I know there are thousands of people out there that say they want to coupon, tear off a couple coupons from their local grocery store and then see that it is only saving them a few cents they give up. So where do you start to save thousands of dollars every year on things that you would normally buy is the real question!
The answer to this really depends on the person and how much effort and time they are willing to put into coupon savings. Sure we all want to save thousands or get things for as close to free as possible but if you are already finding yourself lacking time clipping coupons, matching sales and spending time getting to the stores bright and early on the first day of the sales might not be a great option for you.
Here is the first thing that you need to decide, how much time are you willing to invest into using coupons to increase your savings? If your answer is none at all then you will save very little, if you can spend a moderate amount of time matching coupons to sales and coupon hunting then you can save quite a bit and if you have lots of spare time and are willing to spend as much time as it takes to get the most savings you can you can easily save thousands.
Once you have decided how much time to invest you can then start your task. Your first task that I would highly recommend would be to sign up at SmartCanucks.ca where they will post all of the weekly hot deals under the deals tab and you can simply match your coupons to those deals. I would also highly recommend signing up for save.ca, gocoupons.ca and brandsaver.ca these three sites will deliver the coupons that you have chosen right to your doorstep. Another thing that I did to start out was doing trades on smartcanucks to build my trade rating as well as getting some coupons that I could use. The users on that site are very friendly and are great to get you started, if you have any questions I can almost guarantee that someone there will have the answers.
A good way to start couponing to ensure that you don't get overwhelmed right away is to choose one aspect of your life and coupon for those items first. For some people it is health and beauty, others it is baby products, household cleaners or foods. By choosing one area this will give you a chance to get a feel for coupons, where you can find them, what stores accept printables or are very coupon friendly and which other stores are not as pleasant. Once you have successfully couponed for that area of your life and you feel comfortable with coupons you can then branch out into another area.
Where to find coupons is always another popular question. Before I really got into using coupons I thought the only ones that were available were in store tear pads and through emails. I never realized all of the different places that you can find coupons and I'm sure I have tossed hundreds of dollars in coupons away just not even knowing to look for them.
Some places you can find coupons include in store tear pads which are pads of coupons which are attached to the grocery store shelves, on a display board or at the cash registers. These are coupons that can be used at that store only sometimes but there are also other coupons that can be used at any store so if a product is cheaper at another store you can use them there as well. It is always recommended that you only take enough coupons that you will use and never all so if there is a full pad and you know you will use 10 it is fine to take them but never take a whole pad!
You can also find coupons attached to products either inside the packages, printed onto boxes, on peelie stickers attached to boxes and jars of products and behind labels. Most products will say on the outside packaging if there are coupons inside but sometimes you maybe surprised!
Many companies have mailing lists that you can be placed on or request coupons either monthly or yearly. A good example of this is Chapmans icecream. You can email Chapman's and they will mail out either a $3 or $5 coupon once per year per household. It is a great idea to contact companies with compliments for products that you truly do love. It is never a good idea to make false complaints or compliment companies just to receive coupons that you will not use.
Mail in rebates are another great place to get coupons. Many companies will offer promotions through out the year that if you purchase X amount of product and send in the receipt, mail in rebate form and UPC codes they will in return send money saving coupons or even free product coupons. One example of these would be the Pepsi Tostito promotion that was held in January for the Grey Cup. When you mailed in proof that you had spent X amount on specified products they sent a $20 coupon booklet which included 1 free 12 pack of Pepsi products, 1 free 2L Pepsi product, 2 free potato chips, 1 free Gatorade and 1 free 6 x 710ml Pepsi products. Offers vary from time to time and sometimes you may find old mail in rebate forms kicking around stores so before making purchases always check the dates on them to ensure they are still valid.
I listed a few websites above where you can choose your coupons and have them mailed right to your doorstep. These sites mailing times vary greatly, I have received my coupons in as little as 10 days but sometimes as long as 6 weeks so it is a huge variation.
