August is not going to be a fun month money wise. We now have a van payment, and all that goes with owning a vehicle plus hydro and other bills and to top it off we will be short a weeks pay due to company summer shut down. It is time for me to put all I have learned about couponing to the test to get us through the month.
In July I stocked up on a few supplies,I don't think I will need toothpaste, laundry soap or any cleaning products til the end of the year. I plan on having other supplies like shampoo, soap and toilet paper stocked too by the end of the month. I also have planned for how much of dry goods we eat each month, approx how much pasta, rice, soup and sauces and have coupons on the way for all of that. Have yet to find meat coupons but I am working on it.
So my challenge is to save at least $200 in August on our groceries, that is about 40% of what we would normally spend. I am going to pop on regularly to keep the post updated.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Ok, now the dog is getting coupons?
So June has been a pretty good couponing month. I have managed to save over $100.00 and got lots of freebies besides, including pizza, Triscuits, Cereal, yogurt, toothpaste and a few other good deals. I hit a bit of a snag with the postal strike but now that it is over I should be able to get back on track. My goal for July is to save $150.00.
As the title says, I even got coupons in the dogs name for free dog food for a club I joined online. It also came with a cute little collar tag so she was very happy (she is a bit of a diva)
My family is finally coming around and being a little less sarcastic, if that is possible. They have even joined a few of the sites so we get even more coupons coming in. My littlest one is even better behaved in grocery stores, he sees something he wants and asks if there is a coupon for it, if I say No he just moves on :) My oldest even looks for coupons in the aisles for me. He is learning to buy things that are on sale instead of paying full price for the same item.
I am looking forward to the summer where I can get my kids more involved in the action so they can see the benefits and how to do it properly, not excessivly. I don't need 172 jars of mustard sitting on my shelf, but one in the fridge at half off suits me just fine.
Once I get more followers I will be posting some of the great deals I find along the way to hopefully help someone else save. For now I will just be happy eating my cheap box of Special K so I can get the free Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches. (Yummy!)
As the title says, I even got coupons in the dogs name for free dog food for a club I joined online. It also came with a cute little collar tag so she was very happy (she is a bit of a diva)
My family is finally coming around and being a little less sarcastic, if that is possible. They have even joined a few of the sites so we get even more coupons coming in. My littlest one is even better behaved in grocery stores, he sees something he wants and asks if there is a coupon for it, if I say No he just moves on :) My oldest even looks for coupons in the aisles for me. He is learning to buy things that are on sale instead of paying full price for the same item.
I am looking forward to the summer where I can get my kids more involved in the action so they can see the benefits and how to do it properly, not excessivly. I don't need 172 jars of mustard sitting on my shelf, but one in the fridge at half off suits me just fine.
Once I get more followers I will be posting some of the great deals I find along the way to hopefully help someone else save. For now I will just be happy eating my cheap box of Special K so I can get the free Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches. (Yummy!)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
My week of savings
So I have had a few people ask me where I am finding all my coupons. It's actually pretty easy.
I have five websites I visit (one religously and four at least weekly).
There is a great forum site called smartcanucks.ca. This site posts things like where to find coupons, deals and freebies. As the name says, its also Canadian so you can get the proper info.
The four main sites I visit are:
http://www.save.ca
http://websaver.ca
http://gocoupons.ca
http;//brandsaver.ca
All these sites mail the coupons out. I still am not sure about printing coupons because if you have to pay for ink and paper for a .50 cent coupon, is it really worth it.
Save.ca also has portals you can enter to grab the coupons. Go to the site map and there you will see "hidden" portals, these usually have some pretty sweet coupons.
