yogurt 4 pack
$1.00 coupon
My cost $1.12

$3.98 Cepecal Throat Spray
$2.00 off coupon
My total cost $1.98

Target
Large bottles of Pantene Shampoo or Conditioner with 2 free travel sizes
Get a $5.00 Target gift card with each purchase

CVS Pharmacy
Free $25.00 CVS Gift card with the transfer of any presciption
4 twelve packs of coke products for $11.00. Receive $3.00 off coupon on your next purchase.
Total cost for cokes $8.00

The object is to save as much or more than you actually end you spending. I'm getting better...

My Publix tab:
Saved $89.21
Spent $150.55
Goal: Total cost $118.88

Less any rebate dollars received, even less.

Not confirmed, heard, if you buy $75.00 worth of Dockers at Sears, you get a $50.00 gas card.

Tips:


You can use 2 of the same coupons on B1G1 free items
If your store offers coupon doubling, you can save BIG
Hold off on items you don't really need now
It may take 2 stores for some items, but hey, who doesn't go to Wal-Mart at least 2 times per year
Coupons and Savings are everywhere, read the dotted line

Debbie
06-21-2008, 10:31 AM
Am I the only person who wants to save not just a few bucks, but a lot of money???

Tracey
06-21-2008, 10:56 AM
LOL no ma'am I would post something but I don't know what to post. You see I married this man that loves to get up at the crack of dawn and rush through everything within the first 2 hours of his day. :P

Jason
06-21-2008, 11:06 AM
Am I the only person who wants to save not just a few bucks, but a lot of money???

Yes, we like being broke.

Gaudete
06-21-2008, 02:38 PM
Our two local grocery store chains around here are so obscenely expensive that even with double coupons it's still cheaper to buy all my groceries at WalMart. And I work full-time, have a husband, two kids, and three dogs, so time is a precious commodity. The kids need carted around to their various jobs, theater classes, etc. so I don't have time to shop at more than one store. Although I do, however, make an occasional trip to Aldi's. That store is the greatest thing on the planet! Good quality at an unbelievable price. I just wish they carried a wider variety of products - if they did, I wouldn't shop anywhere else.

kiwisongbird
06-22-2008, 01:09 PM
Hey, can't go coupon shopping here... but I'm getting much better at not throwing away any vegetables... before I go to the market to buy more, I check the fridge thoroughly and work out what to cook using what I've got... this week I only threw away a little coriander (cilantro) and a floppy carrot - very floppy...

I've been reading about how to use vinegar and baking soda for most of our cleaning too - this will be a lot cheaper and as we live in a city in Thailand where there is not a lot of control on chemicals in the environment, it will be much more healthy for us as well - less chemicals in our home... three of the males in this house really hate the flowery smells that are put in things and two of them can have allergic reactions to different things as well, so this will help them too...

Just a note for you lovely Americans as well... water is really cheap to drink and much better for you - you can save loads of money if you don't buy soda each week... and if any of you want to know how to make white sauce from scratch let me know, it's easy and much cheaper...

My kids say they like it when we have no money, apparently I make nicer food when I need a bit of imagination! :) :)

Sharon LJ :)

Marmoo68
06-22-2008, 01:36 PM
This page on the Walmart website offers free samples!!

http://walmart.triaddigital.com/In-Stores-Now-free-samples.aspx


Thanks for the link to Coupons.com. Afraid they didn't have anything I need this week, but I will keep checking back!!

Marmoo68
06-22-2008, 01:49 PM
This link will take you to the sign up page for Kraft.com. If you sign up to have weekly recipe e-mails sent you to from Kraft, you can also sign up to receive the Kraft Food and Family Magazine. This is a really nice free magazine that includes meal planners, very simple and tasty recipes and the magazine many times will have coupons inside. Last months issue had a coupon for a FREE bottle of Kraft Dressing. Signing up for the weekly e-mails does not cause you to get junk mail either. I have been on their mailing list for a few years, and love the Food and Family Magazine!! Give it a try!!

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/registration/contextualsignuplogin

Debbie
09-17-2008, 02:30 AM
We are getting an Aldis this month.

I've learned the key to saving money is shopping with a menu for the week, not buying things just to try them. Use coupons when available, and make the best of them when you have them.

I can't bear to buy meat at Walmart, but agree for the most part, prices are cheaper there. Matter of fact, i'm not to proud to venture into Dollar General for a few things if the price is right. I am pretty much all about brand names though. However, have found a few names I have never heard of present a better product than the brand does...so, if there is room for a little experimenting, i'll give it a try.

Tidbit: I never buy milk at the grocery store. Local pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens carry brand milk for under $4.00 and as low was $3.49 per gallon.

lilmikey
09-18-2008, 02:50 AM
Yes, we like being broke.

thats putting it bluntly. Thank God I dont drive I'd have no money for my PSP games computer games who needs food and electric?

I'm kidding obviously:D :D

kiwisongbird
10-07-2008, 01:44 PM
We don't eat cheese any more... it costs 1,750 baht for two kilos! We buy small pots of parmesan for that cheese type flavour, but that's all! I'm hoping to bring some back from New Zealand where it's half (or less) the price...

We only eat peanut butter if people bring it back here for us as it costs 180 baht for a very small jar, very small - honey is cheap and yummy jam is 'affordable' but prices are all going up here as well... many things cost half as much again than they did a year or so ago...

Fresh veges are still really cheap though and by the sound of it cheaper than in New Zealand... there is a saying in Thai, "I have rice, I have fish, what more do I need?" The Thai people know where to find fresh greens, flowers and even fish for free most the year round, so when very hard up only really need to buy rice! We often see them in the evenings plucking things from trees, in the rainy season they also catch frogs and many kinds of bugs to snack on... never go hungry here! :) :)

Beachcomber
10-08-2008, 12:32 AM
I don't have that kind of time to try to shop smart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:( Even though Publix looks to be more expensive we would give anything to have them up here, I got Robbie totally hooked on them!!!!!!!!!!!!:D We have Aldi's up here they are ok, small and not alot of name brands but kinda cool!!!!!!!!!!!

Sharon
03-16-2009, 11:42 PM
When I shop I have a list, go through my coupons, and mark them on the list. The stores around here won't accept computer generated coupons; I guess because people were going crazy at the copier and then the store couldn't redeem them.

Anyway .... my mom and I have a contest going on ... we save our receipts and then compare to see who saved the most.

I love double coupons, especially when it's something on sale ... WOOT!!!!

I also buy certain things in bulk - cat food, litter, some canned and paper goods