Deals of the Week

I apologize for this post being so late in the week.  For the month of June I've made a few personal changes, one being the cash grocery system I discussed in my last post, and another being that I have signed off of Facebook.  Here's a little secret - I'm really enjoying it.  It's true. It's really nice to not be so plugged in.  For the most part, I don't check my computer unless my littlest is napping, or until the evening when both are in bed.  This frees up so much time to just be during the day.  But I'm digressing.  You came here to see some deals right?  Here they are:

This week I went through the SF, SB's, Coop, Wal-mart & Shoppers Flyers.  I wrote down the items that both looked liked deals, as well as were items my family would use.  Then I hit SP on Sunday and figured out which were actually deals.  Here is what I came up with:

SF:

2L Pop - $1 each (the photo showed Sprite & Gingerale I believe.  I think Cola was excluded).
Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade - $1.  Not a deal.  Regularly $0.99 at SP.
Reese Choc Bars - 2/$1
Toilet Duck Toilet Cleaner - $2  (Great deal. This is over $3 at SP).
Sunlight Dish Detergent 625mL to 950mL. Not a deal.  Regularly $1.98 at SP.

Co-op:

Breathe Right Nasal Strips 30's - $14.99.
Finish Dish Soap - $7.99.  Not a deal.
Alymer Tomatoes (are you seeing a theme.  I've been noticing tomatoes are on sale alot right now).  3/$4.98.  At SP for $1.99 for 19 oz.
Astro 650g Smooth & Fruity Yogourt - 4/$5.  I keep wondering if that was a typo in the flyer.  Seriously?  Awesome deal.

SB:

Chipits Choc Chips 1Kg $7.99 - Not a deal.  Same price at SP.
Kleenex 6 pack - $4.99

SP:

Picked up Rice Cakes for $1.27 and Goldfish Crackers (club size like Costco) for $7.99.

I've decided to run our cash 'weeks' the same as the flyers - Friday til Thursday.  I started it this past weekend, and with just a couple days to go, we are doing great.  Looking forward to reporting back to you all with what we were able to get, and how much we saved!

June is upon us tomorrow - have you made your meal plan?  Would love to hear about what is on your list!

Paying with Cash

For the month of June (starting this Monday, May 30th), I am going to be using a cash system to pay for my families groceries.  I've set myself a budget of $125 a week.  I'm excited, and a bit nervous, to see how this will go.  The amount of $400 seemed a bit daunting, so I switched it to the weekly amount mentioned above.

I'll be posting on Mondays (starting June 6th) with updates on what we've been able to purchase, and how we are doing.

For more information on using a cash budget, head here.

Thank you to those who posted comments on my previous post!  I enjoyed reading them.  For the month of June I will not be on Facebook.  Please keep leaving comments as a way to keep communication open about great deals in our city!

Free Candy!

I've never heard of these before, but my family love candy, and it's even better when it's free.  Head to this Websaver link to get some for yourself!

Art of Using Coupons

I've been collecting & using coupons since April, but I'm only just starting to figure out the 'art' of using coupons.  Yes, there is a technique.  A simple one, and I'm going to share it with you.

Only use coupons when the item is also on sale.

I told you - easy right?  Ok, it does sound alot simpler than it is.  But almost two months into it, I'm getting a bit better at it.

First, you need to gather enough coupons of items you'll actually use.  I'm already finding I'm getting caught in the trap of gathering coupons for items my family previously would not have eaten (like Quaker granola bars), but I pick them up because 'heh!  That's a treat!'.  I need to curb this or my children will think grocery shopping and couponing means goodies for them.  All in moderation I suppose.

Once you have your coupons, you need to keep track of their expiry date, and keep on the lookout for the items on sale.  And be careful of where they are on sale.  Items at sale at SB's, SF, or Co-op are not necessarily items that are cheap.  I have encountered quite a few times where sale items are still more expensive than at SP.  For example:

Windex was BOGO last week at SF.  It ended up being the same price as buying them individually on any given day at SP.
Catelli Smart Pasta -on sale at SF this week for 2/$5.  The spaghetti at SP is $1.97 per box.  Still a $1 cheaper when you buy two.
Tostitos - SF likes to feature these for 2/$6.  You can find them at SP whenever you like for $2.97, and sometimes even for $2.47.

