Making Handcrafted Gift Bags from Discontinued Wallpaper

Using discontinued Wallpaper books available at Paint and Paper stores, I've selected several pages and made gift pages from the individual pages.

Here's a picture of a couple of books I recently picked up from one of our local Paint & Paper stores, plus a picture of several pages I cut out of the books.



The width of the page varies depending on the wall paper book. The sample I've shown below was 15 1/2 inches across. In order for the finished bag to be squared, you need to decide what size you would like your gift bag to be. Keeping in mind the wider you want the bag to be the small the front and back will be. In the example below, I've allowed 2 inches at the left side. In order to have the same width on the opposite side I have to allow 2". For the flap at the right hand side I've used 1 1/2 inches. As you can see, I've used up 5 1/2 inches on the width of my bag so far (2 + 2 + 1 1/2) Subtracting that 5 1/2 inches from the overall width of 15 1/2 inches leaves 10 inches. Divide that amount by 2 and I have a bag that will be 5 inches across. You can work with any width of paper, if you start by marking the inches for the sides first, that will leave you an amount to divide by 2 which equals your front and back on any bag. The turn up on the bottom of the bag has to be the same number of inches on you are using of the left hand flap - in this case 2 inches. Again this is so the bag will be squared when it's finished. From the picture below, you can see that I've also allowed 3 inches for the fold down flap at the top, however, you could make it 1 inch if you wanted a taller bag. Using a ruler I fold along my penciled lines and then run the handles of my scissors of the outside of the fold for a sharp crease. I also cut the bottom flap as shown on a slight "vee" shape to make it easier for gluing.
Fold the top flap down and then turn the paper over so the right side is facing. Put white all purpose glue on the 1 1/2 inch strip, from top to bottom as shown

The 1 1/2 inch flap will be glued on the outside and then slipped under the flap showing of the left hand side of this picture

Slip the glued flap under the flap on the 2 inch side. The glued edge will be on the inside of the 2 inch flap. Make sure the join is even from top to bottom and then use 3 or 4 paper clips or clothes peg to hold in place under the glue dries. After the glue has dried, removed the paper clips and apply the white glue to the 2 side flaps and the outside (good side) of the back panel. Fold the two flaps in and carefully fold the long flap with the glue on top of the flaps, then fold the last flap onto the glued long flap. You can put your hand inside to press down to make sure everything is stuck together. Let dry completely.



Bottom of the gift bag, with all the flaps glued and folded in.

You can now complete your by adding handles and a gift tag. You can use a few strands of raffia twisted together, macrame cord, or thinner cord purchased on spools from the dollar store. You can also cut strips of wallpaper about 1 inch side by 12 inches long. Fold the wall paper in half lengthwise, run glue down one edge, fold and use paper clips to hold in place until the glue sets.Add glue to the end of the strip and place inside the bag about 1 inch from the edge and use a paper clip to hold in place until glue sets. If you use raffia or cord, punch holes in the bag at each end, thread the cord through (right side to inside) and knot. Using a strip of wall paper about 2 inches by 4 inches, glue a plain piece of paper inside and trim. Once dry fold so you have a 2 by 2 inch tag. Thread crochet cotton or any heavier type cotton thread through the top corner of the tag and tie it on your gift bag. If you decide to make several at the same time, once they are completely dry, they can be folder the same way the store bought bags are folder which makes it easy for storage.

If the paint and wallpaper store in your area doesn't currently have any discontinued wallpaper books, ask them if you can put your name on a list so they will call you when they become available. Another place to get wallpaper is from thrift stores or yard sales. People often have left over rolls they put out for sale. If you manage to get a roll, you can make much bigger bags. I would suggest you practise making a bag on a sheet of wallpaper you don't particularly like so you can play around with it perfect your technique. Have fun.

Click HERE for a link I found years ago for making crafts with wallpaper. Several of the attached links in the original thread no longer work, but it may still help you come up with ideas of your own.

Shopping Savings That You Can Obtain Too!

Frugalite here again!! I had some great coupons to use this week in conjunction with sales and price matches, so again I would like to share them with the readers of Save Your Money Canada blog. I used tear pad coupons and insert coupons to score these deals!

First, I was able to get 4 bottles of Clorox Bleach, 2.8L size for only $0.49 each! I think that is a fantastic price. I shopped at Walmart and used the insert coupon from the SmartSource coupon flyer that came out during the week of August 1st-8th to save $1 and I price matched the deal to the Superstore price of $1.49, leaving the total price of $0.49 each bottle pre-tax total.

I purchased 4 Secret Deodorant using a price match for Giant Tiger's advertised price of $1.97 at Walmart and then used 4 $1 off coupons to pay only $0.97 each. They have a long expiry date, so I don't have to worry about not using them in time.

The next deal I was able to snag was 6 cans of Heinz Beans for only $0.34 per can. I used a tear pad coupon to save $1 off of each 3 purchased and I price matched Superstore at my local Walmart store. Beans are wonderful for chili, paired with wieners, on top of toast, plus it's a great meat alternative. So saving money here is a great way to stretch the budget.

I also price matched the Funcheez snacks at my local Walmart using the No Frills sales flyer, plus I had a coupon to save $1 off any 168g variety (lucky me, this was the sale size). The price was only $1 and when I got home I noticed that there was $3 in coupons inside the Funcheez package as well as a Franklin the Turtle booklet. The coupons include: $1 off Astro BioBest Smoothie 4x200ml, $1 off Lactantia Smart Growth Milk 2x2L or 4L and $1 off Black Diamond Portion Packs 126g. These coupons are valid through December 31, 2011.

