We have received many emails from Canadians wanting to know our couponing and saving secrets. Well I am going to spend a little time talking about two of them.
Statistics Canada reports that the average Canadian household spends $241 per person on food each month.
Food, shelter and clothing still account for more than half of spending for the lowest income group in Canada.
The one-fifth of Canadian households with the lowest income spent an average of $22,340. Spending on food, shelter and clothing accounted for 52% of their total spending while personal taxes accounted for 3% of their budget.
Food is a variable cost and we can control how much we spend each month on groceries.
But can you really reduce your food budget without giving up on good nutrition and hygiene?
You can do it just like us!
I still shake my head in disbelief when I look at what our family has saved in the first nine months tracking our coupon savings of this year.
We have saved over $1,700 since June of last year. We did this by stockpiling on great sales and deals, using coupons smartly, and understanding sale cycles.
Now, we live in a small condo (620 square feet) – we don’t have room for a small shop like the Ivanovskys from Extreme Couponing.
With the tips we will outline, it won’t take a lot of effort for you to become an extreme canadian couponer too.
Learn the acronyms
We created a webpage that shows you the all the Canadian Coupon Terminology Coupon Lingo and Coupon Abbreviations. This helps you be better prepared when you read and hear about deals and coupons.
Know the coupon policies of your favorite stores
Many websites will publish deals and coupons but unfortunately, if you don’t know if your store will accept that coupon it will lead to extra frustration. We have started to compile some popular stores coupon policies like Walmart Canada, Safeway, and Zellers. We plan on adding a complete list the next week available only to email subscribers. Stay tuned.
Start small and have goals
All plans and goals need to be SMART.
S = Simple
If your goal is not simple, it will be tough to achieve. Create a plan that you would like to start to save on groceries at first or on your beauty or cosmetic or baby product purchases. Keep it simple at first.
To start you off, register to receive emails from Grocery Alerts -we always publish the latest coupons available to Canadians that you can either order or print off.
M = Measurable
Have a measurable goal. Example, I want to save $50 per month on my grocery bill each month. This is $600 over a year.
A = Attainable
Aim for savings of 10% to 15% first.
R = Realistic
Similar to a weight loss goal, don’t aim for anything unrealistic like 75% savings. This is very difficult to do in Canada – we don’t have stores that double coupons.
T = Track it
If you do not track your progress, it is impossible to know how you are doing. How much do you save using coupons? Grocery Alerts has created a coupon savings tracker that allows you to record all your coupon savings.
This allows you to track your progress.
Start getting Coupons
Every week we publish the top grocery deals from major deals from each grocery flyer in Canada. We matchup the sales with coupons to show extra savings. Most of the coupons are available from Grocery Alerts Canada by either printing them off or requesting them from another website like websaver.ca or gocoupons.ca (our Canadian favorites).
Here is a great trick to get a large number of HVCs (high-value coupons):
Request a coupon from your favorite manufacturer. They love to hear from their fans (just like us). We have received high-value coupons from Chapmans, Dole, Popchips, Kelloggs, Fresh Express, and Micheal Angelo in the past.
Step 1: Find the manufacturer to contact.
Find a manufacturer whose products you use weekly and enjoy.
Step 2: Find the companies customer service mailing address or e-mail address.
Companies try to make it as easy as possible to contact them. Usually, you can find a “Contact Us” page that either has a form that you can submit, an e-mail address, or a mailing address.
Step 3: Write the letter or call the company.
There are two approaches to take when it comes to writing the letter.
- If you really enjoy the product, explain to the manufacturer about how you value it over other products to tell them how you enjoy their product.
- If you had a negative experience with the product, explain what happened and what they can do to help the situation.
Another major tip we have is that once you have accumulated a number of coupons, start to trade your spare or unwanted coupons for others that you are looking for. Grocery Alerts has created a coupon trading application that allows you to trade coupons. Get the coupons you are looking for.
Trading coupons is one of the best ways to save huge on your shopping bills.
If you are looking for pet coupons, find another trader that has those coupons and trade your excess cereal coupons. These trades are very profitable - we received several Aveeno coupons and $2 off All-Bran coupons that we used in coupon stacking at London Drugs.