The key is being on the lookout.

Here are some great deals I've picked up this week, and used coupons for:

Tide 26 load regular laundry detergent.  At SF for BOGO.  They are regularly $7.99.  I got two for that price, plus had a $5 off coupon. The deteregent only cost me $2.99.

RedHot Hot Sauce - at SF BOGO, priced at $5.59 (per bottle at SP are $4.37).  I got two bottles, plus I had a $1 off coupon.  My total cost for two was $4.59.

Tylenol Extra Strength 100 count - these were on sale at SP, 150 count for $7.79.  I ended up getting a 100 count with a travel 10 count included instead as it featured $5 extra of coupons inside (bonus!).  I had a $2 off coupon, so the Tylenol cost me just over $5 (don't forget I have $5 of savings inside the box as well!).

Off Bug Spray - SP had this on sale for just over $7.  I also had a $2 off coupon and got it for $5.  Sweet!

It's amazing how much you can save when you double up the coupons.

Ok, now onto great deals in the flyers this week (& not so great deals):

SB's - Breyers icecream $2.99, limit of 2.  (I love their commercial that says you know it's a deal when there is a limit) ;)
SB's - NOT a deal.  Groundbeef on for $6.49/kg.  Costco has it for $5.49 a kg on any given day.
SF - Tide laundry detergent & Purex laundry detergent - BOGO.
SF - RedHot Sauce - BOGO
SB's - Kiwis, BOGO
SB's - Corn on the Cob - $1.99 I believe for 6, limit of 12

I know that Fantastik and a couple other cleaners are on sale at SF for BOGO this week but I haven't compared them to regular SP costs.

And lastly, SP has some great coupons available when you come in the store right now.  Lil Ones Yogourt for $.75 cents off, Tampax $1 off, and $1.50 off Finish detergent.

What deals have you found this week?  (and I know you are all out there lurking, please do say hello.  I like comments.  I might assume nobody reads this and I'd stop posting.  Would you really want that?  (Yes, I'm not below threats) ;)

ETA:  Finally got the Co-op flyer to load and there are lots of great deals there this week.  Old Dutch Tortilla Chips 3/$6, Dove Body Wash $2.99, Unico Beans 4/$5, Unico Tomatoes 4/$5, Breyers Icecream $2.99 (not sure if there is a limit).  This was all just at a quick glance.  Co-op is worth checking out this week!

Calgary Deals Blog

I can't recall where I first found out about this gem, but it's great.  Rather than getting an e-mail from Groupon, Dealfind, Living Social & others, you can sign up with 'Calgary Deals Blog' and get a list of all the daily deals in one simple e-mail.  It's awesome.  Give it a try & clean up your inbox!

Need Gas?

Next time you need to fill up on gas, check out this website first!  Maybe you'll find somewhere cheaper to go near to where you are, rather than your regular joint!

I was pretty surprised to see 1.14 at Costco today, but am more surprised to see there are other cheaper options still within our city.  Weren't we just in the mid '20's last week?  Seriously crazy fluctuation.

Deals for the Day!

• Last day.  Wal-mart - Triscuits/Ritz Crackers on for $1.97 a box!
• Last day.  Wal-mart.  28oz cans of Alymer Tomatoes on sale for $1.27
• Check out this list of great coupons to print.
• And this website has a great list (if you scroll through the first page of posts) of coupons.  Tea, Scones, Bread & McDonalds!
• Wonder bread.  Click 'like' on their FB page and enter your personal information.  The more 'likes' they get, the better deals we get!  Go click!

Coming Up!

There are some sweet deals coming up in the flyers this week.  Sobey's is having their BOGO event, and Safeway has a few BOGO items as well!  Check them out online today.  The deals start tomorrow.

