Shout Out to the Grocery Game!

A lot of you know that I have been a subscriber to The Grocery Game for almost a year now. The Grocery Game is basically a way to help you save money on your purchases from your local store. It has been HUGE for our family, saving us about $225 a month from our previous food budget, and about $150 month from our previous "household" budget (toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.) It is a national program, so if you're remotely interested, you should check out the website to see if any of your local stores participate. Keep reading for more info...
Each Sunday you get the coupons out of the paper. I sometimes even buy an extra paper if there are a lot of inserts because I know it will be worth it in the long run. Here in our town I have to purchase a paper from a larger nearby city b/c our local paper doesn't carry all the inserts. Anyway, I clip the coupons and file them by category in a notebook.
Then, every Sunday you look on the website for the current week's lists. We can subscribe to Kroger and Walgreens here, so I do both. It is $10 for 8 weeks for the first store, and $5 for 8 weeks for the second store, but my savings far exceed the cost of the service. You look at the list and see what your family could use. The list is color-coded so that black items are on sale, but not the best deal, so only buy them if you really need them that week. The blue items are the lowest price that item will go, so go ahead and stockpile that item. The green items are completely free, by the time they're on sale and you use coupons, rebates, etc.
The Grocery Game has a database that tracks when items will be the lowest sale price. Often, a store will put fruit snacks, for instance, on sale for $1.67, but then if you wait a couple more weeks and they'll be $1.00. Then if you use a 50 cent coupon and your grocery doubles it, like our Kroger does, then you get your $2.25 box of fruit snacks for free! It's just a matter of knowing when to "play" your coupon.
While there are many great things about this, there are a couple caveats, too, that I should share. First, it does take some time, especially more at the beginning. You have to figure out your system of how you'll organize your coupons, and the most efficient way to find them when you need them. Second, you need a place to store your stockpile! I know several friends who have purchased an extra cabinet for the garage. Third, you can't be brand-loyal. I always used All Free Clear detergent from Sam's Club, but now we may have Tide, Purex, Surf, etc. because they're what were on sale in the past.
On the plus side, it has been fun to try out some new products that I may not have bought for my family before. It's also nice to buy the snack items or other more expensive items that my family enjoys but I didn't used to buy very often. It's come in handy when it's time to bring snacks for teams or pre-school classes, and I'm currently stocking up on very cheap school supplies! Another positive is that I have plenty of supplies to donate when there's a need. I also love to entertain, so it's nice knowing that I currently have a turkey, a ham, a couple of roasts, a couple of whole chickens, some pork tenderloins, and lots of chicken breasts and hamburger meat in my freezer! It has made meal planning easier, and if there's an item that we want to buy that hasn't been on the list, I know I can justify it because I've saved so much money on other items. Finally, though it does take some work and time on my part, as a stay-at-home Mom, I consider it my "job" to make Brian's paycheck go farther and be good stewards of our money. Plus, it's so fun! At my most recent Walgreens trip, my bill was over $110, and I only paid $31! It's almost addicting!
If any of you decide to check it out, they allow you to have a 4 week trial for $1. If you try it, let me know what you think, and if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask!