Adventures in Saving Money - Part 2

Here's my first post on Adventures in Saving Money. It is not necessary to read the posts in order to understand the points being mentioned. Thank you.

As a follow up to Part 1 of this non-regular series, I'm going to mention the next best thing that saves me a huge chunk of money on my regular, variable spending.

That single tip is:

Watch The Cash Register As Your Items Are Scanned!

Seriously, it's that simple (again!). I'm a big fan of simple. This simple tip is great for two reasons.

First off, many stores have items that scan in at the wrong price. Even if it's off by 10c, that's YOUR 10c. You worked hard for it, you should have your say as to where it goes. Period. Which means that if an item scans in at the wrong price, worst case scenario, they'll adjust it to the correct price.

Second important (more important) reason is a simple code of practice that almost all retailers in Ontario (possibly all of Canada, and I'm not sure about the States) follow. It's called the Scanning Code of Practice (also referred to as SCOP).

Basically summed up as:

On a claim being presented by the customer, where the scanned price of a product at

checkout is higher than the price displayed in the store or than advertised by the store,

the lower price will be honoured; and

(a) if the correct price of the product is $10 or less, the retailer will give the product to

the customer free of charge; or

(b) if the correct price of the product is higher than $10, the retailer will give the customer

a discount of $10 off the corrected price. (source: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/ct02381e.pdf/$FILE/ct02381e.pdf)

 So any retailer that follows this voluntary code is obligated to give you the first item scanned at the wrong price for free, up to 10$ (or 10$ off if it's over that). Keep in mind that it is up to 10$ off the correct price. So if the object in question is regularly 25$ and it's on sale for 9$, you will get it for free. Alternatively, if the regular price is 25$ and it's on sale for 11$, you will get it for 1$.

Then, if you are purchasing multiple items of the same type, the subsequent items will be price adjusted to the correct price.

Some cashiers/supervisors/managers will roll their eyes and scoff. But seriously, let them. Remember that they are there to provide customer service, and on top of that, they are paid by the hour. *I've been an hourly paid employee, and honestly, I welcomed interruptions like this!* So don't feel ashamed or embarassed, because you've done NOTHING wrong.

So that's it! My second favourite way to save money. It takes a little bit more initiative and less shy-ness. But it definitely pays off! All you have to do is mention it to the cashier as soon as you notice it, and ask if they follow the "Scanning Code of Practice". A lot of cashiers might not know what it is, so you might have to ask to speak to a supervisor. But it is completely worth the time it takes.

Good luck, and happy savings!

Laura

Using Coupons To Save Money - The Eco-Friendly Way

I love using coupons. I never thought I would, because of that horrible stereotype that I believed for the longest time:

"Coupons are always for junk food and stuff no one actually buys, especially not healthy/eco-friendly people"

What a lie! Sure, it takes a bit of digging, and maybe you won't get the same amount of savings that you see on Extreme Couponing (then again, those people are a little bit... ridiculous. More on that later if anyone's interested). But every bit counts when you have to stretch your budget just a little bit farther.

For example, Maple Leaf and Schneider's (both Canadian based countries, correct me if I'm wrong) have a "Naturals" line. This includes deli meat with NO NITRITES and no other nasty preservatives. This is obviously not as good as going to the butcher and getting them to put your deli meats in a reusable container, but not all butchers (especially not in grocery stores) will do that for you anyways. Not to mention, there's no ingredients list on those deli meats... I have found save 1$ coupons on both brands of Naturals products, which I have put to good use.

There are also often cereal box coupons, this past summer there was one for a free bunch of bananas up to 2 pounds. Saved me over 2$ for bananas. There have also been some distributed for strawberries and other fresh foods. For me, I don't always buy cereal boxes, but there have been friends and family of mine that give me theirs. Works great for me, and for them.

The same concept goes for paper products. I have found coupons for save 1$ on Cascades Enviro line, which is the Cascades brand line of post consumer recycled products including paper towels and toilet paper. It's even soft like regular Cascades, so no loss there!

Depending on what your regular products are, it is almost always possible to find coupons for them, and save yourself a little bit of cash. Honestly, if all you do is look, it really doesn't cost you anything anyways!

Anyways, that's my spiel. I use some products that have coupons, and some that don't. I prefer to buy things on sale anyways, and if I have a coupon for that product, all the better! But I don't cry if there's none in my stash for it. I might be a little dejected if I've seen coupons for that product but don't have any... but that's just me!

Happy savings!

Laura

Adventures in Saving Money - Part 1

Following up with my last post, I'm going to share some of the ways that I save money every month. Some of them will be damn obvious, others maybe not so much. Either way, I invite anyone who reads these tips, tricks, and stories, to share their personal feelings and opinions about it. I love learning new things from different people, and saving money is something that we all have to do in life.

I was reading in the newspaper on the weekend that Canada's debt-to-income ratio is sitting around 150%. That means that people who are making 50,000$ a year owe (or add to their debt) approximately 75,000$ per year. (Correct me if my concept is wrong, please!). How on earth can we as a population be expected to contribute effectively to the economy if we owe more than we make? Ridiculous numbers, if you ask me.

Saving money and saving the environment absolutely go hand-in-hand. Buying less new both saves money and puts less strain on limited resources. Using homemade cleaners, same concept.

Today, I'm going to start with a task that takes me (on average) about an hour each week, and saves me close to 200-400$ per month. That is some sweet return for my investment if you ask me. It's like making 50-100$ per hour for those hours.

What could be so easy a way to save money for so little time?

Read Your Flyers!

Seriously. That's it! Check out your flyers, make a list of whats on sale, and buy from that list. For non-perishables, buy extra to last (ideally) at least until the next sale.

Doing this will also give you a good idea of what a "good sale" price is. For example, some people will go out and buy a brick of cheese whenever they need it. The going rate for a 500g brick of cheese right now is 8-10$. That's ridiculous. Cheese is something we eat A LOT of at my house. So when it goes on sale for less than $4.50 per brick, we buy at least 8 and freeze them. Currently, we have about 20-25 bricks of cheese in our freezer, none of which did we pay over $4.50 for.

Almond milk (since I don't make my own due to time/space constraints) is purchased in bulk when it's on for less than 2$ a carton (regular price is $3.99).

Small changes create big effects, and reading your sales flyers is just one small change that can really open your eyes into how much money and time you are wasting.

If you don't get the flyers delivered to you (like us), you can use websites that post them online (which saves paper too!) such as flyerland.ca.

Do you read flyers for your shopping (if you even shop at grocery stores)? How do you prepare your grocery/food list for the week? Share, share, share!

Much love,

Laura