I admit, I’m a total Amazon addict. My obsession has grown by leaps and bounds when our family discovered an amazing idea for saving money on groceries, curtesy of Amazon.

Have you heard of Amazon Subscribe and Save? Think of it like driving into your local big box grocery store once a month for shelf-stable groceries. You can potentially save even more money, PLUS you don’t have to drag a car full of kids through the countryside. Not to mention the chaos that can ensue when you’re herding them all through the store.

Maybe it’s because I’m a mom to 5 kids 9 and under, but I think that Amazon subscribe and save is the best thing since sliced bread. Seriously.

 

What is Amazon Subscribe and Save?

Amazon subscribe and save is an online delivery service through Amazon.com. Items are purchased and then placed on a repeating schedule, to be delivered on a set day each month.

We choose to have our items delivered on or near the 1st of the month. You save 5% on each of the available items by ordering them through the S&S plan. If you purchase 5 or more items for the month the savings for the total shipment increases from 5% to 15%. Nice, eh?

{It used to be that if you were a member of Amazon Mom (free with Amazon Prime membership), the deal got even better. Rather than the increase to 15%, your cart would receives a 20% discount. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.} However, 15% is still a good deal. Of course, the shipping is free too.

 

How does Amazon Subscribe and Save work?

Purchase items from the subscribe and save store (or just do a regular search and note which items are available via S&S). When you purchase the items it’s a one-click deal. Right away you pick your recurring schedule.

This schedule is easily changed later and yes, you can just buy something on subscribe & save and then cancel future subscriptions. Your credit card isn’t charged until the items ship on your designated date.

We choose to have our shipment arrive near the first of the month. You can choose any day of the month and even change that day up until the items are being prepared for shipment.

**Tip: after your subscriptions get rolling, don’t forget to log in and change your subscriptions before the ship date! If you do forget, you’ll end up with an extra case of tuna fish and more lara bars than you can shake a stick at. Ask me how I know??! Luckily, Amazon makes it pretty easy to remember by emailing you a couple of days before your due date.

 

How does Amazon Subscribe & Save save me money?

Here’s the nitty gritty: for our family, living in one of the most expensive states in the union, we save oodles of money on groceries that would easily cost 50% more at our local grocery. Even better, we can eat higher quality pantry items that we would be hard pressed to find at our local store.

Amazon S&S saves our family more than just money, it saves us TIME. We’re not stuck driving to the store for a bag of snacks (olive oil potato chips, anyone?) or baking supplies. I keep a running list on my phone of items that we’ll purchase through S&S and then I log on mid-month and add them to the subscriptions.

Another way that we win by using S&S is through eliminating impulse shopping at the store. You know what I mean. We all do this: go to the store for milk and apples and come home with a cart full of sushi and ice cream.

What, just me?! Amazon subscribe & save eliminates that impulse purchase. Yeah sure, I can still impulsively put something in my virtual cart that I might not really want, but I can still cancel the order up until it’s being prepared for shipment. Awesome!

We are totally finding ourselves saving money on groceries through this service!

Some of our S&S favorites:

• sweet potato chips fried in olive oil
• coconut oil
• chocolate chip cherry torte Lara bars
• pistachios In the shell, of course. That way I can feed them to the kids and check off an “activity” for the day. Surely all the fine motor activity of cracking those things counts for something?!

 

 

What’s the best way to use this program?

1. Make a list of a few shelf-stable items that your family uses. Feel free to include stuff like baking items, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. Amazon’s got ’em. Now, check your list against the prices that you find on Amazon Subscribe & Save. Keep in mind that if you order 5 items for that month, you’ll get 15% off. How is your list comparing to your local prices? Now factor in the hassle of driving to the store.
2. Fill up your order with items that you need. Just search from the Amazon search bar, or you can look through the coupons section, or browse the aisles like you would at any grocery store. Except, of course, this grocery store is huge. You don’t pay until your items ship.
3. Each month you’ll get an email saying that your items are being prepared to ship. Use that time to adjust your orders:
   • change the delivery schedule
   • cancel items that you don’t want
   • add items that you do want (I keep a running list on my phone of different items that we need from Amazon).

Why should you try Amazon Subscribe and Save?

You can save money and time by shopping this way. If you live in a high-cost area your savings will be even greater.

I get my mail delivered to my door so this is a really sweet deal for me. Even if you don’t get delivery to your door it’s likely still a great deal.

Plus, your little sweeties will think you’re the coolest for giving them so many gigantic boxes to play with!

Have you ever heard of Amazon Subscribe & Save? What are your favorite purchases through Amazon?

 

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This article was shared at Thrifty Thursday, Frugal Friday,  SHINE, & these fine websites.