Small things in your kitchen/lunches can save you money!

Just a few suggestions we use at home to save the pennies in our kitchen. What’s that saying.. If you watch the pennies the dollars will take care of themselves?

 

-Dilute your favourite juices and drinks with water to make them last longer. I’m a big fan of buying “Pure Leaf” iced tea or Fruitopia juices when they go on sale and then diluting them to 1:3 with water (either at work or from the tap). It’s such a strong taste, I can usually make it last a longer time than the three glasses I would have had. I do the same thing with those frozen juice cans and with Starbucks drinks like my favourite Passion Tea Lemonade (Trente size!). It’s SO sugary and strong that diluting it more than 1:4 lasts me for a couple days versus 1 hour. And while Starbucks is not high on people’s “savings” list, my Air Miles cash usually get vouchers for here free

-Save your veggie scraps! Every single piece of a veggie you cut off should go into a Ziploc and then thrown in your freezer. When the bag gets big enough, make a big pot of water boil and bubble the scraps for hours… Instant free vegetable broth! My hubby has been doing this from a suggestion in a cookbook and the flavour is great and a welcome addition to stews and crockpot meals

From the very fun "Thug Kitchen" cookbook. 

-Wash your takeout containers. I have another post that mentions this, but save your plastic takeout containers and re-use them until they finally crack. We joke that the majority of our Tupperware comes from Boston Pizza, but having a whole bunch of free containers on hand will usually inspire you to portion leftovers too and makes it easier to pack lunches without waste

-Wash your Ziploc bags. A lot of the time, your Ziploc bag only held a few veggies or a sandwich… Wash this up with your dishes and the bag is good as new

-Take the free ketchup, vinegar, jam and syrup packets when you’re out. Whenever I go somewhere that gives this stuff away, I take an extra handful and it goes in the fridge at home. This just makes it super easy and fast to pack a lunch, with no product waste that might happen if you pour ketchup into a too-big Tupperware container

-Same deal for plastic cutlery. Stockpiling a bunch of forks and spoons just means you don’t need to buy them

-Invest in some of those “tupperware hats” as I like to call them. Basically shower caps you use in place of plastic cling wrap. These can be washed easily, and there is less waste

-Save your plastic grocery bags, but FOLD them to reduce space and make taking them to the store super easy and more likely! I teach this trick to anyone and everyone as they save a lot of space. Buying bags at your local store for .05 each adds up if you’re watching every penny, and a trip to buy those huge Ikea bags might be a couple weeks away.. So fold up your plastic bags into little triangles and throw a bunch in your back pocket, purse or glovebox. They’re easy to grab and store too if you’re a dog-walker. See below step-by-step (ish) of how to do this

The final products!

Fold it longwise

Fold a triangle corner up so top line is 90°

Fold triangle up, again 90°

Fold again, you get the idea. Keep folding!

Fold it up to the two handles, as close as you can

Loop handles over one corner

 

And if you’re liking some of these suggestions, watch a few episodes of “Extreme Cheapskates” who have a lot of additional ideas of what items can be re-used in a different way (used aluminum foil as a dish scrubbie, buying whole milk and diluting it to become different percentages, etc). They’re crazy for the most part, but sometimes there is a great little gem that can be brought over! Here are some of my favourites:http://couponwithsam.blogspot.ca/2016/02/cheapskates-and-what-to-take-away-from.html

Step 1 of Canadian Couponing: Get the Flipp app!

Okay, so seriously, who doesn’t have the Flipp app yet? Who doesn’t know what that is?

Raise your hand. Admit it. 

 

If you are reading this, then you absolutely should have the Flipp app because you’re looking to save some money. If I left the house with nothing but this app, no coupons, no pre-research, nothing else but the app and some money, I KNOW I would still be able to save some. Before continuing with reading, download the app and follow along with me! (There’s no kickback to me, and no need to really “sign up” for anything)

 

Summary of what the app does:

-Holds all flyers for everywhere closest to you, and then some stores that are a little bit further. Grocery, Furniture, Technology, etc

-Allows you to “favourite” a store flyer to easily find it each week

-Has a search function which allows you to search for a store flyer, for an item, or for a coupon

-Items are tagged with brand and description (both “milk” and “Neilson” will bring up the same product)

-Allows you to “clip” an offer or sale that you think is a good price, and they all go into the “clipped offers” section

