More great deals!

1. Get a coupon for a free bottle of Sprite by registering with icoke.ca and then heading here. 

2. Get in line folks, the William Ashley Warehouse is having their once-a-year sale, with up to 90% off! For those who live in the GTA, it’s is located at Lawrence and Railside and runs from Nov.5 to Dec.7.  For more deets, visit their website and see the flyer online.

3. Proctor & Gamble Warehouse sale is coming soon - November 16-30th, 2008 at the International Centre (6900 Airport Road, Mississauga). Save big on household and personal products!

M-F - 11am-8pm; S&S - 9am - 6pm.

Till Debt Do Us Part

For all you Till Debt Do Us Part fans, a celebration is in order.  Not only has our favourite show been airing its 5th season for a few weeks now, but they are finally putting up Season One on Slice.ca!  

I watch the show on slice.ca and hook it up to my TV so I can enjoy it on a bigger screen than my laptop.  And it’s free!  You don’t need cable, or bunny ears - all you need is an internet connection.  It’s commercial free, and, better yet, you can watch the shows anytime you want!

Have fun watching as Gail whips those chronic spenders’ butts into shape and teaches us all how to be better with our money!  Great tips and lots of laughs!

Enjoy!

Delicious Eggplant & Tomato Soup

Veggie soups & stews make frugal feasts

Soups and stews are a great way to feed your family when you are trying to work with a frugal grocery budget. Eggplants are not the cheapest vegetable out there, but they are certainly affordable when you compare them to the price of meat. I recently made a huge pot of roasted eggplant and tomato soup that was hearty, thick and delicious. I bought two super-huge eggplants and then roasted them under the broiler along with some olive oil and some tomatoes and onions. When they were golden brown and nice and soft, I put them in the food processor, and then dumped the mixture in a pot with 6 cups of chicken stock and crushed garlic, just simmering it to mix and warm it up. The result was delicious. You can peel or not peel the eggplants depending on your personal preference. This made a huge amount of soup, which we are still eating through. Add a little bread and you can serve it as a meal. Of course, Josh asked for a grilled cheese sandwich shortly after he was finished, so I guess it depends on how hungry you are!

Coming soon to Saver Queen: My first giveaway!

Just one example of the coupons you will receive!

I officially launched my site less than a month ago and already I’m nearing in on 1000 visitors.  So, to celebrate and to thank all my loyal visitors, I am doing a coupon giveaway!  I have lots of great coupons that I’m sure you will enjoy.  The giveaway will start as soon as I reach 1000 visitors.  I am only about 125 visitors away from reaching this goal - so come back regularly to check for the details!

Kitten not included.

The fulfilling frugal life

Today I wrote a letter to the editor of the Globe in Mail in response to this article. If my letter gets published I will let you know!  The growing interest in frugality and “cutting back” is reaching the mainstream news media. However, judging by what has been written, there seems to be a misunderstanding about what frugal living really means. People tend to assume it means being deprived. But from what I gather from our diverse blogging community, those of us who value frugality are still leading fulfilling, meaningful and fun lives.  Everyone has different personal and financial goals that guide their spending habits; some are based on deeply held religious commitments, other people are struggling to get out of debt and discover a life of financial freedom.  Others have little choice but to live frugally or go hungry.  Whatever the reason, living frugally does not mean that you have to give up on life’s simple pleasures. 

The author of the article said:

[Some people]  swear their daily latte is just the little $5 luxury they need to feel good about life. We all have expenses others would sniff at as luxuries, but that we deem vital to our emotional or physical well-being.

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that Starbucks is vital to their emotional well-being.

Personally, I love living simply.  I am happy with what I have.  I am content with what I own.  I don’t feel like I’m missing out, don’t wish I had more shoes or clothes or electronics.  I love valuing and enjoying and treasuring everything I own. I have a very kind, funny, loving partner and the cutest kitten in the world.  And together the three of us make a wonderful home for ourselves, pursuing our dreams and honouring who we truly are. We aim to live authentically, in a way that honestly represents our own values.

What do we really want out of life? That’s the question everyone should think about.  What will my next purchase bring to my life, what will it add?  Will I consume it in 15 minutes and forget about it?  Wear it and shove it to the back of my closet?  Will this purchase cause me stress along with interest on the credit card bill?

There is great satisfaction in being content with what we have. The authors of “Your Money or your LIfe” call this “enoughness” - all your basic needs accounted for, a few indulgences, but not too much “extra” to weigh you down. Just “enough.” 

It gets the point across.  In simplicity, lies abundance.

What’s new this week

Well, it’s Tuesday.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I had a lousy Monday.  So here are some fun freebies and coupons to look forward to throughout the week.

