"Sad coupon day": The monthly binder clean out

Just a quick entry about an important half hour you should spend one day every month: checking your coupon expirations. 

Coupons typically work for around 3 months. If it's a high value or free product coupon, it might be less. In some cases too, a free product or $ value credit (like if you call Nestle to complain about a product, they might send you "$5 to spend on any nestle products" coupon) will last for a year. Fast food coupons tend to be the shortest - the good ones last for only a week. 

There are tips from other bloggers about arranging your binders/boxes/envelopes in order of expiry dates, instead of by products like I do. Maybe experiment and see what will work best for you. 

Regardless though, you should spend about a half hour every month just going through the book and clearing out the old expired coupons or the ones that will expire in a few days. I call it my "sad coupon day" - it almost feels like I am throwing out money! My last batch clean out was the end of 2015 and nearly a completely emptying of my entire binder!

There are opportunities to get these coupons used though instead of throwing them out. I've heard of people going out to a grocery store and placing the coupons that will expire soon on top of the products at the store. You could also jump on local Facebook groups and post about what coupons you have available for anyone that will buy that product. There are also things called coupon trains, where a line of people will place unwanted coupons in an envelope and ship it to the next person in line who will take out any coupons they want and replace them with ones they don't want and ship on to the next. 

In about this same time, it's also good to have a quick look through the pantry and fridge at expiry dates on your packaged goods and cheeses and such. Maybe that will plan the dinners for that week! 

"Extreme Cheapskates" and what to take away from the show

My roommate and I have been entertained (and horrified) by the show Extreme Cheapskates. I don't think any other show as of late has made us groan out "No, no, don't" and even cover our eyes so much (when these crazy people dumpster dive for food. Yuck!)

But, there are some good things to take away from the show as well. Simple things really. They won't save you millions, but every penny can help. I've tried to make a small list below. 

- the toilet bowl and brick trick. Okay this one is in every show and it does make me curious to try it. Basically people put one or two bricks in the back of their toilet bowl and the act of water displacement means the toilet doesn't need as much water to reach the top, and to re-flush. This one will be worth a try I think!

- take out containers as Tupperware. I think this appeared in someone's "how to be a bachelor" blog post, but I am in love with Boston Pizzas takeout containers. Seriously, they are better than most of the other containers I have (and we have A LOT of containers). Every time I go to Boston Pizza, I'll save a small portion of my meal to take home. Usually what I get are these awesome microwaveable plastic containers we use until they are falling apart (a small collection pictured here)

- "samples" of jams, peanut butters and syrup. This is probably in bad taste but I totally do it too: asking for an extra container of the tiny syrup and taking it home, or taking one of each of the flavored jam/peanut butter when they bring it out with your toast. They've been great when I don't feel like the huge Costco-sized raspberry jam we buy for cheap, and will do one breakfast no problem. 

- conserving water in teeth brushing and showers. Okay, so I'm not going to tell you to only shower at the gym once a week, but using some water saving tips from the crazy people are actually pretty good. Shut the water off while brushing your teeth (between the spitting), or while lathering up your body in suds. It's better for the environment too. 

- invest in penny-saving light bulbs and shower heads. These exist, and should help save pennies on your bills. Plus a few times a year the energy star people put out high value coupons that can make the light bulbs free.

-repurpose where you can. All cheapskates do this, and for most things I approve. I have a friend who all through school used cleaned milk bags with the top cut off as ziplock bags in her lunches. Here, we wash and reuse ziplock and plastic cutlery as many times as we can. Old tshirts become great rags and those fuzzy socks with a hole in them can become a good Swiffer pad. Lots of uses for old things (just take a look on Pinterest!)

- turn off the light when not in use. Im still bad for this but if the light doesn't need to be on, turn it off. There's also the theory that things still suck energy even when they're turned off if they're still plugged in. Thinking about it, does the microwave really need to tell the world there are 3 seconds left on the clock during the 8 hours we're at work? Most cheapskates will have everything except their fridge on power bars that they unplug when they leave. 

- half price food. Okay, first, do not dumpster dive for food. Omg yuck! Also, don't ask for other people's leftovers, that's also just wrong. However, they do have a god tip if you are shopping for an immediate meal (tonight's dinner for example), it would be all right to buy food at the grocery store from the discount racks. Stores will mark down fruits, veggies, bread, cheese, meat, etc if it is almost near the expiration. If you are immediately going to eat it that night, I don't see anything wrong with saving the few dollars and buying it for half price. We have also bought meat and bread for half price and thrown it in the freezer to use the next week. 