81 Comments
You can’t beat superstore in Mission for overall prices. Shop thursdays it’s cheaper, and the east Indian ladies shop sat mornings and clean the shelves. Wongs has great produce for the buck. The butcher past masque has best meat if you can afford bulk.
Hello,
I’m tried clicking on the coupon trading link, but it seems to be broken. Does anyone know if it has been changed or if it is still even available????
i always see the same coupons they need to add new one
I use to coupon years ago, then found that manufactures stopped putting out a lot of coupons, so I gave up. But over the past 6 months I’ve been going strong. Like many of you, I don’t have a large budget, so I started off with my “$20″budget. I would check the flyers for something that was on sale for at least half price, that I use, and buy “$20 worth. If I happened to have a coupon, even better. While I was in the store, I walked around and gathered up every coupons I could find. Little things soon started to add up and I found that I eventually had more of my budget to designate to stock piling. I always take my coupon book with me to take advantage of unadvertised in store deals. I only buy our local newspaper when it has coupons in it. Then I buy 10 copies, wait for those coupon items to go on sale, then stock up. If the store is out of stock, I always ask for a raincheck. I always go to my local Zellers store first, they will price compare which saves time running around. I also cash in any HBC points I may have towards my purchases, and use my airmiles whenever I can. Airmiles can be turned in for grocery store coupons and by Christmas I usually have around $200 in free groceries. When Sobies have a BOGO sale , that’s a great time for coupons. Good luck everyone!
does anyone know any other great sites to get coupons from?
@Zombiasnow - I too am in the low income group as I am on Disabilty and PWD. I was chronicling my expenditures via excel and have thought about how I’ve been able to survive. But I lost it due to a computer crash and am starting anew. I’ve even started to put things away, by buying a “stockpile” item once a month when it’s on sale.
Thank you for all the great tips. It is very helpful for a newbie to hear from the pros!
Hi im completely new to the this process, but very interested. My problem seems to be that very few of the sites cover my area of atlantic canada. I seem to be haveving a bit of difficulty in finding and printing the coupons as well. Any tips would be helpfull.
A friend gave me a great tip last week…she keeps the flyers for the week and then gets the next weeks flyers on Wednesday, she looks through them and then goes shopping at whatever store she needs to in order to get the deals, if it is on last weeks flyer she goes Wednesday before the sale is done, if it is in the next week’s flyer then she goes shopping on Thursday for it. One thing you can do it find a grocery store in your area that will price match. Go through the flyers for the week, keep the ones with sale prices you want to buy, take them to the gorcery store you shop at with price matching and get the sale price from any of the stores with sales on that week..you can’t help but save money this way. Then if you can find coupons for the products you buy that are on sale already, you will save ALOT of money shopping this way. Stock up if you can on things you really regularly use when on sale, better yet on sale with coupons off so that you can save on most major items you buy. If you don’t have money ahead to do that you might think about using a food bank, then using the money you normally would have spent for that little amount of food and buy stock ups on sale, it will get you a tiny bit ahead and if you are then able to do this even a few times it will make a bit more space in your tight grocery budget so that you have a tiny bit of breathing room to stock up even a tiny bit which if done over time can then give you enough ahead to be able to really shop the ways you need to survive better on your own without the same levels of stress and struggle that you are facing now. Anyways just some thoughts… Good Luck!
Hi, I’m an extreme couponer in the U.S. and I’m in Canada for a week. I’m trying to teach my friend how to coupon here, but it is so different from the U.S. Is there any other methods of getting coupons beside what is listed above? Are there coupon inserts in the weekly Sunday newspaper? Thanks.
@meysaephan21:disqus There are inserts in papers (depends on the city) which day. We have a coupon trader that lets you trade coupons. http://www.groceryalerts.ca/coupontrader/ Thanks!