-Allows you to make your own shopping list right inside the app, and then shows you how many offers in the flyers match that item (this week “Eggs” gives 20 sale deals)

-Has a section for Coupons. Select the coupon you want and send it to your email to print

-Has coupon match-ups for the coupons in their database. Before you leave the house to shop, this is a one-quick glance to see if there’s anything here you’d want to buy so you can print the coupon while getting your shoes on

-Gives you the option to connect an account and sync loyalty cards to the app. Imagine not having to dig for that one loyalty card to scan in your wallet, and just click on this tab in the app! Air Miles, Aeroplan, CAA, Canadian Tire money.. It’s all here 

 

All of this allows for quick and painless Price Matching when you shop at an applicable store (Walmart, FreshCo, No Frills, etc all price match), as you don’t carry around 10 unruly newspapers or have to flip through every page to find where that one deal was. It gives you access to all of the sales on that week for everywhere around you, and gives you no excuse to not save some money!

 

Every single item I am about to put in my cart gets searched on the Flipp app first. I might think it’s a good deal where I’m standing, but searching it on the app will find it cheaper somewhere else and I can quickly and easily price match it for added savings (or it reaffirms that yep, that’s a good price). 

 

It’s also good for checking to see if you can double dip on your coupons. On Thursday when the flyers come out, I will search the name of every coupon I have in my binder to see if there are any sale deals I can pair with my dollars off papers. This is how I can get items for free, as I can see something is one sale for $1 and I have $1 off coupon for it. Consider that deal clipped and cashed in on on my next trip!

"Investing" in Your Retirement

I am not the be-all-end-all expert in investments. Not even remotely close. All I can do is advise that YOU should do your own research to what kind of investments to have, but that you SHOULD have some sort of interest-gathering account for your future.  

This is personal experience only. Every person's situation is different of course... BUT, start some kind of interest-gathering investment as early as you can in life, and seriously, DON'T touch it. Even just a little amount put away for retirement while you are young adds up to a lot over the years, and it's so much better than trying to scramble the last few years before retirement to build up your after-work income!

Personally, I have 3 different "investments"/savings:

-I have a tax free high interest savings account. I took advantage of a promotion at a brand new bank that opened near me, who have a 90-day GIC (guaranteed interest credit I think it stands for) at 3% interest (which is triple what anyone else seems to have) to kick start this account, but afterwards it's a locked away account that just gains as much interest as possible at 1.5%. I had this money in TD first but it was like 0.25% and equalled out to $2 a month interest. It's absolutely better than just sitting in your checking account or in a book under your mattress though, so this is probably the first place I would say to start with your little nest egg. It's also reliable (as reliable as it can be in a bank), and the money won't go down in value like it can in an "investments" setting

- I have a Mutual Fund RSP. I started it with a $400 check I got from a stock at Disney my mom bought when I was born for a penny (haha, 23 years later..), and I started this fund about 3 years ago. Fast forward to now, the fund is at $1445, with only a $25 investment every month and with $2-$5 a month on top of that reinvested (kinda like interest).

I'm not concerned about growing this overnight, and even if I just keep trucking on the way it's going (it's just in the safe investments bracket, not the crazy risk ones that can yield much higher returns), that's $300 a year more to get interest on that I don't notice. By retirement that's $12,000 minimum + any of the reinvested distribution. I'm sure when it gets close to $5000 though I'll throw it into that tax-free high interest account instead. 

- I have a work-organized retirement savings account. This one was a no brainer as my work will match whatever money (to a max) that I put into it. It's free money, so why wouldn't I! It'll just grow that much faster. I've put the max in that my work will match (and I just started this, so I'm excited to see how quickly it grows). 

On the reports it has this little thing about if I continue on at the same contribution rate I'm doing, what that would mean I would have at retirement. Kinda fun to see it. 

Something else I learned which I have to do some digging on is "Tax Free" accounts. At the new bank they put me under a protective tax-free umbrella, and then put both my GIC and my savings accounts under the umbrella. This means that any interest gained will not be taxable by the government as "income". This was news to me, as the bank lady explained that if I didn't put my GIC under the tax free umbrella I was going to have to pay $30 to the government for the 3% interest gained. Again, better in my pocket than theirs (seems to be a motto I use). 

