Group 12: 21 Things to be an Epic Couponer

[Giving-Small]

Welcome all Team 12 Members


We`re ready to start our couponing adventures. I know many of you are well on your way so I hope you`ll share tips, insights, experiences and links and help answer questions.

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

sheetsofemptycanvas aka sheets aka Tami is our co-facilitator for this group.

Love to have a volunteer facilitators for future groups so any one with lots of coupon experience or running groups - pm me.


Our Group 12 Team Members are:

• MyCupcake Vancouver Island
• AmeliaB Chilliwack BC
• sarah in sk Regina SK
• divya Saskatoon SK
• mart0308 Gatineau QC
• nathalie3 Montreal QC
• KMammy Calgary AB
• mommy4ever Edmonton AB
• MrsShopaholic Edmonton AB
• oilerlover Edmonton AB
• Dancemommadance Sudbury ON
• Scootchidoo Tamworth ON
• sheetsofemptycanvas Williamsberg, ON
• Giving-Small Saskatoon SK
• 35angels Abbotsford BC

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:

-Tami and I will facilitate
-Generally I'll post videos, slidecasts, interviews, etc. and activities/discussion topics
-Tami will keep the discussions going and start new ones
-I'll send out a coupon train (boarding pass is optional conductor) -- to be explained when we talk about trains

Here's what we hope you'll do and other team members are expecting from each other:

1. Please participateand 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, we'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. We 'd like everyone to try to answer and share. We 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 us, your facilitators, 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 send me a message and let me know your town or city and province.

[Giving-Small]

Reserved for the future use of Group 12

[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

1. Create a post and introduce yourself a bit (ie. from Kamloops, mom with 2 kids ...). Just hit "reply" on this thread and type away.
   
2. Share the story behind the Smart Canucks "name/handle" you chose
3. Tell us how you found out about couponing.
4. Do you have a pet(s) and if so tell us about them and post a pic if you like ...
5. Share your thoughts on the tour and whether you think you'll stockpile a little or a lot.

Bonus Question

Anyone have ideas for a great name for Team #12? Please post your idea(s) here and then we'll pick one.

[mommy4ever]

Hi! I'm from Edmonton, I'm a mom of 4( 1 boy and 3 girls), married. Hence the username mommy4ever

I am always looking for ways to save, I didn't think coupons were a great way, as there was not a great discount(was I ever misinformed!). We are lower middle class so it's hard to really get ahead without being careful. Our main income is also affected by the value of the Canadian dollar, now that it's high, it's actually NOT good for business. So, it's a little shaky. We don't know where we'll be in 2 years, or even 1 year, so the more I can save at home, and build a close to free stockpile, will help us alot should a layoff occur. We'll just be requiring fresh foods, the rest will hopefully be taken care of.


Then I saw a clip on the news and i decided to explore it further.... here I am!

We are a busy house, full, I run a home daycare, I have 2 naughty puppies, 5 spunky geckos, and a couple tanks of fish.

Not sure if it counts, but I'm trying my hand at a colony of beetles, in order to feed the above mentioned geckos..lol. There are no coupons for insects.

I am looking forward to this course! I am doing ok, but I know I can do better.

I am planning on stockpiling. I am working on about 1 year. I currently have 1 year of shaving cream for dh, about 6 months for the girls and I. DH is set up for the year for razors, so now I'm looking at getting them only if I get them free. Us girls have maybe 3 months. We have deodorant for about 6 months. Now working on feminine paper products, detergent, toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo and conditioner, fabric softener, TP...etc.

I'm off to look at the listed videos. But I'm so excited for this!

[KMammy]

Hi all!

I'm totally looking forward to being part of this group. As a new couponer I can use all the help I can get!

[MyCupcake]

Hi everyone, Im so excited to be a part of this group!!

Im a mom of a 7yr old girl and hoping to add another to the team soon and we have a very spunky black cat. We live in Beautiful British Columbia on Vancouver Island.

My husband and I both work full time and we are trying to save up enough to buy a little place to call our own. Using coupons is giving us the opportunity to save more while still getting all the things that we need (or want, sometimes )

I currently have over 300 loads of laundry soap in my closet, and my husband has officially cut me off of laundry soap unless its free. I can't blame him, we're in an apartment and space is valuable.

I have at least a 6 month stockpile of mens and womens deoterant, shave gel for me (hubby uses an electric), toothbrushes and toothpaste, facial moisturizers and shampoo & conditioner, paper towel and TP. Im hoping to get closer to a years supply.

My daughter recently became reallyaware of people in our community who are less fortunate and has expressed wanting to help them. So, she's helping me to find stuff we can get for free to make gift bags to hand out to people at Christmas time. She's super excited about it!!