Check out Canadian coupon & freebies links on FaceBook you’ll find a list of all the 2011/2012 Canadian newspaper coupon inserts with the release date, newspaper name & province listed…hope this helps :)
This site has taught me EVERYTHING I know about couponing:)
Grocery Alerts has asked me to post about my “extreme couponing” adventure that I most recently accomplished at a London Drugs in Calgary Alberta. Total Paid: $169.15….Saved $774.36….Total
Bill Was:$943.51 (including price matching! so bill should have been
about 10% more if I used only LD prices) Saved 82% ++. There is so much to say about this trip, so here is a link to my blog about my whole couponing experience. Hope you enjoy it! Cheers!http://jackiesway-tosavebig.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-extreme-couponing-trip-to-ld-part.html
I don’t understand why Grocery alerts.ca would want to even promote anything at all for Shopper’s Drugmart. They as a corporation will not implement a coupon policy, they leave it up to the individual store manager. By doing that you have different policies for each store and also coupon polices that change like the weather depending on the store mangers mood. my local Shopper’s Drugmart will now no longer accept internet pritable coupons. I call for a complete BOYCOTT OF SHOPPERS DRUGMART STORES UNTIL THEY IMPLEMENT A CORPORATE COUPON POLICY.
@8bd95e69a2db282e6161dddbfdbc323d:disqus It is unfortunate that they do not have a coupon policy and frustrating for consumers.
Consumers need to let the store know their feelings. Please email or call their head office requesting this policy.
We received an email from them stating that a policy was coming.
Get a Shoppers Optimum card, then! That’s what makes it worthwhile to shop there. Get your Rx’s there as well – I can tell you that at least thrice (sometimes 4!) times a year, my DH and I get $250 worth of free stuff there – so $750-$1000 of FREE stuff a YEAR. What else do you want – and what other points program even comes close?
I notice everyone says they are saving money of groceries using coupons but it seems like most coupons are for beauty products and cleaning supplies. Where do you find actual food ones?
@2731da3eb0e33f1f91410832891b4768:disqus What kind of food coupons are you looking for? We post many food coupons each week on GroceryAlerts.ca
You can coupon stack by using multiple coupons on the same item. As long as the coupon has a different UPC code it is OK (if the store allows coupon stacking). Makes sense?
i have been searching the internet for good canadian couponing sites. i have found that moneysavingmomcanada.com would be helpful for you to check out it is very informative and has a seperate section explaining coupon stacking like you were asking about.
I’m new @ couponing & don’t understand the term “stacking” I always thought you were only allowed to use one coupon per item, because it usually says 1 coupon per purchase. Please explain to me with an example of some sort so I can be an extreme couponer too :)
Thank You for your valuable tips greatly appreciated
What is coupon stacking?
stacking coupons means that you can use more than 1 coupon on the same item…for example if i bought potatoes for $3.99 but I had 2 coupons each for 2.50$ then I will get the potatoes for 0$ cost & at some stores u can even use the overage( the extra .50$ in this example) towards the rest of your purchases:)
Alot of Canadian stores allow stacking…London drugs, Giant Tiger, Atlantic Superstore allows 2 coupons to b stacked, save easy, & I think Sobeys is allowing stacking now too!
Good luck Saving:)
the DOUBLE COUPON DAYS that i have found at PHARMASAVE are wonderful! great time to stock up and SAVE MONEY ! but i was wrong in saying they happen every month… i have recently been informed they happen only for 2 days every 3 or 4 months and they couldnt tell me ahead of time when to expect it because they know only once the flyer comes out. so i keep a watchful eye on the pharmasave flyers! the way double coupon days works is that each coupon you have is worth double its value. example… if my coupon is worth $1, on double coupon days it is worth $2 which is handy when the item you are buying is worth $2 or less. even better when you can find something on sale along with your coupons of double value. why spend money if you dont have to?! pharmasave has toiletries, medicine, drinks, snack foods, sweets, and depending on location, sometimes a limited amount of grocery items.
Wow, thanks for that tip!
Jeanna- I have bought turkey when on sale very cheap and got the butcher to cut it in half. there is no waste at all and you can actually have more meat on hand for the month.
I”m new at the coupon thing and trying to save money like everyone eles will Walmart Canada do the coupon stacking if they are into matching other store for there prices ?