Look into your options and ask around. If you're trying to save up a nest egg and a retirement fund, the above are all great starts to also make that money grow without any added effort on your part :)

Savings tips at Disney World

Okay so let me prelude this with a quick backstory summary. My family and I are Disney crazy. While I was growing up we went to Disney twice a year. I was probably the most Disney-versed kid. It made sense that when I got to university, we heard about the International College Program, where kids from around the world go and spend 3 months working at Disney... Talk about a dream come true for a nerd like me! It was an incredibly hard 3 months for basically no pay, but I strongly suggest it for everyone's kids if you can get them there. It is a great experience and a lesson in hard work. 

What we learned working there:

On top of this, I met my now husband there, as he did the same program and got put on the same ride as me (Jungle Cruise). 

So, I have a little bit of experience, but I wouldn't say I'm the world traveler. I'll try to cover what I can from my perspective on how to save at Disney (Florida) for my future trips.

When

-Travel during Disney's value season. This info is on the WDW website, but a basic summary can be seen in the attached picture for example (this was last year). This is when the park will be the quietest (still crazy busy though) and the cheapest. It's easier to get fast passes for the rides you want and bookings for dinner too. Plus no waiting half your day for one ride. 

-then, try to plan your vacation during the week. Stay from Monday to Friday, to avoid the weekend rates that spike at Disney. Flights through the week can also be cheaper than a Friday to Monday flight. 

Where

- this can be up for debate depending on circumstances, but for the most part, staying on Disney property is expensive. If you can stay off-property you can save a ton, enough to rent a car for the duration. Typically, I would suggest staying off property (but still close) and renting a car, which allows you to spend your money for meals at Walmart, buffets and cheap places instead of every meal sprinkled with Pixie Dust.

- The benefit to staying on Disney property is the transportation aspect - IF you are only going to be doing Disney. While in Florida you might want to see Universal Studios or SeaWorld or Clearwater beach. These shuttles aren't available from your front steps at the Grand Floridian! Again having a rental car helps in this aspect. 

- house rental. AirBNB or general websites allow you to rent a whole house for the duration of your stay instead of staying at a hotel. I've done this with the family and let me tell you how nice it is to have a kitchen! A little bit of research is needed here to find a place close to all the amenities you want, with the inclusions you want (like is there a community pool?). You'll have to rent a car again, but this is an awesome option if you have a large group or are planning to stay longer than a few days in Florida. 

- another cool option is camping at Disneys Fort Wilderness campground. I would suggest NOT doing a tent, since it's really hot and rainy in Florida, but you could rent a trailer/motor home and park it on a campsite for a little less than a hotel room. The campground has a lot of cool fun free stuff (like each hotel has), but biking/walking around is the most fun. Whenever my family stayed, we did up the whole front area with welcome signs (everyone does actually). 

- another where to consider is what kind of stay you'd like. Totally fancy? Try the Grand Floridian or the Swan and Dolphin. Cheap as possible? You'll look at the value resorts like Art of Animation or Pop Century. I personally like the idea of staying at any of the resorts that are right on the water across from Magic Kingdom as the monorail and boats can get you to and from major points of interest quickly (I'm not a big fan of busses due to car sickness). Plus, these resorts can get extra cool freebies I'll describe below. Our favourite new hotel has been Port Orleans.. Cheaper, really nice, walking distance to Downtown Disney and all the transportation busses

- When and where can also be dictated if you look into becoming a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member, as they have priority rules and such plus must book before 1 year stipulations. This is similar to a timeshare option, where you buy and maintain points for stays at Disney World, Disney Adventures, not-too-Disney resorts and locations and more. It gives you discounts around Disney for food and shopping, but make sure you do your research and homework before jumping into this (especially with the US dollar the way it is) as it almost works out to a second mortgage

Tickets

- this is another one that will take a little bit of number crunching, depending on what you want. You can get a pass from a one day, one park admission up to an annual pass with unlimited ins and outs and free parking included. 

NOTES:  Watch expiry dates (so if you're coming back the same year do an annual, if you're not coming back for a couple years, do the park days and use them up or add the "no expiry" option). Magic Kingdom park tickets are more expensive than the other three parks' tickets. One park admission = literally one park, and if you wanted to do two parks in the same day then this would count as 2 days admissions. You can add a "park hopper" option to any park pass (a one days adds $160, a 10 day adds $470) which allows you to do as many parks in one day as you want, while only charging you one day admission. 

- basically, I would do the math before jumping into buying the ticket the morning of. There is a lot to do at every park, and Epcot in itself in my opinion could be counted as two parks (the World Showcase of countries can take a day to get around alone). It can be totally exhausting to try and do one full park in one day (you can't possibly meet every character or do every ride in each park in 1 day, plus what if day 1 everyone gets horribly sunburnt and you still have three full park days planned?). This is an easy decision if you are not going to be at Disney long (3-4 days), but if your math starts adding up to being close to $700 per person, I would suggest jumping to the annual pass for the added perks and options. 

- the annual pass also gets you discounts around Disney for meals and merchandise, kinda like a DVC member. You can save on rooms and excursions too by mentioning this. 

- I really like the annual pass for the freedom it allows - maybe you want to see the animals in the morning at Animal Kingdom, have lunch at Prime Time Cafe in Hollywood Studios, then catch the Wishes fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Then maybe the next day you've booked a Segway Tour at Epcot, but would rather spend the day after at Magic Kingdom. An annual pass allows this freedom, while those two days could either count as 5 days admission or 2 park hoppers day admissions otherwise. 

Free Entertainment

Okay so you've finally picked the where and when and you are ready. Besides the have-tos in the parks, I'll try to let you know about free stuff outside of the parks

- the Electical Water Pagent. This is quick and cheesy but I like it. It happens out front of a few of the beach resorts around the Magic Kingdom area, just before the Wishes Fireworks go off. Try Polynesian Beach, Grand Floridian Beach, or Fort Wilderness Beach. We like the Polynesian Beach because we grab a couple of amazing Dole Whips to eat while watching the show. 

- beachside movies. A bunch of resorts will set up a screen and play Disney movies on it, sometimes around a campfire like at Fort Wilderness. Bring a blankie and watch for free! Polynesian, the Beach Club and Fort Wilderness do for sure, the others might too

- Fort Wilderness has horses!  Cinderellas ponies are all stabled here, and you can wander and see them (when allowed). The beautiful carriage horses are usually down by the dock too, and you can sometimes get someone to take your photo with these guys. 

- boat rides. I think everyone loves a little ferry ride, and I love watching little kids get excited over this freebie. You can take a long ferry ride around the Magic Kingdom area, which goes between the hotels and stops at a leisurely pace. When you take the full ride, you could also get a little mini tour from the captain who can point out wildlife and the old River Country water park as it passes. There is also a ferry ride over at Disney Springs (Downtown Disney) that goes between a few resorts. Make sure you hop on the ferry that takes you over the water bridge, while cars go underneath you!

- wildlife! This might be the tourist in me talking, but you can see wildlife all sorts of places. Beaches are the best, and egrets are quite interesting to watch, but I have a favorite place... Try a walk around Fort Wilderness, where we always see deer, armadillos, bunnies, once a gator and all types of birds. If you wanted a little more exotic, Animal Kingdom is worth a full day's adventures with all their hidden animal treks and shows. 

- aren't monorails cool? Seriously, ride this around and get a birds eye view of hotels and of Bay Lake. Challenge family members to memorize the announcers "pour favour.." line too. This also allows for Hotel jumping which is very cool to go and wander, as each hotel is themed differently

- maybe this doesn't count but you can ask for ice water or a cup of ice at vendors in the park for free

- pin trading! Buy a starter pack of the cheapest pins you can (usually 4 for $9.99) and then pin trade with anyone you see wearing a lanyard of pins. Even some stores will have a "pin trading" collection if you ask. Trade up and up for a great few souvenirs, and have some fun along the way

- Downtown Disney has a few shops that lets the kiddies (or the kiddies at heart) play. Try Lego building or Mr Potato Head creating

This last freebie is worth a separate bullet point all its own:

Hidden Mickeys

These refer to hidden secrets and gems all over Walt Disney World. Virtually every hotel and theme park will have a secret hidden item. A lot of the time they are actual Mickey heads, but sometimes they are hidden items like the wedding ring at Haunted Mansion or a mistake like the 5 legged goat at the Contemporary resort. Do buy one of the Hidden Mickey books (off property before you go on your trip) and after you've done some of the parks, look up what hidden Mickeys are to be found at the hotels and such 

The (boring) secret to being rich.. And how to fund a brilliant idea

It's not what you earn, it's what you spend. 