Many companies have special offers on their facebook pages and websites that you can either request coupons which will be mailed right to your doorstep or you can print off money saving coupons. Often times these coupons will say "limit one per person" which means that you are only suppose to print one of these coupons. Other times they will say "limit one per transaction" which means you can use one coupon per shopping trip and another important detail is when they say "limit one per purchase" some cashiers argue that this means that you can only use one of these coupons for your entire shopping trip but this is not true. One per purchase simply means you can only use one coupon per product that you are purchasing, for example if you have 3 bottles of Heinz Ketchup and you have 3 $1 off coupons you can only use 1 $1 off coupon per bottle of Ketchup not 3 $1 off coupons.
It is very important in the beginning not to get discouraged by annoyed cashiers or rude comments as it is bound to happen and I promise you the first time that you have a loaded cart and pay very little out of pocket any attitude that you have ever received will be a thing of the past. Take things at a pace that you are comfortable with and if you have any questions ask. If you feel that a cashier is being unfair don't hesitate to ask for a manager and if you still feel it has not been resolved contacting head office is always encouraged. Customer service should be very friendly regardless of the number of coupons you are using as you are still a paying customer and the store will always be refunded 100% of the value of the coupon as well as a handling fee.
If you get discouraged give yourself some time, becoming a Coupon King or Queen does not happen over night. It takes time, planning and you are bound to make some mistakes, have some coupons refused or find that your shopping plan was derailed because of items being out of stock. It is ok to feel defeated, it is ok to make mistakes because it will teach you how you can better plan for the next time and how you can make your experience with coupons even better.
Share with me how you plan to start using coupons or how you started. Have you kept track of your total savings? Did you start with just one aspect of your life? What is one tip you would give to someone new using coupons?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Do you like make up?
Lulla Writes is having a St. Patrick's day giveaway with some great prizes!
First prize winner will receive:
A bag of Lindor Truffles♥
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush body mist in appletini
Cutex Nail Polish Remover
Sally Hansen Nail Growth Activator
Nail File
EOS in Tangerine♥
W&W: Hallucinate and Sparked
Jesse's Girl: JulieG
oke doke: steal this teal and Pink This
Petites Color Fever: Periwinkle
Sinful Colors: Show me the way
And second prize winner will receive a beautiful handmade glass bracelet that she made! It truly is gorgeous!
Check out her blog for beauty tips, product reviews and how to guides! Great little blog that I will be following as someone who is a total make up newbie I look forward to finding some great tips! Check it out and enter the giveaway, either of the prizes are great!
First prize winner will receive:
A bag of Lindor Truffles♥
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush body mist in appletini
Cutex Nail Polish Remover
Sally Hansen Nail Growth Activator
Nail File
EOS in Tangerine♥
W&W: Hallucinate and Sparked
Jesse's Girl: JulieG
oke doke: steal this teal and Pink This
Petites Color Fever: Periwinkle
Sinful Colors: Show me the way
And second prize winner will receive a beautiful handmade glass bracelet that she made! It truly is gorgeous!
Check out her blog for beauty tips, product reviews and how to guides! Great little blog that I will be following as someone who is a total make up newbie I look forward to finding some great tips! Check it out and enter the giveaway, either of the prizes are great!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Mars Needs Moms!
I've started to enter some contests even though I have absolutely no luck I figured it didn't hurt to try. So off I went entering a bunch of contests with some great prizes in hopes of winning something but not setting my hopes too high knowing my past luck. Boy was I surprised to receive the email yesterday from Xenia from Thanks, Mail Carrier! I entered a contest to win a Mars Needs Mom's prize pack and I won! Who would have thought, me the person who could be the only one to enter a contest and still lose won something! So what did I win you ask?
Mars Needs Moms Prize Pack containing a Mars Needs Moms adult t-shirt, a Mars Needs Moms youth t-shirt and a 3-pack of Mars Needs Moms temporary tattoos!
Here is the contest that I won:
http://www.thanksmailcarrier.com/2011/02/disneys-mars-needs-moms-prize-pack.html
And my email saying that I won:
Surprise!
I just drew your name as the lucky winner of a Mars Needs Moms prize pack! Congratulations!
Please respond back with your size selection for the adult and the youth t-shirts (they will do their best to accommodate) as well as your mailing information and I will forward it over to Disney to send out your prize.