Thank you for the great information
Mich
If persay, I have 100 a month to buy food, not much difference, but still a difference I see. But, to be optimistic about what will fill you up, I see the actual hard cold reality of things makes it extremely difficult to make sense of what “savings” really are. I try and get use out of the coupons with what is already on sale. You’re not alone. You have internet, send to local PM. LoL
@jeanna
If persay, I have 100 a month to buy food, not much difference, but still a difference I see. But, to be optimistic about what will fill you up, I see the actual hard cold reality of things makes it extremely difficult to make sense of what “savings” really are. I try and get use out of the coupons with what is already on sale. You’re not alone. You have internet, send to local PM. LoL
@jeanna
I think she got your point after the 1st post! lol
If persay, I have 100 a month to buy food, not much difference, but still a difference I see. But, to be optimistic about what will fill you up, I see the actual hard cold reality of things makes it extremely difficult to make sense of what “savings” really are. I try and get use out of the coupons with what is already on sale. You’re not alone. You have internet, send to local PM. LoL
@jeanna
If persay, I have 100 a month to buy food, not much difference, but still a difference I see. But, to be optimistic about what will fill you up, I see the actual hard cold reality of things makes it extremely difficult to make sense of what “savings” really are. I try and get use out of the coupons with what is already on sale. You’re not alone. You have internet, send to local PM. LoL
@jeanna
I understand how to use the coupons with sale prices, but one thing that is mentioned on the TLC show is that stores have “seasons” when items are usually on sale. Is there a listing somewhere where we can find out generally when these seasons are so we know how much we’d have to stock up on in order to make it to the next sale? Thanks so much for your help!
Is there anyway to utilize couponing etc. on fresh vegetables or fresh meats?
I dont get it..
Why wait for a deal…. When you can save everyday with the Key to the City savings card… lol
Let me introduce you to a little secret of mine !
Key to the City is a loyalty savings program that allows a cardholder to save money by simply showing his card at any of the participating merchants. These savings are unlimited! You can redeem savings at any merchant as many times as you like, there are no limits to the amount of times you may use your saving card.
So for anyone who is really serious about saving money, Check this out !
ALSO be sure Enter the following fundraising Code: 2568 when registering for the program !
http://www.KeytotheCity.Ca
Thank you, this was very informative..
Can anyone give me the sale cycles so that i can start planning ahead?
@jmm What are some products you purchase on a regular basis?
hi..please, I want to know the sale cycles of baby products like pampers,huggies,similac..im a resident of vanvouver,bc…thanks
most products come on sale every 2-3mths but I’ve found baby products to b on sale more often than other things…when u see something u want on sale try to buy as much as U can afford then make a note of the best price/location & date u found it….after a time or 2 you’ll b able to see that store or products sale cycle.
thanks for the input, i hope the stores here will accept coupon satcking, it’s only london drugs so there’s no other choice.
im not sure on this ! so please help me to !
When u see a product u use on sale u can guess that it will b on sale again in approx. 3mths if not sooner :) I make a note of the best price/location for my fav. products so if I see it on sale some where else I just check my notes to see if it’s really a good sale price or not:)
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Thank you very much for the tips.
Hi my name is aaron fraser I am a father of 5 ages range from 2yrs-15yrs.old and low income. I think i do ok with saving and buying stuff when on sale but know I can do better. need to do better on saving. I am really intrested in doing this extreme couponing. just not sure how or were to get started? I like to do things to the extreme is there any other way. how exciting!!!!!
Aaron thanks for your comment. Start first by requesting coupons. Go to our coupons section http://www.groceryalerts.ca/category/canada-free-printable-grocery-coupons/ where we post coupons you can print or request. Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates. We will constantly add tips on stretching your grocery budget.
Request coupons from your favorite manufacturers and get your children involved.
Good luck!
Hello everyone !!!
