Play the game- save money!

There are countless games on the web. You can play anything from solitaire to racing games and checkers to "I Spy". They are fun, most of the time free, and enjoyable to play while at home, work, or lets face it- in class. But why not take time spent playing online games and play a different kind of game instead....

"The Grocery Game" was developed in 2000 by Teri Gault to teach shoppers how to save. To date more than 100,000 households are using it and saving money because of it. In "Saving Money With The Grocery Game" CBS4 reporter Shannon Hori investigates just how this game is played. To do this, Hori joins founder Gault on a shopping excursion. Gault explains that all you have to do to be a part of the game is to pay $10 for an eight week membership to the site. When you do this, you are granted access to "The List" that tells you what products are on sale and at which store near you. "The List" even tells you which coupons to cut out of the Sunday paper to save the most money.

Gault showed her skills when after using a coupon on two bottles of $3.19 juice that were "buy one get one free", she only paid $.60 a bottle. She also suggests to check the prices of buying two smaller sized items with a coupon before buying the larger value size. Sometimes it actually works out to be cheaper to buy the smaller size than the value one. On average Gault said that her shoppers are saving $484 a month for a family of four and sometimes more than 60% on their grocery bill.

When the pair were done shopping the evidence lied in the numbers. Their total was $52.14 with help from coupons and "The List", saving them $86.67! Mother of two, Jennifer Cevallos, also suggests to stock up on staples when they are on sale. She has doubles and triples of most items so when she runs out of something, all she has to do is go shopping in her own pantry! But one thing that both Cevallos and Gault advise before starting any drastic shopping regiment, is to make time and space to prepare before going grocery shopping.

Personally, I don't think its necessary to pay to be told whats on sale and what coupons are available. If you are careful and smart about it, you can do this all on your own. Just keep an eye out when reading the newspaper and magazines for coupons on products that you need or buy often. Then browse the Sunday ads for whats on sale and where to get it. Finally, just simply put the two together and viola! Savings are yours! But if you need a more hands on, informational approach, The Grocery Game is a great option too.