Intro, finally.

[wpgafwife]

I wanted to take the time and share a little about myself now that I have taken a couple of weeks and familiarized myself with the forums a little.

I currently live in MB though I plan on settling down on the East Coast in the next couple of years. I am a military wife. My husband is currently serving his 34th year in the Canadian Air Force and plans to retire in the next couple of years.

I am originally from England, though I have been in Canada now for 12 years and have had the pleasure of living in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and now Manitoba and I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to see so much of this beautiful country.

We share our home with multiple furbabies, many of which are rescues. They bring so much to our lives and nothing can turn a day around as quickly as being snuggled and nuzzled by the furkids.

In preparation for retirement I have begun couponing so I can learn more about it. I had considered it for a while but never really got into it until the show extreme couponing. Do I want to mimic the show? Probably not though I do understand that if you put a lot of effort into couponing, the savings can be wonderful. The end of May was when I attempted my first multi coupon shopping day, and I ended up saving $222. My favourite moment was Safeway when my original total was 310 dollars and my after sales/coupons total was 170. It took a bit of planning but was so worth it and the high I got from it was infectious. Even my hubby was excited and I am blessed to have a husband who is extremely supportive of my couponing.

The money I save each month, I am putting aside for the retirement as there will be a few months (until Pension kicks in) when there will be little to no income in the home and I aim to have set aside enough money to live on during those times.

I am also beginning to plan a stockpile so that we may have as little outlay as possible during that time. It's a gimme that Bathroom Tissue, Paper Towels, Tissues, Soap, Body Wash, Hair Care products and so forth, can keep a long time but I am still learning about which foods can be stockpiled safely for a time. The couponing efforts I will be making, will be for our every day groceries, and stockpiling for the retirement. Any tips and advice on the stockpiling would be greatly appreciated!

I do get coupons from wherever I can. Save.ca, websaver.ca, brandsaver.ca, gocoupons.ca and tear pads. I don't take many from the tear pads. I followed someone elses example and I just take 3 unless it's something I use a lot of and even then I am conservative in my coupon taking. I understand that many people have a bad opinion of coupons and people who use them, but I find that most people I interact with when using the coupons, are okay with it. I think a great part of that is down to attitude. I am very polite and I warn other customers behind me in line that I am going to be using a few coupons in case there are people in a rush. If the person behind me has only a few items, I also let them go first.

The coupons I get from save.ca and so forth, I order all of them, even when I don't use them. They are great for friends who can use them, and for those who are local to me (or even in other provinces when there are a couple of months until expiry) I am always happy to share them or trade them. The ones I don't use are usually including baby products, children's products, cosmetics, diabetic, lactose intolerant, and food products that I simply don't and won't use.

I look forward to being an active member here at Smart Canucks and want to thank you all for the welcomes that I have had, the tips and hints, and the really informative posts that have helped me transition so easily into a life with coupons! It is truly valued and I look forward to learning so much more from you guys.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend.
Happy Couponing!
Char

[tommygunn]

Welcome to the board!

[wpgafwife]

Welcome to the board!

Thank you! I've learned so much already and I am looking forward to learning so much more. Not just about how to coupon, but about doing it the best way so as to reflect well on couponers everywhere!

[Shwa Girl]

I wanted to take the time and share a little about myself now that I have taken a couple of weeks and familiarized myself with the forums a little.

In preparation for retirement I have begun couponing so I can learn more about it.

I am also beginning to plan a stockpile so that we may have as little outlay as possible during that time. Any tips and advice on the stockpiling would be greatly appreciated!

Char

Welcome to Smart Canucks!
Your stockpile ideas sound great. If you have a freezer, you can also stockpile frozen goods, meat, chicken and fish that you have found great deals on, and milk and juice.

Great forward planning for the retirement time before your pension kicks in. Wish many more pre-retirees were thinking like you. Maybe by being a SC, you will be able to educate your fellow military pre-retirees.

Have a great weekend!

[xox2010]

Welcome to Smartcanucks!

Great intro. I love hearing about who other SC'ers are.

[wpgafwife]

Welcome to Smart Canucks!
Your stockpile ideas sound great. If you have a freezer, you can also stockpile frozen goods, meat, chicken and fish that you have found great deals on, and milk and juice.

Great forward planning for the retirement time before your pension kicks in. Wish many more pre-retirees were thinking like you. Maybe by being a SC, you will be able to educate your fellow military pre-retirees.

Have a great weekend!

Thank you!

We do have a freezer, but I am a little uncomfy stockpiling the freezer simply because if the military decide that we are being posted somewhere else in the meantime, we would lose the frozen stuff in the move. I am hoping we won't be moving again. (2006 - ON, 2007 - QC, 2008 - AB, 2009 - MB where we still are thankfully..lol) That was a hellish 4 years of moving each year. It's caused me to be really careful with purchasing things that don't move well.

I'm definitely already encouraging people to think about couponing though it's amazing how many people seem closed off to the idea. I noticed though, that on Facebook, if I talk about my savings from a recent shopping trip and so on, friends are inboxing me and asking me about it a bit. That has to be a good thing!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend too!

[wpgafwife]

Welcome to Smartcanucks!

Great intro. I love hearing about who other SC'ers are.

Thank you for the warm welcome and for the kind words about my intro. I was a little worried I may have overshared but I tend to be an open book.

[Sunraven]

That's so nice of you to share - welcome to SC

[wpgafwife]

That's so nice of you to share - welcome to SC

Thank you, Sunraven! What a wonderful welcome! I can see from your signature that you do swagbucks too. I see that on a lot of signatures here. I may have to check that out! lol

Edited to add: Checked it out and signed up using your referral link! Thanks

[user-id]

Welcome to SmartCanucks!

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[glenglen]

welcome to the SC family you sound like a smart women who is organized,my husband and I have also been able to save for things and spend on things that we need because of coupons,hope you continue success at your couponing

[caroman]

welcome to SC! I've seen you posts around so I'm glad to see you're getting comfortable.