Grocery Game Legistics

Since I've been asked a few questions about the Grocery Game I thought I'd clarify with a few thoughts:

1. You can find it by going here.

2. You can pay $1 to try it out for 4 weeks - I highly recommend this just so you can look around - this does NOT obligate you to pay for any further weeks and canceling is simple.

3. The cost after that is $10 for 8 weeks for the first store and $5 every 8 weeks for each additional store. You can also get referral credit for 12 free weeks by referring 3 people who sign up. Again with the free, I'm there!

4. She does not have every store out there - for some reason Safeway is rarely among the bunch (which is sad because this week I went to Safeway and saved a TON as they were/are having a $1 sale on things I frequently buy - paid $30 on a total of $78 worth of groceries including lots of chicken breasts) - Target is also not on her list nor is Wal-Mart but CVS is and that would be a huge help in playing the "CVS game".

5. The best way to save money is obviously to have a store that doubles and occasionally triples coupons whether or not you go to the Grocery Game to find the deals. Like I said I went to Safeway this week - Yogos and Kellogg's Fruit Snacks were on sale for $1.00 - I knew I had a coupon for those and I did: $1.00 off 2 so I bought 2 for $1.00 - HUGE savings.

6. The second-best way to save money is to have more then one copy of your coupons. For me this means subscribing to 2 papers but I have also found the same coupons in the free papers that keep showing up at my door so I often have 3 and 4 copies of the same coupon which is great when a good deal rolls around.

7. You do not need the Grocery Game to save money if you know how to do it on your own but it does save you time by matching up the coupons to the sales for you. I happened to know I had a Yogos coupon and then had to search through every coupon section I had to find it - she makes it easier by telling you exactly which date the coupon came in the mail.

8. You can try it out for yourself using Terri's method (from her stockpiling chapter excerpt):
Use three markers as you use your list:
- black: need
- blue: stockpile
- green: free

Generally her stockpile items are 50% off or more - her list does this for me so I don't have to do it but it certainly can be done on your own if you wish. The Coupon Mom helps with this as well though her list tends not to be nearly as extensive as the Grocery Game nor does she tell you what to stockpile but basically if it says "Charity" or is a savings over 50% then you know it's a good deal.

9. If you do it on your own I find it easier to cut out the coupons individually rather then leaving them in the paper they came in - more time upfront but less time later. With the Grocery Game you don't have to cut it out until you actually need it but this does require looking through a lot more coupon inserts especially when you have 3 copies of each.

This week Harris Teeter had triple coupons so I got a few extra-good deals but they did seem to have a tad less on sale because of it so I guess it evens out in the end.

Still I saved: $82.95

And spent: $80.67 so 50% off my bill - not bad.



Not pictured: 1 gallon of milk and 3 12 packs of Pepsi - the ham took up a lot of my money this week costing me $17.27 but it was a today only sale and was 50% off the original price - you can bet I'm going to use every last bit!

My best deal this week: Smithfield bacon - normally $4.99 each - this week at HT buy one get one free so down to $2.50 each - then I had a $0.55 coupon which tripled to $1.65 off so the bacon cost me $0.85 - I had 2 coupons so I got 2 packs. I also got free refried beans :)

Also, it may appear that I have stayed well under budget but I did spend $30 last week at Safeway and that's where I got my chicken and some kid snacks. I will also head to Wegman's this week for milk since it's cheaper and I get free stuff (namely eggs this week) for spending $10 or more.

My weekly menu:

Monday: Beef Noodle Bowl
Tuesday: Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken
Wednesday: Harvest Ham Supper
Thursday: Cream Cheese Chicken with Broccoli
Friday: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Saturday: Chicken N Peppers Pasta Skillet

What's On Ebay?

I know it's been a while but maybe you've had a chance to check out some things on Ebay and see if you have anything to sell. It certainly is a quick way to make some extra money or in my case make the money I need to pay for the girl's summer clothes.

I thought I'd share how I've been doing on Ebay.

Ebay does have it's ups and downs - it is an auction site so your item will sell for what someone else thinks it's worth regardless of what you think it's worth. Some sellers choose to list their clothes with a starting price of $0.99 due to very cheap insertion fees (what Ebay charges you to list an item on their site) but I generally start at $9.99 because even if the auction doesn't go up I've at least made $10 on the outfit.

The insertion fee for $9.99 is $0.35 so I can't justify lowering my price $9 to save maybe $0.15. This will have to be a personal choice if you choose to sell on Ebay. Some buyers only look for items beginning at $0.99 in the hopes of getting a great deal but since I've actually paid $0.99 for a few items I just can't see it. Maybe someday I'll be brave enough but not yet :)

Here are some samples of what I listed:

This set is from Gymboree - starting price $9.99 - selling price $9.99 - not thrilled about it but at least I don't have to split what I've made with someone else through a consignment sale.



This set is from Gap (one of my favorites) - starting price $9.99 - selling price after 11 bids - $29.99. I have 2 more listed now - both already have bids though the auctions don't end until Sunday - one has a single bid and the other has 4 bids and is up to $18.50.



This was the girl's Easter from last year from Gymboree - I had 4 of them because Kaitlyn had one too. If I remember right I paid $35 a dress. They sold for: $25, $26, $33 and $41 totaling $125 so ultimately I paid $15 for their Easter dresses last year.



I have sold 10 outfits for about $220 averging to $22 an outfit - dresses and outfits included together. Not too bad for my side job. It's certainly enough to buy the girls some summer clothes.

Try it out - let me know how you do. More tips to come...

Start Collecting Those Coupons!

Harris Teeter has triple coupons (manufacturers coupons up to 99 cents face value) February 5-8th!

