Teri's Blog

The Grocery Game Announces Twitter Contest!

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:18:00 -0700

Yes, you heard it correctly. The Grocery Game is running a contest on Twitter, and it is so easy to enter!

The 100th person to retweet this tweet will win:

RT @thegrocerygame is giving away a Free copy of Shop Smart, Save More. The 100th RT Wins! http://bit.ly/bdOWJw #thegrocerygame #coupons

Shop Smart, Save More Twitter ContestSimply retweet the Tweet above. If you happen to be the 100th person to retweet this tweet you will win a copy of this amazing book of Teri Gault’s grocery savings secrets. Here is more information on the book and Teri.

Teri Gault, founder and CEO of TheGroceryGame.com brings you the most comprehensive grocery savings guide filled with inventive ways to save your family hundreds of dollars each month on items you use every day.

Using step-by-step instructions, Teri unlocks the secrets to shopping for life’s necessities —- how to shop in the right stores, how to decode grocery store “lingo” like Every Day Low Prices and Hi-Lo marketing strategies, which coupons to use when, stockpiling, shopping for a family of four vs. shopping for one, following market trends, as well as simple math tricks to find the best bargains.

Shop Smart, Save More offers tips for organizing, storing, cooking —-even getting the whole family to pitch in and help. Shop Smart, Save More is an essential guide to living the life you want —- without having to pay a fortune for it. And, it’s a perfect complement to your Grocery Game membership. Get Shop Smart, Save More below from your favorite online store!

Keep your eye on @thegrocerygame Twitter account. We will be giving away more copies and running great promotions on Twitter. Also, keep an eye out for Free coupon updates each day!

Follow The Grocery Game on Twitter!

Like The Grocery Game on Facebook!

Learn more about Teri’s book!

Setting the record straight: Store brands or name brands or...?

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:40:34 -0700

Setting the record straight: Store brands or name brands, which is cheaper?

Before I give you the answers, let me just say that TheGroceryGame.com has databases that go back as far as 10 years. These databases track sales at over 200 supermarkets’ marketing divisions, with over 10,000 items in each of those divisions. The numbers are both fascinating and revealing. All that to say, I know what I’m talking about. Numbers don’t lie.

In a survey released today by SymphonyIRI, on consumers’ beliefs and trends on all things “back to school”, I see that consumers don’t really know what the best deals are or where to find them. But there is something that consumers are right about and finally learning in this economy:
“58 and 57 percent of all respondents, respectively, are stocking up on items because they are on sale and buying what’s on sale versus their favorite brands” – That’s a good thing. Glad to hear it. That’s what Gamers call “investing”, the only way to make sure you never have to pay full price for groceries.

But are they getting their groceries at the lowest possible price. Are they going to the right place to shop? The survey further reveals: “… among households earning more than $100,000… 46 percent are visiting supercenters, such as Walmart Supercenter and SuperTarget, more often.” That’s more often than before this rough economy. Sigh… Walmart is not the best place for savings. Grocery Game databases reveal that the best savings on groceries are at the hi-lo supermarkets, which are major supermarket chains. Their sale prices typically dip lower than their EDLP (every day low price) counterparts. And no, Walmart doesn’t match all the sales at your local supermarkets. I’ve blogged about that ad infinitum. So I’ll step down off of that soap box for now.

Now on to the store brand vs. name brand question… The survey reveals that “half of … survey respondents note store brand lunch box components… provide better value versus national brands.” Sigh… Here’s the facts…
Nationwide in 50 states, we see the following levels of savings. Most of the time, it goes like this, starting with highest prices to lowest prices when it comes to nearly everything in the supermarket:
1. Name brand at regular price (not on sale)
2. Name brand on sale or Store brand at regular price (about equal)
3. Store brand on sale
4. Name brand on sale with a coupon

Here’s what this means, going through the above list from most expensive to least expensive:
#1 - Name brand products at their regular price will kill your budget! That’s what you get if you are brand loyal and shop only for what you need each week. This is the worst thing you can do. Fortunately, most people know that.

#2 - When name brands go on sale, they are usually about the same price as the store brand at regular price. Better than #1, but not good enough…

#3 –When store brands go on sale, they will usually beat name brands on sale. Getting better. But it gets better still…

#4 – Here’s where you want to live! Shop name brands and use a coupon to go with it. According to our databases, this will give you the lowest final prices on your groceries most all the time.

Grocery Gamers save an average of $512 a month for a family of four, have top quality food and household products, and don’t have to keep a coupon file. By playing the game, they invest in the 4th scenario, and only venture into the 3rd or 2nd level up when they “need” something they haven’t invested in. They rarely pay full price, as in the first scenario.

Listen and learn… There will be a test. I would like to see the statistics improving on the next survey.

www.TheGroceryGame.com

SymphonyIRI Research: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100823006270/en

Whipping WalMart... Once Again

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:40:25 -0700

Yes, I’m whipping WalMart… AGAIN! I probably blab about it too much. But I can’t help it. So without further ado…

Even though they’re losing some market share to alternative markets, WalMart still has consumers under their spell. This article articulates some of the problem, although not news to Grocery Gamers:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/walmart-raises-prices/19587730
Now see Grocery Gamers’ comments here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000582090002#!/TheGroceryGame?ref=ts
IN addition to what the Daily Finance article has to say about Walmart pricing, let me tell you the foundational reasons why WalMart is not the cheapest place for groceries. Despite their convincing sales pitches which imply that they meet or beat all local sales of their competitors, that’s not entirely true. Here’s the facts:

#1 – WM will not match competitors’ UN-advertised sales. This is important, because sometimes, more than half the best deals at your local supermarket are UN-advertised. And those UN-advertised sales will typically dip lower than WalMart’s “every day low prices” (EDLP).

#2 – Whether advertised or not, WM will not match BOGOs. You know those great “Buy one Get one Free” sales at your supermarket? WM does not match those. Again, a BOGO will typically dip lower than WM’s EDLP.

#3 – WM don’t match % off sales. If Kraft products are all 50% off for example, Walmart doesn’t match that.

Even though I’ve preached it until I’m blue in the face, www.TheGroceryGame.com has been forced to offer lists for Walmart! Yes, forced! Because people want it, we have Walmart LISTs nationwide. Here’s the funny part though… People get the four week FREE trial, in which they have access to all our LISTs. So, in some areas, there may be as many as 9 other LISTs during their trial. So those who come to www.TheGroceryGame.com looking to save at Walmart rarely end up keeping Walmart as one of their store choices. By using their trial period to compare prices at all supermarkets in their area, they learn that I’m not crazy after all! The local supermarket beats Walmart over all, every where!

Just poked into our databases to make sure I’m not crazy, and that nothing’s changed. Here’s just one typical example, some hard #s for Ragu pasta sauce this week:

Walmart in Meijer area with coupons: $1.20
Meijer with coupons: 52 cents

Walmart in Winn Dixie area with coupons: $1.20
Winn Dixie with coupons: 90 cents

I could go on and on with the above exercise. But suffice it to say, this is what we see nationwide on most of the grocery prices in our databases.

So, take your blinders off, and take a good hard look. Or don’t look in that direction anymore. Liberate yourself! And enjoy winning The Grocery Game at your friendly, beautiful, local supermarket, and save even more money!

There now… Doesn’t that feel better?

Beware! Frauds, scams and schemes on the rise!

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:08:00 -0700

About this time last year, I blogged about how vacation condos can save alot of money on family vacations. I still prefer condo vacations for families, instead of a hotel for lots of reasons. So don’t abandon the condo idea, but listen to this…

This morning, I spoke to a friend of mine who runs a vacation rental business. He said that fraud has become rampant in recent weeks. His clients, vacation home owners, have had numerous families show up to their rental properties to check in. But alas, these poor unsuspecting vacationers fell for a scam, and gave their money to some erroneous scam artist. Yes, this property was advertised for rent with photos of the property, a description, list of amenities, etc. But the person who posted the advertisement and received payment for the rental was not the owner of the property. It was so disheartening to hear that while this used to happen occasionally, the problem has recently become epidemic. And the saddest part is that the unsuspecting vacationers are out of money, and out of a place to stay. The true owner of the vacation property has nothing to offer these poor people, except for where to find a local hotel. The tip here is that many of these vacationers answered an ad on Craigslist. So if you plan to rent a vacation property, be safe and rent from a reputable agency. To find out who is and who isn’t, google the property and rental agency associated with the property. Read all the information available and then decide if you’re dealing with the real proprietor.

Most of us can now recognize an internet scam, since so many of them have been going around for so long. But there are more and more born and morphing every day. A quick check on the “iC3” website, which works with the FBI, can keep you apprised of the latest internet scams. Read it and get creeped out! http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx

Being in the business I’m in, I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you about coupon fraud. Since the popularity of coupons is on the rise, con artists are luring unsuspecting victims with too good to be true coupon offers. The NGA, National Grocers Association, lists the most prevalent fraudulent coupons, most of which are distributed throughwebsites or by email. You can view updates here: http://www.nationalgrocers.org/Coupons/2010%20Coupons.html

It’s important to be aware of fraudulent coupons, because you, the victim, could be a party to the scam if you try to redeem one. To be safe, you should only print coupons from reputable websites, and as a general rule steer clear of PDF coupons. However, some manufacturers of foods don’t have sophisticated software and will offer coupons by PDF. If you’re sure the site is indeed the manufacturer of the product, then you’re probably safe to print their PDF coupon. But instead of spending time trying to find certified coupons on the internet, I can proudly say that there is no reason to look any further than Teri’s Coupon Center, where we update with the latest REAL coupons on a daily basis. In Teri’s Coupon Center, you can print FREE coupons from our website (encrypted, limited, and secure), from individual manufacturers’ websites, load virtual coupons to your club card, and more. Save money, but do it wisely!

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con_Teris_Coupon_Center.cfm

2009 $55B Store Brands Record high

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:30:17 -0700

According to the PLMA, Private Label Manufacturers Association, store-brand sales of food for 2009 reached a record high of $55.5 billion, marking a 6.7% increase in store brands, and 1.7% decrease in name brands.

One might assume the increase in store brand popularity is solely due to the economy, and to the consumers’ new mindset for value. In part, that must be part of the reason for this dramatic record breaking shift. But it’s been a long haul for store brands to gain the reputation they deserve as a plausible alternative to higher priced name brand products. In short, they’ve worked hard for it, especially over the last three years, building their brands in terms of quality and value. Of the recent shift, Brian Sharoff, president of PLMA states, “The statistics document the amazing increases in store-brand popularity… But as most market researchers know, the growth of store brands is by no means a recessionary phenomenon. Its success began years before the current downturn and is rooted in increasing assortment, quality ingredients, innovative product concepts and retailer commitment.”

I shop Vons, which is a Safeway store. And As CEO of TheGroceryGame.com, I’m well acquainted with store brands nationwide in over 200 markets that we serve. I’ve been pleased with most everything I’ve had the opportunity to try in all the banners nationwide, including Giant Eagle, Publix, Kroger, Supervalu owned supermarkets and more. As for Safeway store brands, I’ve personally been very happy with their various brands. http://www.safeway.com/ifl/grocery/our-brands Safeway Select is absolutely fantastic. The frozen party size entrees like lasagna, enchiladas, and cannelloni can’t be beat. Lately, at $6.99 on sale with Safeway coupon for a “10 serving” tray, I can hardly justify making it myself! I stocked up, and they’re great for nights when I don’t want to cook (like tonight after a long busy weekend). Their “Primo Taglio” artisan deli products recently pleased even the most discerning European palates at my Father’s Day BBQ. Of course, I didn’t tell them I got a great deal on on my lovely salami and cheese appetizers! I can’t say enough about how much we love Rancher’s Reserve meats. And the Lucerne dairy products on sale are the bomb! Until tomorrow, June 29, Safeway has the one pound butter on sale with Safeway store coupon for 1.99 each. I invested in the limit of 3, because it’s good quality butter. And Greg and I are sort of snobs about butter! (BTW, you can freeze butter).

If you got duped in the early “generic” days, and have since had an aversion to store brands, you may want to give them another try. But if you’re still reticent about that, don’t despair. Grocery Game databases show a marked savings of 50-60% over store brands, when buying name brands on sale with a coupon. Just a few examples… Kroger store brand frozen vegetables go on sale for about 7 cents per ounce. But when Green Giant goes on sale at Kroger, and you use a coupon with that sale, it goes for about 3 cents per ounce. That’s a 57% savings over buying the store brand. Kroger Granola bars, $1.88, against Nature Valley on sale with coupon for a final price of 60 cents (74% less than store brand). Safeway plates vs. Hefty (14 cents each vs. 6 cents each), and so on in supermarkets nationwide.

So why am I so thrilled with my Safeway store brands? They’re great quality for things that I need, when name brands aren’t on sale with coupons. Nuf said!

"Coupons are just for junk food"

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:42:12 -0700

A reporter just asked me what is the greatest deterrent to saving money on groceries… Being stubborn, being old fashioned, believing a cliché… “Coupons are just for junk food”.

If you believe that one, you haven’t taken a good look in a long time, probably years. Welcome to the 21st century. The world has changed in many ways, and the smartest people are changing with it.

“Well-Off and Well-Coiffed Adults Use Coupons More, New Research Shows Affluent, Educated and Metro Consumers Have Adopted a Couponing Lifestyle” as documented here: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100525006709&newsLang=en

Sure. If you run out and buy a Sunday paper, you’ll thumb through and find lots of things you won’t want to buy. Not everything in there is for my family either. But I’m sure you’ll also find lots of coupons for things you DO buy. So why throw out the baby with the bath? Of the 150 new coupons I get every week, I only redeem about 20-30 of them. And because I actually use those coupons, I save 67% on the average. Grocery Gamers do the same nationwide every week (avg. savings $512/month for a family of four).

There’s another reason not to get the Sunday paper just yet. You won’t see everything there. Far from it. “Nowadays”, a great portion of the best coupons are found elsewhere… on the internet, electronic downloads to your club card, etc. So how do you find them, and what’s out there for you? Take a quick, free, easy look right now. Our Coupon Tracker is the most comprehensive coupon database on the web. I just entered my zip code to bring up the info on 1650 coupons available to me right now, and where to find them, whether in the Sunday paper, internet, electronic, or whatever. Enter a keyword or browse categories to find coupons for things you buy.

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/app/couponTracker/#SearchCoupons

So you found some free money?! But wait! Don’t buy a coupon file! Years ago, Grocery Gamers quit cutting and filing coupons. Watch this video and tutorial to learn how and why.

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/app/couponTracker/#Help-GettingStarted

Now that you see there is money to be found in the world of coupons, you can continue to build your own shopping list and find coupons using our free coupon tracker. Or you can pay a professional $1.25 a week to build a strategically planned money saving shopping list. That’s membership to The Grocery Game, where we do the work for you by matching coupons to advertised and Unadvertised sales, tracking sales cycles for you, telling you when, how and where to buy at the lowest of lows. There’s a no obligation 4 week FREE trial, in which time you should save enough money to buy a deep freezer. And on your trial, you can access all supermarket and drugstore lists in your area. Enter your zip code in the red box here to get started: https://www.thegrocerygame.com/con_Free_Trial.cfm?function=order&smt=0&srm=1

For more info about what Grocery Gamers get with membership:

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con_What_Is_The_Grocery_Game.cfm

So whether you decide to pay the professionals or just use our free Coupon Tracker, let me leave you with this parting thought…

Leave your past, and embrace your future.

Scholarships and grants for college

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:18:00 -0700

There are tons of scholarships and grants available for college. I could write volumes about this, but these days, it’s easy to find scholarships… A google search!

Foundation grants are specific to certain areas of interest. Most will bear on the career choice or major of the student. Some are related to certain ethnicity or place of residency. Either way, google searches that pertain to your student’s major should be done separately from a google search for ethnicity. For example, Davi, my foreign exchange student is black, and wants to study architecture. So I googled “african american scholarships” and came up with lots of results. I also googled “minority scholarships” and came up with more.

Next I googled “architecture scholarships” and came up with a number of them specifically earmarked for that field of interest. This is one of them, which is actually a very useful site for researching any kind of scholarship:

http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/architecture.htm

Read carefully through the requirements and exclusions. If your student fits every bit of criteria listed, you can apply and should. Some are for 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of study. So applying for grants and scholarships can be ongoing through college.

Corporate grants can be very specific in terms or major, or may be general scholarships based on being related to someone who worked for the corporation. For example, think of relatives who have worked for a certain company for many years. Even if the relative has retired, there may be grants designated for children or grandchildren of their employees past or present. The grants may be specific to a major or not. Walmart has a general scholarship for children of employees: http://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/corporate-scholarships/walton-family-foundation-scholarship.aspx And a different one for students who are employees: http://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/corporate-scholarships/walmart-higher-reach-scholarship.aspx

Some corporations offer scholarships for anyone pursuing a major in their industry, set up through a foundation. For example, if the company is a drug company, the scholarships may only be for those studying the medical field, like Bayer Foundations: http://www.bayer-foundations.com/en/homepage.aspx. Or Warner Brothers Hanna Barbara has a $10,000 scholarship for anyone studying animation. This one, like many corporate grants has nothing to do with relative employees, but has everything to do with the major. http://www.awn.com/news/education-and-training/wb-animation-creates-scholarship-honoring-bill-hanna-joseph-barbera

Here’s an informative page on some corporate grants, and great website for researching grants of any kind: http://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/corporate-scholarships/corporate-scholarships.aspx

Government grants: Again, google search. Check your city, county, state, etc.

Lots of google searches using different keywords can turn up many opportunities.

There’s a good discussion taking place on our message board.

http://terismessageboard.thegrocerygame.com/showthread.php?t=161261

Along with lots of other good pieces of insight, someone mentioned the CLEP exams, basically what we call “testing out”. This is a great way to save money! And we all love that! Share your ideas, and let’s put our heads together to come up with money to send our kids to college!

