Finding free grocery coupons can be tough in Canada, but not impossible. While pricing and coupon values are all vastly different in Canada versus the US, it isn’t impossible to save. In fact, it is easy to find great deals and save money using coupons on a regular basis. You simply have to know where to find the coupons. This list of ways to get free grocery coupons is just the beginning. Think outside the box to find great coupons available for everything from restaurants to your cat food purchases.
5 Easy Ways To Get Free Grocery Coupons
Contact the manufacturer. Most brands are more than happy to send you coupons when you send them a letter or email them about their products. It’s never a waste of your time to send a simple note to Canadian companies telling them why you like their product and asking if they distribute coupons to Canadian residents. You can check the back of packages for mailing addresses, or websites for a contact form or email.
Print coupons online. There are many coupons available to print online. As soon as I discover a new coupon of any sort, I post about it here on Simply Frugal. Printing coupons is a great option that can easily give you significant savings on your purchases. Just make sure to know your store coupon policy since many don’t accept all printed coupons.
Ask grocery stores and markets. Many chain grocery stores provide you with coupons or digital coupons when you sign up for their reward programs or email programs. You may also ask at their customer service desk to see if they have extra coupons on hand. You would be surprised at how many coupons are left behind by manufacturers for customers to use.
Newspaper coupon inserts. While this isn’t totally free if you are paying for the newspaper, it is a great way to get coupons. To get them for free, ask friends, neighbors and family members who already receive the newspaper to save you the Smartsource and Redplum inserts that come out regularly.
Watch on social media. Facebook has become one of the best places to grab coupons from brands. Follow your favorite brands on social media, and double check to see if they have a Canadian specific page. This is often a great way to grab free grocery coupons with little to no effort. A simple like of a page and email address on a form can often leave you with some high value printable coupons from brands you love.
If you’re looking for free grocery coupons, this list is a great place to start for Canadian residents. You can also consider asking your friends and family, checking with local store bulletin boards or joining online coupon groups that offer coupon swaps to help increase the number of free grocery coupons you are able to acquire.
There are some expenses that just aren’t going to go away, and food is one of them. This list of ideas will help make your grocery budget go further.
10 Tips For How To Save Money On Food
Produce your own food.
This can be growing a vegetable garden or even raising chickens in your back yard for eggs. Producing your own food sources is a great answer to how to save money on food. This usually takes a small up front investment and some time to make work, but is well worth it in the long run for a better grocery budget.
Shop with coupons and sales.
This obvious answer has to be on the list because one of the best tips for how to save money on food is to clip coupons and shop sales at your market or grocery store.
Stockpile seasonal items.
When you find a fruit or vegetable you love and know is only available during a specific time period, stocking up and freezing or canning for future use is a great way to save money in your food budget.
Menu plan consistently.
Nothing kills your grocery budget like take out or last minute ingredients for a fast meal. Take the time to menu plan consistently utilizing what you already have on hand and sales at the time to build a low-cost menu everyone will enjoy. If you really struggle with menu planning, check out $5 Meal Plan. It’s just $5 a month, with a free 14 day trial, for a month of budget-friendly dinners planned for you.
Make more vegetarian meals.
For most meals, the meat is the highest priced item by far. Make more vegetarian meals and skip the meat in your menu plan at least 2-3 days each week.
Use low-cost staple items as a base.
Don’t forget about things like dry beans, brown rice, potatoes and pasta as the base for many hearty and healthy meals that are full of nutrient-dense vegetables, healthy fats,and the occasional lean meat.
Make your own and avoid processed foods.
Instead of buying cake mixes, ready-made bread or even cookies make your own. Avoid all of the nutritional bombs in processed foods and save money by making your own.
Barter with friends and neighbors.
If you don’t have time for a garden but have a friend or neighbor that does, it’s time to barter. Offer cleaning, babysitting, mending or other services in exchange for fresh produce from their garden.
Plan for leftovers.
Make your menu in a way that each meal always has enough leftovers for two meals or at least, a smaller lunch portion the next day for every family member.
Avoid food waste.
If you have just a bit of vegetable or roast left that isn’t enough for a meal, toss it into a freezer bag and save for future stews or soups. Use the chicken bones from a roasted chicken to simmer and create your own chicken stock. Toss vegetable peels and bits of vegetables into a stockpot and simmer for a practically free vegetable stock.
These tips for how to save money on food are easy, practical things anyone can do on a regular basis to keep their food budget low.
What are some things that you do to save money on food? Let us know in the comments below!
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, there always seems to be gifts to wrap for one occasion or another! I know that I happen to enjoy when I’m given a gift and I can tell the gift giver spent a little bit of time making the wrapped gift look beautiful. Interesting wrap does two things:
It gives the recipient of a gift the feeling that the giver went the extra mile.
Even though wrapping paper generally gets ripped to shreds, it add more suspense to the surprise.
So when it comes to your loved ones, friends, or even business associates on any special occasion throughout the year, think twice before you settle for some cheap wrap from the dollar store. Think outside the box!