As an american who now lives in bc i have to say it is extremely difficult to do the extreme coupon savings here as there are limited access to coupons as well as the fact that your retail grocery stores don’t have double coupon days….sigh
as well as the fact that there always limts as to what can be purchased when an item is on sale, or how many coupons you can use in a order
they do however offer there 10% off days at safeway or no tax day at super store.
i tend to shop on those days as a way to save but beyond that i have also found other ways i would like to share
i am italian so food is very important to me and my family.
shopping in major chains is conveint but not always the best deal for example i buy my ground beef at a polish deli in burnaby because its 69 cents per 100g and they round up to 500 for a pond so i get 50 grams free of grade A beef is one reason but the main reason is there regular ground beef is leaner then what i can purchase of the (extra lean) at safe way super store or any other chain meat department.
if i make a meat loaf from safeway meat i lose a little under half once cooked in water evaporation and fat i will have a 1cup at least fro a 3 lb meatloaf from safeway meat.ikkkky I
when i use the meat from the polish place i have maybe 2-3 table spoons of grease fat in the pan and less then 10% size reduction and the meat just taste better.
so once a month we purchase a large order from them and we actually get a discount from them when we order it in bulk plus for every order over 50 dollar the give us 2 free smoked garlic sausege clubs.
i also go there for my cold cuts way cheeper genoa salami is a staple in my house safeway 2.49per 100g thats on sale by the way
polish place 1.79 always
so look at your local little store for savings as well especially when it comes to meat if you have a deep freezer take advantage…… plan a month worth of meals and buy better quality food and support the little guys they are always more appreciative of there customers you can do the same for produce,
As well as some staple items it does mean spending more time out and runinng around but if you have the means to shop for the month for all your major items and only need to go to the local grocer for produce once week it makes things a lot easier
i feed 6 people on a budget of 300.00 per month and thats on a good month some times i have had to do it on 100.00 dollars or less but we eat well very little in terms of quick fix food
What deli do you go to? I’m in north van so not too far away to try it.
i have found one place that each month offers double coupon days. this place is pharmasave. they advertise in their flyer. i took this in and at retail value i would have spent just over $90 but i ended up spending $13. i wish more canadian stores offered double coupon days.
How does that woek? do you need two coupons for each product then?? thanks
i went shopping at london drugs because there was a sale for pamper diapers, i have lot of coupons but the lady at the customer service said they only accept what is stipulated by the manufacturer, it says there limit only 4 like coupons so she accepted only four coupons which im still grateful although a bit appalled because i was hoping to use all my coupons.
It seems you would have to do multiple transactions to get the full use of the coupons.
yes, i went back and use another 4 coupons. I only did twice because the size i was purchasing ran out of stock.
were did you get your coupons from
I received them from Pampers,they sent through mail. I guess it’s because I became a member(new mom), then some coupons I got them from the Pamper diaper boxes when I was buying the sizes 1 & 2 but they don’t have on their sizes 3 and up, so now I’m trading coupons and looking for newspaper inserts, P&G had inserts last june 4.
Are there other stores that will do coupon stacking in Ontario??
don’t know about Ontario, here in the west ,we have london drugs..
Hello, anyone can direct me to a Canadian site where I can print coupons. I have been on Bandsaver- Websaver.ca and I can order to have them mailed to me, however I would prefer to print them so I can have access to them quicker. Thank you.
@Shannas, Grocery Alerts Canada hosts all grocery online printable coupons along with a few others on this site. You can search for any available rocery coupons on our website. For updates please subscribe to Grocery Alerts Newsletter.
what website did yall go on
You can go to smartcanucks.ca, bargainmoose.ca or coolcanucks.ca to start. smartcanucks.ca is especially good and has lots of freebie offers and a huge coupon database.
