Free stuff is good.....

I am working towards a "Free" Christmas this year.  Last year with using coupons and gift cards from grocery shopping rewards, in addition to watching sales fliers and NOT going overboard.  We managed to make it a debt free Christmas.  There was little stress in January when those credit card bills came - it was awesome.  So this year I am working towards a "free" Christmas - for the people who live under my roof. In all reality, it will likely be an almost free Christmas, BUT true FREE is the goal

How do I plan on doing that? ?

Hand made gifts with supplies I have on hand (oh how I have supplies on hand)

Right now, I have over 100.00 in Gift cards that I am saving.

I have enough airmiles for a night at the movie for our family of 5.

And then there are SWAGBUCKS.  I have Starbucks cards ready for gift giving, and over 3000 points waiting for redemption.  Likely at Amazon so many deals to be found there.  Swagbucks is a search engine just like google that awards you "bucks" for browsing.  SWAGBUCKS can then be redeemed for all sorts of great products and services, from books to music and electronics.  ALL FREE! (well you may have to pay shipping) .
Swagbucks are/ is awesome.  If you have yet to discover Swagbucks follow the link, sign up and add the swagbucks tool bar to your Internet browser page.   Use your SWAG search in place of google.  Accumulation at the beginning can be slow, but as you refer your friends and they begin to search you will see the points accumulate faster.  Join me on the SWAGBUCKS wagon and you too may be closer to a free Christmas, or free stocking stuffers to kick it off. 

All in frugal day's work

For years I have wanted to expand and re-design our out door living space.  There have been a few "obstacles" first we live in a co-op where rules need to be followed, second money has been tight. 

Rule #1 is easy to work around if you do not alter anything in such a way it can not be returned to it's original state.  OR your changes add in a positive way.  That along with approval of the appropriate people and you are good to go.  So this summer operation  re-design is under way. 

Here is the first instalment of what we Will be doing.

Operation "Bottom bunk conversion".  The bunk beds have been separated in our house since the girls got their own rooms and we know that they will never again be "stacked".  Shanna received a new bed - a more updated style, so this bottom bunk was not being used. For a while we thought that we would be giving them to friends for their younger girls but they found an alternative that works better for them.  So what to do with 1/2  a bunk bed - the top is still in use. 

Cost = Time & a little bit of electricity.

I used materials and tools we had here on hand. 

With the exception of going to my Father in Laws house and using his table saw (so much faster than the hack saw!) - We combined this with our Easter dinner, so no extra gas was harmed in the execution of this project.

Here is what happened... I will let the photos speak for themselves.

 

Now all I need is dirt, a SUNNY day and a firm decision on what I am going to put in this.

How well do you know your stores?

What about their points cards and reward programs? 

How many stores do you have represented in your purse? 
How many do you actually use to your advantage? 
Do you make a conscious decision to shop where you get points or shopping rewards? 

Until a few months ago, the only card,  I really paid attention to was my Airmiles - it meant free movies for us, that was about all. That is changing BIG Time. . .

In my wallet I have:

Airmiles (used mostly at Safeway, Boston Pizza and for gas at Shell)
Safeway club card
Save-on-More card
M & M Meats Max (used occasionally, mostly special occasions for Butter Cream Brownies -OH MY so good but oh so not good for the waist line)
Shoppers Optimum  (until recently only regularly shopped there for prescriptions - that is changing)
Petro Points (Petro Canada Gas)
Scene it (movies)
Starbucks (if you register your card, you get a free drink on your birthday, along with other perks)

There are so many of them out there I doubt that any one person could have them all, but then again maybe some do, I am not one of them. 

Today I want to focus on the Shoppers Optimum card -. This is a card I have carried and used here and there for years but certainly not to it's full potential.

Shoppers Drug Mart is where we have the bulk of our prescriptions filled. It was close to the girls pediatrician when they were young, it is on the way to many of our 'regular' activities and Royd's work.  Very convenient. Yup, I had a card, I knew it gave you points, I think I used them once, I never really thougth much about it, if I had my card, great! If not.. oh well.  It took me  a LONG time to amass the 8000 points it took to get the $10. savings.  
That was until recently, when a friend was talking about all the free stuff she was getting from Shoppers... (thanks Colleen) and told me to take a deeper look at how their points work.  I went from just about 6,000 points to over 12,000 in a months time.  It took me years to get the first 6 000.  

As a starting point you receive 10 points for every dollar spent, &  you have to have 8000 points before you can cash in and get your $10.00 savings.  You can see how it would take a while to add up.

I have discovered that all it takes is a little planning, watching their sales fliers, and logging into their optimum offers  web page, to see the points begin to pile up.  There are often 20X points events, and weekly there are bonus offers when you buy certain products.  You just have to keep your eyes open.  A few months back I literally had no clue, now I am cluing in.