- thrift stores and pawn shops can be your friends. If you need something, start here. Then check the garage sales one weekend. Then go to the department store. I'm willing to bet that most of the time you'll find what you're looking for at a great price in one of the first two places you look. 

- buy the discount brand. Couponers will say this too, you pay a high price for name brand. If peanut butter is peanut butter, no matter the label, then go for whatever is cheapest on the shelf. We've become accustomed to paying more for the fancy label from the companies with the commercials, but think about it, they need to get more money out of you to pay for those commercials right?

- if your friends and family have skills, ask to use them. Weddings are a good example. Numerous budget-conscious blogs for weddings say to ask your family and friends to provide services at the wedding in lieu of gifts. Maybe you already have a DJ, graphic designer, and cake maker, you just need to ask. Unlike extreme cheapskates though, I would send a thank you gift basket or something. 

- free entertainment. I would suggest taking some time and figuring out what is free in your area. Usually there are farms and museums and stuff that are free to visit. There are also free events in various cities, lakes and beaches and such too. Could your family go to a petting zoo and only spend $5 total instead of $20 each at the movies? There is lots that is free and fun if you look. 

And the last one I do,

- look for spare change! How silly does this sound, but no really! I keep my eyes open at all times for a wayward nickle or quarter in daily life. Yes I'm the one that will poke my finger into the coin return slots at vending machines and phone boots, just in case. When I was a kid, I could usually find the value of my admission price to Wonderland by the end of the day at the park (and now that isn't exactly just a few pennies)!  A lot of the cheapskates will suggest checking your vaccuum before dumping it, the machines at the laundromat, and the area near phone boots for money that was lost and forgotten. 

As always, love hearing your other ideas!

Discount Bread, everyday? No way! (Yes way)

Just sharing a great deal, my roommate and I were impressed. 

It can be hard to get discounts on bread, so when I get a bread coupon I would watch diligently for a sale on that item to double up on the deal. This has been more and more rare it seems, so we tend to buy whatever is on sale each week which still seems to be a lot of money. 

On a suggestion from my grandma, we stopped by a discount bakery in Cambridge. We are glad we did! It will become a weekly/bi-weekly stop for us now. 

https://www.facebook.com/Discount-Bakery-Surplus-Cambridge-1596643007264496/

They have loaves of bread, pitas, wraps, hot dog and burger buns, and cookies galore! The stock changes regularly of course, so it'll be neat to check it out each week. 

Plus, they also have a frequent shopper card. Fill up a card and get a free loaf of bread - which is half full for us after only one visit!

I bought whole wheat large wraps, a package of pita pockets, a bunch of lemon cookies, and a loaf of "veggie" bread - all for $7. 

One last note of FYI (since I asked them), they do not accept manufacturers coupons. 

Stuff you should never buy without a coupon!

Free or nearly free sounds good right?

I've had experience with all of the below items, and it's a popular topic on coupon blogs - stuff you should NEVER pay retail for. 

If you're new to couponing, start here. 

At the Grocery Store:

--toothpaste, toothbrushes (and floss) - everyone knows a dentist visit will give you some free sample to use, but full size products are always going on sale too. Sales for these items typically go down to .99, and this is easily combined with 2 for $2 and $1 off coupons. These are items that should always be FREE for you!

--Deodorant - secret and old spice always have $1-$2 coupons, which are quickly combined with store sales for those amounts. Again, something that should always be FREE

--Candles - wait for the clearance sales and combine with the glad candle coupons that are always around for free or nearly free candles. 

--Air fresheners - Glade and Febreeze usually have coupons around, and I usually get these brands for free when I wait for a good sale to double up on a deal. 

--Dish soap - Palmolive and dawn have coupons, and a couple times a year, there are great sales that make high volume liquids for very cheap. On top of this, many dishwasher companies will have "full value" mail in rebates zoo try their products. I don't even have a dishwasher, and I have a few dishwasher cleaning products (would last me a few months when undo get a dishwasher haha)

--Paper products - no brainer if you've ever walked that aisle! Toilet paper, Kleenex and paper towel are always on sale! Combine great sales with coupons for that brand which are always around and never pay more than a toonie for 24 rolls! I even got expensive hot pink toilet paper for $1 because there was an in store sale and a promo coupon from the brand. 