You can use up to 20 coupons per day.

They also have some great BOGOF sales right now, so be sure to check if you have coupons for those items.

Click here for this week's specials.

$10 Dinners

Another great and very cheap meal to share! This is one of my favorites that I've been making for a LONG time - even the kids love it.

Mini Meat Loaves

1 pound lean (90%) ground beef ($1.98 a pound)
1/2 cup quick or old-fashioned oats ($0.15)
3/4 cup chili sauce or ketchup, divided ($0.75)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion ($0.25)
1 egg ($0.10)
1 garlic clove, pressed ($0.50)
1 tsp oregano ($0.10)
1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
1/8 tsp pepper ($0.05)

Total Cost: $3.93 - how's that for cheap??

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine ground beef, oats, 1/3 cup of the chili sauce (ketchup), onion, egg, pressed garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper; mix lightly but thoroughly. Using large scoop, divide mixture evenly into cups of muffin/cupcake pan. Bake 15 minutes.

2. Remove pan from oven. Spoon remaining chili sauce (ketchup) evenly over top of loaves (you can't have too much ketchup so usually I use more then stated). Return to oven; bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink in center and internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove loaves from pan.

Here's what I add to make it great: mashed potatoes. I used real potatoes - bought 8 pounds for $3.47 - add butter and milk for about $4.15 total. Or you could buy potato flakes - they were on sale for $0.97.

I use a Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator (which is a fancy icing decorator) to pipe the potatoes onto the mini meat loaves. I also pipe fun faces on the kids plates and they love that! It is easier to pipe the "fake" potatoes because there aren't any lumps.

Add green beans (I got a bag free at Wegman's so no extra cost) and you have a well rounded meal on the cheap!

Diaper Dance

While I will agree with Dorinda that our local Costco/BJs/Sams club is a great place to find affordable diapers, I also love buying diapers from Diapers.com.

Their cost per diaper is very competitive. They also have a HUGE selection of brands and sizes. The best part is that they ship directly to your front door. If you spend $45 or more, shipping is free!

I usually receive my order within 24-48 hours of placing my order. I have never paid shipping.

They do accept manufacturer's coupons. Once you mail them in, they take about a week to credit your account.

I've also had great success using their referral system. If you use my "code":

CHSA9309

you will get $5 off your first order, and I will get a $1 credit on my account. I average a $5 credit/month based on my referrals. Every bit helps!

Stockpiling

For some of you this is a pretty simple concept but for others it may be new. The idea of stockpiling is pretty self-explanatory - you stockpile food. Wow! Big concept. No, the bigger concept is shopping for what you need when it's on sale and not when you need it. This way you're never paying full price - for much - there are things you're just going to need and that's life.



Tonight I headed out to Harris Teeter to do my weekly shopping (last night was the Superbowl - I was watching the game). Popcorn was on sale. I didn't need popcorn but it was $.70 a box with the coupon and we eat popcorn a lot so I bought it.

Stockpiling food is like stockpiling cash - you buy as much as you can for as little as you can and keep it for when you need it.

According to Terri Gault founder of the Grocery Game you should aim for stockpiling a 10 to 12 week supply. You can read a chapter from Terri's new book on stockpiling here.

But I'll break down some basics namely the 5 rules of stockpiling:

1. You can stock pile just about everything except milk and produce.

2. You should stockpile at least three months worth.

3. You decide what you stockpile (not surprising - who else would?)

4. You will stockpile almost every week (a few holidays there isn't much on sale - Christmas was pretty low). I know some people only shop once a month and eat all month and this is another method but I find I am saving a lot going every week and agree that this is the better way to go.

5. Keep track of your inventory so you know when you're low :) How easy would this be if you won the Smart Shopper from my previous post?

Why stockpile?

1. Saves time - you have a stockpile so there's less running to the store.

2. You have lots of meal options because you have such a variety of food.

3. You have variety - when you buy what's on sale you buy a lot of different things - we have tons of different snacks these days that we've never had before - tonight I bought Uncrustables something that's normally too expensive and a waste but hey, with a great sale why not?

4. You and the kids have some of the newest food since the newest products go on sale to get people "hooked" to their new product.

5. You'll have more nights off from cooking if you use coupons to purchase ready-made meals - not a bad deal.

6. Save money!

That's a lot of inspiration! Need more:

Tonight I spent $61.82

But saved: $78.19

One secret to my savings this week: My ALL detergent is free - has been for about 2 years now. Two years ago we bought a high efficiency washer and dryer - not only are we saving money on water and washing larger loads which cuts down on my laundry (14 loads a month - I swear) - I am also getting my laundry detergent free. Basically they mailed me a coupon book for free detergent. I just pick up a few when I need it and I'm good for a while. I have actually stockpiled my free detergent that I'm good for another year or so. Each bottle does 30 loads - I do half that a month :) My high efficiency washer and dryer is paying off in so many ways!

Terri Gault's book Shop Smart, Save More can be purchased through Amazon.com for $10.39 (all info here is from her free chapter on Amazon).

Smart Shopper Giveaway

You know whenever I spot a giveaway I'm going to pass it along! Because free is better then anything. This time around it's for a Smart Shopper - which is really cool! Records your grocery lists and prints it out for you - now that is something we all could use. It even categorizes your items by area in the store. No forgetting stuff and making for easier trips at the grocery store. Check out more features here.

Where do you need to go for the giveaway?



Just head on over to this cool blog on organiziing and sign yourself up. I do think one of the keys to having your finances in order is to have your house in order. The more organized you are the easier it is to think about your money. I certainly wish I was more organized then I am and I am making an effort to be more organized but I am no expert on organization so if you want tips head over to Sandy's blog!