"Subscribe and Save" - grocery sanity for the Colony mom

Last summer my sister-in-law shared this program with me from Amazon that I had never heard of before, and I figured it was worth sharing.

It's Amazon's "subscribe and save".

It is basically like grocery shopping on-line, but the items get shipped directly to your front doorstep and the shipping is FREE.  In some cases the items are a bit more expensive, so it just takes a little time to figure out what items are worth getting through this particular program.

BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM:
There are no hidden fees
No sign-up fees
No cancellation fees
No extra trips to the grocery store where you go in "for just a couple of things" but come out with a grocery cart full of unexpected items.
Did I mention that it is a FREE program and FREE shipping!
You can get between 5% to 15% discount on items from the already discounted subscribe and save price. (the more items you get, the more you save)
You have a monthly shipping date so its easy to ration out the food for each week in the month, knowing exactly when your next shipment will be coming.
Every month you get a bunch of boxes for all your kids creative needs!  It's a win-win:)

Here's what you do.

Go to Amazon.com.  Search for whatever items you are looking for and you will see all of the different options for that particular item.

For example: we drink a lot of Coconut water, so I did a search for it and this is what came up.  Look at all your options, look for the particular items flagged as "subscribe and save" items and then compare the brands and prices.  Then click on that item's "subscribe and save", which will take you to a page like this.

This page is where you choose whether you want this just one time or subscribe for automatic deliveries.  Once you choose one-time delivery or how often you want it delivered, which can be changed at any time, you click on the "subscribe now" button which will then take you to a page like this where you will then see your savings to confirm "subscription" and click "subscribe now".

That's it.  It will sit in your "Subscribe and Save" account until your designated shipment date.  You have up until a couple days before it is delivered to change any of your settings or even cancel delivery with no hidden fees!

Click on the arrow that says "your account" and go down to "subscribe and save" to check on your statuses at any time.  From time-to-time items will be "currently unavailable".  That just means that it will not charge your card because that shipment will not be going out.  I check my items every couple of weeks to see which ones I need to replace with a different brand or size to make sure I get what I'm expecting to get.

Over the months I've been able to narrow down the exact items we use on a regular basis and how often we go through them.

"What kinds of things does your family get?"

Well, we get most of our canned goods; green beans, black beans, diced tomatoes, pizza sauce, olives, etc.  We also get pancake mix, oatmeal and some cereals.  We get almonds and pistachios, Annie's mac-n-cheese and snack bars, Josh's protein powder, coconut water, Zeke's Attention vitamins, essential oils, toilet paper and cleaners, flax seed and pasta noodles, just to name a few.

I finally feel like I am getting a handle on our grocery budget and this program has played a huge part in that.

Let me know if you have other questions about this program or about how our family does groceries.