Grocery Game

First stop on the money saving train - groceries. One site that I have recommended to clients on numerous occasions is The Grocery Game. If you are having trouble stretching your food dollar, this site can be a lifesaver. You can find all of the details of the site at the link, but to sum it up quickly, this site compiles and publishes a weekly list of loss leader and cyclical specials. Additionally, the site lists current coupons that can be combined with these specials. The upshot is that this site helps you to stockpile certain items when they are on "super sale" and provides overall general savings.

There is some work on your end, but it's well worth the time. You do have to clip coupons (so you'll need the Sunday paper), you do have to review the list once a week, and you do have to make a give the program a few weeks to produce significant savings because you'll need to build up your coupon supply. There is a fee for the service - it's $5/month but you can get free months for referring people to the site. They offer a $1 five week trial membership to give you time to build your coupon supply.

It's difficult to estimate how much money you'll save every week because we all have different budgets, starting points, and shopping needs. I think I can easily say that most folks will save an additional 20-25% off of their usual weekly shopping bill (probably much more), and that makes it definitely worth the cost of the subscription and the newspaper. I guarantee you that you will do much better with this than you will with a wholesale club. Sams and Costco have done a great job of marketing the illusion of low cost bulk purchasing, but I have yet to go through a scenario with anyone who didn't end up finding that they spent more at those places than they could using this site.

When this was written, the following were some of the bargains for my area:

• Garnier Haircolor - originally $7.59, this week's special + coupon = final price: $.79

• Campbell's Select Soup - originally $3.19, this week's special + coupon = final price: $.85

• Met-RX Protein Plus Bars - originally $1.69, this week's special + coupon = final price: $.42

• Electrasol 2-in-1 Gelpacs - originally $4.99, this week's special + coupon = final price: $1.49

There are a few issues to keep in mind, though, before diving headlong into The Grocery Game:

1. Don't go nuts. I think there are forums on that site where people get together to talk about their Grocery Game addiction. Seriously. You are not obligated to stockpile EVERYTHING just because it's on sale.

2. Don't ignore storebrand items. This list triggers entries by looking for percentage savings - there may be storebrand items that are less expensive without being on special or having a coupon. Most stores have the unit pricing now, be sure to keep an eye out for less expensive alternatives.

3. Just because something is inexpensive doesn't mean you should buy it. Consider your health and the health of your family - the savings on fruits and vegetables usually aren't as dramatic as, say, the savings on overly processed transfatty high fructose corn syruped package foods, but prescriptions for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. can also kill a budget.

4. Diapers and other baby items don't tend to be on sale as often as everything else, or to be discounted as deeply.

Remember too that ultimately, it's not how much you save, it's how much you spend. Buying something because it's 90% off and then never using it is still a waste of money –although personally, I sometimes buy those crazy super sale items that I know I'll never use, but I put them in a box and take them to the food bank or (in the case of toiletries) give them to a women's shelter.

CONTACT AT PROSPER LOANS DOT INFO