Friday 27 February 2015

The Love Affair Continues......Shoppers Drug Mart

The sun was shining and I needed to purchase some stamps for work, so I stopped in at my favorite Shoppers Drug Mart.  There's nothing better than being able to score a few great deals at the same time as completing your errands for work.  I quick stop at their postal station in the back of the store and I was free to pick up a few things.

Once again Shoppers had some great deals this week.  The deals are even better when you match them up with coupons!  I was able to get a few really great deals by using some coupons I had on hand as well as a few of the weekly coupons that are emailed to me by Shoppers.

Royale Tiger Towels Paper Towels - Regularly retailing for around $5.99, this week they were advertised for $3.99.  There is currently a contest running at www.royalepromotions.ca where you have an opportunity to win a variety of products.  There is also an "instant win" game you can play.  I was lucky enough to "win" during the instant win game and received a $3.00 Royale Tiger Towels coupon that was available to print.  You know what that means.......paper towel for $0.99!

U by Kotex Tampons - I have a picky daughter who will ONLY use this brand of feminine hygiene products.  The couponer in me cringes when I see other brands go for better deals, but that just makes my donations to the women's center even better.  Regularly priced at $5.99 for the 18pk, this week they were featured for $4.99.  One of my weekly emailed coupons was for $3.00 off ANY tampons!  I was able to pick up a box for $1.99!!

Pledge - This handy little cleaner is a pricey one, retailing at $7.49.  This week it was a great sale at $3.99 per can.  How happy was I to discover that my online couponing app "SnapSaves" had an offer of $4.00 rebate for one can of Pledge (limit of one per transaction)?  The put one penny IN my pocket before taxes!

I was stopped by one of the lovely sales associates as I was shopping to direct my attention to a section in the store of clearance priced items. Wishing I had my coupons with me....I saw some amazing deals that I couldn't pass up!  Herbal Essence Shampoo with bonus Dry Shampoo retails for $5.49.  Shoppers clearance was $1.25 each when you purchase 2!  Honest!  $1.25!  Herbal Essence Conditioner (the big 500ml bottles) regularly $5.99 was on clearance for $1.12 each when you purchase 2!  So I purchased 2 bottles of shampoo, 2 bottles of conditioner, received two bottles of dry shampoo as a bonus, and paid $4.74! Before your jaw hits the ground.....wait....it gets better!  Another online couponing app, Checkout 51, currently has an offer for $2.00 rebate when you purchase one bottle of Herbal Essence Shampoo AND one bottle of Herbal Essence Conditioner!  There is a limit of one rebate per week.......BUT.....that means I purchased SIX bottles of hair products for a grand total of $2.74 before taxes!  That's $0.46 a bottle!

Last but not least is a regular deal at Shoppers and one I use often.  My email coupon was $0.49 for any Campbells soup.  Regularly priced at $2.29, I saved $1.80 by using this coupon. I use this soup in lots of recipes or simply with a grilled cheese sandwich.  I also bought a bag of Jelly Belly Valentine Jelly Beans (don't judge me, it was lunchtime and I was huuuungry!).  These were regularly priced at $4.99 but were on clearance for $1.00.  I have a weakness for gourmet jelly beans so in my opinion, it was $1.00 well spent!

To summarize, if I had bought all of these products at regular price, not taking advantage of sales or coupons, my total would have been $54.28.  By taking advantage of sale prices and still not using any coupons or discounts, I would have lowered my costs to an impressive $23.25.  With taking advantage of sales, coupons and discounts, my grand total today was $8.73.  That is a savings of 84% from regular price, and 62% off the sale price.

Happy Shopping!


Friday 20 February 2015

Shoppers Drug Mart - My loyalty you will forever have

My love affair with Shoppers Drug Mart began many years ago simply by chance.  It was a new store that had opened up in my town and it was convenient to fill my prescriptions there.  Due to some major health issues in my family, I tend to be at Shoppers a LOT.  On any given week, I will be in Shoppers Drug Mart for one reason or another 2-3 times.

What I never expected was the amazing customer service each and every time I walk through the doors.  I have never felt like a bother or inconvenience.  I have had specialty items brought in just for me and I have had phone calls at home to remind me or notify me of something they thought I should know.  They know and embrace the fact that I am a couponer......patiently sorting and entering each coupon or opening another till to keep lineups at a minimum.  I have had store clerks find me in the store to let me know of an item that may have just been put on clearance that I hadn't noticed!  They celebrate my savings and help me find the best ways to keep my family healthy and happy.  I cannot tell you enough how lucky I am to be a customer at their store.

Shortly after they opened, Shoppers Drug Mart introduce their Shoppers Optimum program.  With their store card, you receive 10 points for every dollar spent at their store (excluding gift certificates, tobacco, and gambling). You also accumulate points on your prescriptions!  Yeehaw!  Once you reach various levels of points, you can cash them in for store product (excluding the same restrictions).  Points redemption levels are as follows:

8,000 points = $10
22,000 points = $30
38,000 points = $60
50,000 points = $85
95,000 points = $170

Those points?  You can cash them in on almost anything.  Need milk and bread and it's still three days till payday?  No problem!  Need to buy the family stocking stuffers that seem to add up so quickly?  Done!  Does your daughter long for a special perfume that is out of your budget but you know exactly how she would react seeing it on her birthday?  Do it!  Even better, the store holds promotions over the year when they actually give you MORE than your points are normally worth!  (ex. at Christmas there will be a "bonus" redemption where your 50,000 points will be worth $100.00 instead of the usual $85.00)

Shoppers will also host a variety of sales that will give you the opportunity to accumulate your points faster. A regular occurrence is to receive 20x the points when you spend a minimum of $50.00 or more before taxes.  If you sign up online to monitor your Shoppers Optimum card, you will also get bonus points simply for signing up!

