Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program offers automatic scheduled delivery and extra savings on your most frequent purchases through the online retail giant.

My associate producer Joel introduced me to this program. Joel recently scheduled a delivery of six boxes of Kashi cereal for his wife at a cost of $11 (no shipping charges) through this free program. The Kashi six-pack of cereal is now available for $13.83 through the Subscribe and Save program as I write this. (Many purchases through the Subscribe and Save program are eligible for a 5 percent discount.)

When you consider that Kashi cereal often sells for up to $4 a box in the grocery store, you know you’re getting a deal. And with the subscription component, you estimate when you’ll need another six boxes from Amazon and schedule delivery on a regular basis. Your subscription can be discontinued or modified at any time.

So the beauty of this program is that instead of lugging, say, 30 rolls of toilet paper from the warehouse club, they could just show up at your door as often as you want them.

Amazon’s prices are good, but The New York Times shopped item by item and found Costco was significantly cheaper. The difference is with Costco — or any other store — you do all the labor of going to get the item and waiting in line at checkout.

If convenience is what you love, but you don’t want to throw money away, the Amazon program could be great for you.

Meanwhile, another player in the online grocery market, PeaPod, has a new initiative they’re trying in New Jersey, where billboards at train stations have big pictures of products and QR codes. Use your smartphone to order your groceries while you’re waiting for your train!

Find more answers to your consumer questions at Clark's website. And get more savings tips from Clark's previous blog posts.

Consumer expert Clark Howard’s column appears here each Thursday in conjunction with Deal Spotter, a weekly print section in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

-- Clark Howard -- Save More, Spend Less, Avoid Rip-offs