Hi everybody :)

[safielstar]

Hello,

I've been reading SmartCanucks for a couple of years now but finally decided to join up since I'm at the point where my couponing skills have improved and I actually have lots of coupons I don't use (and no one I know personally is into couponing so a lot of what I have goes to waste). So I'm hoping mainly to help out some other SC members who have helped me sharpen my skills (without even knowing it) by giving back.

I'm 27 years old and from Hamilton, ON. I'm a teacher, and my husband and I are expecting our first child My family calls me the "coupon queen" which I am not especially compared to all the brags I see on SC on a daily basis (I'm just the only person on either side of the family to use coupons so they think it's impressive ).

I started couponing when my husband and I first moved out on our own in 2008, first with freebies and then actually couponing on a regular basis. A big thing that motivated me was Christmas. The holiday is huge in our family, and his side especially doesn't hold back with gifts, so we'd be spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars each year to match what people spent on us (plus we tended to spoil our 3 nephews), and it got to be too much, especially after we moved from our apartment to our first house and our everyday expenses increased. So I started the ingenious thing that a lot of SCers do, gift baskets! I call them my Christmas Pamper Baskets, and I fill them strictly using things I get via freebies in the mail or products I get for free or nearly free (under $1) using coupons. I do at least 2-4 per year at Christmas, they always go over really well with the recipients, and it really helps cut down on costs. Combined with redeeming from reward programs (Shoppers Optimum, Esso Extra Rewards, Airmiles, etc.), and valuable tips like shopping for things throughout the year to spread out the cost, we've managed to cut our Christmas spending dramatically and not go into any debt, and we owe it all to SC Now if only we could cut the costs of all the baby's stuff

Since we're expecting in mid-November, I've already been spending my summer Christmas shopping and taking advantage of sales and deals to get all the Christmas shopping done. I'm not completely done yet, still have some of the men in the family to buy for, but considering I'm 7.5 months pregnant, I think I've done a pretty good job so far

Looking forward to being a part of SC!

[Sharpie]

Welcome to SC!

[miniwheats]

welcome!!

[tommygunn]

Welcome to the board!

[user-id]

Welcome to SmartCanucks!