Twinnings coupon

I just received a coupon to save on tea in my inbox - but only for my readers who live in the UK, unfortunately!  I hope my British visitors get some use out of this one! Save 40p on your next Twinnings purchase!

Unfortunately, when I downloaded the coupon it eliminated the bar code. If you want one, I can email it to you and you can print it out on your home computer. Let me know if you would like this coupon!

Wal-Mart rebate offers

Normally I don’t post deals that can be found at Red Flag Deals, but I thought I ought to mention these great offers at Wal-Mart because I don’t want anyone to miss out on them.  Until the end of the month, you can get in on these two excellent rebate offers:

Buy $25 of Scott, Cottonelle and Kleenex products at Wal-Mart, get a $10 gift card.

Buy $50 worth of P&G products at Wal-Mart and get a $20 gift card. 

Use your coupons, buy the goods on sale, and you’ll end up with a great bargain.  The amount you spend is cumulative, so you don’t need to spend $50 in one trip.  But remember to keep those receipts! Attach them with the forms above and you’re all set.

My only caveat is sometimes it takes a long time to actually get your gift card.  I did this with Zellers once and it took me months to get my HBC gift card in the mail.

Baking coupons

Coupons from the Nestle Toll House are here:

Nestle Toll House morsels - 50¢ off 

Carnation Evaporated Milk - Buy 3 save $1.00

Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough - $1.00 off

Cottonelle coupon

Play the game and get a coupon for Cottonelle toilet paper.  Unfortunately, the site has a few problems and it didn’t really work for me. Anyway, maybe it will work for you! Give ‘er a try and report back! Thanks!

Free, free, free!

I got lots of free stuff at Shoppers Drug Mart today using coupons. Oh what fun it is to get free stuff!

Here’s what I got:

Two free bottles of Diet Coke with the coupons I got from icoke.ca.

One free box of Kleenex with lotion (and it’s such a pretty box!) The Kleenex was on sale for 59¢ and I had a coupon for 60¢ off.

Two free Toberlone chocolate bars. I had a coupon for $1 off, and the chocolate bars were on sale for 49¢ each.

One free Satin Care saving cream for women with aloe. It was on sale for $1.99 and I had a coupon for $2 off.  There were lots to choose from!

In addition, I was discounted 5¢ because three of the products were one cent less than the coupon.  This took some arguing with the cashier - not because I cared about 5¢ but because she has continually denied us our overage and I know she is wrong.  She asked her supervisor who told her to give us the overage.

The reason I only got one of everything that was free instead of stocking up was because I only had one coupon of each product.  Normally I don’t collect coupons for products I don’t use, and I normally skip buying “extras” like shaving cream or chocolate bars. However, I am going to hang onto pretty much all coupons from now on, because after all, why not take it if it’s free? If you don’t use it, you can give it to someone else who will - or just enjoy it as a treat for yourself. 

I also grabbed a couple of other good deals.  The Royal Toilet Paper (24 pack) was $4.99 with a $1 coupon off, totaling $3.99. This works out to just over 16¢ a roll - still more expensive than my earlier great find a few weeks ago at 12¢ a roll at IGA. But I don’t think I’ll see that deal again for a while.

I also got the Cascade dish detergent for $2.50 (I used a 50¢ off coupon.)  The Cascade Action Packs and liquid soap was also on sale and I had better coupons for them, but I decided to get the powder because it is still a better deal. (The Action Packs, while convenient, were $1.99 after the coupon but only provided 15 loads!)

I also grabbed a 750ml bottle of Cocoa Butter Vaseline lotion for $3.99.

In total, I spent $10.43 for the lotion, dish-detergent, 24-pack of toilet paper, Cokes, chocolate bars, kleenex and saving cream! I also snagged a few coupons for Tylenol for Arthritis and toothbrushes.

Did any of you have success with your shopping this week? 

Buy refurbished!

Thinking about buying an iPod, laptop or other Apple product for a Christmas gift this year?  Apple sells their refurbished iPods and other products at drastically reduced rates. All refurbished products come with their original warranty and Apple guarantees that these products are in tip-top condition.  Save $60 on each iPod Touch (16GB and 32GB) and save $129 on each 8GB.  Or, save $40 on an 8GB iPod nano. Of course, the stock depends on what’s available at the time so you’re not guaranteed access to the latest model.  To see what’s available, go to the apple store website.  

New coupons at save.ca!

Some great new coupons have arrived at save.ca, including $2 off Venus razors!  In order to get these coupons, go here to the PG promo site - or to sweetspot.ca and then click on the Venus ad - and you will be taken to save.ca where you can make your coupon request!  You can also go directly to They also have a few new coupons there like $1 off Gillette body wash.