Another thing I have been doing is keeping my eye out at the grocery store and on packaging for deals. For example. I had two coupons for $1.00 off Hamburger helper, and on select packages there is a coupon for $3.00 off ground beef. So for $1.98 I get two boxes of helper and $6.00 off ground beef. I have found alot of coupons just doing my regular shopping, those little tear-pads and brochures sometimes hold some great deals
I am planning a big "free shop" in the middle of the month. So far I have 3 boxes of free cereal, free Triscuits, free yogurt, free pizza, Free salsa and free ground beef (I know I can get it for less than $6.00). Plus I am expecting quite a few freebies to come in the mail, barring any postal strike.
This month I have over $100.00 in coupon savings, without adding in the freebies. I think a little planning is well worth it. Til next time, happy saving!
I have five websites I visit (one religously and four at least weekly).
There is a great forum site called smartcanucks.ca. This site posts things like where to find coupons, deals and freebies. As the name says, its also Canadian so you can get the proper info.
The four main sites I visit are:
http://www.save.ca
http://websaver.ca
http://gocoupons.ca
http;//brandsaver.ca
All these sites mail the coupons out. I still am not sure about printing coupons because if you have to pay for ink and paper for a .50 cent coupon, is it really worth it.
Save.ca also has portals you can enter to grab the coupons. Go to the site map and there you will see "hidden" portals, these usually have some pretty sweet coupons.
Another thing I have been doing is keeping my eye out at the grocery store and on packaging for deals. For example. I had two coupons for $1.00 off Hamburger helper, and on select packages there is a coupon for $3.00 off ground beef. So for $1.98 I get two boxes of helper and $6.00 off ground beef. I have found alot of coupons just doing my regular shopping, those little tear-pads and brochures sometimes hold some great deals
I am planning a big "free shop" in the middle of the month. So far I have 3 boxes of free cereal, free Triscuits, free yogurt, free pizza, Free salsa and free ground beef (I know I can get it for less than $6.00). Plus I am expecting quite a few freebies to come in the mail, barring any postal strike.
This month I have over $100.00 in coupon savings, without adding in the freebies. I think a little planning is well worth it. Til next time, happy saving!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Not an extreme couponer...
My children mocked me, until they learned how to get a free box of Triscuits. My husband doubted me, until he saw how much we saved. My dad was doubtful, until he watched me buy Gilette deodorents for .97 cents. Now they mock no more :)
It seems you mention couponing and get asked, "Are you one of those extreme couponers?". Ahh....no, those people are nuts. I am just trying to stretch an already stretched dollar. Although I do credit the show for opening me up to the idea of using coupons. I decided to research to see what was available within Canada. Now just over three weeks later, I have well over $400 in coupons at my disposal, everything from tacos to laundry soap. I don't keep any coupons for things I won't use and will not buy anything I don't need.
The first few days of researching were very time consuming, trying to find the right sites. I don't want to spend a lot of time printing off coupons (its not really a deal if I am wasting my paper and ink) so I stuck to those sites that were mailing coupons. I now have it down to about 20 minutes a day, well I have my coffee. It seems to be working, with over $50.00 in savings so far this month and lots of free stuff, I think I found a hobby I can enjoy and share.
I plan on blogging my journey to savings with you so I hope you will revisit and learn a few tips along the way.
It seems you mention couponing and get asked, "Are you one of those extreme couponers?". Ahh....no, those people are nuts. I am just trying to stretch an already stretched dollar. Although I do credit the show for opening me up to the idea of using coupons. I decided to research to see what was available within Canada. Now just over three weeks later, I have well over $400 in coupons at my disposal, everything from tacos to laundry soap. I don't keep any coupons for things I won't use and will not buy anything I don't need.
The first few days of researching were very time consuming, trying to find the right sites. I don't want to spend a lot of time printing off coupons (its not really a deal if I am wasting my paper and ink) so I stuck to those sites that were mailing coupons. I now have it down to about 20 minutes a day, well I have my coffee. It seems to be working, with over $50.00 in savings so far this month and lots of free stuff, I think I found a hobby I can enjoy and share.
I plan on blogging my journey to savings with you so I hope you will revisit and learn a few tips along the way.
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