May 17 2011 Coupon hunt and shop

Started off at Giant Tiger (GT)

• Parkay marg. 1.28kg 2.99
• Febreze Noticables 9.88 (mail in rebate) going to be free
• picked up $1 off coupons for Kellogs Fibe Plus (June 30,2011)

Headed over to Real Canadian Superstore (RCSS)

• Picked up 9 loaves of bread (4) Wonder bread + invisibles (5) Wonder bread + simply free $1.98 - .75 coupons (9) total before coupons = $17.82 after coupons = $11.07
• Parkay marg. 1.28kg 2.99
• Colgate toothpaste .84 - 50% off = .42
• picked up coupons for Nexxus shampoo and conditioner $3 off no size limit (travel size out of stock, going back tomorrow)

Headed over to Sobeys

• picked up $5 off Natural defence dog food (3kg-6.8kg) (Oct. 31,2011)
• picked up $3 off Pedigree dog food no size limit (Oct. 31,2011)

All in all not a bad day found a few coupons and saved some money.

Smart Canucks

Be sure to save this site in your favorites! Most coupons in one convenient place!
http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/134340-official-canadian-printable-coupons-canada/

Look around the site too losts to offer.

Smart Source/ Red Plum insert schedule

One other way to collect coupons, as mentioned previously is to watch for coupon inserts in your weekly flyers or local newspapers. For your enjoyment I have searched out the current 2011 schedule for Smart Source and Red Plum Coupon Inserts. Mark these dates on your calendar as a reminder as to when to look for these coupons.
Smart Source
Jan.8th and Jan. 29th
Feb. 12th
March 5th
April 16th
May 14th
June 11th
July 9th
Aug. 6th
Aug. 27th
Sept. 24th
Oct. 15th
Nov. 5th
Dec. 3rd
Red Plum
Jan.15th
Feb. 5th
March 12th
April 19th
May 7th
June 4th
July 2nd
Aug. 13th
Sept. 10th
Oct.1st
Oct. 29th
Nov. 26th