I came across this quick article, which led to a bunch of related videos and topics. http://time.com/money/4034098/get-rich-secret/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook 

..and it's true!  The bigger the gap between what you make and what you spend, defines whether you are rich or poor. Live below your means. Live within a budget that balances, that includes a large chunk for saving as well. 

Now, if you have a goal or an idea (like any of these people on Dragon's Den for example), by all means pursue it!.. Within your means. Don't be the person going hundreds of thousands in debt for an idea, keep working or work harder to be able to fund the goal. 

I'm a big fan of the crowdfunding ventures. I support a bunch of things on Kickstarter, which is a place for artists, designers, writers, videographers, inventors and more to get their brilliant ideas funded. They offer their product or item at an extreme discount, and in various packages, to the general public with an end goal in mind. People like you and me can then go on and browse all the ideas and contribute (or buy into, literally) someone's idea to help them reach their mark. You only get charged your pledged amount if they reach their goal. I'm a supporter of a few different people and ideas, and for the most part I do it not for the item but for the person or the goal. You can also help fund a person for $1 or $5, just to track the progress of the great idea/product through the campaign and to market. I've done this too if I have no need for the item but think it's a great idea that should get funded. 

One of my favourite buys from Kickstarter and I'm going to give them a shameless plug have been the Fire & Bone team, who digitally scan animal bones and create metal mini molds of them for jewellery. I've bought way too many at this point but I think they are so incredibly cool (my favorites are the Dire Wolf and the Lynx/Bobcat) 

My other shameless plug will be a project I have waited and watched for more than a couple years called PillowTalk, which is a bracelet and speaker that shares your heartbeat with someone that isn't near you. My long distance fiancé and I kinda can't wait for this little contraption!

Other crowdfunding outlets exist, like GoFundMe which is more the everyday person hoping to fund their next computer purchase or their aunts medical bills, and Teespring which are for awesome designs on tshirts. I've been on both these sites, and other than the high shipping costs for the item we chose on Teespring, they were easy to contribute/buy. 

The secret to being rich is simply put, living within your means without debt. This all circles back to how to save money everyday, how to save for retirement and an emergency, and being surrounded by (and able to care for) the things you love. 

Broke/Budget maxed out?

So you a stretched for cash, or used up all the money from your budget jars... But you still need to eat and have fun? Here are some thoughts and solutions I've done when my wallet was hurting:

- Dig deep in the freezer!  Wow, what a treasure trove!  Frozen veggies and some meat you got on sale one time are probably down in the abyss, under all the ice cream and frozen bananas. Easy, multi meals are just a defrost away. 

- dig around in the pantry. Cans of mixed veggies and beans can be a good start to a crock pot meal. Rice and pasta are usually stored in a corner and make large portions for cheap. If there's a craving for a dessert item, how about a box of cake mix and a can of pop (yes this works beautifully!), which saves the cost of cookies or doughnuts. 

- gift cards. I still have gift cards from like 2 Christmases ago. This might be cheating, but for my birthday and Christmas I just ask for gift cards. Mostly food, I can usually buy some large meal out to get a couple work lunches out of the deal too. Gift cards are great for entertainment too - use one for a good sale rack shopping trip in a store, or to buy a DVD for later. 

- parents or grandparents visit. Again, cheating probably, but maybe see if you can stop by for a visit to loved ones. I don't think I've ever made it out of their homes without a meal (either eaten there or sent with me in a doggie bag)! I've never had to do it, but if you needed a couple meals to tie you over for the month, your family is sure to help you out with either made or almost-made meals if you just ask. 

- discount sections of grocery stores. There are usually a couple racks of the "almost expired" food stuff that is great to cook up the same night. We usually buy our meat here and then freeze it. You can usually get bread, fruits, veggies, pies, buns, meats and others for nearly nothing. I've done this before with hot dogs (buns and weiners were on for half price) that we cooked up and had the same night. 

-coupon. Follow the Facebook groups and blogs in your area who post about the deals, and jump on a great deal if you can afford to. If you're in my area, I like the Savings Guru, who posts all sorts of deals. He does the work for you and you just go out and get the free butter, or the cheap eggs that are on that week. 