Thank you so much for entering and supporting Thanks, Mail Carrier, I really appreciate it!
So even if you have lousy luck like I have had, don't stop entering contests as you never know when you might win! Even a small win is still a win! I'm very excited to receive our prize as my youngest son brought the Mars Needs Mom story book home from the school library a week ago and it was such a cute story. We have been watching the previews and have anxiously awaited it to come to theaters so we can go watch it as a family! Hopefully our new t-shirts and temporary tattoos will arrive soon as it is in theaters so we can go all decked out in Mars Needs Mom gear!
Mars Needs Moms premiered in theaters March 11th in 3D! Have you gone to see it yet? What did you think?
Mars Needs Moms Prize Pack containing a Mars Needs Moms adult t-shirt, a Mars Needs Moms youth t-shirt and a 3-pack of Mars Needs Moms temporary tattoos!
Here is the contest that I won:
http://www.thanksmailcarrier.com/2011/02/disneys-mars-needs-moms-prize-pack.html
And my email saying that I won:
Surprise!
I just drew your name as the lucky winner of a Mars Needs Moms prize pack! Congratulations!
Please respond back with your size selection for the adult and the youth t-shirts (they will do their best to accommodate) as well as your mailing information and I will forward it over to Disney to send out your prize.
Thank you so much for entering and supporting Thanks, Mail Carrier, I really appreciate it!
So even if you have lousy luck like I have had, don't stop entering contests as you never know when you might win! Even a small win is still a win! I'm very excited to receive our prize as my youngest son brought the Mars Needs Mom story book home from the school library a week ago and it was such a cute story. We have been watching the previews and have anxiously awaited it to come to theaters so we can go watch it as a family! Hopefully our new t-shirts and temporary tattoos will arrive soon as it is in theaters so we can go all decked out in Mars Needs Mom gear!
Mars Needs Moms premiered in theaters March 11th in 3D! Have you gone to see it yet? What did you think?
Free Wii remote charger
Since I redeemed my bonus points at Shoppers Drug Mart yesterday for the Nintendo Wii I figured I better look at getting some more remotes and chargers but they are so expensive! One thing at a time! So off I went to search amazon.ca for a good deal on a charger. We decided that the four remote charger would be the best fit for our family of 6 at this point.
This is the one we decided to get
http://www.amazon.ca/Quadruple-Charge-Station-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B00366KE60/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1300031601&sr=8-11
$29.99 with free shipping isn't too bad of a price but why pay that when we could get it for free! How did we do it? It's simple, I used the amazon.ca gift cards I had accumulated from swagbucks and ordered it for free!
What is swagbucks you ask? I'll gladly share since this is one of my very favorite websites and rewards programs.
Swagbucks.com is an online portal dedicated to helping you earn digital dollars called "Swag Bucks", which can be redeemed for exclusive Swagbucks.com merchandise. But in terms everyone can easily understand it's just like google, you use the search bar to look for things that you would every day anyhow and find swagbucks which can be redeemed for pay pal, merchandise, gift cards and enter into contests! There are many ways you can earn swagbucks other than just searching including doing surveys, daily polls, special offers, watching swagbucks tv, finding codes and referring friends! If you are not already swaggin' I highly recommend it, to date I have earned over $400 in amazon.ca gift cards. It is a rewards program that does work and costs nothing to join or use. There are no negative things about this program from what I have experienced and everyone who has joined has been very happy! If your not already using it why not check it out?
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Wiserwithwords if you are already a member tell me what you have used your swagbucks on, I'd love to know!
This is the one we decided to get
http://www.amazon.ca/Quadruple-Charge-Station-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B00366KE60/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1300031601&sr=8-11
$29.99 with free shipping isn't too bad of a price but why pay that when we could get it for free! How did we do it? It's simple, I used the amazon.ca gift cards I had accumulated from swagbucks and ordered it for free!
| Order Summary: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shipping Details : order will arrive in one shipment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
What is swagbucks you ask? I'll gladly share since this is one of my very favorite websites and rewards programs.