Coupon Abbreviations, Acronyms, Do’s & Don’ts

I thought I would go through some terms and short forms that are commonly used when referring to coupons.
BOGO=Buy One Get One ….
B1G1FREE= Buy One Get One Free
WUB2= When You Buy Two
FPC= Free Product Coupon
CNP=Coupon Near Product
CRT=Coupon on Register/Receipt Tape
FAR=Free After Rebate
MIR=Mail IN Rebate
PM=Price Match
TEAR PAD=A Pad of Coupons or MIR near a product display
PEELIE=Coupon you Peel off a Product/Package
WYB=When you Buy
AC=After Coupon (the price after you use a coupon)
AR=After Rebate (final price after you get your rebate)
IP=Internet Printable Coupon
NED=No Expiry Date
RC=Rain Check
SCOP=Scanning Code of Practice
SMP=Specially Market Packages
HV= High Value (coupons)
SPC=Student Price Card
TMF=Try Me Free
These are all I can think of right now, but please if anyone out there has any more leave them in the comment section and share them with every one else. )
I also thought I would add to this post some of my thoughts of what I personally consider as some do’s and don’t in the Canadian coupon world.
When you see a tear pad of coupons displayed near a product on a store shelf, do not take the whole darn pad of coupons. Take as many coupons as you think you will legitimately use. You can take a few to save for upcoming sales or if you are an avid trader our coupon train rider. Please do not take coupons for the simple sake of taking them. If you are never going to use them than please leave them for people who will.
If you have extra coupons while shopping and you see someone struggling or discussing the prices of one item vs. another and you just so happen to have an extra coupon for one of those item, than why not offer it to them. I know it can be a little awkward offering someone a coupon but only one of two things will happen. Either they will say “no thank-you” or a huge “thanks, that is so nice of you”. If you have never done this before it gives you are really good feeling inside knowing you are helping someone else.
Another random act of kindness you can do with coupons is if you have a couple coupons that are about to expire you can always leave them on the store shelf right beside or even on top of the item. The next person that comes along to purchase that item gets a little treat of finding a cent off coupon right there in front of them. I have done this and have found them too. It always make me smile. I will however caution you that if you go around Shopper’s Drug Mart or somewhere else littering their entire store with your coupons they may ask you to stop.
Always be informed. Before you try to use printable coupons for example make sure that particular store accepts them. It is not proper etiquette to wait in line with your groceries just to discover they wont’ accept your coupons. This can cause you to become frustrated as well as the cashier. Don’t do this.
If a coupon specifically says one per purchase per transaction. Than politely ask them if they could ring in your items separately. Most cashiers will oblige you, however some will protest. I simply explain that I will be using all these coupons one way or the other and I really don’t want to come back into their store every single day this week and repeat the process. They usually get it and either ring them all in at once or do multiply transactions.
Do not stand at the check out and start sorting through your coupons looking for them. Have all your coupons out and ready before you head to the checkout. I personally tell the cashier before we even start that I will be using coupons. All of the items I intend to use coupons on I leave to be the last to be rung in. This is especially usefully when you are using self check outs. That way you just hit the coupon button, give the clerk your coupons and she can easily see all the coupon related items in one bunch at the bottom of her screen. This really makes it much easier when using FPC.
My final thoughts for today’s post is please just be polite when shopping with coupons. If a cashier questions a coupon you are trying to use, it is usually because they don’t truly understand it. Sometimes just pointing out the fine print or specifications laid out on the coupon will clear things up. When you run into a problem just ask to speak to a supervisor or manager. Sometimes they will simply ask me, “where did you get this?”. Many times when I tell them rouge magazine or from smart source or red plum than they stop questioning me and just put it through. I think when they see anything a little different they are instructed to question it in more detail. If there is anyone out there that works in a grocery/department store maybe they can shed some more light on this subject by leaving a comment.
In general if you look like you know what you are doing than the whole process goes a lot smoother. Remember if you have mitt full of coupons to cash in, you might not want to pick the busiest day and time of the week to shop. No one likes to be caught behind the crazy coupon lady when they are in a hurry. (Self-check out is where I like to go)