One Step Furthur

Here's a personal challenge I'm not yet sure I should post... mostly because I'm not sure I can stick to it.  But here it goes!

Since starting the effort to trim down our grocery budget a month and a half ago, I have cut our monthly food bill by about $300.  Not only have I cut it significantly, I've also created quite a stockpile of items (perhaps I'll post a photo one day).  But I want to trim it even more, because our overall budget still makes me cringe.  When we went down to one income, sadly our bills still stayed the same.  Groceries are one area that I can easily control how much is spent, therefore how much we can save. 

I did some research tonight (Google can be called research right?) and the average 'couple with children' in Canada spends roughly $830 a month on food.  In Alberta, the average spent on food is around $650 (but this lumps together all types of households from one person upwards). 

I do feel content that we are spending the average amount per household, and creating a stockpile, but I also was reading some posts on SmartCanucks, that those crazy shopping savvy women usually spend $400 a month.  That is HALF what the typical household spends.

Now that I've created a stockpile, and know that my family spends about $30 a week in fresh produce, I think that perhaps a budget of $400 on groceries is acheivable.  That still leaves $70 a week to stockpile and deal shop with (given alot of our staples are already stocked up and I would just be replenshing).

It's food for thought (ha!).  But I might make this my personal challenge in June.  And I think in order to stick to it it would need to be a cash system.

Thoughts on this?  Possible?  Impossible?  My family will starve?

Diaper Deal!

When my daughter was born, I used Kirkland (Costco) brand diapers until she was about 18 months.  When she really started moving, I found they didn't fit her as well and switched to Pampers.  With my son, I therefore started right off using Huggies (as I could get them at Costco whereas Pampers you can't).  I also prefer as limited scent as possible to diapers, and find Pampers have a way stronger scent than Huggies.

A box of Huggies diapers on sale at Costco will run you about $38.  A box of size 5 Huggies contains 176 diapers.  As I was doing my shopping at SP on Monday, I noticed their huge display of Pampers and it piqued my curiosity.  I got home and did some math.

The Pampers diapers are on sale at SP, sizes newborn to size 6, for $26.89.  A box of size 5 for comparison purposes, has 136 diapers.

Costco - $0.22 cents per diaper
SP - $0.20 cents per diaper

Now that may seem like a small difference given it's only $0.02. But here is how the big picture works out:

If Costco Huggies diaper were $0.20 cents per diaper, 176 diapers would cost you $34.80.  (Excuse some rounding I didn't post).  You save roughly $4 overall.  I believe the regular price of Costco diapers is $43 a box.  That's almost a savings of $10 if you don't buy them on sale! 

I'm not sure how long the deal is on for at SP, and there is a limit of 4.   The more you buy though, the more you save :)

Counting Pennies

I was a bit slow going through this weeks flyers and figuring out the deals.  I finalized my list this morning, and hit the stores with my son after dropping my daughter at pre-school.  Thank goodness he's too little to protest about going to three seperate stores :|

Here's how I typically shop. I look through all the flyers online (there is a list of where to find them on the right sidebar).  I write down what either we need, or what looks like a great deal.  I then take that list and go to Superstore.  I check all the items from the other stores against Superstore prices.  This will solidify if it's truly a deal, or not.  Once I have all that figured out, what are actual deals I will head to the other stores to get.  Here is what I found this week:

Co-op:

Monster Drinks 4 pack.  These usually retail for $10.99 and are on sale for $6.99.  My hubby drinks one a day so I always look for these on sale.

Tostitos 2/$6 or Ruffles (not sure the pricing).  Normally this wouldn't be a deal, as they are currently $2.47 a bag at SP.  However, when I was there this morning, they had a buy 2 and get a dip for free.  There is salsa which retails for just over $2, or ranch dip for just over $5.  If you like ranch dip, then this is an awesome deal!