There are a few no brainers....
I go through 2 - 4l jugs of milk a week  at 4.99 x2 that is 100 points a week, (5200 points per year)
eggs at 2.29 per dozen = 230 points every two weeks or so.   (5980 points per year)
Shoppers is located next to both of our "quick go get milk" grocery stores so it is not out of the way.  Just a conscious choice.

There is a points bonus on now when you spend $75 on almost anything in the store you receive 18, 500 points (that is approx $20) I have a birthday gift to buy this week, I will be taking advantage of this bonus.

Milk is 4.29 (this week, milk prices seem to fluctuate almost as much as gas recently),

Here is one scenario:
Enter store and purchase
1 10.00 gift card receive  100 points
1 50.00 gift card receive  500 points
1 25.00 gift card receive  250 points
      For a total of             850 points. 

This is before I actually start to shop - I have already earned 850 points.  This is money that I KNOW I was going to be spending today.  I will then use the gift cards to cover the purchases for the bonus points as well.

I will use the $10 card to purchase a tooth brush, milk and one U by kotex product
3.99 toothbrush = 39 points plus coupon for 3000 bonus then I have a 1.00 off coupon as well. 2.99 cost.
4.29 milk = 42 points
4.99 U product = 49 points plus a bonus of 1200 per product  (1.50 coupon) 3.49 cost
11.47 +tax   total points 4330

I am planning on purchasing a birthday gift that is just over the $75.00 mark.  So that will be a BONUS of 18,500 points.  on top of the regular 750.  For  a total of  19520

for a whopping grand total of 24,700points in one day! 

Now I just have to show a little self restraint and wait for the double points redemption day! 

I am not going to lie

These are my favourite kind of coupons to get. (valid to June 20, 2011) And use, I will not buy feminine hygiene products (a.k.a. girlie goodies in our house) with out a coupon - and it is one item I will always have stockpiled.  It is also a product that is easily "planned ahead for"  if you have pre-teen girls in your house, get a jump start on a stock pile.  You will be glad you did.


Image source:  Ubykotex.com

 Free samples are even better.  The sample pack is just perfect for the glove compartment in the car.   It certainly does not hurt to have a back up plan. ( Just for the record, this is one sample I do not send to my husband at work)

With 4 females in the house, there is no surprise there.  Saving even a small amount per box adds up.   I am thankful for the ability to stack at London Drugs (and now hopefully Save on Foods- I just have not tried it there yet!).  That pretty much translates FREE or next to free girlie goodies for this house. 

Potential savings per year: 
1.50 per box - if we go through 4 boxes per month (assorted varieties)  4 x 1.50 = 6 x 12 = 72.00.

Mail fun....

This is just a photo sampling of what came in the mail this week.

The Swedish Fish were a Facebook "Like" offer -Maynards Canada' page where I had to play a little game. You will have to have a Facebook account to play/ like the page. Value 1.99 plus the 1.00 off coupon.  I have received free cereal, hair dye, shampoo, frozen meals & lots of coupons through Facebook offers. 

The Gillette from P&G Brandsaver.  Sample packs are offered 2 or 3 times a year.  Value over $10.00

 

The mega stack of coupons - Well over $250 value was "payment" for filling out the randomly delivered Shoppers Voice .  These come in the mail.  It takes about 20 min to fill out, postage is covered for the return , I do it while Royd is driving or while waiting at doctors appointments or for the girls to come out of school.  The coupons received are geared to the way I answered my survey, so they are products that I would use OR they think I might like to try based on my answers. 

*Note:  I just noticed that there is also an online version of the Shoppers Voice survey.   If you like getting coupons, and do not mind filling out surveys, this might be right up your alley.  Good luck.

The other thing that came in the mail this week was the 2011 Canadian Census - we got "randomly selected" to do the LONG form this year.  35 min later - people will know who we are, what we did, ya da, ya da, ya da.. in  92 years.  Being a bit of a hobby genealogist this is sort of cool to think about. 

Where do you find your coupons?????

Is probably the question I get asked most often when discussing couponing. 

The second FAQ is do you think it is REALLY worth it.. I mean, .50 here and there does it really make a difference.  The answer to the second question is a resounding YES!  My year to date savings is up over 700.00 in coupon savings only.  Add to that $75.00 in gift cards received simply for shopping, points collected on a variety of cards, it is certainly worth it to us.  So back to the first question... where do I get my coupons. 

Many of you know of sites like Smart Canucks, an all inclusive informative resource site that is worth checking you.  Websaver, save.ca and Proctor and gamble are all personal favorites that will mail you coupons on request.   However the grocery store is the one place that I am always keeping my eyes open because you just never know where you will find a great coupon that can actually make you some money.

 

I saw this my last trip to the store.  Do I need Iced tea right now... no, BUT it is something that we will go through by the gallons when the weather turns, AND I had a $1.00 coupon that will expire at the end of May.
So despite the fact that it was not on sale (5.97), because it had $10.00 in coupons on it for frozen pizza I decided to pick it up during this trip. 
1) frozen pizza is something I like to have on hand in the freezer at all times.
2) I have learned that products with coupons such as these are a buy now or never see again (sort of like shopping at Winners or the thrift stores)
$5.97 less the $1.00 coupon = $4.97  Is not a bad price.



