Using Your Coupons

Tips For Using Coupons

Starting out:

• Look through your fliers for best deals
• Check your cupboards for needed items
• MAKE A SHOPPING LIST- Know what is on sale, what you need to buy no matter what and what is on your wish list. I write on my list how many coupons I have for each product. That way I don't have to go through my coupons in the store to find out how many I have
• Know the stores coupon/ price matching policies

Organize all your coupons the night before at home:

• Clip all like coupons together ( do not staple)
• Check all Expiry Dates
• Check all conditions ( can not be combined with any other offer, good only in the USA, can only be used at such in such store, can only be used when you buy a certain size, an additional product etc)
• Put all the coupons you are planning on using in an envelope ( take your coupon binder in case you come across a great deal, but it is much easier to shop if all the coupons you are using are in an envelope)
• Bring competitor fliers for price matching

During Shopping:

• If at all possible, do not bring the kids or at least bring help with the kids
• Never shop hungry you will buy extra stuff you don't need
• Try to shop at times you are not rushed, time to browse- Some of the best Deals are in the clearance bins. $5.00 Shampoo marked down to $1.00 and then use your 1.00 coupon, you get the product completely FREE
• Also do not shop at the stores busy hours- Lines are longer, cashiers are more rushed and not in the best moods. I like early mornings or late in the evenings
• Remember something is not a deal if you don't need it or are not going to use it.

Cashing Out:

• Often it is best to go to Customer Service to cash out- That way you are not holding up lines, the customer service rep often has the authority to accept questionable coupons, they usually know the policies better, it is also easier to price match at CS
• If you have a huge cart and ALOT of coupons you could also ask for the cashiers to open an extra till
• Be nice to your cashier, cashiers will start fighting you on policies if you are rude, but if you are nice they will usually go out of the way to be nice to you
• Ask the cashier if she prefers the coupons with each item or at the end ( I prefer with each item that way if there is a problem with a coupon, you can check the product at the same time)
• Don't forget to use your Airmiles and stores cards ( Save on Card, Optimum Card, Sobeys Card etc) the points add up fast

Enjoy your savings!

Coupon Binder and Organization Ideas

Canadian Coupon Websites

Another London Drugs ( LD) shopping spree

2 bags of Pampers - $18.99 PM w/ SDM $13.99 X2 =$ 27.98 - $25.00= $2.98

Crest Pro Health Tooth paste- $2.99-$3.00= FREE

Satin Care Gel- $2.99-$3.00= FREE

Crest White Strips-$49.99- PM w/ SDM $29.99- $30.00= FREE

Scrub Free- $2.99-$2.75=$0.24

Panteen Shampoo & Panteen Conditioner $3.99 each = $7.98-$8.00= +0.02

Pampers wipes- $4.99-$2.00= $2.99

Huggies Wipes- $3.99-$3.99= FREE

Glade Candle $8.99- $8.99 Mail in Rebate= FREE

Huggies Pure Natural Diapers $12.99-$13.00= FREE

Alimentum $6.99-$5.00= $1.99

Tax $5.29

Total $25.12

( the cashier screwed up on one coupon it was suppose to be $3.00 and she only put $0.30)

After the rebate I would have paid $16.12

Coupon savings of $88.04

Mail in rebate of $8.99

PM- Price Matched

SDM- Shoppers Drug Mart

The - amounts were my coupon amounts/ item

Where can you find Canadian Coupons?

Mail coupons: ( you order free online, they will be mailed to you within a week)

1. BrandSavor

2. Save.ca

3. Go Coupons

4.Febreze

Printable:( Never change the sizing of a coupon, it is considered Fraud just like altering money)

5. Smart Canucks

6. Coupon Click

7. Grocery Savings

8. Flyerland

9. Toys R Us

10. Scott Brand

11. Shoppers Drug Mart

12. My Savings

13. Loonie Coupons

14. Right at Home

When you shop using your Visa-

15. Visa Perks

Newsletters ( sends coupons, samples each month)

16. Pampers

17. Huggies

18. Enfamil

19. SafeWay

20. 3M

21. Similac

Paid Coupons

22. Don't forget Ebay. Ebay is a good place to get started with coupons. Make sure you are not paying to much for them, that they are Canadian, English and watch for shipping costs.

23. The Healthy Shopper This is a book of healthy coupons the book is free but you do pay $4-$5.00 for shipping

Well there is 23 coupon sites to get you started. If you know of anymore sites please share them. I will continue to add more savings tips soon :)

TIP:Remember if you see a coupon in the store for a product that you buy all the time grab a bunch of extra to use in the future. Most Coupons don't expire for a few months/ a year and a Manufacture coupon can be used in any store. ( Costco does not take coupons other then their in store coupons)

Grocery Shopping Tips

My Big Savings Of The Week

After Debra's wonderful post on Couponing the other week, we both started doing it ourselves and have had amazing results so far. I have saved $228.10 in less then 2 weeks and most importantly on stuff I actually needed.Here is a photo of my latest shopping trip. All of this stuff came to $122.29 and I paid $10.82 with tax.

Here is how I did it.

1.First off I started by emailing all my local stores and asking what their coupon policy and price matching policies were.