Swagbucks.com is an online portal dedicated to helping you earn digital dollars called "Swag Bucks", which can be redeemed for exclusive Swagbucks.com merchandise. But in terms everyone can easily understand it's just like google, you use the search bar to look for things that you would every day anyhow and find swagbucks which can be redeemed for pay pal, merchandise, gift cards and enter into contests! There are many ways you can earn swagbucks other than just searching including doing surveys, daily polls, special offers, watching swagbucks tv, finding codes and referring friends! If you are not already swaggin' I highly recommend it, to date I have earned over $400 in amazon.ca gift cards. It is a rewards program that does work and costs nothing to join or use. There are no negative things about this program from what I have experienced and everyone who has joined has been very happy! If your not already using it why not check it out?
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Wiserwithwords if you are already a member tell me what you have used your swagbucks on, I'd love to know!
A Wii for FREE No way!
Lets not get crazy no one is going to give a Nintendo Wii away completely free but a Wii for .16 cents now that is possible!
My kids have been asking for a Nintendo Wii since last Christmas but since they are a major luxury and not one that we needed we have put it off say we could spend that $209 + taxes better else where but a deal came up yesterday that I just couldn't pass up.
I've wrote recently about all the ways to get the most for your points at Shoppers Drug Mart and finally the day had come for Bonus Redemptions. Off I went hopeful that they would still have a Wii in stock. I had $310.00 in Shoppers Optimum points that I have gathered since January and thought it'd be a great opportunity to do some Easter shopping and get some free groceries. So how did we do it?
Well first we dropped the kids off with their Great Grandma, this made shopping so much easier and then they wouldn't see their Easter surprises. Into Shoppers I went dragging my husband behind.
Our first transaction went like this:
There were two Nintendo Wii's left on the shelf, one black and one white. I asked the cashier to set the black one aside while we grabbed the rest of our items. The wii was on sale for $179.99 so we had $20.01 still to spend in order to be able to redeem.
Transaction Number One Breakdown:
Nintendo Wii black with 2 games- $179.99 on sale from $209.00
10x Stouffers entrees (I needed 10 more pins for their newest promotion) on sale for $1.99 each
1x Gatorade $1.79 used free product coupon from Tostitos promotion
1x Mug rootbeer $2.49 used free product coupon from Tostitos promotion
1x Pepsi 12 pack $4.99 used free product coupon from Tostitos promotion
2x Ruffles chips $3.49 each, used two free product coupons from Tostitos promotion
Total before taxes: $200.40
Total after taxes: $210.16
Total after $200 Optimum point redemption: $10.16
So how did I figure out the Nintendo Wii to be .16 cents? Well once I entered the 10 Stouffers entree pins I now have a $10 gift card to the store of my choice coming to me as well as $15 worth of free product coupons! .16 cents for a Wii is affordable and the kids will be super surprised to see this Easter morning!
I then had $110.00 in Optimum points that I could still redeem for the bonus redemption. I sent my husband to go put our first transaction into our van while I started to shop for $100 in grocery items which proved to be a bit more difficult than I thought! I wanted to get as much for our points as possible and only things that we will actually use so they are not being wasted.
Transaction Number Two went like this:
7x Christie chips ahoy snack packs $3.99 each - $3 manager coupons on each bringing them to .99cents each
1x Downy Simple Pleasures fabric softener $9.99 - free product coupon
1x Mars bar $1.39 - free product coupon
2x Every day sugar on sale for $1.99 each
4x Dare Gummis for Easter baskets on sale for $2.49 each - $2 manager coupons on each bringing them down to .49cents each
1x Neilson milk $4.09
3x Eggo Blueberry waffles 8 count on sale for $1.99 each - 3x .50cent coupons from Smart Source flyer
3x Janes chicken burgers on sale for $5.99 each - 3x $1.50 coupons
4x Maynards bunnies for Easter baskets $1.49 each
4x Schneiders Red Hots on sale for $1.99 each
1x Kleenex tissues $3.99 - free product coupon
Crest Pro Health tooth paste on sale for $2.49 - free product coupon
4x Irish Springs body wash on sale for $2.99 - 4x $2 coupons from Smart Source = .99 cents each
Gillette Fusion shave gel trial size $2.99
2x Gillette deodorant twin pack on clearance for $2.62 - $5 wub 3 Gillette products coupon
Nestle Snack Size chocolate bars on sale for $4.49
2x Hotwheels color shifters $3.99 each
3x Life brand foil chocolate Easter eggs $1.99 each
4x Candy filled plastic eggs $1.49 each
12x Stouffers frozen entrees on sale for $1.99 each
4x Marshmellow Easter kabobs $1.49 each
1x Life brand Easter bunny jujubes $2.69
Total before taxes- $110.95
Total after taxes- $115.20
Total after redeeming $100 in Shoppers Optimum points- $15.20
I will be receiving another $10 gift card from the Stouffers promotion with the 12 entrees I purchased in this transaction and $15 in free product coupons. I also was able to use my pins on the Lean Cuisine site and redeemed for the flower swirl lunch bag!