My favorite coupon websites

So today I thought I would keep it really simple and just share with everyone some of my favourite Canadian websites I use to find great coupon.
The first place I always go to is www.save.ca At this site you simply register and log in to view all the money saving coupons. One thing that I will mention that you might not know is that there are different save.ca links. I have tried to compile as many of these links together in one major forum post here on Canadian Free Stuff. You can access the list by placing your mouse over the “coupon” tab at the top of the forum page until the drop down menu appears and click on the save.ca coupon list. I try to keep this list current and active but I must apologise if there is links that are not active. (I will update it as soon as I possibly can) Putting it on my next to do list. The main site is constantly changing so I suggest adding this one to your favourites list and checking it weekly if not daily. They sometimes offer Free Product Coupons and they don’t last very long. (sometimes only 1 or 2 days)
The next place to check out is www.brandsaver.ca This site is one that offers fantastic money saving coupons for P & G brand products. With both save.ca and brandsaver you request the coupons and they are mailed directly to you in the mail. It is absolutely free and usually only take a few days to arrive. Once you request coupons there is a time limit before you can request that same coupon again. Brandsaver currently has over $130.00 in money saving coupons up for grabs. I suggest signing up for their newsletter alert, that way you will know when new coupons are available.
Another great site is www.websaver.ca You can browse through 60 Canadian coupons and over $60.00 in savings. The bonus to using websaver coupons is; “webSaver.ca donates 5¢ from every coupon you redeem to charity” You save money and help others at the same time. There is coupons for pet food, personal care, house and home, beauty, grocery items and more. These coupons are also mailed directly to you free of charge. Just register, log in, select which ones you want and submit your request.
The next one on my list is www.gocoupons.ca This is a smaller site but they still offer great coupons. There is currently about 10 coupons offered on this site. The nice thing about coupons from go coupons is that the expiry dates are quite long. There also doesn’t appear to be a limit to how many coupons you can order. I always make sure and have the Royale Bathroom Tissue one on hand. It is a great one especially when you hit a big sale.
Another favourite is www.lifemadedelicious.ca . Again register and log in to take advantage of their “offers and perks” section. I also suggest liking this one on face book so you can easily see when new offers and coupons are available. This is a site created by General Mills so that is the products you will find here. They have teamed up with save.ca and most if not all coupons are save.ca ones. Sometimes they are exclusive to life made delicious members only and you cannot even see them on the main save.ca site.
One more to add to your list is www.rightathome.ca . This is a SC Johnston website and in fact you can access it through www.scjohnson.ca as well. You must once again sign in to view their coupon section. There is currently $15.00 in saving to be had at this site. Once you select your coupons, you can than print them out. A word of caution here though. Make sure and change your printer preferences. If you don’t sometimes these coupons print out huge and take up the whole page. You will lose the money you save by using coupons on buying extra printer ink. Lol
Another resource for finding coupons is www.flyerland.ca With this one you might find that there is some over-lapping with save.ca coupons but often you will find new ones you have not discovered yet. Just put in your postal code or chose your city to see what is available in your area.
One more is www.couponclick.ca .Here you can print out coupons for different product and some services as well. Not all products are familiar to me on this site but there are some useful ones like the Nivea one. When I first encountered this website I had a bit of a problem printing out their coupons, but I just contacted them and they were able to walk me through the process very easily. To be honest I can’t even remember the particular issue or else I would share it with you all.
I almost forgot another one of my favourites. Check out www.livingwell.ca This is a great place to get Canadian printable coupons. They offer lots of health care items and at least once a month offer free trial offers. Sign up again to get their newsletter so you will know the date and time when giveaways are being offered. (They go really fast) For the coupons just log in and select your province to print your coupons. These print out at a fairly regular size but remember to check with your local store before trying to use printable coupons. Not all stores accept them.
If you have a Costco Card than you have to check out www.getmoreofwhatyoulove.ca These are the coupons that are available for Costco members and are usually handed out at the front door entrance to Costco.
Another one is www.looniecoupons.ca At this website they offer some provincial coupons. They are mostly restaurants and services divided up by province and even city. If you eat out a lot than you should have a look if any of your local eateries offer coupons here.
If you live in Ontario like me than another one I can suggest is www.attractionsontario.ca Here you will find coupons for different parks, museums, zoos and other attractions. I am sure that other provinces must have a similar website where they can go to find coupons like this too.
The rest of the places I go to find Canadian coupons on line are particular product company sites. Check out sites like Kellogg’s, Kashi, L’Oreal, Covergirl, Catelli, McCain, Payless shoes, Michael’s craft store, Magic cuts, So Good, TRESemme, Cetaphil, Cold-Fx and any other product or business you can think of. I have found lately that I am finding more coupon alerts by “liking” companies on face book. Check out restaurants and sign up for their newsletters. I always get printable coupons for free appetizers and special treats on my birthday and anniversary. I even registered at a very high end dining establishment and received a $25.00 off gift certificate to spend when I visited them to celebrate my anniversary with a nice dinner.
I hope this post can help get some of you started on your way to saving more money by using Canadian Coupons this year. I also invite any seasoned couponers out there to share any other websites they can think of to add to this list. After all the goal here is to help each other save even more.
I look forward to your comments and thanks for taking the time to visit.

