FREE money - yes you read that right!

Sorry I've been away for a bit folks but motherly duties called. I had to do the appointment thing for 2 kids plus myself and also fight off a virus while keeping everyone else healthy!
We are all on the mend now and appointments will always be happening.  Now I'm  back to help you all save your money!
On THAT note did the Blog title catch your eye - yes you did read right I am going to teach you the art of getting FREE money! Chances are many of you are  doing it already  or at least have a good idea of how.
First off how many of us have a wallet full of store reward cards?  I know I do (I had to buy a bigger wallet just to hold all my cards)
One of the key ways of earning back FREE money is to take advantage of these cards, 2 of the big hitters I have are PC Plus and Shopper's Optimum. Make sure you take great advantage of all these cards offer and don't forget to sign up on your smart phone with the Apps so you can load those weekly offers - loading these offers are where you get the most points back.
Personally I accumulate my points all year and use my rewards toward Christmas gifts, Last Christmas I cashed out $90 worth of Shoppers optimum points and used towards my kids Christmas gifts! That's right $90 of FREE money, I got points  mostly by loading  my weekly offers and buying stuff like milk and the weekly deal of Pepsi products.  Unfortunately with Shoppers you can only use your points towards actual items in the store and not gift cards. That's why I love my PC Plus card because you can use towards groceries, mobile products, clothes and/or  gift cards.
Simply by loading my weekly offers (which BTW are based on products you usually buy) I saved enough points that equalled to $100 cash , I used my points toward gift cards for my family for Christmas. This is so awesome and it saves me from taking money from our budget because this money is FREE!
Another good reward card is Airmiles, however  I have not had as much experience with this one.
But I do know you will want to sign up for emails so you can get your offers and coupons that they send to you. Also if you sign up for reward miles your points will accumulate and you can use as cash towards groceries ect. or use towards online vouchers for stores and restaurants.
Do you go to the movies often? then you should sign up for the Cineplex Scene card. You get points on admission and concession purchases (also discounts on concession food) AND did you know you can also get scene points from stores and restaurants  (example Sport chek, swiss chalet, Harveys, Montanas ,Milestones ,Cineplex store, East side Marios and more) you can use the points towards FREE movies - HELLO!  that's a FREE  date night  in my books.
Do you read? do you buy books from Chapters? then you need a plum reward card so you can gather points on your purchases and someday get some free books.
There are SO many points/rewards cards to get some have better/higher rewards than others but all in all every points gets you closer to FREE stuff/money! So you should definitely take advantage of every point system you can.

 

 

Still on the FREE money topic, this is new to me and I am in love with it.  If you have a few quiet minutes in your day (usually around 20-30 minutes) you need to be doing survey reward sites.

Currently I have 2 favourites, Web Perspectives and Legerweb. Both of these sites reward you for completing surveys but in different ways.

Web Perspectives will send you a few surveys a day and you can choose the length and topic of survey you wish to complete. They reward you with points when you complete a survey and you can save these points towards emailed gift codes. 1200 points will get you $10 amazon Canada gift code (it only takes around 1 week to reach this target), they then send you a code to your email to be applied to your amazon account. EASY money ! There are other rewards such as admit one voucher to Cineplex,  $10 chapters gift code , 50 airmiles, $15 bonus card to the source and more.

I tend to stick to Amazon because I can get pretty much everything I would want on that site.

I have been a member since January 15 2017 and so far I have cashed out 3 times for $10 amazon gift codes (that's $30 FREE money) just for completing a few surveys in my free time.

LegerWeb will send you a cheque or paypal,  at first you get  money just for completing your profile and learning about how the site works, then they will send you a few surveys that you qualify for (most are $1 and $2) you must get to a minimum of $20 in your account before you can cash out.

I have been a member since January 12 2017 and I already have $15 in my account.

Once again easy FREE money for completing a survey everyday or so.

There are also fun reward sites like Swagbucks Canada or grabpoints it takes much longer to get enough points to cash out for amazon gift codes  - they reward you for searching the web, finding codes, doing surveys and watching videos. I do this for a few minutes everyday, even if it takes a few months to get to $5 amazon its still FREE money!

Well I hope you have enjoyed my post on how I get FREE money and I hope you take advantage of everything i listed in this post.  In this day and age where the cost of things keep rising we have to do what we can to stay on budget so why not capitalise on the FREE money out there!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need some help.

5 Savings Strategies For Grocery Getting

 

In my last post we dealt with the "Basics", regular monthly bills and how we can save more money.

I left this one for a category all in itself, The dreaded Grocery Shop.  I don't know about you but I HATE doing the weekly grocery shop, so much money out the window! For years I lived not being able to afford the foods /brands I liked or fresh products my family needed, and cutting corners wherever I could.  What if I could tell you there is a way to get the groceries you need and want AND still save on your pocketbook? YES folks it can and IS being  done!

 

 

MEAL PLANNING:  First thing first - Do an inventory of your pantry, fridge, and freezer, then make a weekly/biweekly meal plan for all 3 meals everyday. (I know its lots of extra work - but I promise you it will pay off) Choose meals that you can make using the food you already have on hand.  Next move onto your store flyers, see what meats are on sale and plan the rest of your meals based around the weekly sale. OK now your all set to grocery shop - BUT WAIT - Take note of these next tips as this is where you will save WAY more money!

 

MAKE A LIST: Now you know what items you need for your meals, your ready to make a grocery list. ALWAYS shop with a list and stick to the list. I have found when shopping without one you tend to spend more than we need to.