Free Combo at Heros. Hero Certified Burgers are delicious, and icoke has a special buy one get one free combo deal on now.  Just buy one combo (a burger with a Coke zero and fries) and get a second combo free! To get the coupon, text ihero to 51051 and they will send the coupon to your mobile.  Then show your phone (with the coupon) at Heros to get the deal.  Click here for more info.

Free Power Fusion Razor. I am pleased to say that this one is applicable to my Canadian AND American friends!  I had mentioned it before, but it’s worth providing the link again, so here it is.  The reason why I am posting this again is because the razors are selling this week at Loblaws for $9.99 - so you only pay the tax!

Free Head & Shoulders trial size - just fill out the form here.

Free Bounce sample - I got mine today! Click here to get yours.

Get new coupons on the save.ca website, such as $5 off Oil of Olay products - and save $1 off Peptobismal when you go through here  or $1 off Tide when you go here. Or, go to Brandsaver to order a whole wack of coupons. 

Register with Pampers.ca and get coupons and special offers.  Unfortunately I don’t know what they are so you’ll have to register and find out - and let me know what you get!

Let me know if your pursuits are successful and you can enjoy getting a full mailbox of goodies!

The Coupon Box

Just over a week ago, I had an embarrassing incident at the grocery store, where I dropped my coupons all over the floor, and the cashier yelled at me for not having all my coupons sitting next to the products I was purchasing. To prevent this from ever happening again, I got myself a “coupon box”

Although mine is not as elaborate as others’, I think it will really improve my efficiency from carrying around a Ziplock bag everywhere I go.

The index box itself is small and fits in your hand. It cost me $2 at Staples (I bet I could have got one for $1 at Dollerama!)

I used it the other day and certainly found it more useful. If you create a coupon box, or have a different idea for organizing your coupons, let me know!

Any good deals in there, Butternut?

New coupon!

For all you folks who love Indian food, head out to your local ValuMart. Go to your “ethnic” section and you’ll find a stack of $1-off Pataks coupons, and they come with a mini recipe book and a chance to win a trip to India or $10,000! (Canadians only, sorry my American friends!)  

I’m not sure if this is available at any other stores - has anyone else found these great coupons at other stores? 

The real question is, which would you take - the $10,000 or the trip to India?

New stuff in my mailbox this week

Here’s a week’s roundup of good deals and coupony goodness, sent straight to my mailbox and inbox:

Summary of good stuff I got in the mail:

A letter from PC Financial telling us that we will now be earning 20x the points!  This is great news, since we already earn about $30-$40 dollars every month in free groceries from our points - so now we will get approximately $60-$80 of free groceries!

Christmas cards from the Heart and Stroke Foundation -  Since I work in a nonprofit, I hear complaints all the time from people receiving these direct mail packages - and I don’t blame them at all!  But personally, I enjoy receiving the freebies from charities, and I put my cards and labels to good use.  I will use these at Christmas time!

Coupons from Save.ca - including coupons for McCain products and another one for $10 off a Fusion Razor. I noticed at the store today that the Razors are selling for $10.99 at No Frills.  I’m going to see if I can wait until they go on sale to either get it for free, or get overage!

Coupons from Olivieri - $1 off Fresh Pasta and $1 off Sauce.  (Plus a little recipe book).  Order here by requesting one in the mail.

Good stuff in my email inbox

Shoppers Drug Mart - this weekend get a $10 gift certificate to Shoppers when you buy $50 of stuff - or get $20 when you buy $75 worth.

Zellers - get 100,000 HBC points when you spend $100 online (note: that works out to be about $12 worth of free stuff)

Ristorante Pizzas - save $1.50 on 2 Ristorante and 75¢ on Casa di Mama - and these pizzas are now selling for $2.99 at Food Basics, so it’s a great time to stock up.

Quiznos - Free chips and drink with purchase of a Regular or Large Sandwich

Grocery goof-ups

Today I went to the grocery store to cash in on some amazing deals.  I went, against my better judgement, on a Saturday afternoon - the busiest time to go to the store, and it was madness.  Unfortunately, the store (No Frills) was already sold out of most of the products that were advertised in their flyer.  I had also intended on stopping by Food Basics on my way home to grab a bunch of their reduced priced Ristorante pizzas, but I couldn’t find parking - it was a madhouse, too - and I had dairy products in the car, so I never even made it into the store.  Needless to say, it wasn’t the most successful venture, but here is a list of both the great deals I got and the ones that “got away.”

Hits & Misses:

Hit:

JUMBO sized box Special K - on sale for $2.44 - with coupon: $1.44

Crisco shortening - $1.97 - with coupon: $1.22

Miss:

Ristorante Pizzas, $2.99 - with coupon: $2.24

Soft Soap Hand wash (500 ml), 88¢

Oasis Orange Juice, 1.5L, $1.69 - with coupon: 69¢