Dawn’s Secrets for Couponing in Canada

Tricks of the Trade

The best way I’ve found to keep getting good deals on my groceries is to stay organized and stocked up. If it gets to be overwhelming, it could be easy to stop trying. I start by finding coupons, even coupons I won’t use. There are groups on Facebook where people are looking for coupons you might have, and are willing to trade their first born for them (maybe not literally, since their first born may be the reason they have started couponing)! [A favourite is Mrs January Canadian Coupon Trading.]

 

You can find coupons by emailing companies you love and asking them for coupons for their products. You can also find them on store shelves. Every once in a while, they come in your local paper. Don’t be embarrassed to ask your paper boy for any left overs he has after he’s delivered, or to ask your friends and neighbours to save theirs for you. 

 

Getting Started & Keeping Organized

Let’s start with the basics. The best way to get the most for your money, is to buy something while it’s on sale, with a coupon and/or offered on a cash back app [Maman Loup is currently trying out a bunch of these and will get back to you with her feedback!]

 

Some popular cash back apps are:

• Checkout 51
• Save.ca
• Snap by Groupon
• Zweet
• Cartsmart

If the deal is good enough, stock up! Start a good stockpile, to reduce how often you’ll be shopping on the inside aisles of your supermarket, or even in your bakery, dairy and fresh meat sections, if you have a large enough freezer to do so. If you find you’ve stocked up much more than you’ll need, because it was cheap enough to justify, or it even paid you to buy it, then you can always donate it to a local charity. If you’re planning a trip to an impoverished country, you could donate it there too (toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant etc.) Once you have a good stockpile, you’ll find you only need to shop once a week for fresh produce, dairy, and a few things you found on sale (with coupons and/or cash back apps) to keep the pantry stocked. 

I keep an organized binder of coupons, classified by how I walk through my preferred store. So if I were to start in the dairy section, dairy would be the coupons on the first few pages of my binder etc. I then make sure to go through them at least once a month, to be sure I’m getting rid of coupons that expire, saving the embarrassment of being in a long line up, and having to put things back that I know I can get much cheaper. 

If you’re going to be price matching, before you go out, look for sales that apply to your family’s needs. You can do this one of two ways: with an actual flyer, or an app or screenshot on your mobile device. (Two flyer-viewing apps are Flyerify and Flipp.) If you don’t have access to a cell phone or tablet, mark your flyers as clearly as you can before you leave the house. Use sticky notes, highlighters or whatever you need to make your deal stick out.

 

If you’re using technology, try and take screen shots of your deal before you leave. You never know how well the wifi is going to work when you get there. Be sure that your screen shot includes the date of the sale and the name of the store. (Most stores accept a screenshot on your device, as long as it has the date the ad is good for and the name of the store. I know here in my area, I use Walmart a lot to price match, as they will ad-match across Ontario. So as long as the ad I have is in Ontario, I’m good to use it!) 

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Save

Often times, people won’t price match or coupon because they’re afraid of what other people will think of them: will they suddenly be responsible for the growing line up of impatient people behind them, and feel obligated to compensate their children that are freaking out all because they were “trying to save twenty cents on a loaf of bread!” Slow down! Get it together, world hunger is not your fault! Breathe! I like to tell everyone behind me (or have my 12 year old politely tell them) that I’m price matching and couponing, and will take longer than most other line ups will. If they stay, that’s great, you may just be teaching them new skills too. If I’m doing a large shop, where I’m getting lots of things for free, or even being paid to take them, I offer a few of the freebies to the cashier and the person who was patient enough to make smiley faces at my little ones, to save the gift cards from hitting the floor again….who makes the checkout lanes so small anyways! 

…so if I found ketchup, for instance, on sale for .99 and I had a coupon for $2 off, I would make the difference back on my receipt, depending on where I shop, and what their policy is. Where I live, No Frills will only put the coupon in for .99 if that’s what the total price is. Walmart would put the extra money back on my receipt

 

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