Tips and Tricks to couponing

If you are really going to come out ahead by couponing you have to know your pricing. I know this sounds a little obvious, but I quickly found out that I really didn’t know pricing as much as I thought I did. There is nothing more frustrating than standing at a store shelf wondering if the store sale is really a good deal.
I suggest creating a price book. This is really easy to do. Just get a small notebook or notepad and start writing down common items you by all the time. Beside each item write down the best price you have seen on that item. When you see that particular item again, check your price book to see if that item is a good deal or not. You will eventually get a good feel for what price certain items should be. For example I know without hesitation that $4.99 or less on Royale Bathroom Tissue (12 rolls or more) is a good deal especially since I always have a $1.00 off coupon to use. I know that Nature Valley Bars regularly go on sale for $1.99 or less so I will never pay any more than that. Get to know if it is truly a sale or just an advertised price. There is a difference, look and learn what it would be at regular price.
Once you start using a price book it will also be easier for you to figure out unit pricing. What I mean by this is you can more quickly see if buying the larger super size item is a better deal or not. Sometimes bigger is not always better. If it is double the size but also more than double the price, it is not really a deal. Carry a calculator or use your cell phone for easy calculations. Example Sobeys has Kraft Dinner on sale 2/$1.00 my price book tells me it is regularly .98¢ (so this is a good deal) Wal-Mart has a 12 pack case of Kraft Dinner for $7.97. When you do the math Wal-Mart is charging .66¢ per unit compared to Sobeys that is .50¢ (Wal-Mart is more expensive but still a good deal)
Another trick to remember is what I like call the “double whammy”. Look for great sale prices by looking through and reading your weekly flyers. If you don’t get them delivered to your door you can read most of them on-line at flyerland.ca. Combine the sale price with using Canadian coupons and turn it into a super deal. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot do this. I have never been denied using coupons on sale items. Some people think because most coupons state that they cannot be combined with any other offer that this refers to having the item on sale. What it actually means is that you cannot use another coupon on it at the same time. Also please remember that sometimes buying more than one item and using a “buy 2 and save” coupon is often a better deal than just buying one item and using the single purchase coupon.
When collecting coupons from store shelves don’t just take one. If it is an item you buy all the time and the coupon doesn’t expire for a while than take three or even more. However taking a whole pad of coupons is not acceptable-it is just wrong. Don’t take more than what you plan to use yourself or in trade and trains. (we will talk more about them in a future post). When using manufacture or store coupons don’t pay attention to the picture. It is what the coupon actually says that is important. If the coupon shows Olay Ribbons in the picture, read the coupon it might say save on any Olay product or it might list 3 or 4 different items that the coupon can be used on. Remember sometimes there is just not enough room to print more than one picture on a coupon. If a coupon says “save on any size” than remember that includes travel sizes too. Lots of these items are very low priced, so if you use your coupon they will probably be free. If they cashier questions you about this just simply point out that the coupon clearly states “any size”. I will however mention that companies sometimes specify not to be used on travel sizes (I think they caught onto us on this one) lol.
Another hint, not really a trick is to never run out of the basics. Don’t wait until you really need something and then be forced to pay a ridiculous price for it. For items that don’t quickly expire, buy them when they are on sale and use your coupons. I do this with items such as dish soap, laundry soap, shampoo, tampons etc. Also remember when a store puts a limit on the quantity you can buy, just simply pack up the kids or take a couple of friends with you. Had out the cash, distribute the coupons and point them in the direction of the sale. Divide and concur.
Oh just thought of another “trick of the trade” I can’t believe I almost forgot this one. If an item is on sale and you didn’t get there on time and the product is already sold out don’t worry simply head on over to the customer service desk with your flyer and ask them for a rain-check. A rain-check will allow you to get the sale price when they re-stock that item. Remember some stores put a 30 day expiry date on their rain-checks and others don’t. If they still don’t have the item in stock at the end of the 30 days just ask them to extend it or issue you a new one.