Safeway:

Windex is on for BOGO.  However, their BOGO price is the same price you can get them for at SP.  No deal here.

Quaker Oats are on for BOGO.  I thought this would be great, but it is just their Quick Cooking Oats for porridge, not the oats you can use in baking.  Too bad.

Lysol BOGO.  There were none on the shelf so I grabbed a Raincheck.  The bathroom cleaner would work out to about $3 a bottle.  SP has the cleaner (the kitchen one) for $3.97.

Honey Nut Cheerios - 2/$8 with a coupon on each box for $5 icecream.  You make $2!

Counting Pennies:

I found this week, that alot of items on sale at Co-op, SF, or SB's were only a penny more expensive on sale, than SP.   Some examples:

Kids bandaids.  On sale at SF, one penny cheaper at SP regular price.
Astro yogourt. 2/$5 at SB's.  At SP for 2.49 each, limit of 4.
Taco Kit (with a free salsa coupon!) - SB's for 3.49, SP for 3.47 regular price.
Mustard - at SB for 1.99 (400ml) and at SP for 1.98 regular price.
Pull-Ups - on sale at SF for 15.99, at SP for 14.99, limit of 2.

What great deals have you found in the stores this week?  Flyer items good until May 19th.

What to do with ALL that food?

You may have been wondering after this post, how I would possibly use all that produce.  Here's the scoop (and some ideas for yourself if you are now considering getting a box!).

I wasn't too worried about the fruit, as we go through fruit rather quickly in our home.  The struggle was figuring out how to use all the veggies.  Here's where it all went:

Carrots - I ran all the carrots (both bags worth) through the Food Processor, then steam blanched them.  They were then saved in 1C portions and put in our freezer.  I will use these in soups, sauces, stews etc.

Spinach - similarly, I steam blanched the spinach and also froze it in usable portions.  I'll secretly mix this into sauces & lasagnas (small enough so the kids don't know it's there... I like to be sneaky like that).  I will admit I did make a Spinach Frittata one night for dinner.  The kids like eggs so I thought it would fly.  It did not.  Lesson learned.

Lettuce - my Mom loves salad, so I gave her the head of lettuce. 

Zucchini - the zucchini was quickly made into a batch of zucchini bread.  I also added in some dark chocolate chips :)  Half the loaf was frozen, and half is currently in our kitchen.  I had never made zucchini bread before for the kids, but they love it!

Tomatoes - haven't touched these yet, but I will most likely freeze them as well.

Broccoli - one bunch will be used in a stir fry this week, and the other will be frozen.

Onions & Potatoes - stored downstairs in our food storage area.

Green Peppers - I am going to food process these tomorrow and make a spaghetti sauce with them.

Corn - for dinner, tonight!

I also made a batch of muffins this week from Deceptively Delicious, which used up one of the apples and some of the processed carrots.

I love that I have so much produce frozen and ready to use at a moments notice.

 What would you do with all that produce?

Good Food Box

Today was a day I've been looking forward to for awhile - the arrival of my Good Food Box.  When I first started trying to cut back our grocery expenditures, I asked on Facebook ways other families save.  One friend responded she uses a Good Food Box.  What is it you ask?

A Good Food Box is a community run program, where essentially the produce is purchased in bulk, and distributed so the consumers save.  When possible, the produce is directly from farmers or wholesale distributors. 

Not knowing what I was really signing up for, I purchased a family box in April - 30 lbs of produce for $20.

My jaw almost dropped when I picked it up today.

Inside I found:

4 bananas (as I layed the fruit out, the girls decided to eat one of the bananas)

5 apples

2 bunches of broccoli

A bag of potatoes

4 onions

3 tomatoes

5 oranges

2 lemons

2 large bags of baby carrots

2 bunches of spinach

1 head lettuce

2 green peppers

2 zucchinis

1 cantaloupe

2 grapefruits
5 ears of corn

Isn't that INCREDIBLE?  Now, I would only venture to guess that this amount of produce would cost around $50 at a supermarket.  What would your guess be?

