Share Your Best Grocery Tip and Win $100!

I hate grocery shopping.

I dread it, and I procrastinate. Except when I make the occasional outing to Whole Foods (appropriately nicknamed Whole Paycheck), which is fun while it lasts. But I always feel guilty when they total my bill, and can’t help but chide myself for buying too many expensive gourmet goodies that the rest of my family won’t touch.

I shop with lists…sometimes.

I clip coupons…sometimes.

I stock up when items I know I’ll use are on sale…most of the time. (I’ve got a bag of my favorite chocolate marked down 75% after Valentine’s Day, but I don’t know if that really counts.)

So any hints on how to get my grocery bill and my stress level down are more than welcome.

This past week I signed up for Ben’s Grocery Challenge where savvy shoppers get to enter their the best grocery tip, readers vote, and the winner gets $100. A new winner is chosen each week from February 19 to April 15, 2007.

The contest is called Ben’s Grocery Challenge in honor of Ben Franklin’s 300th birthday last month. He was into technology and
frugal living, and I would guess, would have plenty of tips to share on the site if he were still around today.

Here’s how you can win:

   1. Visit mygrocerydeals.com or TheDollarStretcher.com and look for Ben’s picture.
   2. Click on it to enter your money-saving grocery tip or vote for your favorite one.
   3. The tip with the most votes that week wins $100! One lucky voter will also win $100!

I don’t expect to win $100 for entering a tip. But I am voting, and learning from other’s tips. Or at least being reminded of tips I know but forget as I get lost in the aisles trying to figure out what to make for dinner that week.

I also recently signed up for the MyGroceryDeals.com service and am starting to get familiar with the site. When you join (for free) it develops a profile for you, then you can either skim the fliers from your local stores and make a list of the best deals, or make your list and then find out where the bargains are. My favorite feature is the one-click access to the nutritional information for any item. (I do read labels!) I still don’t have my grocery shopping down to a science, but every bit helps.

If you’ve got a grocery shopping tip that you think would make Ben proud, share it with Ben’s Grocery Challenge, and feel free to add it here too. You might get my vote!

Gerri Detweiler Credit.com's Personal Finance Expert, Gerri focuses on financial legislation, budgeting, debt recovery and consumer savings information. She is also the co-author of Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights, and Reduce Stress: Real-Life Solutions for Solving Your Credit Crisis as well as host of TalkCreditRadio.comTalk Credit Radio. Reach Gerri at creditexperts@credit.com.