MyGroceryDeals.com lets you search weekly grocery flyers online

Ed of MyGroceryDeals.com recently got in touch to let me (and you) know about his new money-and-time-saving service. From Ed's note to me:

Mygrocerydeals.com is a free service that allows consumers to go online, do their grocery "pre-shopping" based on advertised grocery flyer specials, look at nutritional information, create their shopping list and then head out to their selected store(s) with list in hand. Our goal is to create an engine that eliminates the need for consumers to wade through the grocery flyers and circulars delivered to their doors via the weekly newspapers. We have recently mapped 50,900 zip codes into our database and then lined up the grocery markets and local stores along 4,400 county lines to make a match.  So members really do see the deals in stores in their neighborhood only.

I admit I avoid spending time with grocery circulars and pay the high grocery prices to show for it. I grew up with a mom who would drive across town for a lower per-pound price on lettuce, and I just can't see the utility of that given gas prices and the valuable nature of one's time. Then again, it makes plain sense to stock up on pantry items when they're on sale, and this looks like it could be a good way to do it.

What are your thoughts on/hacks for smart grocery shopping?

(Other grocery-related Parent Hacks posts: a review of Grocery Shopping Helper, and a reminder that Amazon now sells groceries.)

Tags: Grocery shopping, MyGroceryDeals.com, Saving money

Comments

[Chakolate]

It's a deal-killer for me that they have a floating box on the right side of the screen. It's supposed to show the items in your shopping list, but I just found it to be extremely annoying.

[Jill]

I keep a full pantry and extra freezer of items I buy when they're on sale. I keep a list on the fridge written in approximately the order I'll find the items in the store. I seldom buy impulsively, but if I see something on sale and don't know if I need it, I usually get it anyway. I only go to the store once a week,(one store only) with menus for my week mostly planned out before I go. Each child picks one dinner, my husband two, me two and one is TBA/flexible. The part that saves me the most money is the only going once a week. And, never go to the grocery hungry!

[Angie]

I like http://shoplocal.com and http://couponmom.com. They allow you to do pretty much the same thing.

If you need to buy diapers and formula, I list the best local sales on those every week at http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com.

[Kelly]

I've been doing The Grocery Game (http://www.thegrocerygame.com/) - and even though it's a paid service it's been totally worth it. For $10 / 8 weeks for one store and $5 more for each additional store they match up the recent Sunday newspaper coupons and what's on sale at the stores. We probably save $25-30 a week so around $100 month, even after the fee. For example, I've gotten two tubes of kids Aquafresh for 25 cents each and 3 cans of Progressive soup for $1.25 total! My only complaint is that the lists for me don't come out til Sunday for the sales that end on Tuesday so I only have a 3 day window to shop. If anyone does try it out it'd be great if you put me as the referral - free weeks and all ;) kytyn (at) kytyn (dot) com

[Jonathan Arnold]

1] SiteAdvisor (http://www.siteadvisor.com ) gives it a red light, meaning its "bad", because it links to FirstAdSolutions, a malware site.

2] You bet I use a circular! I don't go crazy but I have 3 chains that I often go to. I compare and contrast the circulars over the weekend and, if I have time, try to match them up with coupons to "double dip". There's a remarkable savings to be had for non-perishable goods we use a lot, like soup and baked beans. I also try to tailor our dinners to the specials for the week.

[Rachel]

They don't index all the stores, they ignore the grocery store where I do 90% of my shopping, and also happens to have the best prices on milk and diapers.