I have a confession to make.....:)

[canadianhockeymom]

Thank you for the info!! We will be heading through the area next month on our way to and from Chicago for a ball tournament our son is in..I will check Krogers out and get a card..it's been years since being that way. Great shopping trip!!

[canadianhockeymom]

Unbelievable deals carly! When I travel to the US I come back empty handed for the fear of being stopped and made to pay customs fees, HST, etc. If this happens your savings are wiped out. Good for you and thank you for posting.

No need to worry when it comes to grocery shopping in the states. There are limits and if you go over that, then you may have to pay duty, but the limits are pretty high so unlikely that you would go over that amount. I never have and i bring tons of groceries back everyvtime we are over the border. Hope this helps.

http://www.crossbordershopping.ca/du...t-animal-guide


Food products

You can import certain meat, dairy, vegetable and other food products from certain states in the United States. Before entering Canada with these products, contact BIS at one of the telephone numbers listed in this section, or refer to the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) on the CFIA Web site athttp://www.inspection.gc.ca/, to ensure that you may bring these items into Canada.
There are set limits on the quantity and/or dollar value of certain food products you can bring into Canada duty-free or that you can include in your personal exemption. If you exceed your personal exemption limits, you will have to pay duty based on a rate ranging from 150% to 300% of the value of the goods.
Some examples of the limits that apply to personal importations of food from the US:

• 2 dozen eggs;
• 20 kilograms of dairy products not exceeding $20 in value (e.g. cheese and butter);
• 3 kilograms of margarine or butter substitutes; and
• 20 kilograms of edible meats and meat products, including turkey and chicken.

Within this limit, more restrictions apply as follows:

• a maximum of one whole turkey or 10 kilograms of turkey products;
• a maximum of 10 kilograms of chicken; and
• a maximum of 5 kilograms of edible meats and meat products from cattle, sheep, goat, bison and buffalo.

All meat and meat products have to be identified as products of the United States.

[CanadianCouponCollector]

... "not exceeding $20 in value" in US dollars or CDN dollars? I was considering getting a passport just to swing down there some day and check things out, but it doesn't look like it would be worth it to me. I'm only about an hour away from Ogdensburg, but the cost of gas and tolls may outweigh the savings.

[Natalka]

Awesome! I always marvel when I see the low prices in the Kroger tv ads!

I just wouldn't buy beef or dairy products in the US though - I'm sure the hormone-free ones are more expensive. It's not about the rBST, but the rBGH - the growth hormone.

[frugalmom]

I'd love to cross border shop. 100.00 to renew my passport or less??

[torontogal12]

do the border guards complain that you are bringing organic materials back into Canada? DH used to live in the US and used to bring me back dry food all the time with no problem, but they always made a point to ask whether we had produce or deli meat, even for the drive.

One time DH tried to bring me back a frozen pizza and the border guards confiscated it.

I also want to stress that it is important to check the label on meat and dairy products there because of the hormones

[torontogal12]

If you are going to Chicago check out Meijer. Dominic's is only good if you have a card. If you're going to the Northern suburbs I can tell you all the good places, just PM me.

Thank you for the info!! We will be heading through the area next month on our way to and from Chicago for a ball tournament our son is in..I will check Krogers out and get a card..it's been years since being that way. Great shopping trip!!

[seylz_gurl]

--------------

Hi! Walkonby! long time no talk lol...I have already saved over $100 so basically paid for my passport haha I did read that you can get an enhanced driver's license for around $40 to go to USA by land. Only need the passport to fly! lol

Make a run for the border if your close by

Hi Carly, great to see you back. Do you know whether just the driver needs the enhanced driver's license....so kids just need to have their Canadian birth certificates? Awesome deals, I used to cross the border over the Ambassador Bridge and remember the grocery deals.

[canadianhockeymom]

do the border guards complain that you are bringing organic materials back into Canada? DH used to live in the US and used to bring me back dry food all the time with no problem, but they always made a point to ask whether we had produce or deli meat, even for the drive.

One time DH tried to bring me back a frozen pizza and the border guards confiscated it.

I also want to stress that it is important to check the label on meat and dairy products there because of the hormones

I have never had an issue bringing organic products back..well not yet..lol. We normally use the Niagara Falls/Fort Erie borders depending on where we are headed. Even when we have gone for the day for groceries, they just look at our receipts and send us on our way. I do stay very organized with receipts and totals etc (very anal about this..lol)

I agree with label watching. I do buy organic, free range, hormone free meats, poultry and eggs. A bit more money but well worth it and so much cheaper than here..I just have to hope that the labels are true..The organic soy milk I use is also much cheaper there.

I have no idea why they would confiscate a frozen pizza, but then I have never brought one over the border.

They do ask us about meat, produce as we are crossing over into the USA border, but never on the way back. We learned the hard way, well not us but through one of the other ball families who had packed fruit,veggies and deli meat for the trip to a tournament in the USA and had it all confiscated and thrown in the garbage.

I only take cases of water and buy the food we need there.

[roxybabe39]

Good deals! Lots of stuff is SO CHEAP compared to us.. I always come back with about 20 blocks of cheese for family and friends!

[carlyincanada]

Hi Carly, great to see you back. Do you know whether just the driver needs the enhanced driver's license....so kids just need to have their Canadian birth certificates? Awesome deals, I used to cross the border over the Ambassador Bridge and remember the grocery deals.

Hi, sorry I don't know much about the enhanced Driver's License but contact your local office & they
can tell you!
Thanks, good to be back on SC...just a busy summer boating & such lol

[carlyincanada]

Thanks everyone! No trouble at the border coming back, just have to show receipts & they ask if
you have alcohol & tobacco which we don't buy over there...but beer etc is super cheap lol. just don't
want to risk it haha

[scouponer]

We go to port huron a few times a year. If I know we are going I buy the Detroit free Press at our local shoppers on Sundays for the coupons and also print out coupons from coupons.com and Target.com. Then before I go I spend time researching the best deals. My favourite website is the Krazy coupon lady and totally target. You can get some great deals at krogers but where you can do really well is at the drugstores. Walgreens, rite aid and CVS. You need a card for each store and it takes a bit of work to figure out how to coupon there. Krazy coupon ladies have information about shopping at each of the stores. Takes a bit of planning and organizing but you can get tons of stuff super cheap or free if you know how to shop there. Right now a lot of the stores have super back to school pricing for things so good to stock up. Alot of places in the states go back to school mid august so the deals are pretty good right now if you need it. It is worth it to shop in the states if you live close by and fill up on gas while over there..... hmmm even though I don't really need that much stuff right now I may need to have a shopping fix.

[MillieH]

When I sold on ebay, I could save 70 - $150 a week by taking my mail to the US to post.. not only was it about 70% cheaper, they supplied the shipping supplies.. envelopes, boxes, etc.. this also covered insurance and instead of waiting 2-3 weeks for a package they would have it in 3 days tops.. sometimes the next day and a tracking #.. I loved it.. Then I would shop while I was there.. I always declared my purchases on the way back and still save an incredible amount of $$.. plus I could buy from US wholesalers and have it shipped to a local US/Canada friendly mail centre..

[babypiggy]

yep!!

Thanks for the info! OK I got the Kroger brand 2% milk & label says this:
Our farmer pledge not to treat their cows with rbST. FDA has determined there is no significant
difference between milk from rbST treated and non-rbST treated cows.

Is this what your referring too???

I didn't buy any yogurt, but mom buys it all the time lol.

OK I googled & found this on rbST...
https://www.globaldairyinnovation.co...ated-cows.aspx