Smart Shopping: Grocery Game

WSVN -- Stay-at-home mom Caroline Murphy slashed 70 percent off her grocery bill when we took her shopping with the founder of the Grocery Game.

Teri Gault: "All right, let's go save some money."

Teri Gault has mastered how to save big, and now she's sharing her shopping secrets with everyone.

Teri: "Some of the best produce deals are found in the sales circular."

Her concept: match coupons with weekly sales.

Teri: "It's normally $3.99 on sale for two for five, and we have two coupons, so it makes them a dollar each, so that's a 75 percent savings."

And the good news, her website, www.thegrocerygame.com, does all the work for you. You just stash away the weekly coupon books, and Teri will tell you when to use them.

Teri: "The Grocery Game is a website that shows you sales that are advertised as well as unadvertised and coupons to go with those same sales for maximum savings."

Caroline has been playing the game for about a year and is now learning how to save even more.

Caroline: "Every week I save anywhere between 45 to 60 percent."

For the best deals, grocery game members create a personalized shopping lists out of Teri's list. You can check off the items you like best and see what special savings are being offered at a store near you.

Caroline: "I don't remember the last time I went shopping without the Grocery Game list."

Teri: "The average savings for a family of four is $512 a month."

For extra savings, search through the Sunday newspaper.

Teri: "You find 90 percent of your coupons in the Sunday paper."

To save the most, you're going to have to stockpile staples like laundry detergent, toilet paper and even bread.

Teri: "Stockpiling is just simply buying things on sale before you need them, so you don't have to pay full price for them."

Also, be on the lookout for handwritten sale signs throughout the store.

Teri: "Every so often, they have something called a manager's special, and here it is. It's a hand written sign."

Teri: "This is a great one to stock pile, two dollars for all that chicken."

Don't forget to pair coupons with freebies.

Teri: "It's a bogo, buy one, get one free, so they end up being 55 cents each."

And we're not just talking about saving on food.

Teri: "You'll find great sales on not just groceries but cleaning products, personal items, makeup."

Caroline says, along with saving money, the grocery game has made her a better consumer.

Caroline: "It's changed my mind on the way I look at things, you know. If the grocery game were to disappear tomorrow, and it didn't exist anymore, I'm definitely walking away as a smarter shopper."

Now, keep in mind, sales change weekly in most stores, and so does Teri's list.