 

 

PRICE MATCHING:  If your serious about saving more money you will want to price match.  This is where you will be able to get the best price for the products your need (ex. fresh fruit) and the brands you love. If you have a smart phone I highly recommend downloading the Flipp App, I use it all the time and not just for groceries. 

Flipp has all your local flyers available for you to view right on your phone, as you look at the flyers you can tap on items you want and they will be saved under clipping under that store (this is very handy if your price matching- you can use your phone at checkout). 

You can also search for products you need or like (grocery or non grocery). Flipp will show you all the stores that have the item on sale, so you can find the lowest price available.

Using Flipp has made my life much easier for price matching and it saves me making tons of lists and bringing flyers to the store.



Here is a list of stores that price match most stores only price match against local stores so you will have to check what stores your store price matches against :

Fresh Co.                                           No Frills

Real Canadian Superstore              Giant Tiger

Walmart

* I do my price matching at Real Canadian Superstore you may have other stores in your area that price match that I missed .

 

COUPONS:  Save those coupons, especially ones for items you buy regularly. You can save extra using coupons AND price matching.  Where to find coupons? flyer that come in the mail red plum and smart source, also check the packages your products come in.  There are coupon sites where you can get them mailed and also print from home, these sites are  Save.Ca, WebSaver.Ca, Smartsource, PGEveryday.Ca, Every little bit helps!

 

S.C.O.P:  Stands for Scanning Code Of Practise :

- A promise from retailers to customers that there will be accurate scanning at the register on all UPC.

So basically this means the price that is listed on the shelf will ring up the same at the register.

SO.. watch your items scanning in at the register and always double check your receipts, because if an item scans higher than advertised the customer is entitled to receive item for free on up to $10 max. (if item is higher than $10 you are entitled to $10 off the price)

SCOP is only for regularly priced items and does not include pharmacy related items.

Make sure to pay close attention and always remember the SCOP rules as you may need to remind your cashier.

 

OK sorry for such a long blog post but this is one of the biggest areas where more money can be saved and kept in your own pocket.

Be a Savvy shopper, apply these principles and enjoy the savings!

stayed tuned next post will be all about store rewards!

Getting Back To The Basics!

I have so much awesome money saving info inside my head, I'm not sure where to start and I don't want to skip over anything. 

SO.. Lets start with the basics, EVERYONE  has monthly bills , no matter where they are financially

We all have heat, hydro, phone (land line.mobile), Internet and possibly cable/satellite.

I will go through each one and tell you how I save and YOU can too!!

Phone:

• I have included both landline and mobile in this section, though I know lots of people have done away with the land line and use solely mobile -- if you're doing this that's great you're saving money!  Go through your phone bills and see where your money is going, do you use that long distance your paying for ? are you going over your data? Call your provider and see if they can give you a better plan based on your usage. They are always happy to help.

Internet/Cable/Satellite:

• I have put these together because most families have them bundled with same provider.  Personally we are with Bell for phone, internet and tv.  What you can do is phone and ask to speak with someone that can help lower your bill because you are unhappy with the amount its costing you.  They don't want to lose you as a customer and will transfer you to someone that will go through your services and see where they can lower your payments, and shave some money off your bill. You will need to do this every 6 months because the prices they give you only last for 6 months (at least with Bell) This can save you $30-50/month!
• Another way to save is to cut out the cable/satellite - buy yourself an android tv box that streams movies and television programs through the internet. You can still watch all your favourite shows just a day later than they air and even new movies!  However you will need a very good internet plan with unlimited usage and fairly fast speeds.  Android tv boxes can cost anywhere from $60-over $200 * I recently bought one on amazon for $60 and it works great! after you buy this you will cut out that cable bill as there is no other cost.
• Another alternative to cutting the cable/satellite is Netflix. With a subscription cost of only $10 a month how can you go wrong! you still save a TON! but with Netflix you are always a season behind the currently aired tv programs and Canadian Netflix does not offer as many great shows. You will also need an unlimited usage internet plan as well.

Heat and Hydro:

• Not too much we can do to save here, other than being conscience of the utilities we are consuming.  We can turn down our heat and use less hydro. BUT.. to save monthly you can request to go on a budget plan through your utility company. This means your bill will be the same amount monthly for the entire year (even in the summer), this is helpful for budgeting because you know exactly how much you will be spending each month.

This is how we save on those pesky monthly bills, lots of info to take in but I hope it was helpful to you and you can save some money!
Thanks for stopping by and look for another blog post from me about Frugal Living!

Welcome to my Blog, The Good, Bad, and Ugly

FIRST I want to say thanks for coming by and reading my first ever attempt at writing a blog, I might add that   I am not a writer so please bare with me.  I'm  just a woman/wife/mom that wants to spread my knowledge to others about Frugal living and finding ways to survive on tight budgets.
That being said my story in a nutshell, I was blessed to be a stay home mom of my 3 kiddos for 17 years. Though I don't regret for a minute my time at home with them I wont lie it was hard living on a single income! There were months where I had to pick and choose what bills got paid and others where diapers and food came first. We struggled for many, many years and it wasn't pretty!.
18 years later my kids have grown , I am  finally working again part time and in the past 3 years I have learned so  much , wisdom I wished I had when I was struggling financially ,trying to make that pay cheque S_T_R_E_T_C_H!  THIS  my friends is the point of this blog, im passing along all that I know about Frugal Living and here is a hint and the key --The internet is your friend !
More to come soon , thanks for stopping by!