Money Saving Mondays Vol.4: Grocery Game Week 3

It was my third week using The Grocery Game and I’m still very pleased with the way the shopping list I get each week and the money I’m saving.  In preparing for this blog post I realized that I’ve been reporting the amount of money I saved each week, but I haven’t been providing you all with the full data on my Grocery Game Trial. Because I have kids, I may spend more per week than some people, while others (who have more kids than my two) might spend more. So, it’s better to quantify the grocery savings by percentage of grocery bill and not just amount of money saved. It’s kind of like on The Biggest Loser when they report percentage of body fat lost in addition to the actual pounds lost when determining who the winner is each week.

So, here’s a more complete look at the savings I’ve been getting.

WEEK 1

• Grocery bill before savings: $369.06
• Savings (coupons, double coupons, and store sales): $100.88
• Grocery bill after savings: $268.18
• Percentage of grocery bill savings:  27%

WEEK 2

• Grocery bill before savings: $397.88
• Savings (coupons, double coupons, and store sales): $153.50
• Grocery bill after savings: $244.38
• Percentage of grocery bill savings:  38.5%

WEEK 3 (This week)

• Grocery bill before savings: $241.12
• Savings (coupons, double coupons, and store sales): $104.32
• Grocery bill after savings: $136.80
• Percentage of grocery bill savings:  43%

WOO HOO! I saved more than $100 again this week and although I saved less in dollars than I did last week, the percentage of my grocery bill savings is actually more. You might also notice that my percentage of grocery bill savings is increasing each week (between 4.5-11.5%). This is most likely because I am getting better at The Grocery Game and I’m really building up my stockpile of groceries, so my “need” items are decreasing.  This week I didn’t need that much stuff, so I bought mostly stockpiling recommendations from my list. Ralphs was also having a sale on their reusable grocery bags (buy 1 get 1 free) so I bought 10 @$0.75 each. That’s right - I’m saving money and helping the environment at the same time! How awesome is that?:)

And in case you noticed, yes, I shopped at Ralphs again this week. I’ve been reviewing The Grocery Games lists each week at Vons, Ralphs, and Albertsons. So far, every week of the last 3 weeks in my Grocery Game trial Ralphs has had cheaper prices for the items on my list. I’m pretty surprised by that because I truly believed Ralphs were the most expensive in comparison to the the other stores, but I was wrong!

I’ve got one more week to go on my $1 first month trial. Honestly, I’m not sure how many more groceries I’ll be able to buy next week because my pantry, fridge, and freezer are packed!  I’ve got to admit - I love it! If you asked me right now whether I’m sticking with The Grocery Game, I would answer “DEFINITELY!”

Here’s online coupons that are expiring soon you don’t want to miss:

Home Depot is offering $10 off $100 through 6/24/09. Use coupon code: DADSDAY66

Kohls is offering 10% off your entire purchase through 6/30/09. Use coupon code: new813

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