- use your points. You've been accumulating points on your various cards for years, spend them when you run out of cash! Gas, shoppers drug mart, PC groceries, air miles, etc. You can also sometimes buy gifts cards for other places with your points, just have a look through your wallet for all your points cards and see what is available.

- look up free event days. In my area, the local skating rink will have free skate hours, and sometimes museums will have a special free day. I haven't done a lot of research in this area but there are groups and blogs about this topic too I've seen, as parents are always looking for cheap things to do with the little ones.

- regrow table scraps. This could be for fun, or for continuous small bits of food. This one doesn't need a lot of explaining, and it actually works

- throw a party! This sounds a little backwards, but if you do it right it can both be entertainment and extra meals. Make it a BYO drinks, food and chairs, and advise you'll provide the bathroom, music/movies, plates and cutlery. Have a good time with friends, watch a movie marathon, and have a day of fun that doesn't cost people very much to participate it (just a bowl of chili and a case of pop each basically). 

- make crafts. There are so many great YouTube tutorials and Pinterest things about crafts you can make for nothing. Repurposing garbage items, making string from plastic bottles, using various items as stamps, origami of old chip bags, you imagine it and someone has made a craft around it. This is a good option for families with kids. Just pick an item and google it with the word craft. I did soda can crafts and holy cow, cooool!!

- sell stuff. You meet people, it can get you out of the house, and it'll get you a little extra cash quickly that you can go to that discount food section with. Try selling old clothes, an old kitchen item, shoes, books, kids toys, puzzles, etc. you could also try selling your newly made soda can crafts and who knows, maybe there's a business idea in here. 

- while on this topic, what about making a little mini business out of something easy? I recently found out that I am good at string art, and actually enjoy all the hammering (stress relief) and stringing (relaxing). It's a minimal investment (I have to buy $2 roll of string, a $2 box of nails and a few brackets to hold wood together at the back (about $1 each), plus find an old wooden pallet to break up). But.. I could sell it for upwards of $20 and offer custom options. (The ones below were for my mom for Christmas (which had a dog saying added to the blank area in sharpie) and the logo of a company that was visiting my work's head office)

There are tonnes of other ideas, but this post is long enough with all the pics. What other tips do you use? 

Rewards cards/sites

So how long could this list be?! If you ask, there is probably some reward system in every place you shop. And even if they don't have a reward system in a store, your bank/credit card could have offerings that let you get points/air miles for every dollar spent. 

I've just kinda tried to think of some I use regularly. I have lots, and a bunch that I'll probably never use again, but everything can add up. 

Almost universal - Aeroplan/ Air miles. I have both an air miles card and a credit card that gives miles per $20 spent. In stores that accept air miles, I can essentially double dip! Air miles can be used for everything from gift cards and blenders, to flights and car rentals. It takes a long time to build miles (in my opinion) but it's money you'd be spending anyways, so getting free reward on top is great. Aeroplan works much the same way, but I haven't found it offered is as many places. 

Online - MyPoints. 

This is a new one for me, but there are a lot of places that will reward you for doing stuff you already do (like browsing the web). A lot of them ask you to watch videos or do surveys for points, which is easy to do in the background while doing other stuff. Usually points can be used toward gift cards. I've recently found MyPoiints because they give you points for printing coupons, and they have a TON of coupons (like currently 300 or something). 

Gas, like PetroPoints/ EssoRewards

Again, you're getting gas and spending the money anyways, why not get some freebies on top? Gas reward points can be used toward discounts on gas or free items like car washes or candy. 

Walmart credit card

So this is a new one, but a great one if you shop at one store all the time. A lot of places will have their own credit card that will either give you a discount or some sort of rewards points. Walmart's card gives you points everywhere you use it, but more points if you use it at Walmart, plus no annual fee. Walmart has been a great place to price match and use coupons, so it might be a worthwhile thing to get to get even more rewards.  

Movies - Scene

Maybe you don't go to the movies that much, but when you do go you go with a group. How many of your friends have this card (in my group, like no one). You have the chance to use your scene card for everyone in your party, which might be the equivalent to free popcorn and such. They also have a Scene card in a credit card too I believe, which would give you points towards movies on everything you would be buying anyways. 

Airport parking - Park n fly

This was a recent find that gives you points per stay, towards free parking later. If you have a CAA card you can also get great discounts on your stay in these parking lots. 