There were many more hot deals this week, please comment and tell us what your best find was!

Shop Smart Using Sales Flyers, Coupons and Price Matching

My name is frugalite and I've recently been invited by the administrator of Freebies Deals And Rewards to share some of my shopping deals. I've been a member of the FDR forum since July 2010 and love, love love it! I've saved $1641.57 since joining the site last year through the money saving and coupon tips that I've learned. So, I'd like to share some of my shopping deals with you too!

I stopped in at Canadian Tire on Saturday and they were having a promotion called 'Money Maze' where I was able to score 2 free bags for a short survey. Yeah, they'll send me something in the mail but what's a quick phone call to be removed from their mailing list.


Next I went to Walmart and Dollarama to do some price matching and use some coupons of course. So let's break it down and see what I got. I used 2 of the save $5 when you buy any 3 Gillette products and price matched the Gillette Foamy Shave Gel at Rexall for only $1.49 each. So with the 6 cans that I purchased using the 2 coupons, I was paid $1.06 in overages. Yes. Walmart pays overages on coupons used over the face value of the product. Now, I would feel bad taking money and leaving the store, so I apply any overages I may get to other purchases. When I was putting my shopping cart in the corral, I noticed another cart had a can at the bottom. So I got another can for free!


I still had 2 of the coupon inserts to save $0.50 off any Campbell's products, so I purchases 2 cans of vegetable soup and used the 2 coupons, price matched from Rexall of $0.49 and was paid and overage of $0.02 of the 2 cans.


I also needed some laundry detergent and while it was not as hot of a deal as the rest of the items that I got so far, I had 2 coupons worth $3 each that came with samples of Zout by mail that I used. Plus I price matched No Frills for $4.99, so only paid $1.99 per bottle.

The next picture has another item from Walmart and a few items from Dollarama. The 2 bars of Dove soap was only $0.19 before taxes (after a price match and using a coupon). I used the save $1 off any Dove product found in the August P&G Brandsaver coupon insert and combined it with a price match for No Frills of $1.19. The Pine Sol was $1.25 at Dollarama and I was able to use a coupon to save $1 off the price (that I found on Websaver.ca) and the 3 Vileda Scrunge scrubbers were FREE with the $1 coupon found in a past coupon circular (I believe it was Red Plum).


In the August edition of the SmartSource coupon insert, there was a Mail-In-Rebate for Quantum Finish 20 count Dishwasher Detergent or any Finish Quantum product. While I had to put the cash out initially to purchase the Finish Powerballs, I've mailed my form and receipt with the UPC code indicated on the receipt and will receive a rebate cheque by mail in approximately 6 to 8 weeks for the cost of the product, taxes and postage...making this FREE!


Plus last week I was able to use a $3 print coupon for Cottonelle Bathroom Tissue in conjunction with the Shoppers Drug Mart sale of $4.99 and paid only $1.99 for 12 double rolls. Now I'm able to print at home and work, so I scored 2 coupons and purchased 2 different varieties.


I'm on a budget (not a very strict one) but I do have to watch the money that I spend. My coupon pile is semi-big and growing but with a large number of coupons at your fingertips you can save hundreds and even thousands on your everyday and household purchases. What were your best deals of the week?

Take Advantage of Senior Discounts

I know as an avid couponer that when I reach the age to start receiving senior discounts, I will lkely be the first to ask! But, I've noticed that a large number of the aging population doesn't even ask if the place they are spending their money at offers a senior discount.

Most larger  retailers like Shoppers Drug Mart, Zellers, M&M Meats plus others offer one day each month or one day each week for seniors to save money off their purchases. Most will also require seniors to provide proof that they qualify by presenting a piece of identification. Plus, in addition to discounts, seniors can also get free stuff too!

At what age can you take advantage of these senior offers? Well, they vary from store to store and the youngest I've personally seen is age 55 to start getting discounts.

Click here for Discounts and Freebies for Seniors in Canada

Do you know about any senior discounts that are not widely advertised but still available? We'd love to hear back from our readers, please comment below!

Save Money Using The Internet

From the very first day that I plugged in my (now recycled and replaced) computer and connected to the world wide web or the Internet; I've been researching ways to save money and stretch my dollars. I have a number of strategies that I use to make my dollar go further and spend less overall.

1. Freebies and Samples: are a fantastic way not only to try new products, but to also save on the amount of money you spend on these items. Freebies Deals And Rewards offers weekly free sample offers for members only on Fridays. Living Well offers free samples approximately very second week. P& G Brandsampler offers a lot of samples every 4 months. Plus if you check the websites or social pages of the products you use, you'll be surprised how many have some type of customer promotion. See the freebies and samples shared at FDR freebie forum.

2. Coupons and Rebates: are a huge portion of how I save money using the Internet. I use forums like Freebies Deals Rewards to look for coupons and check sites like, Save.ca, Websaver.ca, GoCoupons.ca, Brandsaver.ca, Right@Home, Life Made Delicious and Live Well Save Well. Click here for all of the above coupon sites. I also look to trade coupons with other fellow Canadian couponers. I join coupon trains, learn more about Coupon Trains here.

3. Comparison Shopping and Price Matching: I never shop online or offline without checking prices first. Comparison shopping can save an individual or family thousands of dollars every year! There are shopping comparison sites like Canada Post Comparison Shopper or Price Canada and you can also use online flyers or paper flyers to comparison shop. I also match the sales in the flyers to the coupons I have on hand to save even more. Plus when you price match using sales flyers as select retailers, you can cut the time spent on your shopping trips and save big too!

