Frequent Stamp Cards are Awesome!

Remember to use those stamp and points cards!

Everywhere has the opportunity to get something free.. whether it's paying with a credit card for air miles or cash back, or using frequent buyer cards. A lot of places have these things.. free coffee, free ice cream, free water bottle jugs, etc. It can never hurt to ask the store you're in if they have any frequent buyer program. 

 

And also.. it can't hurt to get a card even if you think you wouldn't buy enough to get anything free. I'm always surprised at people who wave off points card or frequent stamp cards, yet have the same item (lately it's been a McDonald's coffee) every morning. I'm resisting the urge to say "told ya so.." !  I have a bunch of single or double stamped cards on the go, but if it's a place I'll ever go again I'm getting a card for the just in case. 

What also doesn't hurt to ask, is if you can get a stamp even when you're "not supposed to" like when using coupons. I seriously love our ice cream store because we can pay with coupons and get a great deal already, and she'll still give us "just one! This one time!" stamp when we ask. 

All the free stuff adds up and I don't think it's an effort at all to pull out my "rewards wallet" to get another stamp or some points when paying somewhere! 

Trade in and Save

Watch for trade in and save events on stuff you would actually use

 

We just recently did this to get a free new fish tank filter. The event was held at one of our favourite fish stores (Big Al’s) and it was simply bring in any old filter and get a new one when you buy the 3 or 6 pack replacement sponges. I had kept the original filter that came with my first tank I bought 3 years ago (the “just in case” filter), but it was just gathering dust. When we buy a new tank filter, we always buy replacement filters at the same time anyways, so this was a perfect way to upgrade for a future fish tank. It was limited time event on a weekend day, so we made sure to make time to go.

 

 

We got a beautiful new filter (that could support a tank bigger than the old one) with a lifetime warranty, honoured in store at Big Al’s, and no need to register the warranty online or anything. The sponge cartridges were well priced too so we walked out of there paying $18 for a new filter and 3 cartridges. Plus, we got a peelie coupon for our upcoming water chemical purchase. 

 

 

Other deals: 

-          A few years ago I also did a trade in and get a great coupon/free set  when you brought in old Christmas lights through Canadian Tire. It was a great deal, and I don’t think it lasted all that long because everyone jumped on it. I’ve been watching and waiting for that deal to come around again, but no such luck yet.

-          Trade in and save on electronics, like Iphones and ipads. Small credit, but you likely won’t be using that old iphone once you get the new fancy one, even though you tell yourself you will. (I literally have 3 iphones I won’t use because I only use my current one, despite telling myself I’ll use them for ipods.)

-          Henry’s has a deal for trading-up for new cameras/camera gear.   Or some computer shops offer deals on computers/laptops if you buy a certain brand and bring in a different brand.

-          Trade in and save on old printers/office equipment at Office supply stores. Usually run by a branded company like HP or Xerox, it can give a great discount on a new item.

-          Electronic Games are a great one, stuff like Playstation, Xbox, Wii games. If it’s just gathering dust (or you got it at a thrift store), you can oftentimes take it in for a small credit towards a game you actually want.

-          Same deal for DVDs/CDs/LPs and such at somewhere like The Beat Goes On. While already a good place to buy your next DVD, take in some old stuff and get a credit towards what you actually want.

 

-          There’s also always the trade in for a credit when buying a new car. Even an old clunker could get you $500-$1000 trade in credit. You almost always could get more for the car if you went through the effort of private sale, but if you can’t be bothered it’s a little extra off this big ticket purchase 

Sharing good deals: East Side Marios

Just sharing our love for East Side Marios as a cheap meal out if done "right". Here's my tips:

• My first East Side Marios tip is to order a meal that comes with the unlimited soup/salad and homeloaf. Even this alone, without a special, can yield a meal to take home if you just eat the free stuff. I will order a decent large meal that I often split into two meals when I get home, and fill up as my meal on free warm loaves, a bowl of cesar salad and then either a second bowl or a couple bowls of the Italian wedding soup (it will depend on your server if they will let you "switch" from salad to soup, but usually they will)
• Watch for their specials.. ESM has recently done a few specials that seem to rotate, besides their normal weekly specials. One special is that Tuesday's are unlimited pasta for something like $11.99. Then there was the "eat one and take one home" where you got your meal and then they prepackaged one for you to take home into the fridge. Then there's the one we did today that is their "12 for $12" which are a selection of 12 meals (one is build your own pasta which is another 300 combinations hah) that still includes unlimited freebies 

• Sneaky trick.. when you are just about full and ready to pop, ask for another bowl of salad. Eat some of it, then ask for a takeout container and take it home (best for eating the same day). You can often do the same thing with a loaf of their bread
• Coffee and pops are free refills, like usual. This is always a good spend of the small price tag 
• Remember to use coupons if you have them. Any discount is good, especially if there's no special going on. Groupon will sometimes offer a "gift card" type deal, which is worth it if it's your nearby store!

• Sign up for their emails and get a freebie appetizer. Save it and whip it out when you have some friends to help eat them

• Pay with a credit card and get the extra points/cash back/air miles, whatever your card gives back. A meal for two will often crest $20 which is usually the minimum for 1 air mile or points 
• Don't forget to show your Scene card and get some points towards free movies 
• Finally, get those awesome lollipops if your server forgets to give them.. these things are delightful 

My meal tonight was build your own pasta which came home in its entirety, 1 bowl of salad, and 2 bowls of soup. I think we polished off 3 loaves of bread too. Hubby had bruschetta pizza and 2 salad bowls. Our total came to $33

 

Sometimes you do win free stuff!

I often enter contests online or do those "give us your feedback for a chance to win!"  It takes a couple minutes and I'm convinced that some day I'll win something! 

Meanwhile in the real world, there's opportunities like this (at our local restaurant) to win:

 

So for .25 at the very least I'll get a gumball.. that's a risk I'm willing to take! Much to our surprise and happiness it was yellow = free cake! 

We ordered out meals and got the cake to go.. this thing was massive! 

 

Then just to round out the trip the waitress forgot to ring in our drinks so we got what I think was a great deal on breakfast platters, plus I took half my meal home for another day - and brought home on all the jams, syrups and butters they gave us o our plates and we didn't use.