Read here often? Then you know I have become obsessed with the Grocery Game. I maintain that my mind is blown weekly by the impact this effort has had on our household, in many varying degrees. I am struggling with my new found identity as a coupon clipper, and then this weekend something utterly, dreamy happened. I attended an estate sale (of my many obsessions) and lookie what I found:
A vintage coupon canister? Yes, it's true. And look, it has friends: sugar & candy. I may be a closet coupon clipper but at least I can maintain my vintage sensibilities and style, while I am at it.
The coupon clipping forces were with me this week in more ways. I have introduced the grocery game concept to a few many friends and family (and blogged about it here) and am mostly met with great skepticism and a fair amount of criticism. Most feel I am falling prey to buying things I don't need or wouldn't normally buy and where is the savings in that? This may be partly true, though I maintain that I am not forced to buy anything. I do actually get to make the purchasing decisions. A list is provided, I choose what to purchase from the list. I act on my own behalf.
The best examples from this weekend are these (I will keep it to two, though there are many, many similar):
1. A Gillette Fusion Power Razor: I admit I would have never bought this item if it were not for the grocery game, coupled with the fact that I would have not gone to CVS to do any shopping this weekend. The skeptics are right.
The Gillette Fusion Power Razor (Gillette's newest slicked-out tricked-out razoring gimmick) retails for $11.99. This week it was on sale at CVS for $8.99 and I had a $4.00 coupon. In addition, CVS was giving $4.00 back in extra care bucks for the purchase of said razor. So I bought it. Perfect, new razor (extra blades included) to keep in my shower kit for all of our upcoming spring and summer travels. I will head off for the weekend forgetting my razor from the shower no more! When it is all said and done (when I spend those $4.00 of extra care bucks next week) I will have paid $.99 for this razor - that's a "savings" of 92%.
I agree I never would have bought it in the first place, but I made to decision to do so in that I would have bought razors, maybe not until May, but I would have bought them. I wouldn't have bought one as spiffy as this one, but I would have paid much more. Did I "save" money? I don't know, as again, I wouldn't bought it the first place. What I did do was spend very little money on something of value that I will use/need. I bought it when the deal was good great, not when I "needed" it.
2. Nivea Touch of Sparkle Body Wash: NEVER would have bought this. Not to say we won't use it, we already have. Both boys use "body wash" for their showers, who cares which one? Not me, they used it last night. This deal was a bit more convoluted (thanks to the grocery game for laying it all out as no end consumer could have figured it out otherwise) Buy the Body Wash $5.99 ( + $2 off coupon from 1/3) AND purchase 2 Nivea essentials lip balms (buy one get one free this week plus $2.99 off coupon for two from 2/7) on top of that was a CVS offer -when you buy $10 worth of Nivea products (the total original retail price of the 3 mentioned products) get $5.00 extra care bucks for next week. So in the end the body wash was $1.49 and the lip balms originally $2.99, were .25c each and I have $5 for next week.
So sure - I wouldn't have bought these either, but I would have bought similar maybe on a different day, and I assure you I would have spent much more.
The rest of my purchases yesterday were "normal" brands we buy, know and use. The quantities and timing may not have been my norm, but there was nothing else abnormal about what I purchased.
At check out my total came to $90.00 for 18 items (it's that simply ridiculous? Average unit cost of $5) This little factoid is exactly how I came to embrace the grocery game in the first place- I was finding the reality to be that every single item I put in my grocery cart each week was averaging $5 and that adds up - big time.
Instead, after redeeming coupons and last weeks extra care bucks that $90 total came down to $36.37 for the same 18 items, average unit cost = $2.02.
That feels much better.
I walked out with a month's worth of Tide laundry detergent, Honey-nut Cheerios, Kleenex (to donate to my son's class on request) some crackers (the boys favorite brand) for school lunches, household cleaners, bath soap (all brands we use) and of course the 2 above mentioned items. Finally, I earned $16 worth of extra care bucks to use next week.
That was one of 3 shopping events on Sunday. It's getting easier, taking less time and becoming more fruitful. So I say to all of those who don't want to play, fine by me. If we all played - they might call the whole deal off . . . I think I like it just how it is.
Happy Shopping!