Specific questions were:

Do you accept manufacturers coupons?

Do you accept online coupons?

Do you allow customers to stack coupons? Or to at least use both an in store coupon and manufacturer coupons together?

Do you price match?

Once they emailed me back I printed off their policies and put them in a binder. Most cashiers have no idea what store policies are and if you are having trouble with a cashier, you can show them the email. (every store I emailed, emailed me back with in a week)

TIP-London Drugs is stacking friendly. Which means they will allow you to use coupons up to the value of the product. Each of the coupons must be different ( different USP code) and none of them can say " can not be combined with any other offer" This is their policy. You still pay tax on the full amount of the product though and any online coupon over $2.00 needs in store approval. London Drugs also allows you to price match with other local stores ( item must be in the flier and in stock at the competitors store)

2. Second I called our local paper and asked to have the fliers delivered to my house.

3. I then sat down and started writing down prices of the items I use all the time ( Pampers, wipes, shampoo, soap, deodorant) and comparing them to sale fliers. Now in my binder I have a list of prices for these items. I can compare the sale price to the best price and know if it is a good deal, if I should wait for it to go on an even better sale or if I should price match it with another local stores price.

4. Start collecting coupons.

Where can you find coupons?

Local fliers, newspapers, magazines, back of food boxes, in store and online.

Make sure to sign up for newsletters from companies you use alot of for example Pampers, the newsletters almost always include coupons

.

TIP- When you find a coupon on something you use alot in store, grab extra and keep them for a later shopping trip.

5. Put all your coupons in your binder and organize them in sections ( beauty, baby, food, household etc) This way you can clearly see what you have. Hockey card holders are great for holding coupons. In your binder you should also have scrap paper, pen, scissors, calculator, shopping list,store policies and list of prices. Carry your binder everywhere.

6. Only use coupons on items that are on sale to get a better price for example-

In my photo I bought a Box of 156 Pamper Baby dry Diaper. They were on sale for $26.97 (already a good price) I then had a bunch of coupons. 6 x $2.00 off ( all were different coupons some printed off line, some from save.ca, some from Pampers newsletter etc. I then also had a $3.00 off and 2 X $5.00 off when you buy a box of pampers and wipes. So in total I got $25.00 off the pampers and only paid $1.97 for the box of diapers.

But it gets better since I also bought a box of 320 wipes which were on sale for $8.97 ( remember I had to buy wipes to save the $13.00 on the diapers) I also got to use coupons on the wipes. So I used another $6.00 worth of coupons on the wipes so I paid $2.97 for the wipes.

7. When you get a great deal, stock up. The whole goal is to never buy something not on sale. So stock up when you get that great sale and never pay full price again.

I think couponing will become a regular topic on our blog and we will continue to share some tips, coupon sites, sales etc. So keep checking back and hopefully we can help you shop for free as well.

If you like the post make sure to leave comments:)

Clipping for Savings!

My topic today is not about a specific product, store or brand. Rather, today I am going to talk about getting the best deals possible and using COUPONS. Although I am not much of a coupon user myself….yet….I have been seriously considering buying a binder and starting. Many hardcore coupon queens have saved hundreds, even thousands of dollars just using coupons! A friend of mine has begun couponing and she has found some amazing deals. Here are some of her top tips for those of you interested in how to make the most of your coupon experience:

1. Only use a coupon on a sale price to make it a BETTER PRICE, don’t use it on the regular price.

2. Never use the coupon from the store you got it from on that day. The price is probably cheaper somewhere else or will go on sale in a week or two, be patient.

(**Courtesy of Chrissie Mather)

I think these are great tips for someone starting out as I would never think of either of these!! Here are some pictures of ways that Chrissie has found exceptional savings with coupons:

2 Boxes FULL of Gillette Razors, Chrissie paid 30cents( the gst) for each of these.
Another Great Steal :)

In Picture:

4 Pkg of Huggies Pure and Natural size 2
4 Pkgs of Pampers - 3 size 3 and 1 size 4
3 pkg of Flintstones childrens vitamins
2 Pkgs of Huggies size 3
1 box of Kleenix1
24 rolls of Toliet Paper
10 Tubs of Wipes
GRAND TOTAL!!!! $31.93
WOOT WOOT

Chrissie bought ALL THIS FOR $6.20

So where can we get coupons?? Your local flyers and newspapers are a great place to start! Many stores also offer their flyers online so if you have a printer you’re set! Many stores now offer email sign-ups so that you can be notified of special coupons and sales so make sure you sign up with your favorite stores.

One of the BEST places to find coupons nowadays is on sites like these: http://www.brandsaver.ca/, http://smartcanucks.ca/, and http://www.save.ca/. These sites offer great coupons for many different products. Smart Canucks is a forum where people post deals, coupons, discount codes etc for others to use! I have spent a lot of time on Smart Canucks and it is amazing what you can find. People post free giveaways, free downloads and pretty much any deal you can find. Most people will also post whether or not the coupon codes have worked for them when they tried it so that you don’t end up wasting your time.

Here are some of my favorite videos about couponing: My Nifty Coupon Binder, Coupon Queen and Chicago's Coupon Queen.

~Debra~