Now I am going to figure out how much of it I can freeze so I preserve some of this goodness.  

The next Good Food Box to sign up for is in June, then the program takes a break and starts back up in the fall.

Yeah for fresh food at a great price!

Facebook

My husband and I were away over the weekend and were enjoying a quiet, non interrupted, dinner together at The Keg.  As I was looking through the menu, I commented to him on how popular Facebook is becoming.  I doubt you could find a company now that does not have a Facebook page.  On the bottom of The Keg menu, it had the Facebook icon and directions on how to find their page.

I'm not someone who usually tracks down these companies to 'like' them.  However, you can't pass by opportunities to receive items for Free by simply having to make one click.

The latest is Triscuit.  Head to their Facebook page, click the 'like' button, and fill in your info to get a free box of Triscuits mailed to you, plus a recipe book.

Happy clicking!

Joe Fresh - Superstore

Here's a great link from my girlfriend.  If you buy clothes at Joe Fresh (the Superstore line), click on that link to find great coupons on clothes.  The current one is for a pair of girls socks - BOGO.  Offer is good until May 20th.

McGavin's Bread Basket - Groupon

I'm not much of a Groupon shopper.  I see the e-mails come into my inbox, and sometimes, actually quite a few times, I see a good deal come through, but I have yet to act on one.  Perhaps I should!

A good friend forwarded me the link earlier today for the current Groupon - for $15 worth of baked goods at McGavins Bread Basket, you only pay $7.  That's a savings of 53%!  It also says in the fine print that there are bulk buying options.  Might be a good thing to look into!

Hurry though - you can only purchase this deal for 1 more day!

I added a link on the sidebar for Coupon sites last week, and today added Groupon Calgary to that list.  Hopefully that will make it easier for you all to find great local deals!

Who doesn't like Free?

Want a free pack of chewing gum?  Follow this link to the Stride chewing gum Facebook page.  Click the 'Like' button.  Wait for the video to load, then on the right you will see the Free sign.  Click on that, fill in your info, and wait for your gum to arrive in the snail mail :)   Fine print says there is one free pack per person, and only 10,000 samples available per week, for five weeks, starting May 2nd.  Offer expires June 13th.

Deal too good to share

 But not sharing wouldn't really be fair, so I will.

The new flyers for this upcoming week were posted last night (see the right hand side bar for the links).  There are quite a few BOGO at Safeway, and Sobey's is featuring dollar days.

For myself, there weren't many deals this week that grabbed my attention, other than the BOGO of Raisin Bran at SF.   My daughters birthday was yesterday and she was gifted a Leap Frog Tag reading system.  I hit SF this morning to pick her up some batteries (also BOGO) as well as the Raisin Bran.  As I was venturing down the cereal aisle, I noticed Mini Wheats were also BOGO. 

Cereal is one item which I will no longer buy full price.  There seems to always be a good deal on cereal.  Right now, I have 12 boxes stored downstairs.  The other great thing about cereal, is many times, other coupons will be featured on the boxes.

Now, here's the awesome deal.  If you look, the Mini Wheats boxes feature coupons for Minute Maid frozen juice, Eggo Waffles, a couple other items I paid no attention to, and.... Sihouette 0% yogourt.  All these coupons are to receive those items for FREE.

Let's break it down.  The cereal retails for just over $6.  You get two for those price, so say $3 a piece.  Now, if you pick up the Yogourt coupon boxes, yogourt retails for probably over $4.  You are actually making money!  You walk away with an extra $1 or so in your pocket.  Nice!

Now of course, you need to like Mini Wheats, and like Silhouette yogourt (or at least be willing to eat that brand of yogourt).  If you do, then this deal is pretty sweet.

Happy Friday to you!

Like Coca-Cola?

Are you a fan of Coke?  I must admit that I'm not.  But, for just 5 cents, on May 7th I might be.  Click here to get a printable coupon you can bring into your local Mac's convenience store, and you too can get a 414 mL of Coca-Cola for their original price of 5 cents.