4. Cash Back Shopping: Air Miles and Aeroplan collectors should always check if the retailer they are shopping at has a link in either of the online malls. This way you can earn bonus miles for shopping at the places you already intended to spend money at! Plus, they both offer special promotions to earn extra miles on certain purchases.


5. Sign Up For Brand Newsletters: visit the websites of the brands you use and sign up for the email newsletters. Often companies use e-news to share valuable discount codes and other exclusive promos. You could get coupons, discounts, contests, free samples, event notifications and more.

6. Use Google or Other Search Engines: to search out discount codes for online shopping using terms such as "e-coupon", "promo code", "discount code", "coupon code", "promotional discount", etc. along with the name of the company you wish to save at.

7. Free Shipping Offers: if I'm shopping for items that I do not need immediately, I usually consider shopping online to save fuel and time. So, to maximize my savings, I look to shop online during special offers of free shipping or I may combine my purchases if there is a minimum dollar amount to spend to qualify for free shipping. Click here for online retailers offering free shipping.

8. Shopping With Credit Cards: Visa offers cardholders discounts when shopping a select stores through a program called Visa Perks. Check your credit card statement for inserts that could help you save money on your purchases.

Are there other ways that you save money online?

Lower Your Entertainment Expenses

The cost of entertaining a family can be a large expense, especially in the summer but with some research and planning it doesn't have to break your bank. Going to the movies can cost a family of 4 with concession purchases upwards to $70. Going to an amusement park is considerably higher, given that most you cannot bring your own food or drinks. These are entertainment expenses that should be sparred as much as possible to lighten the weight of your expenses. We have some practical tips to help you find ways to save:

First, every family should invest in some good old board games...yes! I want you to buy games that aren't electronic. Set aside at least 1 night each week to play a different board game. With good planning you can get 2 board games for the price of 1 at various times throughout the year. This will help establish a variety of games.

Second, during the summer months have at least 1 picnic or barebecue each week. It cuts some of the household chores and gets the family in touch with nature. Bring out the Frisbee, croquet set, badminton rackets.


Third, forget sitting in front of the television. Check your local area for outdoor movie showings and walk with the family. Enjoy the outdoor air and the exercise is good for all of you. Many locales have weekly, biweekly or monthly showings. While most offered are free, there are some outdoor movie venues that are really cheap too. Other municipalities offer free concerts to locals, which is a great way to experience bands and singers you've never heard before or hear some that you already enjoy.

To cool down in the heat and have a lot of fun too, bring out the sprinkler and sprinkler accessories. Go wild, let go and have a ball! Play ball too! Tim Hortons offers free swimming during the summer in select Ontario, Canada swimming pools. Click here for more info.

Another excellent indoor activity is going to the museum(s) in your area on the free admission days. Not every museum offers free entry to residents, but more and more are opening their doors for a couple of hours each week.

Local library branches always have different entertainment happenings, such as: reading clubs, movies, puppet shows, crafting and more. Library cards used to be free, but more libraries are receiving less and less funding and have used the paid library card as a means to keep the library functioning. So for the small expense for the library cards, there lots of ways to entertain a family. From reading books, listening to audio books or music, borrowing movies, and some libraries even have toys and other tactile games for lending.

Bring the family on a volunteer event, they can learn many valuable lessons including altruism. There are so many agencies looking for volunteers and you can often find listings in your local newspaper. Plus, I read that people who volunteer their time are happier individuals and live a longer life.

Take a bike ride at least twice a week. It'll help keep your heart strong, bones healthy and keep your family in shape. If you don't have bicycles, there's no need to rush out and pay hundreds of dollars. Many great bicycles can be found at garage and yard sales. Remember to be frugal. Save your pennies and you maybe you could take a winter holiday....but we'll talk about winter later...it's too nice for snow right now!

You can always visit the Freebies Deals And Rewards Forum to find more free events offered in Canada. Please comment and tell us how you entertain your family on a budget.

Make some money with your opinion

Have you ever delved into the world of surveys? There's literally hundreds of companies looking to get your opinion. Some pay, some don't. Some give meaningful rewards, some only give you contest entries!

Today we're going to explore different survey sites that allow you to get active and give your opinion on new products and services, test new or redesigned products and make money or win prizes for your participation.

Who do we like the best?

1. Pinecone Research - This is a very good survey site which offers $3 to $5 per survey completed, however, you will need to locate a sign up banner to join. Sometimes they open up referrals but only twice that I'm aware of. They also have product testing as well. Learn more about PineCone

2. Web Perspectives - They offer many survey opportunities for points. The points can be cashed in for PayPal, Air Miles, Amazon.ca, Chapters.ca and more. Read more on Web Perspectives

3. Asking Canadians - Offering surveys for Canadians to receive HBC rewards points, Aeroplan Miles or entries into contests. Plus from time to time they also have referral bonuses. More details

4. Harris Poll - You can choose to receive Aeroplan points or HI Points as compensation for completing surveys and they also offer paid focus research opportunities too. Learn more

5. Tell Harlequin Reader Panel - Read Harlequin books and give your opinions - they mail you the books free and are yours to keep with no obligation to purchase anything! Read more

What other companies are out there?

