Students shop smarter by winning the grocery game

Shopping sales and using coupons are two ways that students can save money on groceries. TheGroceryGame.com is a website that combines the two methods and promises that it can help consumers save up to 60% on groceries.

Teri Gault, founder of TheGroceryGame.com, tracks sales at grocery stores and drugstores in a database. Every week, she creates a list that combines current advertised and unadvertised sales with manufacturer coupons. Gault said that most stores repeat sales on certain products every twelve weeks. By holding coupons and waiting until the items are marked down, consumers can maximize their savings.

Teri’s List is color-coded to indicate whether the items can be received for free, or if the sale is the best deal the store offers. Site members are encouraged to stock up on items when they’re sold for rock bottom prices. Other items are listed as treats. The prices aren’t the lowest the store has ever offered but it’s still worth purchasing if a shopper needs that specific item.

Allison Daugherty, sociology criminology junior, and Leslie Hartsook, communications senior, heard about Teri’s List and decided to sign up for a 4 week free trial on the website. Accessing the lists costs $10 every 8 weeks for one store list, or $15 every 8 weeks for 2 store lists. Teri’s List is available in all 50 states, although the stores vary from state to state. In Oklahoma, store lists are available for CVS and Walgreens.

Hartsook searched Teri’s List for items she was interested in but she only found one thing that she wanted to purchase. While using the coupon with the sale price saved her $5 off a candle, she’s unsure that she’d use Teri’s List again.

“I don’t use a lot of the items that are on the list. I couldn’t find coupons for the stuff that I do use. I know the coupons are worth the savings since they can help you save on paying the tax for an item, but the list was a lot of work to match everything up. I think it’d be useful for a family, though, since the list seemed targeted toward people with larger households. My roommate and I live in an apartment so we don’t have the space or need to buy in bulk,” she said.

Daugherty said she enjoyed using Teri’s List to shop for household necessities. She plans to use coupons more often.

“Every opportunity for saving is important when you're in college. Every little discount adds up and I bet people would be surprised by how much they can save by using them,” she said.