An easy trick is to get stores to price match. Price matching is when a store will match or beat a competitors price. I order to do this you will need to first know which stores in your area price match and once you do, just take your weekly flyers with you to the store. Show the cashier the flyer and ask them politely to price match that particular item. This way you are not running around town from store to store and wasting all your coupon saving money on gas for your car. Stores that price match in my area are Wal-Mart, Zellers, Canadian Tire, Future Shop, Toys R Us, Sears, Real Canadian Super Store. I have also read that London Drugs and Save on Foods will do the same.
Speaking of London Drugs you can really get some saving there. Unfortunately we don’t have one in my province. At London Drugs you can stack coupons. This means that if you have more than one coupon for the same item but they must be different coupons with different bar codes so you can use them all at once. I am so jealous of people who can shop at London Drugs. If there was one here or another company that allowed stacking they would for sure get my business.
This leads into my next point I wanted to make. Get to know your stores coupon policy. Just about every store has a set of rules when it comes to couponing. The problem is most cashiers are never trained to learn this. It is up to you to know your stores policy and I have even witnessed people going on line and printing it out before they head off to the store. I you are a serious couponer you will have a copy of each stores policy in the back of your binder. I must admit I have not done this, but I do know my local store policies just from couponing for so long. Perhaps I can create an online list of some sort of store policies for everyone once this is complete.
Another great tip is to take advantage of mail- in- rebates. These also can be found on store shelves, on packaging and on-line. Simply by that specific item, retain your receipt and circle that item on your receipt. Fill out the mail in rebate offer and enclose it with your receipt in an envelope and mail it off. I love getting the cheques in the mail. It really feels like found money. You pay for the product and usually get the full price back, so you really are getting the item for the price of the stamp. I just received a nice rebate cheque for my laptop yesterday. $75.00 back in the bank!
Take advantage of rewards and point systems. Remember there are Air Miles, HBC points, Shopper’s Optimum, Aero plan Miles, Club Sobeys, etc. Also lots of products offer a points or rewards. Check out Lean Cuisine and Lunch-mates for example.
Oh I just thought of a really good one to add to these. Learn your stores “Scanning Code of Practice” What this means is that with some stores depending on their policy, when you or they scan a product at the checkout and that item comes up at higher price than listed in the store or advertised in their flyer you are eligible for a discount. Some stores policy states that if the item scans wrong you will get that item completely FREE! Sometimes if the item is a higher priced one they will give you $10.00 off instead. They won’t catch this error, nor will they tell about their rules in regards to this. It is up to you to know your prices and watch as the items are being scanned. I recently was shopping at Fortinos and saw that Maple Leaf Prime Chicken Tenderloins were on sale for $6.99 and I had a $2.00 off coupon. This was enough for me to take advantage of the sale and finally give them a try. When I went to the self-checkout and scanned them they rang up at $8.99 (the regular price) I immediately told my hubby to stop scanning and called the cashier over and explained that they scanned through at the wrong price. I hinted that they should be FREE for not scanning properly. She called for a price check and motioned for her supervisor to come over. They gave me the chicken completely free and I retained my coupon. I sent my son to retrieve another box knowing that they would not allow this again (it only applies to the first item when buying multiples) and used my coupon to still get a second box for just $4.99. I scored two boxes that would normally be $17.98 at regular price for just $4.99. I love it when that happens.
So to wrap things up remember don’t use coupons until the item is on sale, get rain-checks for items not in stock, don’t wait until you run out of something to buy it, collect rewards and point, learn your unit pricing and remember buying in bulk is not always the better deal. Read your coupons, look at expiry dates, and most important take your coupons with you everywhere. You never know when you are going to find a great sale.
I hope I have been able to help others with these little ticks of the trade I have learned over the years.