1. BzzAgent - Word Of Mouth Community (WOM) where you get to discover and try ew products and services (mostly for free), you spread sincere word of mouth, report back to BzzAgent and earn points to exchange at mypoints.com for gift cards. Read more about BzzAgent

2. LegerWeb Surveys - Cash paying surveys and contests with a low $20 cashout. More details

3. TNS Canada - Complete surveys and earn points which can be redeemed for Air Miles, gift cards and other prizes. They also offer sweepstakes entry surveys too. More about TNS

4. Global Opinion Panels - Receive points for completing surveys and redeem points for cash payouts. Read more about it

5. Divine Product Review Squad - They are looking for readers who are interested in trying new products (before they are available in stores) and sharing their honest thoughts and opinions about them on their site. More details

6. Opinion Outpost - Earn points on surveys that you qualify to complete and then you can cash out at a low $5 or you can let your points grow to cash out for a bigger amount. Learn more

7. MediInsight - Surveys that are medical related. Panel members will be eligible for regular prize draws for cash and merchandise and occasionally be invited to participate in online surveys for which you will be compensated. More info

There's lots more surveys companies listed at our Survey Sites for Canadians forum. Now, if I could just get them to send me regular surveys that PAY and pay good...then I could give up the day job! Ha, ha, I really enjoy what I do and I seriously doubt that my luck would ever be good enough to have well coordinated surveys hitting by inbox one after another as I finish each one. Bliss...Aww, wake up girl!

If you have any feedback on these companies, we'd love to hear from you. Just click on comments and share your experiences. Which surveys are best for you? Which ones do you have a hard time completing?

Find Money You Didn't Know About

Many Canadians have opened bank accounts and then have either forgotten about the accounts or left them there to grow interest thus causing the accounts to become dormant from inactivity. It's possible some of the unclaimed balances are from estates where the accounts were unknown. Once an account has been left for a period of time, the money is shipped off The Bank of Canada as an Unclaimed Balance

There's a time limit though of 40 years from the first day of inactivity. The bank where you opened your account will hold the inactive account for 10 years, at which time it is turned over to the Bank of Canada for custody for another 30 years.

It's so easy to see if you have some money that was left unclaimed. Just visit Bank of Canada and type in a full or partial name, choose a province and click the search button and voila!!

Check here to see if you have an unclaimed bank balance in Canada. To learn ore about unclaimed bank balances, visit The Bank of Canada website.

I searched and researched my name but no matter how hard I wished, I couldn't find an unclaimed balance in my name. Dang, I guess I'll have to save my money other ways.

Family Fun on a Budget

Yes! Families can have lots of fun without having to worry about draining all the money from their wallets and bank accounts. Most communities these days offer some types of free activities and events scheduling for families to enjoy and take part in. The first place you should start your search is in your city or town's seasonal calendar and/or city guide. Most are located online today, so you don't have to leave the comfort of your home to find the activities that best suit your family. Bookmark their calendar so you can check regularly for activities and events that you and your family wish to participate in.

Some of the annual and ongoing events/admissions that are free for families include:

• outdoor movie showings
• Busker Festivals
• Family Fun Days
• summer swimming and winter skating courtesy of Tim Hortons
• summer bowling for kids
• museum admission on certain days/times or guided tours
• reading groups and book clubs through your local library
• television studio tapings

Find these and other great FREE family oriented activities to save on your budget.

Aside the free activities offered in yours and surrounding communities. Try thinking of and implementing the free activities right at your home or close by. Play some ball with the kids, go for a bike ride, go inline skating or take up hiking. If you plan to go for a hike, ride your bike there to save the strain on your wallet with the rising cost of fuel these days.

Other ways to enjoy yourself while on a budget is to use coupons for attractions. Most of these types of coupons can be found in travel guides at travel information centres or inside hotels at the community information rack.

Attractions Coupons By Province

Calgary, AB Attractions - Online Coupon Portal for money saving attractions coupons in the Calgary, Alberta area.

Edmonton, AB area attractions coupons are also available online.

Attractions Ontario offers an online portal for coupons but if you can find a guide, they have printed coupons inside too.


Vancouver Attractions also has an online portal for printable coupons, view the coupons in PDF format.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate any of the official attraction sites for online coupon in the Eastern provinces, although I'm sure that has to be some out there. If you know where to find official printable coupons for the Eastern provinces attractions, we love to hear from you. Thanks and have fun doing inexpensive summer activities to save your budget!

Are You Saving for Retirement Canada? Check the Numbers!

As 2011 is the onset of 9 million Canadian Baby Boomers reaching the age of 65, let's look at the numbers more closely!

• By the year 2036, Canada's over 65 population will reach 10.9 million
• By 2051, those age 65 and older will account for 60% of health expenditures in Canada
• In 2010, the average age of retirement in Canada is 62
• Half of today's 66 year old persons are expected to live beyond the age of 82
• Add 3 months to the average life expectancy each year.
• The percentage of working income that is widely regarded to be replaced in retirement is 70%
• There's 38% of Canadians that have no savings
• In the year 2006, 1 in 7 Canadians was a senior citizen. Yet 50 years ago it was 1 in 14
• Only 25% of Canadian private -sector workers are covered by workplace pensions
• Canada Pension Plan pays an average payment of $512 for retirees and a maximum monthly payment of $960
• The average savings rate in Canada is 3.51%
• Canadian families with 2 children average $176,461 in debt
• There's 17% of Canadian retirees who owe more than $100,000
• The expected amount that the Canada Pension Investment Board plans to be managing by 2038 is $700B
• Canada ranks number 2 in adequacy among 14 major retirement income systems in the world

Source: Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, Statistics Canada, Centre for Financial Services, Ipsos Reid and National Post

Have you started your retirement savings? Do you have strategies for saving money each time you are paid? Are you living on the edge or do you live frugally?

