Extreme Couponing in Canada
May 24, 2011 Extreme Couponing in Canada
Of course you’ve seen the show. And like me, you probably scoffed at the words “stockpile,” “stacking” and “overage.” Or maybe you don’t even know what I’m talking about.
Many of my friends here in Canada say, “Oh that can’t be done here.” Heck, I’ve said it.
Then, late last week, I googled. You know, you can find everything on the internet – and chances are, you’ll find like-minded individuals such as yourself who are willing to help you get started on something worthwhile. Even if you want to macrame furniture for your cat.
Seriously, people. Everything.
I have to credit a group called Smart Canucks, with what I’m about to share with you. If you are Canadian, and you’re interested in learning more, by all means, join the forums and look for me (karensugarpants). Our economy and the price of gas is pinching our one-income, one-parent-in-college, one-kid-needs-braces, we’d-like-a-vacation family, and while I don’t think I’ll ever need to dedicate half my basement or half my time to this, I do think it’s worth the small amount of time I am investing.
Also, I’m brand spanking new at this, and I’m sure I will learn more as I go along!
So – here’s my first experience couponing from this past weekend.
I read a lot of the Smart Canucks Welcome section, and printed off a few coupons (in the coupon forum). I signed up for Save.ca, as well as a few other sites so there will be more coupons coming my way in the mail. I followed Facebook links to “like” companies in order to get a few high value coupons, and I read, read, read, a lot of the information (and the brag board, because I get a thrill out of seeing what others are doing) at Smart Canucks.
I got my Pennysaver out and spent 20 minutes combining coupons with sales, making notes in a notebook, by store, and clipping the appropriate coupons in there. Note: Food Basics does not accept any web coupons. This was mistake number one, and it threw me off a little. Having never shopping there before, I was blown away by their sales (see PDF below). So I stocked up on stuff there that was on sale, buying no more than 2 of each item, aside from the Nutrigrain bars that were 5/$10. Being shut down at the checkout was kind of embarrassing though. Thankfully I only wanted to use two coupons there and it didn’t slow me down too much.
Lesson learned: know your store’s coupon policy – and guess what? Smart Canucks has posted those too, and they suggest bringing them with you when you shop. I know, I know, that sounds a little whacko, doesn’t it? I mean, who is going to really speak up if a cashier refuses your coupons? Well, a lot of the people on the forums have done so, and here in Canada, many cashiers simply are not trained very well on coupons. I learned that one per purchase is different than one per transaction. Each item you buy is a purchase. All your items are paid for in one transaction. It pays to read the fine print. Also, here in Canada, the cashiers have to manually type in each coupon. In the states they scan them. Hopefully we will change that here soon, because stores are definitely feeling the pressure because of that show!
Another thing the couponers do, and I haven’t tried, is to buy trial sizes and apply coupons to those, in order to get them free. Now personally, I don’t want 18 trial sizes of shampoo in my bathroom – I just don’t – and the impact on the environment would bother me. Even so, there are people who use them for the gym, who refill them later, who use them to travel, or take them to the cottage/camping, so I can see it being useful if those things fit with your family lifestyle.
While I’m on the topic of what’s good for your family, I gotta say, I won’t redeem coupons for things we don’t use. We don’t go through massive amounts of allergy medication, for example, but you can almost always find a high value coupon for one of the big names. I guess my point is, if you don’t need it, don’t buy it for the sake of saving money, right? I think there are people out there who do so and I don’t understand that mentality. Maybe it’s a bit of an addiction for some.
Furthermore, I won’t be tearing off the whole tear pad in a store – you should always take 1 or 2 of a coupon and leave some for the next family. Who knows if the next family coming along needs that item too? There are a ton of ‘rules’ to be a good couponer and if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Think community.
I’m looking to save some money, but I’m not looking to stockpile my basement with so much stuff we will never use it all. I think that is greedy and I won’t do it. I do think having 3-6 months worth of stuff is handy and a bit of an insurance policy, especially if you’re like us and have a one income family. I also plan to donate to the food bank and women’s shelter when I’m able to get a smokin’ deal on something. I love the people on Extreme Couponing that make it their mission to help others. That is very cool.
Anyway, onto my weekend. Again, I’m brand new at this – and I’ve never shopped at Food Basics before! I always shopped at RCSS and just paid whatever the prices were, not even thinking about it. I’ve never collected coupons, and I’ve certainly never spent more than 5 minutes looking at my Pennysaver.
I shopped at Food Basics, Shopper’s Drug Mart and Real Canadian Superstore. I spent $56.17 on $118.23 worth of goods – a savings of $58.09.
That, my friends, is over a tank of gas!
Here’s the breakdown (PDF):
After saving that much, I was pretty pleased with myself. I signed up for the forums and introduced myself. I found more coupons. Tomorrow I’m going to the dollar store to get hockey card holders to organize these coupons in a binder. Oh yes, it has begun!
All the money I’ve saved will go in our savings account. I’m hoping that when I show my husband we can afford that expensive family vacation we’ve wanted – while I’m still in college – then he and the kids will stop laughing at me.
$58.09 down…$5941.91 to go! (Give or take a grand.)
Can you tell I’m super excited about this? It’s kind of thrilling to see just how much you can save by simply paying attention, and taking a little time to plan your shop.
I hope this little post helped you, if you’re looking to get started in couponing in Canada. Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully I’ll see you over at Smart Canucks! Maybe we can’t do things like you see on that show, but you’ll notice a lot of those people say, “This is the biggest shop I’ve ever done.” It’s obvious they don’t shop like that all the time.
Good luck!
Posted by Karen Sugarpants @ 10:23 am | 14 Comments