Two awesome shopping trips that loaded up our cupboards, freezer and fridge for next to nothing. Easter shopping nearly done in one stop for next to nothing out of pocket.
We were also given a $10 gift card to Canadian Tire from a family friend who was leaving on vacation and could not use it in time since it expired yesterday. With this we were able to purchase 4x Crayola colored bubbles (one for each child) and only paid $6 and change out of pocket! These were selling for $3.99 each!
Freebies are out there, it's just matching sales to coupons, coupons to products that have promotions and only buying what you really need or will use. We could have done better had we purchased a product with a mail in rebate but these were all items we would have purchased anyways so it was really a smart shop for us.
Did you redeem your points? What did you get? Did you combine coupons to the sale to load up even more? Tell me about your Bonus Redemption trip!!!
My kids have been asking for a Nintendo Wii since last Christmas but since they are a major luxury and not one that we needed we have put it off say we could spend that $209 + taxes better else where but a deal came up yesterday that I just couldn't pass up.
I've wrote recently about all the ways to get the most for your points at Shoppers Drug Mart and finally the day had come for Bonus Redemptions. Off I went hopeful that they would still have a Wii in stock. I had $310.00 in Shoppers Optimum points that I have gathered since January and thought it'd be a great opportunity to do some Easter shopping and get some free groceries. So how did we do it?
Well first we dropped the kids off with their Great Grandma, this made shopping so much easier and then they wouldn't see their Easter surprises. Into Shoppers I went dragging my husband behind.
Our first transaction went like this:
There were two Nintendo Wii's left on the shelf, one black and one white. I asked the cashier to set the black one aside while we grabbed the rest of our items. The wii was on sale for $179.99 so we had $20.01 still to spend in order to be able to redeem.
Transaction Number One Breakdown:
Nintendo Wii black with 2 games- $179.99 on sale from $209.00
10x Stouffers entrees (I needed 10 more pins for their newest promotion) on sale for $1.99 each
1x Gatorade $1.79 used free product coupon from Tostitos promotion
1x Mug rootbeer $2.49 used free product coupon from Tostitos promotion
1x Pepsi 12 pack $4.99 used free product coupon from Tostitos promotion
2x Ruffles chips $3.49 each, used two free product coupons from Tostitos promotion
Total before taxes: $200.40
Total after taxes: $210.16
Total after $200 Optimum point redemption: $10.16
So how did I figure out the Nintendo Wii to be .16 cents? Well once I entered the 10 Stouffers entree pins I now have a $10 gift card to the store of my choice coming to me as well as $15 worth of free product coupons! .16 cents for a Wii is affordable and the kids will be super surprised to see this Easter morning!
I then had $110.00 in Optimum points that I could still redeem for the bonus redemption. I sent my husband to go put our first transaction into our van while I started to shop for $100 in grocery items which proved to be a bit more difficult than I thought! I wanted to get as much for our points as possible and only things that we will actually use so they are not being wasted.
