Grocery Game Update # 1

The Quick version:

The Grocery Game saved us 9.49 this week.

The Longer Version:

So far, mixed results. I came in during the middle of a cycle, so I was able to see last week's list, but it was too late to get the savings. I would have bought the sale cheese and pork chops if the sales were still going, but alas, I had just missed them. However, I saw some things that I have gotten cheaper elsewhere on that list. (See below)

Today I got my first list to try out. I did get my dollar membership trial fee back, which was great!

The Goods:

I got two free 8 oz cans of name brand tomato sauce, which saved me 38 cents. (The last sale I hit on tomato sauce was 8 oz for 19 cents a can.)

We got the Raman, which we don't eat too often but it's one of our in a pinch meals. My husband also keeps a few packages in his desk in case he forgets his lunch. Those were on sale for 1.99 a case, so we stocked up on those. This saved us 2.90.

We got two containers of sour cream for a dollar each. I usually pay 1.12 at Wal-Mart for sour cream. This saved 24 cents.

We also bought three pounds of gourmet ice cream, which is something we usually would not get. However, when we want a treat, often we hit up the Ben and Jerry's case, so we decided that picking up a few on sale to keep in the freezer would be better than paying 4 dollars for one later on. They last quite awhile. We saved 5.97 by doing this.

The things I have seen cheaper elsewhere:

From the list that I just missed: the sale apples are usually cheaper at Aldi's, with no sale. There were also vegetables advertised for 33 cents a can, but I recently bought a case elsewhere for 28 cents a can. If I did not have the coupon, the tomato sauce would have been 25 cents a can, and I've bought it for as little as 19 cents a can.

Free things that I got, but likely would not have gotten if they were not free:

I do not count the money towards my 'saved' total, as I would not have gotten these had they not been free. We also got a free 2 liter bottle of soda, and a free pack of microwave popcorn, We eat a lot of popcorn, but usually make it on the stove. The free pack will go to my husband's work for snacks. The soda we will drink at home, but I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of free soda, since we do not drink it often because of health concerns.

If you look at my actual receipt, I paid 10.92 for 27.29 worth of groceries, or a savings of 62%.

Notes to those who think they may want to sign up for the Game:

If you are considering joining, be sure to cut all coupons of things you even think you may use. There were a few things that I did not get because I did not have the coupon that made it super cheap. I had thrown it away because it was something that rarely got cheap enough for me to buy it.

For example, I would have bought a pasta mix pack had I not thrown away the coupon a few weeks ago. I like the pasta mix, but I can make my own for much cheaper. However, with the coupon, it would have been free. I can't beat free! So hang on to your coupons, even if it is something that you think is too expensive and will never get cheap enough for you to buy. It might.

Current impressions?

I did better than I expected, but I'm exactly blown away. We'll see how the next few weeks go.