What I wish I had known about getting into college

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:03:09 -0700

Now that Christian’s going off to college, there are so many things I wish we would have known long ago. Thankfully, Christian got accepted to the private university of his choice, and even got a partial scholarship. But during this process there were things I wish we had known to do before he started his freshman year in HS.

#1 Spend some time going through college applications on college websites with your child. - Once you start to see the fields information that must be filled in on the applications, you and your student will have a better idea of what he or she needs to be doing now, in order to give great answers to those questions in the future.

#2 - Start taking SATs as early as possible. You can take them again and again, and the higher score prevails. This is VERY important. While a high GPA is ideal, a good SAT can counteract less than perfect grades. Also, some scholarship grants are based on either a high GPA and/or a high SAT.

#3 Take advantage of all the support materials and programs at www.CollegeBoard.com. This is the site where you sign up for your SAT. All you have to do is opt to participate in the many support programs available. Sign up for the free Collegeboard SAT “Question of the day”, which gives you a daily dose of how the questions work, and is very helpful. If Christian had been doing this every day for just a few minutes for a couple of years, I think it would have helped him immensely with his score. There are also lots of other great tools on the website. There are also SAT study DVDs, CDs, etc for purchase.

#4 Become active in an extracurricular - Nearly every college application asks about extracurriculars. If your child excels in academics, she should join a chess team, a debate team, spelling bee, or any other academic activity for which you can attain accolades and awards. It needs to be an official extracurricular through the school or other reputable organization. Your student should strive to win awards, which he can cite on the college application.

#5 Another extracurricular can be a sport. Scholarships abound for athletes. If your son or daughter shows outstanding athletic ability, it can pay off big to augment their natural ability with ongoing private lessons in the sport. $6,000 invested over the course of 4 years in high school for our first son Joe resulted in a six figure scholarship. A great investment! To reach for an athletic scholarship, your child will also need to excel in club and tournament teams during the off season, which means all summers and all vacations will be booked! If they don’t “make” a good tournament or club team, chances are they will not be competitive when it comes to winning an athletic scholarship for that sport. Be realistic, and try to look at your child objectively. Basically, if your child tries out for several good tournament teams or club teams, and doesn’t make the teams, chances are those coaches are going to be seeing what college coaches see as well. Maybe they’re not as athletically competitive as you may think. So be careful about putting your eggs in the wrong basket!

#5 Make the extracurricular a “job” - Our boys knew they were not going to get into college on the merit of their academics alone. So we made rules about their sports, baseball for Joe, and football for Christian. They knew that this is what they do, not just for fun, but primarily to get into college, and hopefully win scholarships! In addition to keeping their grades up, their “job” was to go to the gym, get proper rest, and practice their sport on a regimented schedule. Their commitment, along with our financial support paid off for both of my boys.

#7 Be active in a charity or community service organization - College applications will want to know that there was a consistent commitment to some sort of organization. The longer you’re involved the better. The frosting on the cake is that it builds character. Note: Christian helped an Eagle scout friend with a number of his projects. He got some very nice thank you letters on Boy Scout letterhead. But it wasn’t his own project and wasn’t something he could mention on the college application or in the admissions interview. Christian had participated in several “IServe” projects through his school, spent weekends landscaping at youth camps, construction work at Salvation Army camps, etc. He did talk about that on his college admissions interview, which he felt was helpful in getting accepted.

I hope this helps you to realize that getting into college, and especially getting a scholarship is something that requires alot of work and commitment throughout the high school years. It’s more than just good grades. Talk about college often. And make college a goal. It’s worth it!

My "Killer Potato Salad"

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 08:16:00 -0700

I’ve had a few requests for the recipe. After all, as one person said, “Tis the Season”! Potato Salad is a cheap filler, and also full of fiber, more than pasta salad. Fattening yes. But I don’t want to hear that right now. We’re talking potato salad, people!!!

For all of the above reasons, potato salad should be a part of every summer BBQ. But keep it cool. You don’t need any fancy set up… just two different sized bowls. Serve the potato salad in a medium sized bowl, nestled in a larger bowl full of ice. And…

If you’ve been using sweet pickles, try dill instead. You’ll probably get some new converts to potato salad. And… NO mustard, please!!!

Of course I don’t measure anything:

10 pounds potatoes
1 chopped red onion
5 stalks celery - diced… See More
8-10 boiled eggs
2 diced kosher dill pickles
loads of fresh dill (use one whole package from produce section)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 jar mayo (more or less)

Boil the potatoes until just fork tender (not too much), drain and chill in ice water. Once chilled, drain again, and into fridge. After they’re nice and cold, dice small about 1/2” to 3/4”. With clean hands, mix all together in a BIG bowl, except mayo. Then add mayo, as much as you like. Don’t be stingy on the mayo! You’re using your hands so that you have control over how much you want to squish the potatoes. The squishing is what makes it creamy. You’ll need to add mayo, the more you squish. But don’t turn it into mashed potatoes. Sometimes if potatoes are cooked too much, using the hands, you are able to be more gentle and not squish it, like you would if you were using a spoon. Hands are perfect either way!!!

I love potato salad too, because, yes, it’s alot of work, but you can do it the night before. And it’s even better if it sits overnight, and gets better for several days thereafter.

Let me know how you like it!

Supermarkets Chasing Consumers

Tue, 25 May 2010 12:25:00 -0700

Grocery shoppers are changing how and where they shop. Those who never set foot in smaller discount alternative markets are now going where they “think” the savings are. So supermarkets are chasing these consumers in various ways…

Most major supermarket chains have and still are lowering a thousand or more prices to EDLP (Every Day Low Prices). Safeway and Kroger banners did some lowering over the last few years. A&P just started a new price lowering campaign, with a new spokesperson, Kelly Ripa. Probably one of the biggest celebrities ever signed on to a supermarket. They mean business!

Some major chains are opening up smaller alternative markets, with a focus on discount groceries. Delhaize, who owns Food Lion, has their smaller discount version called Bottom Dollar. And Wakefern owned Shoprite has their PriceRite discount version. Both companies have vowed to roll out more this year and next. Delhaize has held at 28 Bottom Dollars since 2008, and are now expecting to move forward again, and double the number of stores by end of 2010. Properties are cheap, and it’s a good time to roll out more stores.