Visit Freebies Deals And Rewards for tips on saving money, living frugally, getting free stuff and so much more.

Each year we rack up over $2000 in coupon savings alone that can be compounded in an Retirement Savings Plan, or invested on the stock market.  The money we save from gathering freebies and samples allows us to put another few hundred dollars away each year too. Because we don't have to buy the free items that we gather, we put the savings away. For example if we get a disposable razor that's worth $8 for free, we put the savings into "our place" when we use the item; just as we would have, if we spent the money in store by having to purchase the product.

"Your place" (meaning your savings venue) could be a interest bearing savings or chequing account with varying ranges of interest, under your mattress, on the stock market, Canadian Savings Bongs, Provincial Savings Bongs, Guaranteed Investment Certificates, in a safe, or wherever you feel safest keeping your money.

Here's a few places to visit to gather information to help you save money:

Tips for Living Frugally
Coupons for Canadians
Finding Freebies Online and Offline

Earn Extra Goodies When You Groupon!!

I'm sure that most people have not only heard of Groupon but may have gotten their feet wet too by buying a Groupon.

What is Groupon?

Groupon features unbeatable deals on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in your city each and every day. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, they secure bigger discounts, which they call "collective buying power"!

Getting Extra Goodies When You Groupon


Swagbucks has daily offers for free swag bucks when you make purchases at select retailers. Groupon is one of the offers that you can earn Swagbucks from! Buy a deal + get free swag = a FANTASTIC deal!

Not a Swagbucks member yet? Join Swagbucks today and start earning cash for your internet searches. We've earned over $250 in rewards to date!

Thanks to Kimber for sharing this at our forum!

Reduce household expenses by making your own cleaners!

There's more than just an environmental benefit from making your own household cleaners....you can also save tons of money and keep your family and pets healthier too!

Commercially manufactured cleaning products are a harsh mix of chemicals which cannot be good for us. They contain harmful ingredients that can trigger asthma, allergies or other respiratory problems. However, there are simple solutions to making your own, people and pet safe cleaning products that are easy on your wallet too!

Some items that you can use to make homemade cleaners include:

baking soda
hot water
hydrogen peroxide
lemons
vinegar

Plus, you can use these simple to find items to cut grease, whiten teeth, brighten toilets, whiten laundry, take food smells off skin, clean windows and mirrors, freshen carpets, clean floors and many more uses. Only your imagination limits the possibilities.


Get (DIY) Do-it-Yourself Recipes and tips for making your own natural household cleaning products, natural disinfectants and a natural mold killer remedy.

Save Money By Price Matching Your Purchases

 
One of the hottest ways to save money these days, aside using coupons and group buys, is to price match. BUT don't forget to bring your coupons with you and save even more money by using coupons in conjunction with your price matches. Now that's smart shopping!

Price matching is available at many different retailers, including grocery, hardware and housewares, electronics, general merchandise and so much more.

Read more about Price Matching. You'll find price matching tips, a list of Canadian stores and extra insider tips to make price matching go smoother.

Ways to Reduce your Postage Costs

Today we're going to talk about the ways that you can save money on postage costs! Postage costs include stamps, envelopes, tape, labels, and anything else required to ship your item. Let's try to beat the rising costs of postage while still getting our message across.

Tips for reducing the cost of mailing items:

1. Instead of sending a letter by snail mail, send an email instead.
2. Stock up on stamps when they go on sale at stores like Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart. They've both offered sales of up to 10% off.
3. Buy permanent postage in bulk, the price never changes for Canada. So, the sooner you stock up, the more you save overall.
4. Combine communications into one envelope to avoid additional postage and mailing supply costs.
5. Send an electronic gift card instead of a physical gift card. Not only will it get there faster, it saves you postage and helps the environment too!
6. Use a fax machine to send your message rather than ship it through the mail.
7. Lighten up your mail by using a light grade of paper or eliminating card stock advertising. This will reduce your expense of the card stock and postage expense too!
8. Send a postcard instead of a letter. No envelope to throw out, you get a nice scrapbook keepsake and it's only 1 stamp to ship it!
9. Renew magazine and newspaper subscriptions online rather than mailing out your renewal.
10. Use flat rate mailers and prepaid packaging.
11. Look for free shipping supplies online, for example many Freecyclers will freecycle packaging materials.
12. Do you owe someone money? Instead of sending a cheque...see if they accept PayPal or another online payment. Send electronic funds online instead of paper funds by mail.
13. If you donate to charity, try making your donations online rather than mailing in a cheque. Not only do you save the postage and shipping supply expense, but you save the cost of clearing the cheque too!
14. Stop mailing out your monthly bills. Sign onto your banking site and pay your bills electronically!
15. Send an electronic greeting card instead of a physical greeting card.

Be creative with the way you save money! We'd love to hear the ways that you reduce your postage costs too. Leave us a comment below! :)

Save Money Through Reusable Social Networking

Reusable Social Networking (RSN), what is it?

RSN is a way for people in a community (even strangers) to reduce, reuse and recycle  items that they no longer want or items that they are looking for

There are a few 'reduce and reuse' sites that allow people to recycle their unwanted goods to avoid more landfill site waste.

Freecycle, is a Yahoo Group available in various Canadian and American cities which you join and then just start to reuse your goods plus request stuff that you need as well.

These groups are about spreading kindness to your neighbours and community, plus reducing the waste that we produce. Remember one man's junk is another man's treasure.

