Thoughts From A Grocery Game Newbie

Given my fabolous results using the Grocery Game and the true ease of following her list as opposed to scouring blogs or doing it myself I have been thrilled to share my news and savings with you and of course, my good friends!

One friend signed up right away and has been saving ever since but another friend was much more skeptical. Neither of them has triplets but my friend, Kristy gets about as close as a person with singletons can get! Her oldest son turns 3 at the end of this month, her 2nd son is 1 1/2 and her third son was born at just over 28 weeks last December. After 67 days in the NICU he is home and thriving.

Now that Kristy can once again leave the house (she's been confined at home during RSV season) she has decided to take the Grocery Game plunge.

Here are her thoughts:

I never knew what I was missing. My friends Joanna and Dorinda have spent nearly a year talking about this grocery game nonsense and I always dismissed it.

My excuses: I don't have time to mess with it. I do use coupons occasionally. I do buy what's on sale. I''m not afraid of generic brand food. I'm on a very tight budget so I can't be using my grocery cash on "stockpiling" food. I need food for meals each week! (By the way, I HIGHLY recommend using a cash system to stay on budget...)

Then I tried it.

I'm hooked.

First time: I spent $26.95 and I saved $53.93.
Second time: I spent $36.15 and I saved $66.85.

It was amazing (and a bit nerve wracking) to watch my total go up around $100 and then with every bleep of the scanner it went right back down. I left with an almost nervous giddiness. Did I really just get away with that?

So, I'm still no pro, but I'm learning a few things as a beginner:

1. Concentrate. Let's face it, I've got major mommy-brain. I can't take any of my kids with me and I have to take my time. I've always been one to go to the store and stick to my list and track what I'm spending, but reading the fine print on the grocery shelf and the coupons takes a little extra brain power.

2. Be flexible. The store may be out of stock on a sale item (yay for rainchecks). So, I need some wiggle room in my meal plan (stockpiling will help this). Also, my coupon or my local store's sale may not be for the same amount as the list says, so I can't plan to the exact dollar.

3. Be patient. It's hard to check the list and see a great deal that I can't have. What I mean is I've only been gathering coupons for a few weeks, so when the list says to use a coupon from March 5th, I just have to skip over it. I also have a long way to go before I am stocked up. I don't have a single juice box in my house right now. But just ask Dorinda how many she has...and what's better--ask her how much she spent on them!

Now, if I could just figure out how to get some more Enfamil coupons...

For more on Kristy's life with 3 boys under 3 visit: The Shepherd Times