The Crazy 8s Team: 21 Things to to be an Epic Couponer

[Giving-Small]

Welcome to Crazy 8s Team

Some of you may have taken a peek at the other groups so you have an idea of what's coming.

Learning as group is terrific -- it's fun to share your enthusiasm about what you find out and ask questions and swap stories.

I'm looking around for a co-facilitator. Any senior interested? PM me.


Our Fabulous Group Members are:

• whitefishmom Ontario
• Airica Prince Edward Island
• mvandekuyt Edmonton AB
• BusyMommy Toronto, ON
• pmooni Vacouver, BC
• BunnyJ BC
• kayleena Barrie ON
  
• OfficiallyAddicted Burlington ON
• traceywatson ??
• Gillbean ??

We are all on the learning curve together so please contribute what you've found where you are - things are different regionally, from city to city, and even from store to store.

Here's what I will do for the group:

-I will facilitate
-I'll post up show and tell photos, pictures, answers to questions, videos, slidecasts, interviews, etc. and I invite you to do so too
-I'll send out a coupon train (no board pass for conductor) -- to be explained when we talk about trains [may take a little longer than the other groups, I need to replenish my stash of coupons]


Here's what I hope you'll do and your fellow team members are expecting:

1. Please participate and share your ideas, opinions, stories, and questions. The idea is that we'll all learn together and hopefully make some coupon buddies along the way.

2. Do the activities. From time to time, I'll post a question or an activity (let's make your first wish list, all related to Smart Canucks and take just a couple of minutes) etc. I'd like everyone to try to answer and share. I know that our families, friends and self care time comes first, so fit it in when you're able, but please fit it in.

3. Have fun. Feel free to discuss more than couponing. We'd do that if we could meet face to face.

4. Give me, your facilitator, lots of feedback and suggestions. Please.

Okay - let's dive in.


FAQs for Visitors

1. Can visitors (non-group members) post in this thread?
Answer is in this post.

2.Is this group full? Yes but no worries see #3 3. When would the next group start?
Last group was Fall 2011. Not planning to do anymore.

4. How do I sign up for a new group?
Just PM Giving-Small.

[Giving-Small]

May 31 Left station: headed to mvandekuyt Edmonton AB



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[Giving-Small]

Train and other info in these reserved spaces

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[Giving-Small]

I have posted a slidecast (slideshow with audio) that show you my coupon "binder", coupon stash, stockpile and some tips on stockpiling just to get started.

You can jump ahead to the particular slides that are of interest and the sound track will skip along accordingly.




Start the slideshow. (16 min)


Your Activities

• Create a post and introduce yourself a bit (ie. from Kamloops, mom with 2 kids ...)

• Tell us how you found out about couponing.

• Share the story behind the Smart Canucks "name/handle" you chose

• Do you have a pet(s) and if so tell us about them and post a pic if you like ...

• Share your thoughts on the tour and whether you think you'll stockpile a little or a lot.

[Giving-Small]

We have a name suggestion from mvandekuyt - Saving Superstars.

Other suggestions...

[whitefishmom]

Hi, I'm whitefishmom. I live in a small community outside in northern Ontario. I'm a SAHM of 2 children, both in school now. time flies! We have 1 dog.

I've used coupons since my daughter was born mostly for diapers and formula. I signed up for companies that offer free stuff. I wasn't "couponing" just using them as I saw them. Recently as times get tough, prices of everything going up I starting looking into how we are spending money and ways we could change our spending habits. I found save.ca and would order coupons that I used. It wasn't until I watched a show and later read an article about extreme couponing that I went looking online for more information. I did find SC in November but was very leery about it at first...but here I am.

The video was good help. I have a binder with the hockey cards for my coupons that I use. Then I have a small accordion style folder for ones that I have found but dont use and now plan to use as trades or to put in trains.

[Giving-Small]

Welcome whitefish mom -- food prices sure have been jumping up again.

[whitefishmom]

Yes...plus my son is gluten/soy/dairy free that food is expensive. Gas prices, we are at 129.7 right now. I really have to plan my shopping trips.

[kayleena]

Hi I am Kayleena, I live in Barrie, Ontario. I have 3 children and I have been married for 12 years. We have one dog.

I used to use coupons as I saw them for things that i wanted to try or what have you, but now I am learning how to use them as much as possible, and how to sale shop and stuff like that. We are on a fixed income as my husband has a disability and my oldest son has leukemia. Money is very tight and we just can't live the way we used to anymore.

I am really looking forward to this group, as i am finding doing things on my own can be a bit tough and discouraging.

Oh forgot to say, I have 2 coupon binders. I have a personal size organizer one (franklin covey compact from walmart) that I keep all the coupons in that I use all the time or for things I want to try, and I have the traditional binder with extras or ones I have to trade.