Join Reuse in Toronto for free. Join London Reusable Network for free. Join Free Baby and Kids Stuff in Toronto for free.

SOURCE

Tips to Help Save Fuel with the Soaring Gas Prices

With the price of gas steadily rising in price over the past few months and rumors of g as getting even higher in price, here's some valuable tips to help you conserve fuel when driving and offset soaring gas prices.

1. Keep Tires properly inflated tires under 2 PSI increases fuel consumption by one percent.

2. Keep Car regularly mainted: Cars that are poorly maintained cause poor fuel economy and use more gas.
3. Avoid overloading your trunk and pack lightly on trips.
4. Avoid high speeds driving 20 km over 100 km a hour consumers 15 percent fuel.
5. Plan all your trips for the week or day to avoid using fuel.
6. Consider Car Pooling with other co workers at work.
7. Avoid idling your car for a long time long idling burns more fuel than restarting your car.
8. When driving on the highway keep windows closed with windows open increases fuel consumption by 10 percent.
9. Do not accelerate or brake hard.
10. Use your car airconditioning sparingly. Open the window or sunroof for fresh air.

11. Check out websites like gas buddy www.gasbuddy.com to see where gas prices are high and whre they are cheaper.

12. Petro Canada offers Petro Points where you can accumulate points for giftcards and 5 to 10 cents off on gas. Points are earned on gas and convenience store purchases.
13. Shell fuel stations offer the Air Miles rewards program where you can earn airmiles and then redeem for gift certificates for more gas.

14. For Shell users, BMO mastercard is offering FREE $50 with your first purchase of $20 or more at Shell. That's $30 in FREE fuel!

15. If you shop at Refuel stations (part of No Frills grocery stores) save your receipts and then present them when you shop at No Frills and save a little off your grocery bill for each receipt presented.
16. If you like to shop at Canadian Tire fuel stations, then make sure you utilize the BONUS coupon on the flyer to get extra Canadian Tire Money! Lots of times you can earn up to 10X the CTC money. Plus once you save up $25 in CTC money, bring it to the store and purchase a gift card with it and then use it to purchase your fuel.

17. Use your Aeroplan card at Esso stations to get bonus points with each fill up. Plus you can get Esso Extra points too!
18. Use you cruise control, so that you maintain a steady even speed. This will help reduce excessive fuel consumption from frequently accelerating and decelertating.

19. The Real Canadian Superstore offers a discount of 4-5 cents per litre.

20. If you're in the market for a new vehicle, check out the hybrid model for potential fuel savings.

Canadians are becoming more creative when finidng ways to save money. We'd love to hear feedback from our readers if you have any other fuel savings tips for us!

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How to Maximize Your Savings at Shoppers Drug Mart Stores

Are you frugal shopper and want to learn how to maximize your savings at Shoppers Drug Mart stores?

1. Sign up for a FREE Shoppers Optimum Rewards Card.
2. Sign up for the email newsletter to receive bonus Optimum coupons by email each week.
3. Purchase Shoppers Drug Mart gift cards, present your Shoppers Optimum Card to earn bonus Optimum points and then use your gift card to make purchases and earn even more Shoppers Optimum Points.
4. Watch the prices as they are scanned into the cash register to see if they can be SCOP'ed.
5. Shop during bonus point events.
6. Use your coupons for everything. They even accept printed coupons.
7. Redeem your points during Extra Point Events to get an even greater savings!
8. If a sale item is Out Of Stock (OOS), make sure you ask for a raincheck.
9. Win FREE Shoppers Drug Mart Gift Cards every week! Register today to win!

Shoppers Drug Mart Deals Discussion

Save Money Grocery Shopping - Before Shopping, While Shopping and After Shopping

Before Shopping

1. Check your cupboards, fridge, freezer and pantry to verify what you already have. Avoid spending money now on things you don't need right now.
2. Look at the grocery store flyers for the store(s) you shop at.
3. Write a list ~ avoid impulsive buying. Take it with you while you shop and stick to it!
4. Bring your reusable grocery bags. Save $0.05 from each bag at GTA retailers plus some point programs will give you bonus points for using the eco-bag.
5. Have a bite to eat, it really is harder on your wallet if you're hungry while shopping.
6. Prepare your menu for the entire week using what you already have, and what's on sale in the flyer.
7. If you can grow it or make it yourself, you are bound to save money,
8. Make a price book for the items you regularly shop for. You can record the prices in an address book, spiral notebook, on index cards, a daytimer or whatever suits your preference. This is a powerful resource for shoppers to determine if an advertised special is truly a good deal or not.
9. Shop for items before they run out and buy when they are on special. If you wait until you are completely out, you must pay whatever price the stores are charging.
10. Avoid trips to the corner shops and convenience stores. They will quickly burn a hole in your pocket.
11. Early morning shoppers can often take advantage of price mark downs on bakery items, fruits and vegetables.

While Shopping

1. Take out your grocery list and stick to it!
2. Most bargains can be found on the higher and lower grocery shelves. The more expensive brands are usually stores at eye level in order to get your attention.
3. Stock up during sales! If you can afford to, you should stock up on non-perishable items and freezable items to save money overall.
4. Keep your eyes peeled for unadvertised specials.
5. Take coupons from displays if you are purchasing the products.
6. Try generic brands instead of name brands. Many are comparable to the brand names and most offer refund if not satisfied.
7. Check the reduced merchandise and day old breads for more savings.
8. If an advertised special is not available, ask for a rain check so you can still buy it at the advertised price when restocked. These usually expire in 2-4 weeks; be sure to check the expiry date.
9. Alternative protein sources, if you want to save money in the meat department are: cheese, poultry, eggs, peanut butter, dried peas, beans, and lentils.
10. Always check expiry dates on foods, especially dairy and meats.
11. Use store specific savings cards and/or reward cards.
12. Use free product coupons and cents off coupons to lower your bill.