Trim Your Budget

When I started trying to trim down the amount my husband and I were spending monthly on food, I also started to look at other areas we were spending excess cash on that could be trimmed as well.

For me, that was my cell phone bill.  I use my phone primarily for texting, and vary rarely use it for chatting.  By switching my plan, I have gone from paying aound $65 a month, to now paying only $30.  I still have some daytime minutes, but free evenings & weekends.  Only perk I lost was having caller ID.  And for an extra $7 a month, I was ok with it going.

Friends of mine have recently cut cable from their lives (don't drop your jaws... I know they are going to be OK).  My girlfriends husband told me that for the cost of one month of their cable, they were able to buy an antenna to pick up HD stations (the antenna was $30, cable monthly was $42).  They still will get 95% of the stations they watched - CTV, Global, CityTV,  and CBC.  Two more HD stations will be added to that list by the summer.  All told, they will save close to $500 a year.  Sarah was telling me that her boys watch more movies than TV, and they have been renting shows from the library.  I have borrowed videos from the library before, and think that this is a great alternative.  They have many of the shows that my kids already watch on Treehouse - Angelina, Thomas, The Wiggles, etc. 

Are there ways your family is learning to cut corners and put a little extra coin in the bank?

Frappuchino Anyone?

Come in to participating stores for Happy Hour and find your favourite Frappuccino® blended beverage at half the cost. Frappuccino® blended beverages are completely customizable – you call all the shots, so you can create the perfect drink for your perfect summer day. And what could make a warm, sunny day better than strolling around with one of our NEW Mocha Coconut Frappuccino® blended beverages? Just tell us how you like it and we'll do the rest.

Cha-Ching! Spend a little, get alot back!

Shopping in Canada does not compare to the States.  The awesome coupon deals to be had in the States, are just not available here.. or so I have so far found.  Shopping for awesome discounts, and not paying full price for items, is a pretty good deal.  But what makes it sweeter, is getting items for free, AND getting some cash back.

Check out these two deals:

Calgary Co-op:  Purchase $30 before taxes (before May 5th) of any Tide, Downy, Bounce, Charmin, Bounty, Cascade, Pampers, Pringles or Iams, and get a $10 Co-op gift card.

Superstore:  Still trying to get the particulars of this deal, but purchase $20 of any Pepsi & co. products and get a $30 Superstore gift card.  I was at Superstore this morning, saw the banner, but there were no forms to mail in.  I have contacted Loblaws about the promotion, and they will be mailing me the mail in rebate form.  I'll keep you posted.

Don't forget the discounts available tomorrow on groceries at Safeway & Sobey's!

Ready to Shop? First Tuesday of the Month.

You should now have a weekly, or monthly meal plan in front of you.  Ready to shop?

What you need to do, is write down all the ingredients that are required for the items you wish to make.  Be sure to check your pantry for items you already have in stock. 

Now add to this grocery list any items you will need for lunches, snacks, or breakfasts.

Ok NOW you are ready to shop.  And good thing, because the beginning of the month is the best time to shop.  Here are the deals:

Safeway - 10X Airmiles or 10% off your purchase the first Tuesday of the month
Sobey's:  10% off or 15% (if you spend over $150) the first Tuesday of the month.

Pretty good heh?

I make sure I do the bulk of my shopping this first week.  Last month I saved almost $120 off my food bill at Safeway by maximizing on sale items, and buying on the first Tuesday.

Here are some of the deals to be had in the flyers this week:

Safeway:

Yogourt - BOGO
Strawberries - 2.49 eac or 2 or more for 1.99
Dove Body Wash - 2.99

Sobey's:

Hunts Tomato Sauce - 3/3.99
Catelli Noodles - 2.77 eac
Strawberries - 1.99

Co-op

Christie Crackers - 3/7.98

Superstore

Post Honey Bunches Oats Cereal - 4/$10

I look forward to hearing what deals you find this week and how much you are able to save!