Why use Pinching Your Pennies (and Grocery Smarts)?

I've had a lot of people ask me about PYP verses other sites out there. Honestly, I think all of the sites are great, anything that saves you money is grocery shopping is a good thing. I don't mean to discredit any of these other sites at all, in fact I think a lot of them are just wonderful! But since I've been asked the question many times, I'll tell you why I use PYP/Grocery Smarts and then you can make up your own mind as to what's best for you.

The first and foremost reason I use PYP/Grocery Smarts is because it's free - to me, it doesn't get much better than that. Am I cheap - the answer is yes! Why would you pay for something that you could get for free? I do realize, however, that a lot of the other sites have no other way to pay for their websites so they use the monthly fees they charge to cover their costs and the time it takes them to put their lists together. I'm sure that a lot of them would love to offer their services for free, but can't. PYP, on the other hand, has a lot of people working on it and thus the time isn't too concentrate on just a few individuals. I'm not sure how they're able to offer their services for free, but I'm certainly glad they do.

There are also a few other reasons I use PYP/GS. I like the format of their pages, how quickly they get them up, and the forums (which I'll explain more about in one of the upcoming posts).

I do realize that other sites offer more services, one for example offers a dinner planner based on the grocery items on sale that week. Another offers downloads to members that you can use to track groceries and items you purchase. And there are many more. To me (and this is just a personal thing), some of the options are not things I would use. I have a very picky eating family and a lot of the menu items suggested would not be things my family would eat. And I would rather do my own spreadsheets to track my grocery prices and spending. So for me, these services would not be useful. So someone else, who doesn't have a lot of time, has people in their families that would eat anything, or who doesn't have a lot of time to build their own spreadsheets, for example, those services may be invaluable. You really have to decide what's right for you.
If you are interested in a side by side comparison with some of the other available sites, the PYP blog recently answered this same question. You can read their response at the following link: The Truth Is Revealed: Why PYP?

The other question I get, is what is the difference between PYP and Grocery Smarts? Honestly, the lists are exactly the same. In fact, you will notice that most of the time, the two sites reference each other. It seems to me that they are working together to save people money and both are free to use. If you are just starting out, I would recommend using Grocery Smarts because it's a bit easier and doesn't have all of the extra stuff available on PYP. Once you feel comfortable using it, you can step up to PYP and use some of the additional features. There are also some extra features to Grocery Smarts that make printing shopping lists a bit easier. I'll show you some of those extra features in an upcoming post. But the lists from both sites are the same (in fact I read somewhere that Grocery Smarts actually uses PYP's lists for their site). So to me, the two sites are the same. It just depends on which one you are more comfortable with.

So I hope that answers some of the common questions I get. If you have thought about it and feel that different sites are for you, then by all means USE THEM! We are all different and have different preferences, family situations, and time available to us. I'm a big believer in finding what works for you and going for it! If you have any additional questions or if any of you have comments on why you like another site, please share. This blog isn't just about me telling you all what to do, it's for everyone to share their thoughts and opinions so that we all can view the ideas and learn from each other!

Here are some of the other sites I know are out there (please let me know if there are others so I can add them to the list!):
My Food Storage Deals
The Grocery Game