Grocery Game Update # 3

Week three of the Grocery Game!

The Quick Version: The Grocery Game saved me 10.82 this week.

The Longer Version:

So this week I finally had the super savings that the grocery game promised. It was kind of fun. It was all non-food items, which is usually what I use coupons on anyway. I did much better with the list than I did on my own. If I have more weeks like this, then I can phase out using Wal-Mart, which is something I have been trying to do for awhile now. WOO HOO!

The Goods:

I bought there bottles of one of my favorite laundry detergents for 1.99 each. This saved us 6.90.

I got a tube of fancy toothpaste for .99 cents. I usually would not have bothered with the super whiting does everything but wash your car kind, because of the expense. Combining a sale with double coupons saved me 1.00 off what I usually would have paid.

By using another great coupon (worth so much it would not be doubled) I got two more tubes of the fancy toothpaste for .74 cents each. This saved me 2.52

Mmmm...cream cheese. I got two packs for .80 cents each. This saved me .40 cents.




Things I would have done without the list:

I would have bought the laundry detergent, as it was a great deal. I don't think I would have even looked at the toothpaste. I usually just ignore the super fancy types, assuming that they will be too expensive even with coupons. Not so, apparently.

Things I have seen cheaper elsewhere:

I was looking at a K-Mart ad later in the day and saw the toothpaste on sale even more. I could have gotten it for free combining sales and coupons. I do have one more coupon, so I may drop by K-Mart later on.

If you are thinking of joining the Game:

Again, clip all the coupons of things that you think you would buy or use, if they were inexpensive enough. I would have ignored the fancy toothpaste coupons if I were not doing this challenge. Also, if you are very brand loyal, try to let that go as much as possible. Your favorite brand may not always be the best price, and if you are looking for free or cheap (insert your favorite thing here) and nothing else, you are almost sure to be disappointed.

Current Impressions?

Well, this week was actually pretty good, and there were many items that I would not have even bothered looking at had they not been on the list, like the toothpaste. I think that if I joined, the non-food items would be where I would really score.

If nothing else, I'm learning a lot. I'm always amazed at how little I know. In my frugal journey, I have come to several points where I think that this point is the lowest (price wise- that is) that I can go. Then something comes along that challenges that notion. I'm glad for that. I know that there is even more I can be doing to be frugal and happy, and knowing that makes me happy. I like the challenge of living inexpensively.

A small kink in my plan:

My free newspaper subscription ran out, so I had to buy a newspaper. It cost 1.51, which I will calculate into my final savings figure next week. I am going to be paying more attention to the dumpsters as a coupon source. I got two extra coupon inserts when I took out the trash last night. They were just laying on top, even neatly bagged with the rest of the newspaper, so no mess. Whoever had them before me had cut out all the cat litter coupons, but left everything else. Since I have no cat, it was perfect for me.