The truth is, there are plenty of recyclable materials around that make crafting your own wrap easy with barely any cost. Wrapping can even become great projects for kids. Take a look at these recyclable ways to wrap gifts:
Flowers or flower petals. How awesome and sweet smelling would this be!
Old family photos you don’t want anymore.
Photos printed out from a digital camera.
Old posters are great for wrapping.
Leaves. New or just fallen there’s no cost, no problem finding them (depending on the time of year), and they are biodegradable.
Old mail: Most of it goes into the recycling bin but there could be some great pieces to cover a gift. For example, make an envelope for a check out of old bills!
A collage from newspapers and magazines.
Cereal boxes: remember the prize in the box when you were a kid!
Old fabrics, cloths or clothes the recipient of the gift can reuse or donate.
Toilet and paper towel rolls. Cut up and paint them creating an unusual texture with their cylindrical shape.
Tea bag wrappers. Tape them over the box of a new kettle.
Carpet samples or leftovers from an installation make a furrier presentation.
Old cassettes: stack and glue them together making a box for a gift.
Reuse old greeting cards.
Egg cartons. Need I say more? Paint them, glitter them, just go wild with them.
Old sheet music for a musical surprise. You could even write out a song as part of the gift.
Paper bags can go a long way when wrapping.
Milk or juice cartons: wash out, decorate and use them as a gift box.
Maps. These can be great for travel related gifts like a new bike helmet or backpack.
Scraps from a wood shop, metal shop, or printing company. There’s usually a lot of waste at these venues that can easily be converted into something useful like wrapping up a gift.
While some items listed above are simple to use as the main wrapping material others may need some help being attached. If you’ve chosen one of the latter here’s a suggestion:
First use newsprint or other recyclable material to encase a gift. Older used wrapping paper will also do and it’s the perfect time to recycle it.
Apply the chosen material such as flower petals, leaves, or photos with, glue, tape, or string, as you see fit.
Good luck gifting, wrapping, and making others happy! Do you have any other creative wrapping ideas to share?
How to create a simple budget plan for debt repayment
A budget plan can easily help you to overcome past debt issues and pay down debt so you can become financially free. There are many ways to accomplish this, but a simple and straight forward budget plan will help make it even easier to manage. These tips for how to create a simple budget plan specifically for debt repayment will help you to get out of debt easier and faster than ever before.
Take a serious look at all expenses.
The best and most simple budget plans begin when you get serious about what you have coming in and going out each month. It’s time to get serious and focus not only on your expenses but also on what you can do to increase your income.
If you see that you are living outside your means no matter how you arrange your budget, it’s time to start downsizing or making major changes. Unfortunately, this can mean a second job for some people. For others it may mean cutting out a gym membership, special events, eating out or even selling the second family car. Whatever you do, you need to look at each and every expense and evaluate the necessity and ability to change it to improve your budget plan for debt repayment.
Make savings a major priority.
A savings account cannot be an option. It has to be a must-have and a priority on your list. For most people, the lack of savings is what has resulted in higher debt. If there was more money in savings, many expenses would not have occurred and would have easily been provided for. A savings account should be set up to create an emergency fund and backup plan should anything happen where you have unexpected expenses.
You can easily set this up by having funds direct depositedout of your paycheck. If you feel there is no room in your budget for savings, look to some of the things mentioned above to eliminate some expenses to create a savings budget. Even if you can only save $25 a week or even a month, this is a great beginning to a savings account that can help save the day when something unexpected occurs.
Set aside 5% toward debt repayment to begin and move upwards.
It seems like a small amount, but if you make $3000 per month that is still $150. That amount can easily be set aside to pay off debt once you’ve assessed your necessary expenses. Over the course of one year, you can pay off $1800 in debt. That is a significant amount for many families.
As you are able, you can increase that monthly percentage in 5% increments. A 15% – 20% debt repayment plan can make a huge difference in no time toward your family being debt free.
Building a functional but simple budget plan is easy. You truly only need to know what your income and expenses are, then work those numbers until you are able to also make room for savings and debt repayment. The difficult part comes in ridding yourself of unnecessary expenses. Because really, that’s not fun, but I’m positive you will feel so happy once you get your debt payments rolling and knocked off!
Everyone wants to include cheap groceries in their menu plan to help stretch their dollars a bit further. This list of cheap groceries include items everyone will eat that can be purchased inexpensively and used in multiple meals. The idea is to build on low-cost items to create budget friendly meals that are satisfying and simple to prepare.
Dry Beans:
Dry beans are one of my most used pantry items. They are very inexpensive and can be used in so many ways. In fact, dry beans are probably the most versatile, inexpensive and healthy item that can be stored in your pantry. They can easily be cooked in batches in a pressure cooker or slow cooker (or the Instant Pot!) to create easy to assemble meals and snacks. While you can season and prepare them to have a simple bowl of beans or bean soup, they are much more versatile than that. Beans can be mashed and mixed into ground meat to make enchiladas or tacos go further. They can be added to soups and chili, or mashed and seasoned for dips. Mix black beans with diced tomatoes, onion and jalapeño for a simple and hearty salsa.