We started buying diapers with stacks to get them almost free and if we could find ones with coupons inside, so half of the top shelf of our bedroom closet is crammed full of them

I used coupons occassionally in the past, then did a google search and found smartcanucks.ca. Boy was I lucky to find this place!! Its an amazing site with so much information.

I started sorting my coupons with envelopes, then moved on to a 12-slot accordian file, then 2 accordian files and then finally (just yesterday) got everything together and moved up to a binder. I really wish I had skipped the first 3 steps and just gone with a Binder. Its so much easier to see everything and keep things sorted into catagories, if anyone is just starting out go for the binder.

Well, I too am off to watch the videos. Looking forward to getting to know everyone
PS: What do you think of Spunky Savers?

[sheetsofemptycanvas]

Hello all! I'm so glad to be part of another group On top of learning everything there is to know about couponing I hope we can all make some new friendships on here!

I'm Tami, a single mother to 2 boys, 7 and 3. I have 3 kitties who are also a big part of the family! I found SC through a google search for "freebies" and after lurking for a few months I decided to take the plunge and join. I never thought there was any savings in coupons... a few cents here, a few cents there- how could it ever add up? But I did my research and now I'm addicted, lol! I've saved more money than I ever could have dreamed of! My boys and I live with my Mom and Dad at the moment but couponing has allowed to me to start saving up to get a place of our own

My SC name is a lyric from Pearl Jam's "Black" You may call me "sheets" for short, everyone does!!

I like spunky savers... I'll come up with a few later after I've had more coffee

Don't be afraid to ask questions or to post anything... have fun!

[sheetsofemptycanvas]

Looks like some of you have some great stockpiles started already! I don't have a lot of space but I do have a 6 month supply of laundry soap, shampoo/conditioner, bodywash, and underjams (for the little man!).

[Scootchidoo]

Hello everyone! My name is Deon and I am soooo excited to be part of this group!!

I live outside a very, very, very small town in Ontario. We're so rural, we just got high speed internet a few months ago and we still don't have cell phone service. Hows that for back wood? ROFL!

I am a SAHM mom of two wonderful children, ages 11 and 16. I've been home since my son was born. He has some emotional issues which have made it impossible for me to find work outside the home, so I have made being a mom and homemaker my full time job. I also run a home daycare, although at this time I only have one little guy that I care for.

My "handle" Scootchidoo, is a word that my son made up one day for the Animal Crossing game on the Wii. I absolutely loved the uniqueness and quirkiness of the word, so I took it as my internet identity.

I found out about couponing from the EC show. I know, I know, it's not showing couponing in the best light, but if it weren't for that show, I would never have started. After watching one show, I realized that if I could find a way to rationally apply what they were doing, I could save our family some to a fair bit of money.

Pets? Oh my yes! LOL! I have:

2 chihuahua's, Jack and Sammy
2 Springer Spaniels, Caesar and Charlie
4 cats, Tom, Boo, Precious and Oscar
1 rabbit, Sadie
1 hamster, Scrappy

I will post photo's later.

Stockpiling. I want to stockpile as much as I can in a reasonable way. By that I mean, I don't need 1000 tubes of toothpaste, however, a few dozen would be fine. My husband works in the automotive industry, which as we all know has taken a huge hit with the recession. Overtime is hit and miss and our debt load is very high. So, when I can stockpile to save money down the road, I will most definitely do so.

I'm really looking forward to this group. I think it's going to be a ton of fun and very helpful too!

[sheetsofemptycanvas]

Hello everyone! My name is Deon and I am soooo excited to be part of this group!!

I live outside a very, very, very small town in Ontario. We're so rural, we just got high speed internet a few months ago and we still don't have cell phone service. Hows that for back wood? ROFL!

I am a SAHM mom of two wonderful children, ages 11 and 16. I've been home since my son was born. He has some emotional issues which have made it impossible for me to find work outside the home, so I have made being a mom and homemaker my full time job. I also run a home daycare, although at this time I only have one little guy that I care for.

My "handle" Scootchidoo, is a word that my son made up one day for the Animal Crossing game on the Wii. I absolutely loved the uniqueness and quirkiness of the word, so I took it as my internet identity.

I found out about couponing from the EC show. I know, I know, it's not showing couponing in the best light, but if it weren't for that show, I would never have started. After watching one show, I realized that if I could find a way to rationally apply what they were doing, I could save our family some to a fair bit of money.

Pets? Oh my yes! LOL! I have:

2 chihuahua's, Jack and Sammy
2 Springer Spaniels, Caesar and Charlie
4 cats, Tom, Boo, Precious and Oscar
1 rabbit, Sadie
1 hamster, Scrappy

I will post photo's later.

Stockpiling. I want to stockpile as much as I can in a reasonable way. By that I mean, I don't need 1000 tubes of toothpaste, however, a few dozen would be fine. My husband works in the automotive industry, which as we all know has taken a huge hit with the recession. Overtime is hit and miss and our debt load is very high. So, when I can stockpile to save money down the road, I will most definitely do so.