-- food items: Soup, cheese, bread, Pasta (for the most part), bottled water. - these are items there are always coupons for and/or on sale. We've never paid more than $1 for a case of water. Cheese is expensive, so wait for the half off sales and combine with a coupon then. Same with pasta and sauce, it went on sale last week for $1 for a huge bag or one can. 

--Laundry soap and softener - same deal as above. Our favourite has been the arm and hammer massive jugs that go on sale for $12, combined with $3 off coupons. It's 5 months and were still on one jug!

--Cleaning supplies - windex and green works have been my best scores so far, as free on buy 2 get $4 deals when it went on sale for $1.99 each. 

The key for all of these is hanging onto your "high value" coupons until a good sale comes along for them. In some cases though, check those app rebates which may add onto a current sale + coupon to make the item completely free - I would use my coupon in these instances too. 

Not in the grocery store:

--Interest on credit cards - why? If you can't afford to pay for it, don't put it on the credit card! My favourite line on my credit card bill is the line about how long it would take to pay off my bill if I only made the minimum payment. Never! Credit cards have crazy interest rates, and this is how they make money. 

--Atm fees - plan ahead or shop at a place that gives cash back. Even buying a pack of gum and getting cash back at Walmart can be cheaper than using their $2 ATM fee across from the registers. 

--Calendars - if you need one, these are easily printed or requested like the Milk calendar.

--Return address labels - this is probably a tasteless one, but many charities will send out packages with your name and mailing address on them in the hopes that you will make a donation. War Amps, SPCA and others. 

--Grocery bags - buy some ikea ones once and always leave them in your car. 5 cents a bag adds up quick, plus you're helping the environment not contributing. Some places like NoFrills will have boxes at the front for you to put groceries in lieu of bags. If you absolutely need plastic bags, try shopping at Walmart where they are still free. 

--Stuff you won't use - this seems simple but if there's an incredible sale on mustard but no one eats it in your house, the money spent would be a waste UNLESS you donate the item. I've done this with diapers and wipes when the deal was too amazing to pass up, but I don't have a baby. 

Buy and Sell stuff - Kijiji, EBay, Varagesale

This is an easy one, but if you'd like some spare change in your pocket, sell some stuff or look for stuff you want to buy for sale by others!

Almost all of us will have stuff we don't need or got as gifts that just aren't us. There is a huge market of people like me who don't want to spend full price on stuff if they don't have to, so they will take to searching Kijiji or Facebook sell groups to see if someone has it for sale. 9/10 I have found what I'm looking to buy for sale by someone else cheaper. 

This work both ways; sell your own stuff and look to buy previously used stuff on the same sites. In not a pro at this, but I've tried to list some tips I use below:

Selling:

- do some research, figure out what the product was/is priced as new. Then, sort out whether your item is still in "like new" condition or whether you should make it half price due to wear and tear. Also do some research for your item on the sites you're going to advertise on; what do other people have it priced at?

- take pictures of it. This seems simple, but there are a ridiculous number of ads that have no product pictures of what they're selling. I don't even look at those ads, as there's a trust factor for me. Try to take pictures of all the views that you would want to see if you were buying it. 

- Write a description. Fluffy details of how it came to be in your life are not needed, more important would be keywords like "new with tags", "brand new", "like new condition". Try to be open about the product, if it says Large and fits like a small, say so. It helps build trust in the reader that you are forthcoming. Remember to state "pet friendly home" if you have a dog, and "smoke free" if you're not a smoker, these are important things people ask about for items. 

- copy the description and post it a bunch of places!  Kijiji is always my first stop, followed by a new app called Varagesale (virtual garage sale), followed then by posts in "for sale" groups on Facebook. There are A TON of Facebook sell sites - both for specific items (like horse tack or Disney collectibles), and for generic location-based sell groups. 

- you can also print up small posters and place them in nearby coffee shops (with permission). For large or expensive items like bed frames, couches or instruments this seems to work well. 

- when you post, make sure you only post contact info that is absolutely necessary. I only ever give out my email on posts, and my Facebook name is not my real full name. If you don't want to respond to emails, put only your phone number. When responding to messages, again, just be careful what you put. 