After Shopping

1. If a product is spoiled or you forgot to check the expiry date, return it for a refund.
2. Check out the store flyer's and plan to shop where you will save the most money. Refer to your price book as a guide.
3. Mail off rebates for products purchased and get some of your money back!
4. Shop at bakery outlets and freeze the bread and buns you buy. They are usually cheaper than the supermarket plus breads are able to freeze and thaw well.
5. Learn the sales cycles of the stores you shop at.
6. Start a shopping pool with your family and neighbours for basic necessity items that are on sale. Whenever someone in the pool goes to a sale, they buy for the others in the pool. (Of course everybody in the shopping pool has to pay for their own items).

Find more valuable tips at the Source of information.

Canadian Birthday Freebies and Savings

Celebrating your birthday?

Well, make sure that you check out the great deals and freebies that are offered to Canadians celebrating their birthday! Some discounts are specific to your birthday, while others allow redemption in your birthday week or birthday month.

View a wide array of Canadian Birthday Freebies and Savings at the Freebies Deals And Rewards forums!

There's lots of FREE food and drink offers as well as many discounted meals deals! Celebrate on your own or with your friends, there's freebies and discounts for both.

If you sign up at your favourite stores, many offer gift cards and valuable birthday savings too! I wonder how many freebies a birthday girl or boy could rack up for their special day?

Some HOT offers include:

FREE bagels on your birthday at What a Bagel
Free Coldstone Creamery Ice Cream On Your Birthday!
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory free birthday chocolate bar
One FREE round of golf for your birthday
Free Drink at Starbucks on your Birthday
FREE burger on your birthday at Red Robin

The above is just a snippet of what you can get for FREE. Have a look in the Birthday Freebies forum for more GREAT birthday offers!

We hope that you have a HAPPY BIRHDAY and get lots of freebies and savings for your SPECIAL DAY!

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Live Debt Free and Save Your Money

There are so many ways to live a frugal lifestyle, stay debt free and save money along the way. Our members have been sharing tips at our forums, that they live by to help them achieve their financial saving goals.

Here's a compiled list of suggestions to live debt free and save your money:

- use rewards credit cards for purchases and pay the card balance off immediately
- use natural homemade cleaning products
- save a percentage of your daily cash allowance for future endeavours
- budget and track your spending, learn where you spend excessively and make necessary changes
- buy only things you need, forget about the luxury "want" items
- refill your printer ink cartridges rather than buying new
- car pool to work or take the bus, get rid of your car (may not be possible for rural residents)
- use free long distance services which may have a short ad to listen to prior to call routing
- send e-cards rather than sending paper cards
- collect cans and bottles with refunds and make 1 or 2 trips to refund each year (or as necessary)


There's also a 7 Baby Steps Program to Being Debt Free that was found on Dave Ramsey's site:

Baby Step 1 - Build an emergency fund starting with just $1000. This is for those unexpected events in life that you can’t plan for: the loss of a job, an unexpected pregnancy, a faulty car transmission, and the list goes on and on. It’s not a matter of if these events will happen; it’s simply a matter of when they will happen. 

Baby Step 2 - Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball. List your debts, excluding the house, in order. The smallest balance should be your number one priority. Don’t worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs. If that’s the case, then list the higher interest rate debt first.

Baby Step 3 - Build up 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings. Once you've completed the first two baby steps, you will have built serious momentum. But don’t start throwing all your “extra” money into investments quite yet. It’s time to build your full emergency fund.

Baby Step 4 - Invest 15% of household income into Retirement Savings. When you reach this step, you’ll have no payments—except the house—and a fully funded emergency fund. Now it’s time to get serious about building wealth.

Baby Step 5 - Saving for children's college or university education. By this point, you should have already started Baby Step 4—investing 15% of your income—before saving for college. Whether you are saving for you or your child to go to college, you need to start now.

Baby Step 6 - Pay off your home early. Now it’s time to begin paying down all of your extra money toward the mortgage. You are getting closer to realizing the dream of a life with no house payments.

Baby Step 7 - Build wealth and give! Leave an inheritance for future generations, and bless others now with your excess. It's really the only way to live!  

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Are you paying too much? Do you know about the Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code -- Code of practice?

Are you aware of the Scanning Code of Practice for Scanner Price Accuracy? If you don't know about this, then you may be paying too much for some of your store purchases.

Key Features of the Code

The Item Free Scanner Policy – The Retailers’ Promise of Price Accuracy.

If the scanned price of a non-price ticketed item is higher than the shelf price or any other displayed price, the customer is entitled to receive the item free, up to a $10 maximum. When the item has a price tagged, the lowest price applies. When identical items are incorrectly priced, the second one will be sold at the correct price.

What does the Code cover?

The Code covers all scanned merchandise at participating retail outlets where this sign is displayed at the store entrance or checkout.

Scanning Code of Practice

If the scanned price of a non-price item is higher than the shelf price or any other displayed price, the customer is entitled to receive the first item free, up to a $10 maximum. If a Code of Practice problem cannot be resolved at the store level, please call 1-866-499-4599 to register your complaint.