Hotels - Marriot, Delta, etc

This is probably a very large category, but a lot of hotels (almost every one I've looked into) have some sort of rewards program. The ones that are kinda fun work at chains of hotels, wherever you go in the world. 

Grocery - PC Plus/ Sobeys

Another broad category but lots of grocery stores give you points for shopping there. Doesn't hurt to ask a t the cash register if they have anything like this you could sign up for. 

Brand/Food - Lumchmate club

Sorry mom, but I do still eat Lunchables. I'm not sure how many products have similar points for buying their product, but I know these guys do (I think Crayola might?). In saying this, it's taken me almost a year to get the points I have now.. Which is almost enough for a free lunchable. That's a lot of $3 Lunchables to get one free, but hey, I was buying the product anyways! 

Renovations are expensive..

I bought a house in January after looking at 48+ other houses. As luck would have it, I bought a dud. The previous owners had hid all of the problems with a little paint and plywood. In Feb my basement was basically underwater from foundation cracks and I knew we had to do "some" fixing.

Over the course of a year I spent $20,000 on upgrades and fixes to my house that I had not planned on spending. I don't make a lot of money, but I refused to be in debt. I thought I might spell out below how I saved money on some major items for my Reno and maybe there are components I did that you hadn't thought of to save money. 

-a new roof. A leak in my kitchen led to discovering my roof was basically three layers of old shingles. I shopped around and was quoted over $8000 for my whole roof as the cheapest option. I offered to pay in cash and they reduced it. Then offered to leave their street sign branding out for as long as they wanted and they "threw in" my garage roof for free. I whined about other problems and they also threw in roof vents for free as well. I paid $6800 for the entire roof in the end. 

-new furnace and air conditioner. While the home inspector was an idiot and said everything was hunky-dory, my furnace was this beast of a creature that was no longer working. The air conditioner was also 30 years old. For discounts, it's all about who you know and not being afraid to ask and use friend-of-a-friend for discounts if you have them. My best friends dad is in this line of work and hooked me up with a great itty bitty furnace that now fits in a closet, a new air conditioner, and all new venting for a great deal. He also knew of a furnace rebate promo and sent off for it for me, so I got $250 back there. 

-flooring. I shopped around and was essentially looking for the cheapest I could get. Eventually Rona had a good sale on a particular light wood laminate style, but I wanted to use the Lowes "take 6 months to pay" option. I priced matched with Lowes for a similar style, price matched underpadding with somewhere else and walked out with some great savings. 

-Up flush toilet. These are the fancy basement toilets that don't require piping into the floor and cost over $1000 usually. I got mine for somewhere around $750 while it was on a short promo sale, plus I sent a note to the vendor asking if they had any rebates available if I were to purchase the unit. Saniflow let me send in for a $50 rebate that they didn't advertise, just because I asked. 

-new walls and sub floor. DriCore has a great subfloor material and at the time was just coming out with a new wall material called SmartWall. For their subfloor, my dad made friends with the dricore rep who let dad buy "seconds" from their factory store. Instead of paying $6.50 a tile, we paid something like $5 (not a big deal but that was $155 that stayed in my pocket). Then for the walls, I contacted the company asking how I could use their wall and save money since each panel was $50+. They advised to find some hockey magazine that had a coupon for $10 back a panel, plus if I did a testimonial for them they'd give another $100. We bought the panels on a storewide discount sale of 20% off, then we sent in for the rebate with receipt and got $430 back, plus another $100 when I did the testimonial (read it here: http://www.dricore.com/en/test_sam.aspx). In the end we had too many panels so I took the extras back and got a gift card for something like $250. I also sent in a question to dricore when I had a couple flaws in the wall and they offered another $100 gift card to come out and look themselves. 

-Ontario power authority rebate. This was advertised a bunch, basically make at least two improvements to your home to save energy and get rewarded. I contacted a company which had to basically do a "before" test and an "after" test. Things that qualified were like, changing out windows for reward of $-- a piece, change out doors, reduce "air leakage" in your house by sealing stuff up  around windows and doors and walls, new furnace installed, etc. Unfortunately for me, I only found out about this program AFTER the furnace and 3/4 windows had already been changed out. I missed out on some rebates there which was disappointing, but got $1750 (in two installments) back for what I did complete. 

