Canadian Couponing 101 - My Method :)

I've been asked how I get such great deals when I do my weekly grocery shopping, so I thought I'd make a post using this week's grocery run as an example. :)

Flyers

To start, I use two apps that give me access to flyers in Canada.

• Flipp - which shows all the major grocery chains and superstores, and allows you to clip & save your favourite deals
• Flyerify - which collects flyers from stores all over Canada, from the major superstores to the smaller, less-known shops

With these apps I am looking for deals that jump out at me on brands and products we use frequently in our home. Once I find the lowest price for these items I will take a screenshot or 'clip' the deal.

Price Matching

Now, you can simply take these digital flyers to your local Walmart (or Real Canadian Superstore, Target, etc.), and show them to the cashier as you check out. "The Tetley Tea [72-count] is on for $1.88 this week at No Frills."

In an effort to help streamline the process I like to write all the deals on individual post-it notes, which I then attach to the matching items as I find them and pick them up in store.

This way, the cashier can just quickly punch in the price as they pick up the item. Often, they will simply take my word for it, but it's always important to keep a copy of the digital flyer on your smartphone as proof of these great prices, otherwise you could lose out.

To save even *more* hard-earned cash, I like to look for coupons that I can apply to the sale items that I am price-matching too!

Coupons

The coupons bring your shopping to a whole other level! ;)

You can quickly print off coupons from many websites right before a shopping trip, but it's also a good idea to collect coupons from various other sources available to you as well. You may not need them for this shopping trip, but they could benefit you in future trips.

I've only been couponing for 5 months, so I'm still pretty new to all of this. But here are my current top resources for finding coupons:

• P&G Brandsaver Printable Coupons
• P&G Brandsaver Insert (bundled 3 or 4 times per year in with local newspapers/flyers)
• Smartsource (coupons you can print)
• Smartsource Insert (bundled once per month in with local newspapers/flyers)
• Redplum Insert (bundled once per month in with local newspapers/flyers)
• Websaver (coupons you can print or have mailed to you)
• Save.ca (coupons you can print or have mailed to you)
• GoCoupons (coupons you can print or have mailed to you)
• Clorox Coupons (coupons for various different household products that you can print)
• RightAtHome (coupons for various different household products that you can print)
• Healthy Essentials (coupons, mostly for Johnson & Johnson products, that you can print)
• The Coupon Zone (tearpad coupons which can be found at the entranceways of most Loblaws-brand stores such as the Real Canadian Superstore, No frills, Independent Grocer)
• Walmart's Living Well magazine (which you can pick up for free in-store at the checkout; released once a month)

And here are the deals that I managed to bring home for our family this week:

Red Delicious apples are going for $0.86/kg ($0.39/lb) at First Choice.

Granny Smith apples are going for $1.52/kg ($0.69/lb) at Lococos.

Quaker granola bars (156 - 187g) are on sale for $1.77 at Food Basics.
Regular price: $2.67

Hunts Thick & Rich pasta sauce cans (680mL) are on sale for $0.88 at No Frills.
Regular price: $1.83

Aunt Jemima pancake syrup (750mL) is on sale for $2 at FreshCo.
Regular price: $3.57

Classico pasta sauce (218 - 650mL) is on sale for $2 at FreshCo.
Regular price: $2.47

Dempsters bagels (pkg of 6) are on sale for $1.99 at Food Basics.
Regular price: $3.37

Tetley Tea (60 and 72-count) is on sale for $1.88 at No Frills.
Regular price: $4.84

Fibre 1 cereal (425 - 450g) is on sale for $2.99 at Food Basics.
Regular price: $4.67

Nescafe instant coffee (Encore, Espresso, Riche, Taster's Choice; 100 - 200g) is on sale for $3.74 at IGA.
Regular price: $6.47

Five Alive (1.75L) is on sale for $0.88 at Giant Tiger.
Regular price: $2

Armstrong cheese (500g) is on sale at Walmart for $4.97.
Regular price: $5.97

Black Diamond Cheesestrings Ficello (8+4 pack) are on sale for $3.47 at Walmart.
Regular price: $4.57

Mini Wheats (700g family size) are on sale for $3.97 at Walmart.
Regular price: $6.48

Gillette deodorant is on sale for $2.47 at Walmart. (Regular price: $3.18)
I combined this sale with the "save $2.50 when you buy 2" P&G coupon from the recent (January) insert and got two deodorant sticks for $2.44.

Rougemont Apple Juice (2L) is on sale for $1.50 at Sharpe's Food Market. (Regular price: $2.97)
I combined this with the "save $1" coupon currently being found on the Allen’s Apple Juice tin cans (1.05L) and got each bottle for $0.99.

Special K cracker chips (113g) are on sale for $0.99 at Food 4 Less. (Regular price: $2.98)
Combined with the Websaver coupon for $1 off and I brought these home for free!

Michelina's frozen entrees are on sale for $0.88 at No Frills. (Regular price: $1.77)
I combined this sale with a "save $1 when you buy 5" coupon, which brought down the price to $0.68 per entree! That's 5 frozen dinners for a total of $3.40! (What I like to do is combine one frozen dinner with cooked food to create one great big epic meal that's quick to make AND feeds our whole family of four!)

Apps

Oh, and I'm not quite done yet! There are apps you can download where they will pay you for purchasing certain items each week. The top ones I know of are:

Checkout 51
Save.ca
Cartsmart
Zweet
Snap

So - with the help of a sales, coupons, and apps - this week I ended up being 'paid' $0.06 by Checkout 51 to bring home two Gillette deodorant sticks for my husband! (His favourite brand, too!) I was also paid $0.50 using the Zweet app for purchasing Hunts Thick & Rich pasta sauce (once again, our favourite brand), bringing down the cost of each can to $0.38. All these savings really do add up!