- NEVER arrange to meet at your house unless it's necessary (like a couch or something). I always take my stuff to a coffee shop across the street, for my protection. I advise everyone to do the same: pick a lobby of a grocery store or such, meet at a Tim Hortons and just advise you'll be wearing some bright coloured coat. Safety first!

- if possible, bring a friend. Added backup, plus someone to talk to while you wait for the buyer to show up. 

- people will barter. I usually try to price my items 10%-20% above what I actually want to get for it. People will low-ball as well, so you just need to figure out before you post the item what your lowest is. If in three months of constant posting you still haven't sold it, maybe it is priced too high, and I would suggest researching the price online again. 

Another thing to consider is what you're trying to sell. People have made businesses out of selling items on EBay and Etsy. There's a lady my mom follows online who dumpster dives for items, cleans them up and then sells them on eBay. Some people around town here take tables and chairs slated for the garbage and redecorate them to be pretty beautiful new items, and then sell them on commission in someone else's store. Others do handmade necklaces and charms, and have great stores on Etsy. A lot of all these people have Facebook pages that document their progress on new items, as well as announce upcoming sales to their fans. 

Below are a few examples of some i follow (Tumble and Lorraine do online etsy sales that sell out immediately, and Unique is a storefront that has so many different artisans inside that bring their items to the shop to sell. 

Buying:

- research, again. Learn what the storefront price is and what it comes with. Then, look on Kijiji, Amazon, the shopping channel, Facebook. See who has it and for what price. Figure out what you would be willing to pay after the research. Maybe through the research you found it on sale for half price and don't need to look any further!

- check out bargain bin stores around town. My roommate and I were looking for this one DVD for a year, did not want to spend more than $10 on it. Finally, I posted on a Facebook sell group if people had this for sale and someone said to try this discount DVD shop. I did, and bought the movie for $4. Some of the liquidation world stores around town have surprised me with what awesome stuff they have at the the time.

- post on Facebook or on Kijiji that you are "in search of" or "looking for" the item. Put in pictures and maybe a link to the full price item you want, and feel free to put in the price you want to pay. I've done this for a bunch of items and the buying/selling community has a lot of eyes and ears to help you do some of the leg work 

- it doesn't hurt to ask - ask the seller if there are any further discounts or if they'll come down another __$. I've been in stores and asked this and they've said they could apply some coupon I didn't know existed, and some people I've bought Kijiji stuff from have said they'll come down in price. For Kijiji and Facebook, just like how people will try to haggle you down, do the same (respectfully of course). 

- if buying from a person and not a store, arrange to meet somewhere not at their house. Don't walk into someone else's domain, you don't know who else is there. 

- just like selling, try to bring a friend. 

- bring small coin instead of a $20. If you can get them down a little cheaper than the $20 they're asking for, the last thing you then want to do is ask for "change". Bring toonies and loonies and $5 bills. 

Just some tips and tricks I've used. Feel free to share your own!

Discounts for becoming a rep

Just another way to get a discount : become a rep for the product!

I know a bunch of places have this scheme, buy the starter pack which has a bunch of stuff you'd probably actually want, and then get a time limit discount (in some cases it's a lifetime discount) on the products you're interested in. 

I'm a rep for Regal Gifts, though I in no way use this as a business. I use it as a discount offer for myself and family and friends because I think their products are so cool. I signed up, bought the starter pack of catalogues and such, and then got a year long 25% discount on all their products. They have a tiered program that if you sell a certain amount in the year you get a certain discount, so my 25% off turned into 15% off this year because I only "sold" (bought) $1000 of products in this last year.

 Regal also gives you a free "web store" so that you can direct potential customers where to buy stuff that doesn't even involve you. My favourite part about Regal is that you don't "Have" to buy a certain amount every month though. You can, and be entered into draws and such, but there is no requirement, like most companies have. (If there is any interest in you reading this to become a rep and get the discount too, let me know. There are "referral rewards" which would give me a gift card :) )

Most makeup companies that use reps have this program too, like a friend of mine that sells Aloette products (which are great): start with hosting a girls night in party, let the rep do the spiel and hope that people at your party will buy some products, plus you get a free shopping spree for hosting the day. Then, get signed up and even if you don't want to be a rep anymore, keep the discount. I might have missed some details, but I can direct you to my friend if you're interested in learning more. 