Coupons from Canadian Living

I have mentioned many times that Canadian Living magazines are a good source of coupons.  Here is a list of what can be found in the December and January issues, in case you want to pick one up:

DECEMBER

Kotex - 75¢ off

Naturegg Omega 3 eggs - 50¢ - Note that Naturegg often has great coupons hiding under the carton lid.  Before purchasing eggs, I take a peek under the lid to see what (if any) coupons are there.  Then, if the coupons are for products I regularly buy, I do some quick math to see if the higher cost of the omega 3 eggs is outweighed by the savings in the coupons.

Naturegg egg whites - 75¢

Lactantia unsalted butter - 75¢

Lactantia omega 3 margarine - 75¢

Mazola oil or cooking spray - 75¢

Black Diamond Sargento shredded cheese - 75¢

Duncan Hines - 50¢

Reynolds parchment paper, wax paper or baking cups - 50¢

Revlon revitalift - $3

Creama, coffee creamer - 75¢

JANUARY

Dole salad - 75¢

Carr’s crackers - 40¢

Rosenborg cheese - 50¢

Sunset tomatoes - 50¢

Tenderflake - $1 off two

Janes chicken - $1

Sharwood’s Indian sauces - $1

McVities digestive biscuits - 50¢

Lynch honey mustard sauce - 50¢

Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing - $1

Knorr classic or pasta sauce - 50¢ off two

Black Diamond almonds - $1

Electrsol, finish, powerball tabs or finish gelpacs - $1

Jet Dry - $1

Reynolds slow cooker liners - $1

Lynch Hot apple cider - 50¢

Lactantia omega 3 margarine - 75¢

Gay Lea spreadables butter $1

Black Diamond Sargento shredded cheese - 75¢

Scrub Free bathroom cleaner - 75¢

Dole squish ‘ems - 75¢

Maple Lodge roasts deli meats - 75¢

You can receive a calendar which includes the above coupons from Recipes Plus, for $3 plus PST/GST by mailing your request to: Recipes Plus, 3266 Yonge Street, P.O. Box 1206, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3P6. (But I figure it makes more sense just to by the magazine for the extra buck.)

Coupons for your doggie!

If you sign up for PetSmart “PetPerks,” you will receive a $5 coupon, and an e-newsletter including special discounts. Recently, I received an email with over $40 worth of savings in coupons. The coupons are for dog grooming, shedding treatments, training, pet hotel services, doggie day camp, and photography. To receive PetPerks, sign up at the register when you make you next purchase.

"What about coupons for cats?"

Coupon tips

The other day I received this question from Kate, who says she has been having trouble using coupons.  Kate writes:

[The coupons] always seem to be a) for products or brands I don’t use (processed junk in particular) and/or b) force me to trek all over town to redeem them (maybe it’s a downtown thing, but I tend to get the ‘valid except at x, y, and z stores’ ones, and anything within a 20 min drive of me is x, y, or z). I HAVE found flyer hunting useful though. We live near both a Loeb and Loblaws, so flyers help decide which one gets our business that week. 

Kate, you’re right - coupons for processed junk food abound.  Scrap ‘em, share ‘em, or save ‘em until a deal comes around that is so lucrative it makes the product free, or gives you overage.  But rest assured, there are plenty of opportunities to find coupons for good, healthy food.  I have collected countless coupons for milk, cheese, healthy cereals, fish, whole wheat bread, real fruit juice, whole wheat crackers, whole wheat pasta, unsweetened apple sauce, yogurt, baking supplies like flour, oats, salt, oil and pie crusts, and other necessities like toilet paper, brand name feminine products, personal care items, detergents, pet food and beauty products (and the list goes on!) 

Coupons from Canadian Living and Homemakers magazines and coupons from product manufacturers’ websites are the best for healthy foods. Another great source is the products themselves (look inside cereal boxes and egg cartons for examples).  Coupons from these sources are almost never restricted to just one set of stores. When you go shopping, keep your eyes peeled for good coupons - even if they are restricted to a store (I find they rarely are) at least it will be a store you already shop at! Just keep your eyes out at every possible source and eventually you’ll develop a good stash!

Here are some tips for using your coupons.

1. Use a coupon box - learn how to make a coupon box here.

2. When you go through the flyers and make your list, pull out the coupons you want to use and put them to the front of your coupon box - that will save you some time in the store.

3. When you lay your groceries on the belt, match the coupon with the product.  It’s best to lay the coupon on the product - don’t put it on the belt or it might get stuck! 

4. I enjoy shopping on weekday evenings, because it’s far less busy.  This means I worry less about holding people up when I’m using a ton of coupons - and I can leisurely stroll through the store, comparing prices. Trying to get the best deal and use coupons when the store is jammed to the rafters with angry bargain hunters is a recipe for disaster. 

Good luck - and let me know if there is anything I can do to help!

For more coupon websites, go to smartcanucks.ca, save.ca or visit Red Flag Deals.