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Saturday 8 December 2012

Food Savings: Buy on Sale

Grocery bills can be huge over the holidays, as we stock up on treats and comfort foods, as well as special dishes for entertaining in our homes or bringing to potluck meals.  This week I'll focus on ideas for food savings. Today is the fifth post in this series.

It's pretty obvious that buying something on sale saves you money.  But how do you make the most of sale prices?  Here are a few tips:

Know your prices.  The sale price at one store might still be higher than the regular price at another store.  Also, some "sales" appear great, until you look more closely at the shelf tag and realise that the "sale" is only a savings of 10 cents on a $5 item!

Watch the flyers.  Read through the flyers when they arrive at your door (or check the online versions) and see where the best sales are for the week.  You may decide either to do your shop at the store that offers you the best savings, or to stop at several locations, or to go to a grocery store that will allow you to price match the advertised sales at any other store (Walmart, and Real Canadian Superstore are the best for price matching).

Use flyeronfire.com.  It's a website which allows you to input a keyword for a product you're looking for, and it will list for you all the stores which currently have that product on sale, the sale price, and the duration of the sale.  It is an Ottawa-based company and includes all major stores in Ontario.  It's excellent if you have made your grocery list and want to just do a quick search to see if there are any good sales for items you need.

Friday 7 December 2012

Food Savings: Coupons

Grocery bills can be huge over the holidays, as we stock up on treats and comfort foods, as well as special dishes for entertaining in our homes or bringing to potluck meals.  This week I'll focus on ideas for food savings. Today is the fourth post in this series.


Coupons are a great way to save money on food items, especially when you can use a coupon on an item that is already on sale.

You don't need to go overboard and become coupon crazy.  If routine couponing isn't for you, that's okay.  You can still keep your eyes open at the holiday season for coupons on store shelves, in newspapers, or magazines, and save yourself a few dollars here and there. 

One of the two easiest types of coupons for you to use will be regular tearpad coupons -- little pads with tear-away coupons located on the shelves of the store placed right above or below the product itself.  When you're reaching for the chocolate chips and spot a coupon to save $1 off the package of chocolate chips you were already going to buy, you may as well tear one off and present it to the cashier when you check out.

The next easiest type of coupon is essentially the same tearpad style, but that are all centrally located on one bulletin board at the entrance to the store.  These "coupon zone" tear pad coupons appear at all Loblaws family stores (Loblaws, Independent, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, etc).  On your way in to the store, just pause for a moment at the board and take a quick peek to see if there are any coupons to save on items you already plan to purchase that day.

Of course, you can always get more seriously into couponing and hunt down coupons from multiple sources including newspapers, flyer inserts, Facebook promotions and product packaging and then match those coupons up with fabulous sales.  But if you aren't already used to it, there is a bit of learning involved in the first month or so, which may be a bit time consuming at this busy holiday season. 

If you're interested in knowing more about couponing and price matching,  I recommend you visit SaveaLoonie.com and check out the "How to coupon" button or MrsJanuary.com and look for the "Start here" tab.  These sites explain all the basics of couponing in Canada, post links to new coupons and deals daily, and also offer weekly lists of the best sale prices and coupon match ups for the major Canadian grocery chains, saving you a lot of work.

Remember, coupons work just like legal tender.  You wouldn't pass buy a loonie or toonie just sitting there waiting to be picked up ... so don't pass by a coupon that's just sitting there waiting to be spent!

Thursday 6 December 2012

Food Savings: Mix it up with the cheap and the expensive

Grocery bills can be huge over the holidays, as we stock up on treats and comfort foods, as well as special dishes for entertaining in our homes or bringing to potluck meals.  This week I'll focus on ideas for food savings. Today is the third post in this series.
 Today's tip is to mix expensive and cheaper items when planning your menu for entertaining, or even just for special meals for your own family.  You can put on a good spread by spending your money where it counts, and saving it in other places.  Here are some examples:

When preparing a cheese selection, choose one or two fabulous cheeses that you really love and which may be a bit more pricey, even when bought on sale.  Treat yourself to your favourite specialty stilton, or an imported brie.  Then round out your cheese plate with one or two lower-cost cheeses, and even select a less expensive brand.  Monterey Jack, cheddar, and Havarti for example, can often be bought in less expensive (but still tasty) store brands or commercial brands such as Kraft. 

Splurge on a really nice cut of meat as the centrepiece of a dinner, but accompany with inexpensive sides such as potatoes and carrots. Glazes, gravies, and sauces can fancify these simple and inexpensive ingredients.

When hosting a party with snack-like offerings, include an inexpensive option or two such as popcorn or pretzels. It will stretch your party budget a little further.

Choose one part of your meal to focus your budget on, then keep the rest simple. If your main course is a hearty but inexpensive chili, you can splurge on the ingredients for a delightful tiramisu.  If your main course was costly steak, try settling for a simple orange sherbet you picked up on sale for dessert.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Food Savings: Sign up First for Pot Lucks

Grocery bills can be huge over the holidays, as we stock up on treats and comfort foods, as well as special dishes for entertaining in our homes or bringing to potluck meals.  This week I'll focus on ideas for food savings. Today is the second post in this series.



If your workplace, family, sports team, or friend is hosting a pot luck where guests are asked to sign up with what dish they intend to bring, be among the first to sign up.  This way, you can choose to bring an item which you know you can make with ingredients you already have in your home, or that are inexpensive, or that you know you can get for a great price with a current sale and/or coupon.  

Some potlucks offer the opportunity to sign up to bring napkins, paper plates, etc and this can also be a good option to select if you know you can acquire them at a significant savings.


Tuesday 4 December 2012

Food Savings: Eat simple in between

Grocery bills can be huge over the holidays, as we stock up on treats and comfort foods, as well as special dishes for entertaining in our homes or bringing to potluck meals.  This week I'll focus on ideas for food savings. Today is the first post in this series.


Before we begin to tackle the savings on foods for special meals and favourite backed goods, you can go a long ways to freeing up money in your budget by eating more simply on the days in between all the parties and celebrations.  And if you plan it right, you can free up some of your time and perhaps help out your waistline too!  Here are some steps to help:

- Plan simple, inexpensive meals when it's just the family.  Casseroles, spaghetti, chili, and homemade soups are warming and hearty, but can be light on the pocketbook.

- Search your freezer.  This is a good time to go through your freezer and find hidden treasures that have been there for awhile.  Cook the roast you'd forgotten about and then enjoy leftovers for sandwiches.  Make a quick dinner one night after Christmas shopping out of the frozen pizzas that have been in there for months.  Food you already have in your cupboards is free, so eat up what's been sitting there for a while.

- Have breakfast for supper.  Pancakes, French toast, or scrambled eggs make for a fun family dinner that is easy on the pocketbook and can be made quickly in between all the various commitments of the holiday season.

- Try one meatless meal each week.  Meat is one of the more costly parts of a meal. sp try skipping it for dinner one night, and then  you can spend a few extra dollars on a nicer cut of meat when the in-laws are coming over for dinner.

Saturday 1 December 2012

Don't Spend What you Don't Have

Short and sweet advice this morning:  the title says it all. 

To avoid Christmas debt, ask yourself:  "Can I pay for this before December 25th".  If the answer is no, don't buy it.