Transaction Number Two went like this:
7x Christie chips ahoy snack packs $3.99 each - $3 manager coupons on each bringing them to .99cents each
1x Downy Simple Pleasures fabric softener $9.99 - free product coupon
1x Mars bar $1.39 - free product coupon
2x Every day sugar on sale for $1.99 each
4x Dare Gummis for Easter baskets on sale for $2.49 each - $2 manager coupons on each bringing them down to .49cents each
1x Neilson milk $4.09
3x Eggo Blueberry waffles 8 count on sale for $1.99 each - 3x .50cent coupons from Smart Source flyer
3x Janes chicken burgers on sale for $5.99 each - 3x $1.50 coupons
4x Maynards bunnies for Easter baskets $1.49 each
4x Schneiders Red Hots on sale for $1.99 each
1x Kleenex tissues $3.99 - free product coupon
Crest Pro Health tooth paste on sale for $2.49 - free product coupon
4x Irish Springs body wash on sale for $2.99 - 4x $2 coupons from Smart Source = .99 cents each
Gillette Fusion shave gel trial size $2.99
2x Gillette deodorant twin pack on clearance for $2.62 - $5 wub 3 Gillette products coupon
Nestle Snack Size chocolate bars on sale for $4.49
2x Hotwheels color shifters $3.99 each
3x Life brand foil chocolate Easter eggs $1.99 each
4x Candy filled plastic eggs $1.49 each
12x Stouffers frozen entrees on sale for $1.99 each
4x Marshmellow Easter kabobs $1.49 each
1x Life brand Easter bunny jujubes $2.69
Total before taxes- $110.95
Total after taxes- $115.20
Total after redeeming $100 in Shoppers Optimum points- $15.20
I will be receiving another $10 gift card from the Stouffers promotion with the 12 entrees I purchased in this transaction and $15 in free product coupons. I also was able to use my pins on the Lean Cuisine site and redeemed for the flower swirl lunch bag!
Two awesome shopping trips that loaded up our cupboards, freezer and fridge for next to nothing. Easter shopping nearly done in one stop for next to nothing out of pocket.
We were also given a $10 gift card to Canadian Tire from a family friend who was leaving on vacation and could not use it in time since it expired yesterday. With this we were able to purchase 4x Crayola colored bubbles (one for each child) and only paid $6 and change out of pocket! These were selling for $3.99 each!
Freebies are out there, it's just matching sales to coupons, coupons to products that have promotions and only buying what you really need or will use. We could have done better had we purchased a product with a mail in rebate but these were all items we would have purchased anyways so it was really a smart shop for us.
Did you redeem your points? What did you get? Did you combine coupons to the sale to load up even more? Tell me about your Bonus Redemption trip!!!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Whats the appeal?
Many people are baffled to see my stock pile and just what I have been able to receive using rewards programs such as Shoppers Optimum, Stouffers and Swagbucks but then there are others who say it must take so much time or it's just not worth it since they buy no name products instead. This leaves me shocked! I have found 99% of the time that I can purchase name brand products cheaper than I can store brand since there are very seldom coupons for these store brand products and the quality is often times poor.
So what is the appeal of using coupons for me? The fact that I have a years plus supply of toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning products, dish soap, soup, pasta, razors and personal care products that I paid just pennies for each is the appeal for me! The fact that I can put that money that I would otherwise spend on groceries into things like fun birthday parties, entertainment for our family, paying off our debt and having a savings. It gives us security without having to give up the products that we love. I love that we can also try products like the Physicians Formula make up that I would never even consider buying because of the price for free. That is a huge deal for me since I am not too great when it comes to make up but I'd like to try a few different things and I found I hated the liquid eye liner and mascara so it wasn't a big deal to just give it away to my cousin.
I love that I can put together a basket full of items to give as birthday presents, get well gifts or just pick me ups for friends and family who have been having a hard time and it hardly costs us! The smiles on their faces and the fact that I have made their day just a little better is a huge deal. The fact that it is saving them money so they can use the extra to buy diapers or put gas in their vehicles for another week is huge.
I love that I can give back to my community whether it be the Humane Society who needs our donations, food banks, schools or people just down on their luck. I love being able to do my part which I couldn't previous do.
So here are a few more places you can put your money to work for you!
Icoke.ca is a great program where you can take your coke pins found under the caps and in the packaging of specially marked products. You enter the pins into the website and receive Icoke points. These points you can trade in for a variety of things including movie tickets and Pizza Pizza gift cards! All free for those Coke drinkers out there. We go through a ton since my husband is a huge coke drinker so we might as well get something for a product that we are purchasing anyhow!