When I use all the coupons (which is a pretty sure bet in this house as this is one of the favourite pizza brands) I will have made $5.03 AND the Ice tea will have been free.   For me and my family this was a $5.00 no brainer (I actually bought 2 because I had 2 $1.00 off coupons).  Make sure you keep your eyes open when you are shopping, coupons are lurking in all sorts of places besides the obvious tear pads that often line the shelves. 

Remember however it is only a true deal if the product purchased and the products featured on the product ARE products your family will use.

Happy Hunting!

Cereal obsession part 3 = FREE

Free cereal coupon follow link below to have your free cereal coupon mailed to you.  Please note that it is valid for one day only  June 21st, 2011 - So mark your calendar so you will not forget. 
If you do not have a websaver account you will need to take a minute to sign up - the minute will be worth it once you see all the coupon potential at this site.

https://www.websaver.ca/en_ca/portal/cheerios/?source=gm_email&RNLUserUID=D323924D-A192-4980-A786-AC58A3EC2A52

Cereal obsession part 2

Coupons redeemed....

4l Ice cream on sale for $4.99 (regular $6.49)  FREE with coupons from cereal bought last month (total savings $12.98)

4 boxes Eggo waffles (regular $2.49) FREE with coupons from cereal bought last month (savings $9.96)

Grand total $22.94

Nightmares of a coupon disaster....

 Seriously could it get any worse? 

This is what happened, Saturday morning, just before I was heading out to meet up with some Smart Canucks to do some  trading... I walked by my open binder too quickly, and well, the photo pretty much tells the story.  100's of coupons on the floor.. they were organized, ready to trade and go shopping. UGH welcome to my nightmare!  I had to get them picked up and organized before I went - sigh, this could take hours.  I did not have hours so I devised a quick plan to make due until I had the time to get it all together properly.  It looked like this... 

     

To add insult to injury, sorry no camera for this one, when I was shopping, I dropped all my coupons there too. The ones I was planning on using, the ones I had filed just tin case I found a rocking deal, the ones I chose to pass on 'till next time. Crazy pile of mixed up coupons splayed on the floor yet again.  What a day! I am sure you can use your imagination.....slightly smaller explosion than the display above, but a mess just the same.  At home there was only my family to laugh and roll their eyes, at the store, people were stepping over me, giving me dirty looks, laughing (oh wait that was my daughter) and with the air current in the store they travelled a whole lot further than they did at home.  There I was in the middle of RCSS picking up & re-organizing... Ohi,  glad there were no hidden cameras! It was not my day. 

I think I need a better system.  I am going to have to put on the creative thinking cap on for this one. At least I do not think I lost any under the freezers or produce displays - That might have actually made me cry.

I did manage to pull it together and have a great shopping experience, got some great deals and had 0 hastles at the check out. Thanks to the amazing Carly, my cashier at RCSS -Westwood a painless and actually FUN time checking out.  Looking forward to the 90.00 in gift cards that will be coming our family's way.  Do not freak on me, I will be having the MIR's sent to 3 different addresses, home, mom & mil's (neither of who coupon or care to do the MIR's and are happy to help) so it's all good.  Life is good... Shhh do not tell, but I am saving the gift cards I am collecting to buy (get for free) an new TV for my hubby for Christmas... Should be no problem with deals like this.  ($50.00 already in hand, $90.00 on the way)  Working towards a "FREE" Christmas!

Sunshine and freebies in Burnaby

For 40 years the Burnaby Village Museum has been a 'go to' location for school field trips and event celebrations like Canada Day and Christmas.  It is also a great venue to have wedding photos taken, the quaint little church and gazebo have been local favorites for years.  This year being their 40th anniversary they have announced that admission to the park will be FREE.  The park is a great step back in time, volunteers dress in period costumes, crafts, music presentations and period demonstrations are  offered on site as well.  My personal favourite is the 1912 refurbished CW Parker Carousel - at $2.25 per ride, it is frugal family fun at it's best.   

The carousel is a great "rainy day" activity option as it is entirely indoors.  For me, the carousel brings back memories of Playland (which opens this weekend, but is not so frugal) visits with my Grandma.  Eating whoppers and waving as we swished by waving regally perched on our favourite steed.  Is there anything better than an activity that can transport you back to happy times from childhood?  I think not!

The Museum opens for the season on May 7th, 2011 and runs through September.

As an added feature this year, the Burnaby Village is also the home for the Burnaby Farmers Market. I love the farmers market, local artisans, farmers, fisherman, & ranchers, in one place.  Live music, fresh baking it is never the same 2 weeks in a row.  It is a great venue that brings the community together.   Look for me there every second week, I will be setting up & manning the Kics Lemonade Stand once again.  Please let there be sunshine the only thing that makes the farmers market better is a bright sunny day (or at least a day with out rain....)