There's also Younique makeup products. Buy a $119 starter pack worth over $200, full of cool stuff you'd actually want, and become a "rep", which most people just use for their own discounts. You get a web store as well, but have to sell a certain amount to keep it each year. They also want you to sell/buy $125 every 3 months, and to keep the lifetime discount, you need to sell/buy $1000. Again, if there is interest in more details I can give you my reps/friends contact information. 

There are so many more, but even if you don't want to knock on doors and sell stuff, they can be great to save a little more money on the stuff you'd like to buy anyways. 

Basically everything I can think of has a rep program attached to it: Cleaning products (Norwex), cooking (Epicure), candles (PartyLite and Scentsy), Tupperware, more makeup/creams (Avon, NYX, plus lots more), scrap booking (Close to My Heart), "just for fun" (like Cloud9 lingerie or Fantasia sex toys), leggings (SweetLegs or Mayberry), jewellery (Silpada, Suetables, Kalung, so many more) and clothing (they call the home parties "trunk shows"). If something interests you, try googling it with the search term "be a representative from home".

If you wanted to make one of these a great side business though, there are lots of tools at your disposal to make this happen: social media still seems to be the best way to spread the word and keep interested people informed of the deals and offers. Email blasts, Facebook pages, Pintrest pinning of your favourite products, YouTube videos showing the transformation using the makeup - all of these could help you actually make money in these different opportunities. I love reading the online stories of people who have got out of debt, bought some expensive thing, or just been able to pamper them self from these work at home businesses. :)

Again, it doesn't hurt to ask!

Below are two simple examples of "it doesn't hurt to ask".  

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This year, I did a lot of my Christmas shopping online. I think I got a bunch of unique gifts, which I hadn't seen in stores. 

I did the whole smart couponing thing and used "sign up to save" discounts on every site I could, googled "promo code for x" for every other site, and took advantage of sales or clearances they had running on the sites. Other than a deal I bought on Groupon which was a huge disappointment in my opinion, I was pretty proud of what I had bought and what I had saved. 

Then; Black Friday. 

I had bought a couple things on the Red Thursday from some online US retailers. I thought I was doing pretty good with coupon codes and free site wide shipping. Then Black Friday weekend came and both sites announced better deals than I had bought my items for. Of. Course. 

This is a lesson in, not beating yourself up for missing an even better sale, but instead being willing to ask. I always say it doesn't hurt to ask. 

So I emailed both companies. Said that I either needed to do a) cancel the order immediately to attempt to re-buy the items over the weekend, or b) have them simply credit me the difference instead of potentially losing the sale. I explained the date I had bought the items and the discount I expected to be applied to my credit card (on one site it was $10 and on the other site it was $12). I fully expected the response to be "tough shit" or "snooze ya lose", but I went by my own advice and sent the emails, plus a follow up email to both on Sunday. 

In the end, Both companies did refund me the amount I had asked on the Monday. $10 might not be a lot of money, but $10 US can buy a couple more gifts up here, and I'd rather it in my pocket. I profusely thanked both companies and told them they would have repeat business from me. 

So, shameless plug to some of the greatest sweatpants ever Crotchgear and to a necklace for every person in your life, The Needed Necklace. 

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Another example was for this magazine subscription we get, which recently got taken over. We had issues at the takeover, as suddenly a couple of the magazines my grandma loves to read dropped off their subscription list and she no longer got them. 

We called in and emailed and complained, needing an explanation, citing how unhappy we were with what we felt like was an almost bait-and-switch as we didn't get an email notification saying any magazines were going to disappear, in advance of the next monthly payment (which I explained I would have cancelled the subscription for had we been notified). 

Apologies and fluff later, they offered me 3 months at half price. That took me into this month, December, paying something like $7 for 112+ magazines. 

At work, we had a company come in to pitch something to us, and brought us "gifts" (bribes?) which included a free 3 month subscription to this company. 

Well I started scheming how I would cancel my subscription, then re-buy it (under a different email) at the current holiday promotional discount of 60 days free, then would cancel that and buy it again (under a new email again) with the bribe gift of 3 months free. In my brain it was all working but I was exhausted thinking about having to remember all these dates. 

But, I decided to call their customer service again to see what could be done. Could they just credit me these months instead of me jumping it around? Could they just apply this three month discount to my existing account?

The answer to both was yes, in part. They offered me a 50% discount for the next three months, and advised that my three month promotional coupon could be applied directly to my account when I wanted it to be. Saves me the hassle and sounds good to me to save some more money!