Swagbucks is one of my all time favorite rewards programs. You use it just as you would google or any other search engine and earn "swagbucks" which can be redeemed for electronics, gift cards, pay pal and tons of other great items! It's completely free and it does pay! I've received well over $300 in amazon.ca gift cards using this program for a little more than a year!
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Wiserwithwords check it out! I think you will be really surprised on just how easy it is to use. We are now saving up our gift cards for Christmas 2011 since last year it was such a hit! The kids got loads of books, games and dvd's which didn't cost me a penny!
Stouffers has extended the promotion that you get 12 stouffers pins (found inside specially marked boxes of Stouffers, Lean Cuisine and Bistro frozen entrees) and you receive a $10 gift card to the store of your choice and $15 in free product coupons! This is a great promotion when the entrees are on sale or if you have coupons you can combine with them!
It's truly remarkable just how quickly you can earn rewards using products or services that you normally do anyhow. It takes a little time and effort but the savings truly do pay off! With that said I am off to make my family a big ol' fat Tuesday dinner of crepes stuffed with all kinds of fruity goodness!
So what is the appeal of using coupons for me? The fact that I have a years plus supply of toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning products, dish soap, soup, pasta, razors and personal care products that I paid just pennies for each is the appeal for me! The fact that I can put that money that I would otherwise spend on groceries into things like fun birthday parties, entertainment for our family, paying off our debt and having a savings. It gives us security without having to give up the products that we love. I love that we can also try products like the Physicians Formula make up that I would never even consider buying because of the price for free. That is a huge deal for me since I am not too great when it comes to make up but I'd like to try a few different things and I found I hated the liquid eye liner and mascara so it wasn't a big deal to just give it away to my cousin.
I love that I can put together a basket full of items to give as birthday presents, get well gifts or just pick me ups for friends and family who have been having a hard time and it hardly costs us! The smiles on their faces and the fact that I have made their day just a little better is a huge deal. The fact that it is saving them money so they can use the extra to buy diapers or put gas in their vehicles for another week is huge.
I love that I can give back to my community whether it be the Humane Society who needs our donations, food banks, schools or people just down on their luck. I love being able to do my part which I couldn't previous do.
So here are a few more places you can put your money to work for you!
Icoke.ca is a great program where you can take your coke pins found under the caps and in the packaging of specially marked products. You enter the pins into the website and receive Icoke points. These points you can trade in for a variety of things including movie tickets and Pizza Pizza gift cards! All free for those Coke drinkers out there. We go through a ton since my husband is a huge coke drinker so we might as well get something for a product that we are purchasing anyhow!
Swagbucks is one of my all time favorite rewards programs. You use it just as you would google or any other search engine and earn "swagbucks" which can be redeemed for electronics, gift cards, pay pal and tons of other great items! It's completely free and it does pay! I've received well over $300 in amazon.ca gift cards using this program for a little more than a year!
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Wiserwithwords check it out! I think you will be really surprised on just how easy it is to use. We are now saving up our gift cards for Christmas 2011 since last year it was such a hit! The kids got loads of books, games and dvd's which didn't cost me a penny!
Stouffers has extended the promotion that you get 12 stouffers pins (found inside specially marked boxes of Stouffers, Lean Cuisine and Bistro frozen entrees) and you receive a $10 gift card to the store of your choice and $15 in free product coupons! This is a great promotion when the entrees are on sale or if you have coupons you can combine with them!
It's truly remarkable just how quickly you can earn rewards using products or services that you normally do anyhow. It takes a little time and effort but the savings truly do pay off! With that said I am off to make my family a big ol' fat Tuesday dinner of crepes stuffed with all kinds of fruity goodness!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Shoppers Bonus Points
We all love Shoppers Optimum points, I mean really who doesn't love free stuff right? My favorite days of all though are when promotions are on and they have bonus points days! This week is one of those times where you can spend $75 and receive an additional $25 in Optimum bonus points (18500 points) on top of your regular purchase points. But who wants to spend $75 if they don't have to right? Here is a little tip that most cashiers will tell you is wrong but it has been tried and proven that it does work. Let me in on a well kept secret of how to get these bonus points with spending very little cash out of pocket.