Hello everyone! I’m looking for advise. I lost my job and my roommate moved out so now I have way more bills to pay. My fridge is empty and I am looking for ways to save money! so I am looking for an extreme couponing pro to go shopping with me or to teach me how to do this.. I live in London ON, CA. please email me: clmbnbruj@yahoo.com…thanx! =)
We live near London, ON to and do most of our shopping there.. just starting out couponing…see http://www.flyerland.ca for all sale flyers so you know what the deals are… the pick your main store that will price match, take your sale fylers and coupons with your list of what you want to buy.. take the company store policy for using coupons and prise matching so if there are any questions you have your resources to back you up. This way you are going to one store and not wasting time or gas money having to drive around. I like No Frills but their ad fylers at the back on he bottom stated they will only price match with other local store deals..we live in a small town and the only other store is Foodland… so bigger cities likely have better deals in the end, but they are not close to here & gas is dear. It is also harder to get the city flyers in the outlying rural areas to be able to use them when I do go into London shopping as they are not delivered out here even if I can see them online……. but that is what I have learned so far. Any other tips I would love to know them!!
Good luck Steph. Sorry, I live too far away from you, but I too would like to have a buddy to go coupon shopping or shopping with. I live in Mission, BC.
This is something new for me. I’ve watched extreme couponing and have joined some one-line savings. I can’t wait to get started.
please tell me what web site did yall went on
I know exactly what Jeanna is going through. We are a low income family and I barely have enough to buy the basics. It seems that everything I read is geared toward people who have more money than I or have credit cards to help them through when the cash is gone. I need to start a website for low income based persons. I know there are tons of people out there that are in my situation.I just wish I knew where or how to start. : (
Well, let us know if you would like to start writing for Grocery Alerts – it would be great to see a different perspective.
Thanks!
i am in the same situation as Zonmieasnow is and i feel the sam eway and would love to learn how others like us are doing what we cant figure out i can barely afoord anything every month and am choosing between things i really need by month i am stuck and have the time and the comittment to put into this please i need advise
Something that I have had some luck with is wrapping my head around buying what’s on sale, not what you need, because sales are cyclical. So although we’re out of ground beef (for eg.) chicken drumsticks are on sale, so I bought those instead. And having coupons on hand (online printable ones, brandsaver, etc) is really helpful because you really do save more on sales. Some other things you can do is use the food bank, go in together on something with someone else so you only pay half, join a creative kitchen type of thing (I think the cost is minimal, but you make a lot of meals for your freezer), etc. When we were in that situation we had to learn to ask for and accept help. I wish you the best.
Hi Zombiasnow.. I am in the “low income” boat as well..,. and I did start a Facebook page last year flor exactly this reason.
I have been able to save a TON of money this year compared to ever before.. and I have been couponing for over 20 years .
The owner/moderator of this site know my Fcaebook site… I am not sure if it is right to share that here. (maybe you can ask him ) or email me at canadiancouponfreebies@gmail.com … I would love to share some of my hints & tips with you to save money.
Actually, I find this very helpful.
I had decided to figure out how to coupon. Seperation from my husband and falling to extreme illness – I’m on my own. I have always been thrifty and bought the lowest price or hit the sales when I know a store is having a sale. But now I also need to change how I shop (single rather than bulk).
Thanks again for getting me started.
Connie, best of luck to you. If you have any questions, please let us know.
@Jeanna
This always depends on your budget and for how many people you are shopping for.
Grocery shopping is a variable cost on your budget and can always be reduced.
Remember to start small.
@crazy4coupons – great advice!
@Jenna – but doesn’t it make sense to buy things when they are at their lowest price and then you don’t have to be at the mercy of the stores prices when you are desperate for those same items? I used to run out of diapers and have to run down to the store and pay whatever price they had them on the shelf for and now I’m paying the same price when they are on sale and I can use coupons and getting 3 packs to use until the next sale come up. It’s just getting into the habit of buying things at their lowest price.
Sorry, that was supposed to say @ Jeanna.
I don’t know if I can actually do this. I barely have $50/mo to spend on groceries (if I am lucky). It seems to me that the savings is buy more things when they are on sale.. but you need $$ to do that.
The way our family is doing it is to only buy what we will use, price match at No Frills (they will match their competitors), substitute brands to use coupons with price matching. For example, this week, we will get a family size box of Cheerios with a price match and a coupon for $0.99. This way we eat what we normally do but do not pay regular price for it. Good luck.
I find price matching to wal-mart saves you an extra 2 cents on whatever you price match,I have never used a coupon too…Thanks for the advice.