We also have numerous dollar stores on the rise, along with discount grocers like Aldi. Together, they’re taking a greater share of the market than ever before, and expanding with more stores. Aldi opened up a plethora of stores in the Dallas area. Plus, they’ve managed to attract shoppers even in more afluent areas of DFW. Consumers are on the move!

With all that said, I promised to reveal the Aldi comparisons that we did for some press in the DFW area. We spent $95.67 at Aldi on groceries, health & beauty and paper goods. Using coupons with sales at Kroger, we bought the same quantity or more of brand name products for $65.69, a 31% savings over Aldi. The same results are expected when playing www.TheGroceryGame.com nationwide. Remember, we’re investing at the right time, with rock bottom sale with coupon.

Now, dollar stores… Our Quality Control department put together some figures from our databases nationwide compared to “Dollar Tree”. Frozen fruit was the best deal, and was the same or beats the frozen fruit at most supermarkets when on sale with coupons. Other than that, supermarket sales beat Dollar Tree by an average of 34%. Add a coupon to the mix, and supermarkets blew them away. The difference with coupon and sale was as high as 80% savings over Dollar Tree.

Don’t try this at home… If you do your own comparisons, you’ll come up confused. But if you play www.TheGroceryGame.com, you’ll agree. We’re not eliminating Aldi and Dollar stores from reality. We know there are good deals, and even Gamers stop in for “need shopping”. But they’re not the last word in savings. If you understand The Grocery Game, you know that EDLP (Aldi), has low prices all the time. But when major supermarkets (Hi-Lo pricing) goes on sale, their sale prices typically dip lower than Aldi. Add a coupon, and you’re saving even more. It’s a 12 week cycle that we follow to invest in Grocery Game style. It’s strategic and it works, with or without coupons.

Too bad consumers don’t know all that. If they did, the supermarket chains wouldn’t have to build all those smaller version discount stores… sigh…

My Mother's Day Menu Plan

Sat, 08 May 2010 08:13:00 -0700

As in all holidays, I like to have an array of beautiful food, but I’m always about saving money, and making it easy!

I don’t plan the menu completely until the new sales ad comes out. So for Mother’s Day, it’s the same. All I’m really looking for in the last few days is produce sales. Typically, I already have everything else that I’ve been investing in, in terms of staples and freezer foods, and even refrigerated items. So that makes it cost much less than it would if I ran out and bought everything now.

I have the meat in the freezer, already bought on sale and with coupons weeks or even months before. But I can opt to invest in more meat this week, which is a good idea to check sales, as they’re great in holiday weeks. This week, rib eyes are on a great sale. I’ll go ahead and invest and freeze. But I already have ribs and tri tip, which Greg wanted to do in the smoker. I’ll pull out some bacon, thaw and fry for the salad. I also had some whole chickens in the freezer, that I planned to butterfly and grill. But, this week’s Vons (Safeway), has wild Coho salmon. And I love that! So I think I’ll splurge for Mother’s Day and save my chickens!

I already have all the non-produce things I need for my menu, since my menu is planned around what I have. I already have BBQ sauce, marinade, mayonnaise, ranch dressing dip mix, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, brown sugar, etc. I even have some refrigerator items I’ll use, gorgonzola cheese, hummus, plain yogurt, etc. All bought at a great price over the last few weeks or months. This is what I call ”investing” in groceries, simply buying blue items on our Grocery Game LIST before I need them. In doing that, blue items are usually about 67% off the regular price. The opposite of “investing” would be “need shopping”. So much of what I will use for Mother’s Day, if bought this week, “need shopping”, would cost me three times more.

So to recap, I didn’t know what my menu items would be until I saw the produce sales offerings, and finished my ideas for side dishes and appetizers, based on what I have and what produce is on sale…

So now I know what I’ll buy this week: Corn on the cob (on sale), lettuce etc. for salad (already have gorgonzola, bacon, balsamic, olive oil). I’ll buy the strawberries (on sale), and make a sweet yogurt dip with brown sugar (already invested in those). For appetizer, raw veggies (on sale) with ranch dressing (already invested in it). I see artichokes on sale. I may also steam them, chill them and serve them cold to dip in the ranch too! It’s one or our favorites! Three friends are bringing other sides.

So easy, and easy on the budget when your grocery shopping lifestyle is centered around the concept of investing!

Happy Mother’s Day!

May is National BBQ Month!

Tue, 04 May 2010 09:26:00 -0700

May is National BBQ Month!

I just read in a recent poll by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), 6 out of 10 Americans say they can’t wait to fire up the grill!

If you’re grilling burgers, be sure to have all the trimmings. The same poll says that 66% use ketchup most often, and 62% with mustard. (I say, “What about mayo”?)

Two-thirds of Americans say, “add cheese, please!”
Overall, 74 percent of Americans add lettuce, onion and/or tomato.
Women lean towards the veggies more than men (80 percent of respondents vs. 68 percent).
Seventy percent of adults say they are all about the buns, and prefer a traditional bun to complete their grilled sandwiches.

The good news is that you can stock up on the trimmings , starting now through the end of summer. A quick look into our Grocery Game databases for last year’s savings, turned up the following stats, all for name brand products. By combining sales with coupons, we never paid full price. And in most cases, we stocked up enough to get us through the next three seasons:

24 oz. Ketchup: Original price 2.29 – We paid .79-1.00
12 oz. Mustard: Original price 2.39 – We paid FREE-.50
30 oz. Mayonnaise: Original price 4.49 – We paid .99-1.50
18 oz. BBQ Sauce: Original price 1.99 – We paid FREE-.69

Plus, look for sales and coupons to be used on name brand buns. But the best deals end up being the store brand buns, both hot dog and hamburger. Normally, the store brand buns sell for 1.59-1.79. We saw sales during BBQ season (which is starting now), from .79-.88. When you see these sales, buy extra for your freezer!

Hamburger meat can be expensive, unless you stock up when it’s on sale. We’re already seeing 80% ground beef, originally 3.49-3.89/lb on sale for 1.69-1.88 nationwide. And 93% lean as low as 1.97/lb. Fill your freezer, and never pay full price for those burgers!