What is a non-price ticketed item?

A non-price ticketed item is any bar coded merchandise that does not have a price affixed to the merchandise.

What happens if two or more identical non-price ticketed items are incorrectly scanned?

Customers are entitled to the first item free (up to a maximum of $10) and the subsequent item(s) at the correct price.

How can I claim my refund?

Cashiers are authorized to implement the Item Free Scanner Policy.
If you are not satisfied with the cashier’s decision, you may speak to the store manager or supervisor.
If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome, you may register a complaint with the Scanner Price Accuracy Committee, by calling 1-866-499-4599 (toll free).
Your complaints and concerns will be addressed with the retailer, and you will be notified of the outcome.

Where can I get more information about the Code?

You may obtain a copy of the Code from the Competition Bureau’s web site at http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/.

You may also visit the web sites of the participating retail associations at:

• Retail Council of Canada
  http://www.retailcouncil.org/
• Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores
  http://www.cacds.com/
• Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers
  http://www.cfig.ca/
• Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors
  http://www.ccgd.ca/

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Save Money While Shopping

Saving money while shopping is becoming a wider utilized trend. It's not a bad thing to try and save a buck these days. A person's pride is getting in the way less and less when it comes to using money saving techniques.

There are many ways to reduce the prices you pay for goods and services. Here's some suggestions that we found at our forum:

• price match and/or ad match 
• use coupons
• mail in rebates
• use reward cards
• join store mailing lists for promotions
• shop off season and stock up
• ask for a discount on last item floor displays
• student discounts
• senior discounts
• group discounts
• barter prices (in market setting)
• watch out for clearance sales, manager specials and closing down sales
• shop in the discontinued merchandise
• check clearance bins
• ask for flaw discounts
• liquidation and close-out sales are a good way to save
• check listings on sites like Craigslist, Kijiji, etc
• attend auctions and estate sales 

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Canadians Never Pay Full Price For Your Purchases Again!!

NEVER pay FULL price again!! Here's 20 tips for saving on each purchase:1. Mom always said that it doesn't hurt to ask; so ask for a discount on the items you're purchasing. You can usually get a 10% discount at most places just by asking for it.

2. Join loyalty clubs for all of the stores you shop at. This will give you access to discounts, free offers, gifts and more.

3. Use COUPONS! You can get coupons for everything from clothing to fast food to fancy food to groceries to fuel to automotives, pharmacy products and virtually all other products in between. Join mailing lists either by mail or online for your favourite products to get possible savings. Check to see if the store offers stacking or doubling or coupons.

4. Shop at consignment shops, estate sales, yard sales, garage sales, online auctions like ebay, liquidation outlets and live auctions. It's essential that you know your pricing to make sure that you are in fact getting a savings!

5. Buy shelf models or floor models and ask for a "no box" discount or a "display" discount.

6. Watch for and ask for your senior discount, employee discount, affiliation discount, child or school-age discounts, military discounts, etc.

7. Join group buying sites which service the area where you live and work. Such as Groupon, Living Social, TeamBuy, Push A Deal, Project Pink and more.

8. Buy floor models and ask for knick and dent discounts. Often the store manager will offer from 10 to 20% discount off the displayed price.

9. Shop at the warehouse and outlet stores for your favourite retailers to save even more money. There are a range of factory outlets including clothing, food, toys, etc. In the Greater Toronto area, you can find Mattel Toys, Maple Lodge Farms, Mr. Christies, Molinaro's, Lindt and others.

10.  Always check the discount bins or clearance section in stores. Often the packages have been opened but everything is intact or it might be the end of the season and the stores need the room for the next big promotion; so you can usually get some terrific deals.

11.  Price matching or ad matching can reduce the amount you pay for an item too. Check if the stores you shop at offer such a policy and actively look for better prices to save more money.

12. Use a SPC card either the regular student or the VIP card to get discounts at many stores.

13. Take advantage of mail-in rebates. BUT, we would highly suggest that you do it IMMEDIATELY when you get home, so you don't forget. It's a good idea to keep a booklet of stamps at home for these types of offers.

14. If you live in Toronto, there's a discount card for GREEN shoppers! It's called Live Green Toronto.
Join the growing number of shoppers who choose to support green-committed businesses in Toronto. Show your card at participating businesses to receive special offers and discounts.

15. Join survey groups which pay in loyalty rewards. Harris Poll pays in Aeroplan Miles, Web Perspectives pays in Air Miles and Asking Canadians pays in HBC Reward Points. Once you accumulate enough ponts, you can cash out for gift cards, reducing the overall amount of money that you dish out of your pocket.

16. Look for discounted gift cards on www.cardswap.ca and save up to 40% on Canadian gift cards. Some offer smaller discounts but it's often enough savings to cover most of the taxes.

17. Shop at Thrift stores and second hand stores as well as consignment shop. There are many great deals for a fraction of the retail price of brand new merchandise.

18. Use free long distance services where you may just listen to an ad first to save money talking on the phone. There are several free apps to save money on your smartphone too!
19. Check out price comparison websites prior to shopping to find the cheapest prices at different retail stores.

20. Use a beauty school to have facials, manicures and pedicures. The cost is significantly less than going to a parlor. You could also check hairdressing schools for cheap haircuts, food preparation colleges for cheaper restaurant meals, massage therapy schools for discounted massages, dental schools for a student cleaning for less money and there may be others that haven't come to mind.

Creative Canadians are always coming up with new ways to get discounts on their purchases. If you have a tip that isn't here, we'd love to hear from you!

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