Blessedmommy gave me this idea! Post your fav money saving secret!

[cjunk]

One thing I do that saves alot of time as well as money is cooking large quantities of hamburger meat at once and freezing it. Since we season our meat pretty much the same no matter what we are using it for and use the same veggies as add-ins, I am able to do this regularily. I buy a family pack of hamburger when it is on sale and cook it all at once with peppers, onions, mushrooms, celery and seasonings and then freeze in individual baggies. Now I have cooked meat that allows me to make tons of different dinners options in a hurry and I'm not as tempted to get "take out" on those rushed nights! We use this in spagetti, chilli, lasagna, tortillas, nachos, sheppards pie, meat pies, the list is endless! Another bonus is that I am using all my veggies at once, and not wasting any.

Awesome idea! I do the same but add a handful of soya/veggie ground from bulk barn to the mix. It is cheaper and adds a bit more nutrition and you cannot tell the difference if you mix in a handful.

[emmysmom]

love getting deals on toys!


[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/savings/wdTL0x0/]

[daisy20]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned on here yet is to buy your gas (if available in your area) from places like Canadian Tire gas bar or NoFrills/Superstore gas bar. These places give you "money" back to put towards groceries or household items. My husband and I try to only buy our gas from Canadian Tire (there isn’t a NoFrills close) and combine it with the 8x or 10x coupon.
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Another thing that I do is use only credit cards with perks! I use the PC MasterCard and the CIBC Dividend Visa. Both don’t cost me anything to use, actually I get paid to use them. With the PC card you earn points with every purchase and can spend them at Superstore, NoFrills, etc. The Dividend card gives you 3% (I think) back, which is credited to you bill in December. Because of these bonuses we use credit cards for EVERYTHING to maximize what we get back for free. But we NEVER have a balance at the end of the month because I REFUSE to pay interest.
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Another thing I’m working more on this year is to try to make as much as I can and not buy pre-packaged items. The first two items I want to try are homemade hot chocolate mix and taco seasoning. Making your own should be cheaper (when combining the save $3 when you spend $10 coupon at bulk barn!) and healthier (less sodium etc.)

[nani]

I mixed yogurt (Astro original/smooth & fruity for $1/tub) with milk to make yogurt drink for my kids instead of buying Dan Active or Yop.

[AndieH]

Daisy, the idea of only buying gas with points is a good one.
Where do you get the 8x or 10x coupons for CT?

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"One thing that hasn't been mentioned on here yet is to buy your gas (if available in your area) from places like Canadian Tire gas bar or NoFrills/Superstore gas bar. These places give you "money" back to put towards groceries or household items. My husband and I try to only buy our gas from Canadian Tire (there isn’t a NoFrills close) and combine it with the 8x or 10x coupon. "
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[lmack30]

I mixed yogurt (Astro original/smooth & fruity for $1/tub) with milk to make yogurt drink for my kids instead of buying Dan Active or Yop.

Great idea nani! My kids and I LOVE those drinks but sooooo expensive...will have to try that out

[lilo0003]

If you have a Canadian Tire Gas bar close by consider the CT Gas advantage Mastercard. If you spend 2000.00 using the card anywhere in a month you get 10 cents off a litre. For us it is a monthly savings of 60.00 a month easy. I watch the balance to make sure we never go over the 2000. because there is no incentive & then I switch to another card that has a reward attached.

[smohlman]

Two things more:

If there are CDs and DVDs that you absolutely have to have (my family is a big movie family and I love music), always buy the CD or DVD the DAY it comes out. Not a day after or two weeks down the road (unless you are thinking 6months to a year later), because the price is ALWAYS $10-$20 cheaper the day it comes out. Normally new releases are on Tuesdays fyi and if you are not buying Blue-ray, then the prices is normally around $14.99 for a DVD and $12.99 for a CD.

Also, Old Navy is amazing for sales. My Mom comes back with stuff for the kids all the time. Brand new jeans, sweaters, dresses, all for a couple dollars~! I am not even kidding. In fact, I love listening to her --"this one was REALLY expensive --it was two whole dollars!" If you wait until the end of the season they always have mega sales. And then, if you wait another week or so, they put all that end of the season sale stuff on for 50% off that price. Seriously, you can find all sorts of stuff at that point in time for under $1. Crazy I tell you. Adult clothes are more expensive, but when $5 is considered expensive, why wouldnt you have a little spending fun?

[Cheapnik]

Cheapnik, I do that with my bananas too. Just wanted to add that they are great to add into pancakes as well. Do the same, defrost in the microwave and stir into your pancake mix. Great with some chopped nuts or whatever you have on hand. My kids love the flavour and I love the added nutritional value.

definitely trying the pancakes next weekend!

[ssbean]

Awesome idea! I do the same but add a handful of soya/veggie ground from bulk barn to the mix. It is cheaper and adds a bit more nutrition and you cannot tell the difference if you mix in a handful.

I didn't know they sold it at bulk barn. Is it refrigerated or what area would I find it? I always buy the yves, which is expensive.

[jujulee]

Gotta add how much I am in love with kijiji. It's definitely my addiction (besides hunting SC) as a hobby and to save $$$$ it's crazy the deals you come across on things I normally wouldn't splurge on. From nearly new lululemons and uggs, melissa and Doug wood puzzles, Thomas the train, brand name baby clothes (many times with tags still attached) ahh the list goes on!... Not to mention selling items on it aswell to make some cash for spending!

[Giving-Small]

Love these threads - always pick up a couple of ideas that I can put to use.

-Free fruit and veggies

I've been able to get a lot of fruit for free in the summer and freeze it. If you ask around, often there's someone with raspberries or apples that they won't use. If no one you know has extra, try looking on the free stuff on Kijiji or freecycle. On Freecycle people often give away extra vegetables too and herbs.

-Pick your own can be a good option for some fruit and veggies

-Join a community garden and get a small plot if you don't have a yard

-If you're super lucky, there might be a hort club with greenhouse access -- we have one. You basically put in a 3 hours a month, and can have a share of lettuce and salad goodies, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, etc during the winter

- If you really love to garden and have the time, consider offering to crop share on extra garden space in other yards in your neighborhood. The home owner gets a share of the veggies you raise

[zook]

It's so nice to find others so like minded. We live on a very low income and have become debt free due to frugality. It's a wonderful feeling.
One thing that also really helps is only having one car. My husband commutes by bicycle and I don't work, so transportation expenses are very low. (Granted we live on the west coast so snow is not an issue - he has had to invest in some good rain gear though!!)

[daisy20]

Daisy, the idea of only buying gas with points is a good one.
Where do you get the 8x or 10x coupons for CT?



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"One thing that hasn't been mentioned on here yet is to buy your gas (if available in your area) from places like Canadian Tire gas bar or NoFrills/Superstore gas bar. These places give you "money" back to put towards groceries or household items. My husband and I try to only buy our gas from Canadian Tire (there isn’t a NoFrills close) and combine it with the 8x or 10x coupon. "
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the 8x and 10x (sometimes 6x and 7x) coupons are always in the flyer or you can go to the store and they are located at the checkout. You do have to pay cash or debit to be able to get the CT cash back but it is worth it to us.

[cjunk]

I didn't know they sold it at bulk barn. Is it refrigerated or what area would I find it? I always buy the yves, which is expensive.

They sell it dry at the store I go to, and you have to rehydrate it, which works well when mixing it in with ground beef. They call it TVP or Textured Vegetable Protein.