[BusyMommy]

Hi All!

I'm BusyMommy from Ontario. I learned about coupons sometime Nov 2009 from my cousin. Everytime the flyers are delivered, she'd ask me if there are coupons included. And being a newcomer that I am here in Canada, it tickled my curiosity
But it wasn't until I came across SmartCanucks on the internet that I started actively on couponing.

I have already scored some great deals using coupons after reading all the deals posted here. I just dont brag much about it. I am way too shy, and it's nothing compared to what most members brag on here. Most of the items I get are non-perishable, coz I send them on care packages to my family overseas.

After reading the other 7 Team's threads, I realized I still have a long ways to go with regard to couponing. I'd really appreciate all the information I could get on our group. I sooo look forward to our discussions.

Thanks Giving-Small for taking the initiative to facilitate groups like these. You rock!

[Giving-Small]

Ack - makes my daughter`s diet (no eggs, dairy or nuts) seem easy.

Our gas is about 119.

Yes...plus my son is gluten/soy/dairy free that food is expensive. Gas prices, we are at 129.7 right now. I really have to plan my shopping trips.

[mvandekuyt]

Hi

My name is Miranda and I'm a stay at home mom of 3 kids and the wife of a youth pastor with 2 boxers (we're actually registered breeders). My husbands income has never been enought to sustain our family and so I have always worked. I do full time daycare from home and part-time consulting work in the evening writing content for websites and social media in different fields, mainly career development. I'm also taking part-time courses online so I can go back to work when the youngest enters school in the next few years. Busy, busy, busy... I also have my own blog that I started so I could help others through my experiences as a mother, pastor's wife and career coach http://mirandavandekuyt.wordpress.com, although it's been tough to find time in the past few months.

I have my profile picture up here because I like to see who I am chatting with - I feel I can trust people more readily when I know what they look like and their real name. Besides, my name and picture are all over the internet already because I won a national contest with Reitmas and Canadian Living last year. I would love to get to know people better on SC so I can learn who to trust. I've been leary to trust people I don't know.

I used to get coupons but they would expire long before I would use them. I always thought I was too busy to read flyers or bother with saving 50 cents here and there. Then last year in BC a lady started offering Extreme Couponing classes so I started to think about it. I saw that Extreme Couponing show in January and realized how much I could give away with couponing. I have always felt like I didn't have much to give because we were barely surviving ourselves. I've always been frugal so I started researching couponing on the internet. Then I bit the bullet and paid $25 to take a coupon class and was disappointed that it was mostly info I had already read. I did pick up a few new tips. That's when I started to get involved with SC. I started collecting coupons in January and have quickly learned how to stack and get lots of products for free. I've started a small stock pile and collecting donation items.

I've dabbled in several successful trades and rode 2 trains in the last month... I feel like it is all happening so fast! What I really hope to learn from this group is how to coupon faster, more efficiently, and more effectively. Tips for organization, trading and how to become EPIC!

Thanks for running these groups for FREE! Wish I would have learned this sooner

[Giving-Small]

mvandekuyt - you definitely are busy. Happy to have you as part of this group.

Couponing is going to be super great for your family but also for being able to donate items, which is hard for anyone on a tight budget to do.

It takes a while to build trust and I think photos do help start the process

Tips for organization, trading and how to become EPIC!

We, team 8, have our work cut out for us sharing these tips. Hopefully we`ll have some new ones.

You already have stumbled upon my favourite in the west - learn to stack and head to London Drugs.

Learning to use SmartCanucks in a quick and effective manner is one key to getting faster at couponing. It can take a while to discover all the nooks and crannies and zero in on the most useful threads to watch. And that can be different for each of us.

I like to watch the thread of new coupons found with pics. I`m a so-so coupon spotter but if I know what it looks like or the brochure it`s in looks like, the odds of finding something improves a ton.

[Giving-Small]

Another group name suggestion:


1. THE DEAL SNATCHERS" -- BusyMommy
2. Saving Superstars. -- mvandekuyt

Keep them coming and we`ll see what we come up with.

[Airica]

Hello everyone!
My name is Airica, I'm from PEI. I've been couponing for awhile now and got the inspiration from my mom, lol.
I stumbled onto the SC website and decided to join, fantastic idea too, you get notice of all the great deals coming up.
I now have a coupon binder took me bit of time to organize, but it's much more simple now to take the binder instead of a lot of smaller coupon holders, things are easier to find.
I've got a puppy, her name is Shoena, she's a German Shepherd and getting very big, lol.

Big welcome to whitefishmom, kayleena, busymommy, mvandekuyt

I only wish we had a LD and I could stack, that would be my couponing dream

Does anyone here have a stockpile yet?

Giving-Small, thanks for the group