Take a look at your Shoppers Drug Marts weekly flyer and make your list of items that you do need at their lowest prices. Then add that up and see just how much you have to spend to get to that $75. If you don't need anything at all then take a look at your coupons and match them to the sales. As long as your subtotal is $75+ you WILL receive your bonus points even after coupons bring your total well below $75.
Here is an example from my shopping trip today:
2x Goodnights diapers on sale for $13.99 - 2x $2.00 save.ca coupons
4x Gillette aftershave lotion/gel on sale for 2/$5 - $5 P&G coupon wub3
4x Gillette shaving gel on sale for 2/$5 - $5 P&G coupon wub3
4x Trial size Gillette shampoo on sale for .50cents (I purchased these to make my total for the $5 coupons just $5.50 each, the shelf said these were $1.99 but they rung up at .50 cents)
4x Satin Care shaving cream 2/$5 - $4 wub2 P&G coupon
2x Busy Bones denta bones $2.99 each - $3 save.ca coupon
1x Lysol No touch soap dispenser $15.99 (will do the mail in rebate to receive $14.99 back plus taxes and postage)
My total before coupons was well over $75 but after coupons I only paid $48.05. I could have made my total much lower but I needed the Goodnights and that is the best price I have ever seen in awhile and the Lysol mail in rebate will return a good portion of what I spent back.
So 18500 points which is equal to $25 + $14.99 rebate (plus taxes and postage) = $39.99 in points/cash back so out of pocket I will only be out roughly $8! Fantastic bargains! This bonus offer is going all week long so I will be participating at least once more to pick up some bargains.
Shoppers also has 10 pack Advil Night time on sale for $3.99 with $4.00 coupons found in store on tear pads which make them free. Some cashiers will not allow you to use the coupons are higher than the value of the product but you may get lucky and get a great cashier. Most stores have had their shelves cleared of these but if you are lucky and can find some it's a great deal! If you can't you should be able to get a rain check for 4 that you can use within the next month at the store where you received the rain check.
Happy Shopping at Shoppers!
Take a look at your Shoppers Drug Marts weekly flyer and make your list of items that you do need at their lowest prices. Then add that up and see just how much you have to spend to get to that $75. If you don't need anything at all then take a look at your coupons and match them to the sales. As long as your subtotal is $75+ you WILL receive your bonus points even after coupons bring your total well below $75.
Here is an example from my shopping trip today:
2x Goodnights diapers on sale for $13.99 - 2x $2.00 save.ca coupons
4x Gillette aftershave lotion/gel on sale for 2/$5 - $5 P&G coupon wub3
4x Gillette shaving gel on sale for 2/$5 - $5 P&G coupon wub3
4x Trial size Gillette shampoo on sale for .50cents (I purchased these to make my total for the $5 coupons just $5.50 each, the shelf said these were $1.99 but they rung up at .50 cents)
4x Satin Care shaving cream 2/$5 - $4 wub2 P&G coupon
2x Busy Bones denta bones $2.99 each - $3 save.ca coupon
1x Lysol No touch soap dispenser $15.99 (will do the mail in rebate to receive $14.99 back plus taxes and postage)
My total before coupons was well over $75 but after coupons I only paid $48.05. I could have made my total much lower but I needed the Goodnights and that is the best price I have ever seen in awhile and the Lysol mail in rebate will return a good portion of what I spent back.
So 18500 points which is equal to $25 + $14.99 rebate (plus taxes and postage) = $39.99 in points/cash back so out of pocket I will only be out roughly $8! Fantastic bargains! This bonus offer is going all week long so I will be participating at least once more to pick up some bargains.
Shoppers also has 10 pack Advil Night time on sale for $3.99 with $4.00 coupons found in store on tear pads which make them free. Some cashiers will not allow you to use the coupons are higher than the value of the product but you may get lucky and get a great cashier. Most stores have had their shelves cleared of these but if you are lucky and can find some it's a great deal! If you can't you should be able to get a rain check for 4 that you can use within the next month at the store where you received the rain check.
Happy Shopping at Shoppers!
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