You can also opt in to have special offers emailed to you on a weekly basis.  These are limited to one per transaction, but you are able to do multiple transactions throughout the week.  Just remember to break them up into separate orders.

I had some great email coupon offers this week and I thought I would show how you can save money with just a little bit of time and only a couple of coupons.

Coupon 1 - Get ANY Campbell's Soup and pay $0.49
I chose a can of Reduced Fat Cream of Chicken Soup as my family uses this all the time in recipes or to have on rainy nights with grilled cheese sandwiches
Regular Price - $2.29
My Price - $0.49
Savings - $1.80

Coupon 2 - Pay $1.30 when you buy ANY eggs
These coupons are great because they don't specify what type of eggs you must buy.  Ever wanted to know what free range organic eggs tasted like but couldn't afford it?  You can now! This time I chose Burnbrae Large Brown Eggs
Regular Price - $3.99
My Price - $1.30
Saved - $2.69

I also picked up a package of Chips Ahoy Ice Cream Flavors (Chocolate Chip Mint) cookies that were on sale for $1.99.  I snapped a picture of my receipt for my online couponing app "Checkout 51" that will reimburse me $1.25 for one package of those cookies this week.
Sale Price - $1.99
My Price - $0.74
Savings - $1.25

The total regular price of those three items had I not used any coupons would have been $8.27.  Using my coupons and taking advantage of on online coupon offer, my cost was $2.53.....saving me a total of $5.74 or 71%

Friday 6 February 2015

Feeling Fresh with $0.87 in my Pocket!

What a nice way to end my evening last night!  A spontaneous shop that actually put money IN my pocket!  After I picked my daughter up from work, we swung by Walmart to rent a movie from the Redbox machine.  I had a coupon for a free rental from completing a survey for them and with yesterday's announcement that they are pulling out of Canada on Feb 13th, I wanted to make sure it didn't go to waste.  We like to wander around Walmart and see what is new and exciting and it was also an opportunity for me to check out some prices before my weekend grocery shop.  I'm really glad we did!
For some reason, whether it is discontinued products, new packaging, making room, etc.....there are a lot of different things on clearance right now in my local Walmart.  The regular couponer will always suggest you to try to match up these clearance priced items with coupons available and really save yourself some money!  Here is what I purchased:

Now I will quickly explain costs, coupons and savings I managed to get.  Here are the prices and what coupons/savings I managed to get:

Dove Body Wash - Regular Price $3.47 ($3.88 after taxes) - $2.00 coupon I printed from Smartsource.ca - $2.00 online rebate from Checkout 51.  Final Price $(0.12)

Clear Men 2-in-1 Shampoo - Clearance Price $1.00 ($1.12 after taxes) -$2.00 online rebate Checkout 51.  Final Price $(0.88)

Pantene Heat Shield Shampoo - Clearance Price $1.00 ($1.12 after taxes) - $1.00 Proctor & Gamble coupon (newspaper insert)  Final Price $0.12

Speed Stick Gear Deoderant - Regular Price $4.96 ($5.55 after taxes) - Full Mail-in Rebate Offer from Red Plum newspaper insert (they will reimburse me by cheque for the cost of the deoderant PLUS all taxes) - $5.55 Final Price - FREE

Total Out of Pocket (or I guess in this case, IN my pocket!) - ($.88)

My mom will be thrilled to find out that she gets some more Dove Body Wash!  She loves it when I surprise her with items!



Why I coupon

There's a feeling you get when you managed to "score" a great deal.  It's like a rush of adrenaline...you against the register...that feeling of victory when it all goes as planned.  Now I am not one of those "extreme" couponers like you see on tv.  There's a number of reasons that I'm not, yet I truly believe that to each their own.  Here are my reasons for not extreme couponing in case you are curious:
1.  I don't have the time.  I probably spend an hour or two a week sorting through the flyer and seeing if I have access to coupons to match up with them.  I don't actively seek out additional coupons (trading, jumping in the recycling bin, etc) but that's just my choice.  My extra time is spent with my two kids and two dogs instead.
2. I don't have the room.  I have a lovely storage area set up in my basement.  There's shelving units and baskets and everything is organized and sorted.  This is so I can find it easily and I use it before it expires.  My general rule is that I try to make sure I will use it within six months.  Anything more than that and there is a strong possibility it will expire and will be wasted.
3.  I don't need it.  I know that I can track down coupons and get 40 tubes of Polident for free.....but I don't know ANYONE who could use it!  When you first start out couponing, the lure of "free" things is very strong and it is hard to resist not getting everything possible.  It's taken me couponing for a few years to settle into what I do now and what works best for my family.  That being said, if I come across a deal or freebie that I DO know someone will use (either someone I know or a local shelter) I will still pick it up.
I know I don't save as much money as a lot of other people out there and I am okay with that.  I track my savings out of curiosity and I can tell you that on average, I save between $4,000.00 - $5,000.00 every year.  I am also teaching my children how to shop smart and stretch their pennies without going into too much debt or living on ramen noodles!  I know that what I do improves the financial stability of my family as well as helps out additional family and friends.  Every year I donate at least once per year to the local women's center, the local SPCA, the Food Bank, and the local Community Christmas Care.
To be honest, one thing that is even better than that feeling of rush when you score a great deal, is the smiles and hugs you get in appreciation for helping others out.  Share the knowledge and the freebies, I promise you will feel amazing doing so.