Grocery Game Update #4

The Quick version:

The Grocery Game saved us 42.19 this week.

The Longer Version:

Well, this is the last week of my dollar trial, and I did pretty well. There was an excellent cheese sale so I bought a TON and put it in the freezer. There were also some products I was able to get for free, but those items were not on the list this week. (See below!)


The Goods:

24 pounds of cheese for 30 dollars. This saved us 30 dollars.

Six cake mixes for 3.28. I usually make scratch cakes, but these are nice to have on hand and I'll buy them when they are less than a dollar each. .54 cents each is not too horrible. This saved us 2.66.

Two 1 lb rolls of name brand sausage for a dollar each. It is important to note that this item was not on the list. I assume that this is because they have seen the item for less, but we have a lot of hamburger so I am going to make some meatloaf with these things. I combined a sale (2 for 3 dollars) with a coupon (1 dollar off of two.) This saved us 2 dollars.

Two bottles of hot sauce for free. It is important to note that this item was not on this week's list. It was on a list recently, and I did not have coupons for it at the time. I had found some since then and went to price it, and it turns out that the list price was not a sale, they were just mentioning that you could get it free with the coupon that was in that week's paper. It cost .99 cents, and I had two .50 cent coupons that could be doubled. This saved us 1.98.

Six cans of chili peppers and green chills for 3.19.This saved us 2.75.

Four toothbrushes for 1.20 (or .30 cents each.) This was on the Free Walgreen's list. If this game has taught me anything, it is that I have paid way to much for toothpaste and toothbrushes in the past! I usually buy toothbrushes when they fall to a dollar each, so this saved us 2.80.


The things I have seen cheaper elsewhere: There were cases of vegetables listed on this weeks list, where the can would be .33 cents each. I beat that price last month at another store- I got a case of vegetables for .28 cents each.

What I would have bought anyway:

The cheese. That was a great deal!


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

Well, it was not free, but I got some biscuits. I make my own most the time, but they were about the same price as making my own so I tried it. They were pretty good, but I like my own more, and they only saved about 2 minutes, so I don't think I'd make a habit of this.


Notes to those who think they may want to sign up for the Game: Again, cut coupons for anything you even THINK that you may use, if it were cheap enough. I have gotten name brand things of stuff I had previously given up on, because the generics were always cheaper. By combining sales and double coupons, I beat many (though certainly not all) generic prices. If you get a coupon after the list sale has passed but it's something you want, be sure to check the shelf price next time you're at the store. With the hot sauce (and we go through tons of that) I just checked out of curiosity, and it turned out I could get it free (with double coupons) even though it was not on sale. The listmaker had just mentioned at the time he or she had because that was the week the coupon came out. Know your prices. You may see some deals that your listmaker did not, or see great prices on something you know you need soon, like my sausage example.


Conclusions:

I am writing a special "end of trail" conclusion, to be posted later today. Check back!