Some beans to consider adding to your pantry:
Pinto (great by themselves, refried as dip or in burritos, mashed into ground meat for tacos or in chili)
Garbanzo beans (great for curry, hummusor roasting and snacking on
Kidney beans (great by themselves, in soups and chili)
Black beans (great by themselves, in soups, chili, mashed for dip or in salsas)
Lentils (great in soups, salads, or as a base for a vegetarian burger)
Split Peas (great in soups)
Black eyed peas (great by themselves, in soups or salads)
Ground Meat:
Ground meat is the ultimate inexpensive meat cut that helps stretch your budget further. It can be added to soups and casseroles or in things like meatloaf, hamburgers or meat pies for a high protein meal. Ground turkey or ground chicken is slightly more expensive than ground beef, but still affordable.
Potatoes:
Quite possibly one of the most versatile foods around, the potato can be a meal in itself, a carrier for other ingredients, the base for a casserole and a much needed filler when times are lean. Potatoes are not the most nutritious food, but when you pair them with other healthy options and leave off the bacon and cheese you will find them satisfying and fitting perfectly into your menu plan.
Frozen Vegetables:
Since affordable fresh produce isn’t always available year round and it’s vital to have a healthy diet with nutrient-dense ingredients, frozen vegetables are particularly handy. There are many ways to invest in frozen vegetables that are low-cost. You can easily freeze fresh produce when it’s in season to use later, or purchase your store brand. Items I find best in the frozen vegetable arena are things like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, peas, corn and spinach. Chopped frozen spinach can go into soups and stews, mixed in with eggs or even added to a taco or spaghetti sauce to add some nutrients while not changing the flavor. Frozen vegetables are surprisingly affordable groceries that fit into almost any budget.
Pasta:
Much like the potato or dry bean, pasta is one of the most versatile foods you can keep in your pantry. It’s inexpensive, filling and easy to adapt to many flavors. It’s the base for many meals, and can provide you with a great way to stretch your budget. In fact, pasta with some frozen vegetables and herbs can be a fast, cheap and easy meal your entire family will enjoy.
These cheap groceries are just what you need to build amazing menu plans your entire family will enjoy. Use these items as a great base around your favorite herbs, sauces and cheese to build family friendly meals that fit into your budget with ease.
What are some cheap foods that you like to always have on hand?
Being able to give gifts is tough on a budget, but these are the best baby gifts anyone can afford. Not only are they going to be useful for the new mom and dad, they will fit easily into any budget. Thinking outside the box is important, but it can be tough to come up with a fun idea that doesn’t break the bank. These ideas are ideal for you to give one of the best baby gifts without going outside your budget.
5 Best Baby Gifts On A Budget
Meals for post-birth.
One of the best baby gifts you can give a new mom is relieving her stress by cooking a meal or two to help out after she has the baby. This is budget friendly, easy for you to accomplish and great for the new parents. Ask about their dietary preferences, and then create a simple meal that they can slip into their freezer until needed.
Baby wipes.
You can never have enough baby wipes. You will be using them well into toddler hood, even after potty training is finished! Baby wipes are available in multiple package sizes as low as $1 per pack. Quite literally any budget can afford to purchase baby wipes. I recommend buying only unscented wipes since they are safest on sensitive skin, and buying in various package sizes is a great idea. Moms may prefer to have a few of the smaller packages to go in purses, cars or even to have on hand in their own bedroom for those emergency cleanup situations. A simple bundle of baby wipes with a pretty bow is a great gift.
Gift Cards.
These can easily fit into any budget you may have. Even a $5-$10 gift card works great for things like diapers, a fast lunch on the go or other needed items post-baby. A card with a note of encouragement is a great choice to go along with your gift card, and I promise that every parent will appreciate even the smallest gift cards.
Sleepers or onesies.
Babies will live primarily in sleepers and onesies in the first few months, and both of these are fairly inexpensive. Having a bunch on hand will make it easier for new moms not have so much laundry to worry about doing right away. They are also easy to personalize with iron on patches, fabric paint or embroidery for an extra special take on one of the best baby gifts around.
Baby first aid kit.
Many new parents are prepared for dirty diapers and needing blankets, but those rarely used items that are often needed at the most inconvenient times may not be in their arsenal. Things like nail clippers, a syringe to clean noses (I love that one!), cotton swabs for cleaning the umbilical cord and even infant fever reducers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can all come in handy. Don’t forget a thermometer and a list of emergency numbers for things like poison control or a 24 hour nurses hotline.
These are the best baby gifts that are useful and affordable for any budget. They will be great for any new parent to receive.
Did you know that Amazon offers a Baby registry? It’s free to sign up and you get to choose items from the earth’s biggest selection. They have over 270,000 baby items! Plus, they offer easy 45 day returns.
