How do you get so much stuff for free?

[Bai-Leigh]

I look at alot of brags on here and so many people get stuff for free, stuff that I try to get but just cant. I was wondering how they do it, if anyone can share their secrets, I have not gotten one thing free yet and its really bumming me out!

Please let me know, and dont mention about stacking because I know that is one way, sadly I dont think there are any stores I know of that I can stack.

If anyone can tell me any store in and around Ottawa that allows stacking please let me know, but I think its just for the Western provinces.

[mimi-]

you need to accumulate a stash of coupons and wait for a good sale to use them on. also look for pm opportunities with the store's competitor during a sale to bring the price down an additional 10%. you can also stalk the clearance section to see if you have any coupons for the products there. you can also get the occasional item for free using scop if you see the price scanned during checkout is higher than the shelf price

[Bai-Leigh]

haah okay
Problem #1 - I cant get inserts here.
Question #1 - When you price match, do you get the product for the price in the other sale or just an extra 10% off?
Problem #2 - The stores I go to , well the WM doesnt have a clearance section.
Question #2 what is SCOP?

[couponandoff]

don't worry about not having a clearance section - ours is more of an overstock section, with clearance item ONCE IN A WHILE. As you walk the aisles, look for YELLOW clearance tags randomly throughout Walmart.

[couponandoff]

Also - check in the SC LOCAL tab for a forum of locals near you, and peruse those threads!!

[miniwheats]

if u havent set yourself up a facebook account...lots and lots of freebies on there...but u have to be quick...Oliviari sp* was giving out free garlic bread today...they are gone now but there is a $2 off coupon on there to replace the free coupons

[miniwheats]

haah okay
Problem #1 - I cant get inserts here.
Question #1 - When you price match, do you get the product for the price in the other sale or just an extra 10% off?
Problem #2 - The stores I go to , well the WM doesnt have a clearance section.
Question #2 what is SCOP?

When u price match you get the product for the price you are price matching for... SCOP is scanning code of practise..if an item rings up at a higher price than advertised either on shelf or in flyer you get the item for free unless it is over $10 then you get $10 off the price of the item
Hope this helps

[Bai-Leigh]

thanks everyone (:

[$avvy$hopper]

hiya, great question and the other posters covered off some great tips! what works for me is a combination of great coupons and loyalty programs! I collect points at Zellers, Shopper's Drug Mart and redeem them towards my purchases. I also collect Airmiles and have redeemed those towards gas cards, grocery vouchers, restaurant gift cards, HBC gift card, car washes and more! I currently have about $20 of points via my PC credit card and will redeem that for groceries soon. Lastly, the mail in rebates are fun because you get the item plus the company reimburses you. most mail in rebates work out well and fast...some are slow...some just don't come. There's a list on SC re which ones are great. hope this helps.

[dealbreakers]

hiya, great question and the other posters covered off some great tips! what works for me is a combination of great coupons and loyalty programs! I collect points at Zellers, Shopper's Drug Mart and redeem them towards my purchases. I also collect Airmiles and have redeemed those towards gas cards, grocery vouchers, restaurant gift cards, HBC gift card, car washes and more! I currently have about $20 of points via my PC credit card and will redeem that for groceries soon. Lastly, the mail in rebates are fun because you get the item plus the company reimburses you. most mail in rebates work out well and fast...some are slow...some just don't come. There's a list on SC re which ones are great. hope this helps.

wow you must spend a lot to get all those perks from loyalty cards! i don't have air miles because nowhere i shop takes them. my mom shops at safeway all the time and has only ever redeemed her points once after all these years- enough for two of the biggest ipod touches!

[Taurus]

Hi Bai-Leigh, If you live in Shawville, I'm almost positive the Ottawa Citizen delivers there, which does have the Smart Source in it once a month. You can subscribe for just the week-end paper & maybe split the cost with someone to save more. There are usually new subscriber deals too.
As for the clearance, scan the tops & bottoms of the shelves-that's where stores put their discontinued and clearance items. I once found a pack of 4 tubes of toothpaste for $1.50 at Zellers-it was on the top shelf.

haah okay
Problem #1 - I cant get inserts here.
Question #1 - When you price match, do you get the product for the price in the other sale or just an extra 10% off?
Problem #2 - The stores I go to , well the WM doesnt have a clearance section.
Question #2 what is SCOP?

[RegulusLeonis]

If you want to build a coupon stash another way to go is sometimes you can trade P stamps, CT money, gift cards etc for coupons!

[$avvy$hopper]

wow you must spend a lot to get all those perks from loyalty cards! i don't have air miles because nowhere i shop takes them. my mom shops at safeway all the time and has only ever redeemed her points once after all these years- enough for two of the biggest ipod touches!

Thanks for the compliment...actually, I don't spend a lot out of pocket for these perks. Thanks to SC I've learned a lot of tips to racking the up points/miles quickly with little money spent.
At both Metro and Rexall, FPC's and coupons count when they award bonus air miles. So let's let's say it's a "spend $50 get 100 bonus airmiles" event, I'll use a ton of coupons including FPCs, spend an actual total of $5-20 OOP (includes taxes) and still get my 100 bonus air miles! I do the same at Metro...one time I earned 46 airmiles after spending $0 OOP...all FPCs for that trip! that was fun!

At Zellers, they give out bonus point coupons throughout the year so I use that along with coupons to earn points faster. And SDM has lots of bonus point events...again, paired with coupons the points still get awarded and I'm a happy camper on bonus redemption day!

wtg on your mom's redemption for the ipod touch! I don't have safeway here...I've seen other posts about it though and it seems you can earn a fair amount on a regular basis.

[dealbreakers]

Yeah after reading a lot of posts last night about the free LaRoche Posay kits, I am heading to SDM today at lunch to get a Optimum points card... and the 7500pts bonus.

I think Safewya and Metro might be quite alot alike. I am also going to be signing up for my own Airmiles cards and start accumulating. My mom only every shops as Safeway every First and 3rd Tuesday of the month (customer appreciation day... I think it's 20% off). I think I'm going to start doing that, and then after years and years I'll have something to show for it, while using my MBNA smartcash card (3% back on gas and groceries, 1% on everything else... NOT TIERED!) Thanks for the explanation, I have been convinced!!

[FallenPixels]

Like $avvy$hopper I don't spend a lot OOP for loyalty unless its something I am buying anyway (like petfood, I go to Global and get airmiles)

At Rexall/Metro I use FPCs on Airmile Promo weekends like above, its not hard to get 50-100 Airmiles for under $20 with coupons and FPCs and even more if they coincide with BP offers instore