I'm really looking forward to this group. I think it's going to be a ton of fun and very helpful too!

I also have a son with emotional issues- I have talked about it some in the "Parents" section. I have no choice but to go back to work this fall (once my youngest starts school) but I wouldn't if I could help it.

[mart0308]

hi I'm Josee, I live in Gatineau, Quebec about 10min from Ottawa. I have a soon to be 4 year old and a 6month old both boys. I've been married for almost two years.
My handle name actually was given to me back in college. Part of my last name Martel and well the 0308 never ment anything till almost 4 years ago when my first born was born on Aug.3. I just made that association a couple of months ago. Weird thing like that always happen to me it's like I get signs that i'm at the right place in my life or something lol...Once I was in a bad relationship and had decided to get my own appartment and when I was unpacking my stuff I unwrapped the newspaper from the glass statue he had given me and in my head I said well if it would have been broken I would have taken it as a sign that I need to move on but it was not broken so I put it on my library and started unpacking other stuff and a book fell on the statue and broke it into little piece. I got the sign loud and clear lol... Now i'm happy with my little family

I've always been looking for a hobby that I would get addicted to. I always see my husband play guitar and I only watched tv. I tried making my own jewelry, scraptbooking, knitting, candle making and i'm sure there's more and none of them stayed in my head and I would move on to something else. I can't remember what made me look up the show EC because I don't have the channel that it plays on but I think I saw it in the news or something but then I went online and watched on episode and thought that I could get addited to couponning so about a couple of months ago I found this site and never looked back I love shopping so now I get to shop and save $$$ at the same time it's a win win situation. I quickly realised that in Canada even wost in Quebec couponing is really different but i'm ok with that.

I'm couponning to save money to get us out of dept since the wedding and my extrem shopping (not couponning) lol.... I would never go in a store without buying stuff I was a companies dream customer but no more...My husband and I work in the Government in Ottawa so we are doing really well and I won the daycare lottery and both my son`s are in a 7$/day daycare (my 6month old is starting this Aug. ) So couponning is not a need to survive BUT I dream of being dept free and having a cottage or something like that.

I have two male dog`s one big mix called Buddy and a fat pug called Gizmo My house is all males even to the animals except for me so i`m the queen lol... My favorite colour now is pink so all the boys in the house will not take my stuff and destroy it.

I will be stockpiling I`m really excited I just bought 3 shelves on sale at Home depot and started filling them up. I have lot`s of room in my basement for stuff. I`m set on deodorant for my husband and me toothpaste, motrin, I only bought 3 small cans of shaving cream cause my husband uses electric but since he received his free gillet rasor he wanted to try it out.

for the name how about...are you one of those lol...

Im really excited about this group
Josee

[Scootchidoo]

I also have a son with emotional issues- I have talked about it some in the "Parents" section. I have no choice but to go back to work this fall (once my youngest starts school) but I wouldn't if I could help it.

I've tried so many times over the past 11 years. I don't know what to do. We need the money (need the money!) but he's a wreck if I'm not here for him.

We did make one change that has worked really well, though. In Feb of this year, we switched his school. He was being bullied something awful at his old school and they wouldn't do a thing about it. So, now he's going to a very small Catholic school. It's been wonderful for him, so maybe some day he'll be comfortable enough with me not being here that I can take even a part time job.

[divya]

Hi, I am divya . I live in Saskatoon, SK and I am a mother of a 19 month old girl. I started trying to save money when I my DH got laid off a year ago and I happened to be on mat leave at the same time so things were a little tight with a new baby on the way too. I initially started mystery shopping and freebie hunting by watching some talk show about it and found smartcanucks through online search..I lurked for a couple of days and then joined right away as I found the site to be awesome..
I was couponing randomly earlier not knowing its full value . Until a few months back when I started loving coupons and got the courage to join a couple of trains. Now I totally love it, its a little time consuming to hunt for coupons and organize them but the money saved makes up for it. My hubby got a job a year later and am back at work but I love couponing and am hanging onto it. This has become my hobby!
Hoping to learn more by joining this group..This is an awesome community here at AC and I love being part of it!!

[sheetsofemptycanvas]

I've tried so many times over the past 11 years. I don't know what to do. We need the money (need the money!) but he's a wreck if I'm not here for him.

We did make one change that has worked really well, though. In Feb of this year, we switched his school. He was being bullied something awful at his old school and they wouldn't do a thing about it. So, now he's going to a very small Catholic school. It's been wonderful for him, so maybe some day he'll be comfortable enough with me not being here that I can take even a part time job.

Oh the poor little guy I dread going to work... I need to win the lottery so I don't have to It's so hard and nobody else seems to understand...

[Giving-Small]

I just squeezed in another group member Angel35 who is from BC.