Shop Smart, Save More: Learn The Grocery Game and Save Hundreds of Dollars a Month

First off, let me say that I am a "Grocery Gamer" and have been "playing the Grocery Game" with great success for over a year now.

I bought this book as soon as it was published because I thought it would be a good summarization of the "Grocery Game principles". But unfortunately the book did not live up to my expectations.

Only the first 129 pages give tips on how to save money while shopping for groceries while the other 133 pages are nothing more than information on how to throw a party and a collection of recipes.

So instead of buying this book I can only recommend you give the Grocery Game 4-week-trial a shot. This only costs $1 (as compared to the $10 the book costs) and has a much better chance of convincing you that the concept of grocery shopping, stockpiling and saving works than this book.

Shopping smart is one thing I aspire to do all of the time, at the grocery store and every where. Buying organic and healthy foods is also a top priority. I have seen other books and websites aimed at helping us save grocery dollars, but they fell short because they depend only on coupons and sales. Umm, hello? I already knew that.

Teri Gault's book goes much further because although she recommends using coupons and finding stores that double or triple coupons she also gives simple straight forward advice as to how to find these stores and offers. Some of her tips include organizing your shopping cart by where you store the items in your home, which I have done my whole life and frankly always attributed to Obessive-Compulsive behavior. Nice to finally know I'm just setting myself up to be more organized and save $$. The book included a very detailed guide to choosing the best grocery store for you.

In addition, she talks about the importance of organic foods and buying locally. Teri includes very useful lists of produce you should spend a bit more to get organic compared with a list of produce that is safe enough when grown conventionally, like Bananas. Of course, if you can afford it, buy all organic. Its better for the environment. But if you are trying to save money, why not spend your money where it is most important to your health and not waste money when the non organic alternative is cheaper and just as healthy? The biggest draw for me was her month by month of what to buy when according to months of the year these items are at their lowest prices. Ever since I got my copy I have been tracking the sale flyers with her list and she is right on. The last half of the book is about entertaining and recipes and household organization. The recipes were favorites of her family, and they sound fine but not as healthy as I like my staples to be. The Entertaining and orgainzational advice was great, but nothing you haven't seen anywhere else.

The other detail that stands out is Teri's honest and personal style of writing. She is just flat out friendlier than the other books and websites I have seen offering money saving ideas. And she really did her research. I've been putting her tips to work for a few weeks and I have seen a marked difference in the way I organize to go shopping and the bottom line at the cash register

This book is a waste of money. Only a very small portion of it is about how to save money on groceries and even that is encouraging you to use her website. I live in a rural area which only has Rite Aid as a store listed on her site. She does not really tell how to use your own store and most of the book is how to have a party and recipes. A Big Disappointment.

When I saw Teri on the news for the first time in 2003, I started playing her "grocery game" that very afternoon, and it was the smartest thing I ever did. My family was in desperate financial straights at that time. Little did I realize that I had just given myself a raise which amounted to $300 to $400 a month. I was shocked and a little embarrassed to see just how much money I had been throwing away. The Grocery Game saved me a lot of time, too, and made it much less stressful to shop.

Shop Smart, Save More is a quick and enjoyable introduction to the ideas Teri has collected and refined since she was a teenager. Teri spends a few pages sharing her personal experiences with saving, beginning when it became her responsibility to buy groceries for her family. Her mother was sick, her younger sisters were depending on her, and her father was up to his eye-balls in medical bills. She didn't have the heart to tell her father he wasn't giving her enough money to feed the family, so she *made* it enough money by studying her store carefully and recognizing trends that are invisible to most shoppers. Although it was a real risk to experiment with shopping strategies at such a desperate time, she followed her intuition and began to uncover a better, smarter way to grocery shop. She's been developing these ideas ever since. Teri has been through financial hardship, and her advice is the real deal, as my own experience illustrates.

Teri's book also contains practical tips for making the most of your groceries and sharing the abundance with your family and friends. Teri reveals which products can be frozen, for how long, and how they should be defrosted for best results. She offers suggestions on which time of year is best for buying everything from cook ware, to children's bikes to a new home. She includes a sample plan and recipes for entertaining on a budget. I can't say it better than she did in the introduction: This book is about how to "savor," not just save.

I continue to learn from Teri. Seasoned gamers will certainly learn something new. More than ever, I'm happy to know that Teri's in the world, changing lives during this bleak time in our economic history.

Thanks Teri!

I'm a couponer and becoming a "gamer" for a few weeks now. I was excited to read this book when I checked it out from the library. Teri chose A very deceptive title for this book. I found her plugging her website more than actually writing about shopping and saving money.

Honestly, after only couponing and "cutting back" for a few weeks now, most of the information in this book, I already knew. I only learned 3 things from this book. 1- To record my name on the cover of my coupon binder and offer a reward if found, 2- "The petroleum in 14 plastic bags could drive a car one mile." and 3-In 2006, a new software made web coupons more accepted by stores and these coupons are worth more than the ones offered in the paper.

After chapter 7, it looks like Teri forgot what kind of book she was writing. It then became a cookbook & party planning book. Chapter 8 is called "You're Invited!" This entire chapter is explaining how she "has gotten party-planning down to a science." Quote from her first paragraph on pg 130. Like most of her book, this has nothing to do with her title, "Shop Smart, Save More"

Thank goodness I checked it out from the library and didn't pay for it.