-windows, sump pump bucket and perforated hose piping. Not sure if I should promote these ones, but when it comes to unnecessarily expensive items, watch for how they're priced in store. The windows for my basement were $250 each, so when dad was at a store and found one priced in the wrong spot at $75 he didn't ask questions! He got three windows for $75 each. Same deal with the sump pump hose, which was in really the wrong spot and I paid something like $20 for the $100 hose. The sump pump bucket (which looks like a garbage can with a weird lid) was scanned at the cash register as only $25 because she only scanned the lid. The bucket portion was another ridiculous amount so we just paid and didn't ask questions. 

-drop ceiling and tiles. Kijiji! I am a shameless Kijiji buyer and seller. We found used tiles from an office and paid $150 for 85 tiles (that's 1.75 each compared to brand new 6.50 each) and another guy took $150 for three boxes of metal bars. After installing the ceiling for my whole basement, including closets, I still had a box and half leftover. I took these back to a store for a store credit and got a whopping $170 back. I still have 20 tiles leftover as well, which are sitting on Kijiji right now (so far sold 5 for $10 haha)

-vanity, sink, medicine cabinet and shelf. Outlets or warehouse or "re-store" places. Vanities are expensive, so we were happy to find an outlet-style store nearby. I picked out a vanity with matching cabinet and shelf and paid $250 for it all, which for the same version at Lowes started at $1000. 

-paint and supplies. Ask your family and try the cheap stuff. Chances are someone in your family and friends network has paint supplies in a bucket in a closet somewhere. Mine did, everywhere. I didn't have to buy a roller, brush or tape - just paint. For paint I wanted a basic grey, but since it's just a basement I didn't want anything fancy. Walmart had a sale on "Loop" paint, plus when I talked to customer service they said we could try a bucket and if it sucked we could bring it back (if we only used a bit). I took a chance and bought buckets for $15 a piece on sale and was actually very happy with the result. Two coats and it had good coverage and dried quick. Bonus!

-ceiling fans, faucets, and more. Auctions! There is a great "home renovation auction" place called Bryan's that is a great place to start shopping. They specialize in complete kitchen cabinet packages, but also sell everything else for renovations. At any one auction they'll have sinks, toilets, hot tubs, exercise equipment, flooring, seasonal stuff, doors and windows, faucets, drills, dehumidifiers and more. It is an auction setting so you should know your budget before walking in. We were able to get two really really ugly ceiling fans for $20 each that painted beautifully. We also got a couple faucets there for cheap and I think every time we went we came home with something else. When I get around to fixing my kitchen, I'll be starting there for my cabinets. 

Okay that was a lot and doesn't cover everything either, but it gives a good breadth of ways to save on your next big project. I might write a part 2 of this, considering I saved on every single item in my renovation :)

Time is of the essence when it comes to coupons and deals!

Watching a lot of court shows lately and in a court of law, this is an important line to add on any contract. What it means in the law system is that a person can't take their sweet time for years, it means they need to pay back your loan to them as soon as possible.

Couponing is much the same. If you don't make the time to go and buy a good deal, you'll miss out. Case in point, tonight's couple items...

I saw on Saturday that a couple of my e-rebate apps had scrubbing bubbles items on it. One was a buy two SC Johnson products and get $3.00 back and another app had buy any 2 scrubbing bubbles bathroom and get $4.00 back. Combine that with a Food Basics deal for $3.00 a bottle, and that's pretty good. Combine THAT with a manufacturers coupon I printed from online I had for buy one get one free, and now that's a great deal. 

Couldn't bring myself I go out to grab any of these this weekend and went out tonight instead. Well one of the apps was sold out tonight, so instead I got two bottles for $1. Still good, but we all like the idea of being "paid" to take stuff out from the store. 

Another of tonight's deals I missed the boat on was Pledge Floor cleaner. One one of the apps for $7 back a bottle, and I have a manufacturers coupon for save $5 each. Walked down the aisle and ran into a lady who was very excited to see a "fellow couponer" and asked if I was in on the Pledge deal. I said I hoped so and she said, yeah this was her third lap going to different cashiers to get the deal. Of course, when I got to the spot on the shelf she had cleared the shelf of all pledge products. Whomp whomp. 

So, note, another good tip is to make your shopping day either Thursday or Friday, when most of the apps have just refreshed their deals. After the weekend, all the other die hard couponer a have cleared the shelves and the available deals from the apps.