And thankfully, once BBQ season gets going, and especially just in time for Memorial Day, look for prices on lettuce, like this from last year’s databases:

Iceberg Lettuce: Original price 1.29-1.49 – We paid .47-.77

Tomatoes are still a little high, even on sale, but they’ll start coming into season soon. Fry’s in Arizona has fresh Roma tomatoes for .50/lb (Today’s the last day!). Last year’s various tomato varieties from Roma to Tomatoes on the Vine ranged as follows:

Tomatoes: Original 1.89-2.99/lb. – We paid .79-.99/lb.

Assuming all goes well with the crops, we could have some yummy tomatoes on our burgers without breaking the bank!

Final word, again… PLEASE… Never pay full price for groceries!!!

Free Healthy Eating Tours and Info

Mon, 03 May 2010 15:47:28 -0700

Lots of supermarkets offer free field trips in an effort to educate kids on better eating habits. Some play fun games, like scavenger hunts in the produce section, among other fun ways to engage kids in a lifestyle of healthier eating. Many of the education programs or field trips are lead by the chain’s nutritionist. So kids can ask lots of questions and get informed answers.

Here’s some links to information on just a few programs out there.

Roundy’s / Copps / Rainbow Foods:

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/content_display/supermarket-industry-news/e3ic04432c02b789744eec5eec3731a30df

Giant Store Explorer Program

http://www.giantfood.com/our_stores/tours.htm

Stop & Shop Store Explorer Program

http://www.stopandshop.com/our_stores/tours.htm

Kroger stores offer tours and information lead by a dietician

http://www.kroger.com/healthy_living/health_matters/Pages/dietitians.aspx

Kroger also has tons of articles related to kids and nutrition

http://kroger.staywellsolutionsonline.com/YourFamily/Children/HealthyChild/Nutrition/

Price Chopper has “Healthy U Connections” here for tours, questions, etc.:

http://www.pricechopper.com/HealthyU_PCN/Pages/healthyU_Index_S.las?-token.S=4C4T9RFDE1B0c48P7862CBA3LUXN6L533FE4BE|22227|1005031834|||

Introducing NuVal: NuVal is a nutrition scoring system that makes finding nutritious foods easier. Currently, Nuval is operating with four major chains: Price Chopper, HyVee, United Supermarkets, and Meijer. I like the information page about how NuVal works on the HyVee website:

http://www.hy-vee.com/health/nuval/default.aspx

Meijer, which also has NuVal, offers plenty of nutrition information and support on their website: http://www.meijermealbox.com/healthy-living

There’s so many free nutrition and health education programs out there, that I just couldn’t list them all. If I didn’t mention your local supermarket, I encourage you to visit their website or ask your store manager if they offer any nutrition education programs. Your kids and your health are worth the effort.

Healthy Food For Healthy Families

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:48:03 -0700

There are so many ways to make small changes that can really boost your family’s nutrition. I’m with you if you cringed at that thought. Years ago, when all the coupons started coming out with healthy alternatives, my family acted like I was pulling their teeth to get them to eat whole wheat bread, and whole wheat pasta. They’re over it now, and all is well. And I would encourage you that it’s worth going through it!

I read a thread on our message board that sparked some good ideas for improving the family’s nutrition. So I made a list of some easy changes that can really improve the health and nutrition for your family, without making your wallet or your family’s taste buds scream:

1. Puree extra veggies into sauces, soups, chili, casseroles, etc. They won’t dislike it, if they don’t know it’s there!

2. Make more dried bean meals, or add beans to meat meals. They’re loaded with fiber, complex carbs, and protein. My husband doesn’t like beans in chili. But if I mash them, it thickens the chili, and he doesn’t realize the beans are there. Get creative!

3. Switch to whole grain bread. Don’t give in to your family’s complaints, if they’re addicted to white bread. Trust me. If that’s all they get, they’ll learn to love it. I went through it for over a year, but no more complaints. And it was worth it. BTW - There’s tons of coupons for these things, so you don’t have to blow your budget to have healthier alternatives.

4. Cut down on HFCS, high fructose corn syrup - Read the labels. There are MANY more options now without it, on the same shelf in your supermarket. And they taste just as good.

5. Serve the salad before the meal. This works for my husband, who will pick at a salad, unless if it’s all there is.

6. Cut out sodas at home. Or, if you like to have them for special occasions, and they’re on sale, buy them, and hide them, and dole them out when the time is right.

7. Choose the “low sugar”, “low fat”, “low sodium”, “high fiber” options. Nearly every food line now has those options for things like cereal, soup, bread, yogurt, etc.

8. Use “good on any” coupons on organic - Nearly every major food manufacturer has organic in their lines now. Use “good on any” coupons to buy the organic in the manufacturer’s line of foods. For example, a “good on any Brand X” coupon can be used on their organic Brand X products. Organic will never have HFCS, among other things.

Here’s a link to the message board thread with more good ideas:

http://terismessageboard.thegrocerygame.com/showthread.php?t=157630

BJs? "Wholesale"? I mean, really?

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:44:00 -0700

On the heels of new data showing that consumers are turning away from the traditional supermarkets, for “value” markets.

Just finished analyzing numbers on comparing 22 basic grocery items from Stop & Shop. We compared to Acme, Food Basics, Walmart and BJs.

We computed sale prices and coupons and doubling policies where applicable at all stores.

We price matched for Walmart where applicable, although they don’t price match BOGOs (buy one get one sales). They also don’t match UN-advertised sales.

Where sizes were bigger, we figured the cost per ounce or cost per item with all coupons etc. So for example, on a 15 oz. box of Kelloggs at Stop & Shop, we figured the cost of 15 oz. at BJs, and other stores where sizes differed.

So these totals represent the cost of the same amount of groceries at each of the stores given all possible savings available.

Final totals:

Stop & Shop - 18.91

Acme - 48.73

Food Basics - 40.95

WalMart - 25.46

BJs wholesale - 32.78 (“wholesale”?, really?)