Where to find coupons

Hopefully you have decided to join the Canadian coupon craze and start cashing in on the great savings.
So one way to find Canadian coupons is just to simply look around. Look in your local paper, magazines, in department and grocery stores and on product packaging. Another great way to find coupons that you will actually use is to talk to people.
Tell family and friends as well as co-workers that you would love to save more money by using coupons. When I started out there seems to be some sort of stigma attached to using coupons.
In the U.S.A. almost everyone uses coupons. In fact if you didn’t, some people will actually ask you why not? Here in Canada we look at it a little differently. Some people think “only poor people use coupons”. I have a totally different view. “Only uninformed people don’t use coupons” People that have no idea how much you can actually save. Even if you are not financially strapped why wouldn’t you take advantage of coupons to save money or experience new and exciting products that you might not otherwise be able to try. Besides, the money you save can than be used to treat yourself to something nice.
Whether Canadian couponing interests you because you are trying to support your family on a limited budget or you just want to stash away a little extra to treat yourself at a later date, “talk about it”. You just might find that you have an acquaintance that is a “secret” coupon user. Once they know you are interested, they might just tell you their tips or even share or trade coupons with you.
So let’s get to it. The majority of the Canadian coupons I find are first discovered on the internet. As previously mentioned start searching the web for products you use all the time.
Sign up to all the company websites that interest you. BUT make sure you are looking and signing up to the CANADIAN sites. If you are searching Covergirl make sure it is Covergirl.ca not Covergirl.com. Some sites are hard to tell whether they are Canadian or USA. I usually scroll down to the bottom of the page and look at the info in fine print at the bottom. If it is a USA city/state chances are you are on a USA site. Sometimes there is an option at the top of the page to change the country. This will redirect you straight to the Canadian site. You will find examples of this on the Tide website and the Greenworks website.
So now you have found some Canadian friendly sites. The next step is to sign up for their newsletter. Some have different issues of newsletter. Always check off any boxes that say promotions, samples and coupons. However be careful, if you also sign up for “select screened affiliates” you might end up with 10 newsletter instead of just the one that interests you. Once you get their newsletter, look at it! Sometimes coupon offers are at the bottom or on the sidebar. Sometimes they just mention it and you will have to visit the website and sign in to actually view it. This is the way it is on the lifemadedelicious.ca website. After you request coupons it may ask you if you want to be contacted for future promotions. Say “yes”. Also sign up for face book and twitter. “Like” company’s face book pages and then when they are running a coupon or sample promotion they will post it on their wall and you will automatically see it in your face book feed.
Some companies even host twitter parties where you can join in on the conversation and answer time-limited questions to win prizes and coupons. There is a Dove Chocolate one on right now as I write this. Tweet your New Years resolution and you might win a coupon. (Not 100% sure if Canada and USA though).
One more great way to receive high value Canadian coupons is to do surveys. Surveys can be a great way for companies to offer you coupons. For example always do the shopper’s voice survey. If you are not familiar with this one, you might have seen it in your mailbox before. It usually comes in a larger yellow envelope and is not address to you personally. I discovered that you can do this survey on-line. However, I will caution you this is a very long survey and you must set aside some time to do it. Grab a comfy seat and a nice cup of tea or java, (you will need it to say wake). This survey is well worth the effort. At the end of the survey it will ask you if you want to trade in your penny that they give you for doing the survey and use it to be eligible for samples and coupon offers? Say “yes”. In 3 to 4 months down the road you will receive a nice plump envelope chucked full of high value coupons. FPC (free product coupons) $1.00, $2.00, $3.00 off , buy one get one FREE coupons as well as some free samples.
You can also e-mail companies directly. Yes that is right. Just find a product that you love or even a product that you were disappointed in. Let these companies know what you think. Good or bad. Most reputable companies appreciate the feedback and some, but not all will reward your efforts with a coupon. There is no harm in even asking for one. When I was just learning the ropes, I had trouble printing out a coupon from the General Mills website. My printer just wouldn’t co-operate. I clicked on the “contact-us” tab on their website and shot them off an e-mail. I tried to sound very business like and explained the issue I had on their site while trying to print out a coupon. They quickly e-mailed me back and told me not to worry, they had just mailed me out some coupons from their head office instead. The coupons I received were little cheques made out in my name. There were five of them, each for $1.00 off any product the make. (very cool) I was thrilled and became an instant fan. If you are not happy with a product or it doesn’t perform, tell them. Ask if they would consider giving you a coupon to allow you to give them another try. I have only done this twice and it was because I had true, legitimate complaints about their quality control. I must say though that I would much rather give praise where it is due instead.
One last way for today to find coupons in Canada is to search for them using keywords. It doesn’t matter which search engine you use. Try google and then try yahoo and see if you get different results. Do this when you have extra time and want a change of pace. Try searching- manufacturer coupons, brand name coupons, new Canadian coupons, grocery coupons, buy one get one free offers. Use your imagination and different combinations of words depending on your results. Re-define your results for Canada pages only. This takes some time but you can usually find some this way. However the easiest way to start finding coupons is join Canadian Free Stuff and just simply click on the coupon tab at the top of the page and go wild. Also be sure to check out facebook http://www.facebook.com/CANQP
Until next time, Happy Shopping Everyone