Extreme Couponing – Canadian Style

As some of you might know already from reading this little blog, I am frugal. While some may call me cheap I would have to disagree. You see, I love a deal. My clothes? Ya, I RARELY pay full price for them. Why would I pay double the price for something if I can just wait and get it at 50% off!?

Where I don’t look for a deal is for my home. When doing my renovations I would look for some lesser expensive products but rarely would they be on “sale”. When renovating I kept thinking to myself….”I won’t be changing this room for probably another 10 or more years. So, what’s $200.00 over a 10 year span?”

The number one place I look for deals is at the grocery store because yes….

I am a couponer. 

Don’t think of me like those crazy ladies on that Extreme Couponing show buying 120 cans of cat food. Cuz’ I'm not that extreme. But I am proud to say that in 4 months I haven’t paid money for any tooth paste, shampoo or deodorant. Here’s how.

See this….

This is my lovely pile of clipped coupons! Where do they come from? LOTS of places. Websaver.ca, save.ca, P & G, and the newspaper. Not to mention my mom and sister in law usually pass along their coupons to me too!

Now, each crazy couponer has their own crazy system. For me, it’s easy to divide my coupons into different sections. Personal care items like deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo go in a pile. Then items we use around the house like toilette paper, laundry soap and dishwashing liquid goes in another. Then the “other” pile consists of food items and other things.

I’ve had a friend ask (Hi Sharon!) how I can coupon without buying loads of processed foods like they do on T.V. Easy….

I don’t use every coupon that’s available.

I’m selective with my coupons. I don’t just buy something because it’s free. I manage coupons for things we need in our every day lives. I don’t like to keep too many processed foods around the house so we hardly have any food coupons. We do however have coupons for condiments and staple items like milk, or butter. Not to mention LOTS of coupons for soap, toothpaste, shampoo and toilette paper!

See this little date….

It’s the expiration date. The grocer that I go to checks EVERY coupon’s expiration date. I know a lot of people who use coupons. Most of those people, do it wrong.

Most of the time a coupon’s expiration date is a few months down the road. The best thing to do is keep that coupon for as long as you can because most of the time you will get another coupon for the exact same item.

Example:

Coupons 1:

 

Coupons 2:

 

Coupons 3:

 

I know it’s SO tempting to go out and redeem that coupon right away! But WAIT be patient! Collect those coupons!

Speaking of being patient…DO IT! It’s so easy to go out and use those coupons right away! But most of time, you will find items that are on sale. Especially if a coupon is for months down the road. It will be worth your wait!

I know a lot of people hate coupons and hate couponers even more! And I understand that. To each there own. But for me? It works! I love saving the money for our every day essentials and I try to be as organized as possible so that people behind me at the cash aren’t getting mad.

There are three key elements to successfully couponing. They are; searching, organization, and patience. Together, if you can do those three things, you will save a TON of money for every day household needs! So, get out there and start clipping!

Happy Friday!

xo