And Walmart, what a pain, as shelf prices were much higher than this total would have been. We figured in their price matching policy, which you have to ask for in most cases. You would have to bring the Stop & Shop circular to the register to change nearly every item you purchased. If you didn’t, you would pay way more than 25.46 at WM!

Same story nationwide with playing The Grocery Game.

Need I say more?

Generation X CAN make dinner!

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:28:26 -0700

Generation X is always on the run, kids in soccer and dance, homework, and often both parents working outside the home. So what’s for dinner? Fast food, dining out, and grab and go are often the order of the day. But that costs at least quadruple what it would to make dinner at home. Now money is tight and so is time. So this costly trap of finding dinner at the end of a busy day has a lot of people looking for a way out. But who has time to cook? Enter the cast iron casserole dish and the slow cooker.

I’m a baby boomer. But I live the life of Generation X. I’m on the run. What’s for dinner? I don’t always do it right. But when I do, here’s how it goes:

Before I go to bed, I go to my freezer, and take out whatever meat I’m going to throw in a pot for dinner the next day. If I plan on leaving early in the morning, I go the slow cooker route. The night before, I prepare whatever vegetables are going into the pot (about 5 minutes). Potatoes (washed and whole), clean cut carrots and onions go into a plastic bag and back into the fridge. The next morning, potatoes are quartered, and it all goes into the slow cooker on auto mode (about 3-4 minutes), and I’m out the door. When I come home, I’m greeted with the welcoming aroma of dinner! And I hear, “Mmm… What’s for dinner? Smells good… “ I toss a salad, and all is well.

When I’m home for the day, I put dinner in the oven right after lunch. I use my favorite 7 quart cast iron casserole dish. I named it “big red”, because it weighs 18 pounds! I bought it on a sale with coupon code and free shipping ($179, but I paid about $28 out the door). Heavy cast iron makes for even cooking in the oven, much like a slow cooker. I like “big red” better than the slow cooker, because I can brown the meat, then add whatever else goes in. Then straight from the stove top and right into to the oven. By contrast, with the slow cooker, I should (but don’t allways) brown the meat in a skillet before adding to the cooker. But the slow cooker comes in handy for days when I’ll be gone all day.

If you don’t have either one of these cooking vessels, it’s time to start enjoying the good life. Open a new browser window now, and order two things online: a slow cooker and a cast iron casserole dish. For an average family of four, a five quart cast iron will suffice. Look for coupon codes, sales, and free shipping, especially for the cast iron cooker (expensive to ship that weight!). Start browsing easy recipes, and get ready to enjoy! They should pay for themselves with the first few dinners you make at home. You’ll love how you feel. And you’ll thank me later.

A tour of organic coupons!

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:51:00 -0700

First stop,
Teri’s Coupon Center: Here you find links to ALL the best resources for coupons.
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con_Teris_Coupon_Center.cfm

From there, take a look at:

Teri’s Coupon Tracker: http://www.thegrocerygame.com/app/couponTracker/#SearchCoupons

Enter keyword “organic” and “Go”! Up will come a listing of where to find coupons in FSIs*, electronic, printable coupons, and others. You can type in a brand name, or any other word to find coupons. Bonus: Teri’s Coupon Tracker means NO MORE COUPON FILES! Just keep your inserts from your paper intact, and cut out the ones you want by the date that they came out as indicated in the tracker. I mark my sections with a big date on the front and keep them in a stack, putting the new ones on top. Then, when the tracker says I have a coupon in Smartsource section 4/18, I cut that coupon from that section. I don’t have to cut and file 150 every week. I only cut 20-30 of the ones I use. Want to know what the codes mean on the Tracker? Here’s a video that shows what it does and how to use it:

Teri’s Coupon Tracker Video: http://www.thegrocerygame.com/app/couponTracker/con_Video_Coupon_Tracker.cfm

Grocery Game Printable Coupons – Teri’s Coupon Tracker Homepage:
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con_Teris_Coupon_Center.cfm

Back to the homepage of our coupon Center, see Grocery Game 1, 2, and 3, links to tons of printables, and lots of them are organics. Direct link above.

“Good on Any” coupons: When looking at manufactuers’ coupons, at first blush, you may think there aren’t many organic coupons. But wait! A coupon for “Ragu” that reads “good on any” means you can use it for Organic Ragu. Same applies to any other manufacturers’ product lines that have organic offerings. So think about that as you flip through those sections from your Sunday paper. There’s more organics than meets the eye!

Manufacturers’ Websites – From Teri’s Coupon Tracker Homepage, see a link called “Other Printable and Mailed Coupons”:
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/con_OtherFreeCoupons.cfm

THAT page is a gold mine for organic coupons and lots of non-organics as well. Organic foods companies don’t do a lot of FSIs*, because they just don’t get the return on their investments yet (although it’s improving). So many of your favorite organics brands are only offering coupons on their own websites. Saves them money on the cost of distributing through FSIs, and other businesses. At the above link, The Grocery Game lists manufacturers who offer coupons on their sites. But it gets better… Once on these sites, sometimes the coupons and offers are hard to find. These links go directly to the pages with the GOLD! (coupons, that is!)

For more info on “green” offers, Kelli Grant just came out with a very informative article on the subject of green coupons: http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/deals/5-sites-to-find-green-coupons/

*FSIs, Free Standing Inserts: These are those coupon inserts that come in your Sunday newspaper, usually two per week, Smartsource and Redplum (sometimes more than one of each), and once a month another insert from Proctor & Gamble.

Aldi anyone?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:07:21 -0700

Yes, we’ve had Aldis across the US for some time now. With their new rollout in TX, again with the questions… Will we have a LIST for Aldi?

Aldi is EDLP, off brands, and limited offerings. But I don’t mean to dis-qualify Aldi. It may have its place, but not for most Grocery Gamers. Or at least not as first place in the race. Here’s why…

For value, we could talk about quality differences vs. name brand, etc. But I’m honing in on what I love best, the numbers! I just reviewed some comparison #s for the DFW area for this week’s offerings at the big three: Albertsons, Kroger, and Randalls. Yep! We’re still in the game (wasn’t worried). Aldi is not the one stop shop for savings.

I have to be a little tight lipped about further details for the moment, as there is some press in the percolator! But once that’s out, I’ll reveal! In the mean time, TX shoppers, hang on to your hats (cowboy hats if you have ‘em). And Aldi lovers, I won’t take your beloved away from you. Just want you to consider some new relationships!

Food Stamp Budget

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:29:20 -0700

Sometimes it’s hard to live on a budget. In 2009, the national average allotment for a family of four was $275.53 a month, or about $68.88 a week. See this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_re_us/us_fea_food_living_on_food_stamps#mwpphu-container The basis of the article seems to center around meal planning. But is meal planning smart shopping? NO!

Think about it… Whenever you’ve written up a grocery list of things you “need”, how much of it was on sale? I would venture to say about 20%, if even that. By contrast, if you would have purchased the things your family likes or needs when it was on sale a few weeks or even months ago, now you have a scenario where you never pay full price of any food, except for fluid milk. That’s what we call “investing”.

So the question is how to get past the week to week, or hand to mouth confines of living on food stamps or any food budget for that matter? How can there be room to “invest” when there’s nothing left over? As the article mentions, food stamps are intended to augment, not completely meet the needs of the entire the food budget. But, for many families, that may be all they have! So can a family of four live on $68 a week? Most Grocery Gamers are reading this and saying, “of course”! Nevertheless, we spent some time with The Grocery Game databases to take a look at that prospect. I wasn’t surprised to see that yes, it can be done. And there should even be room to invest a little, which makes for more options and even more value down the road. And more investing over time, when you breathe a sigh of relief…

The keys to making it work remain the same. Stack the deals using sales and coupons and any other incentives. Eliminate waste with creative leftovers. Incorporate at least one meatless dinner around dried beans, which are very healthy and full of fiber. I would even advise two or three of those bean meals in the beginning to make room for more investing. Making some sacrifices on what you “want”, to get what you “need” in the first few weeks will pay off and begin to snowball. Note: “Investing”, which we used to call “stockpiling” is a Grocery Game concept that has been proven over and over again for hundreds of thousands of families. It works.

I’m not saying it’s easy, and my heart goes out to those who are living on less. But if you’re in that boat, just know that lots of Grocery Gamers are doing it for $50 a week. Our message board is full of those testimonials, which is also a great place to learn and get brass tacks advice. I was in that boat for many years, with a $35 a week budget for my family of four. That’s how I learned to play The Grocery Game. You can do it.

Department Store Divas Defecting to Drugstores

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:21:00 -0800

Starting near the end of 2008, department stores’ cosmetic sales were beginning to show decline. Meanwhile, drugstore cosmetic sales began to rise, and have continued to do so.

With so many great values on cosmetics and other health & beauty products in drugstores and supermarkets, I wonder how many will go back to paying more, once this economic crisis recovers. After all, lots of women are discovering that they can save half or more on comparable cosmetic purchases buying different brands at their local drugstore. Even better, Grocery Gamers know that with stacking deals of sale with manufacturer coupons, store coupons, and register rewards, alot of cosmetics can be “bought” for 75% or more, and often times even free! After all, I have three of my favorite Maybelline lip glosses ($9 value) in my purse, that were all free!

I’ve had a number of press interviews on this growing trend. Not to blow the cover on some magazine and newspaper articles coming out, I thought I would just share a snippet of my favorite substitutions.

Shhh…. Yes, I’m giving away a few LIST deals here. But there’s about 10 times more health and beauty deals this week in the national drugstore LISTs.

Note: “S&C” = Sale and coupon, and possibly also stacking in store coupon and/or register rewards. Membership to www.TheGroceryGame.com or a free 4 week trial will reveal details on how each of these deals work and where to find them. Also note prices are approximate for comparison purposes.

I like:

Victoria Secrets Lip Gloss $7.50/ Bath & Body Works Liplicious

Substitute: Cover Girl Wetslicks or Lipslicks ($6 / S&C $1.49 this week CVS)

I can’t tell the difference in these lip glosses. And would rather pay $1.49 at CVS with sale and coupon, etc.

Mac foundation $30 and up

Substitute: L’Oreal True Match ($11 / S&C 4.99 this week Walgreens)

Most studio makeup artists use Mac. Admittedly, Mac probably holds up better on
camera. But I feel smothered in it. And I usually seem to break out.
When I do my own makeup for local TV, I use L’Oreal True Match.

Shiseido moisturizer $50

Substitute: Oil of Olay (S&C $15 plus get free body wash this week Walgreens)

Awhile back, I got talked into buying the Shiseido Benefiance for day wear. Expensive!
And honestly, I cannot tell the difference between that and Oil of Olay.
I’m sure there must be a difference, for that price!

Pricey Mascaras

Substitute: L’Oreal (S&C $2.49 this week Walgreens) or Maybelline

For years, Mac loving makeup artists have pulled out Maybelline or L’Oreal to put on my lashes. I recently bought a Maybelline mascara on my supermarket LIST for about $2. And I really like it!

Mineral based foundation and powders, like Sephora

Substitute: Neutrogena, Maybelline ($9-$14 regular price at drugstores and supermarkets)

These are two brands that offer mineral base within their line. We get these on sale with coupons for about $2-$5 final price.

Skin calming lotion for after waxing

Substitute: drugstore brand hydrocortisone cream

In my home town, our #1 European Skincare spa uses Jane Iredale, and nothing but the
best high end, and freshly made products. However, after facial waxing, they cleanse,
and then apply a drugstore brand hydrocortisone cream. I rarely break out, and I get
almost no redness. I recently invested in a professional waxing system for $89
on sale at a beauty supply. I’m doing my own now, and with the hydrocortisone cream,
all is well, and the wax system has paid for itself.

If you don’t already know this, www.TheGroceryGame.com has
weekly money saving LISTS for drugstores and supermarkets.
There’s a free trial for 4 weeks. So if you want to find out how we got those few deals
mentioned above, and get tons of other deals this week on cosmetics and beauty
products, most of these sales are good through Saturday. During your free trial,
you can also save a ton on groceries. Membership is $1.25 a week if you decide you want one list. If you don’t want to become a member, just cancel before the 28 days are up. Check it out!