What would you do with $610?

Lately, my partner has been working two full-time jobs, sometimes working up to 22 hours a day.  This has been rough on both of us, and I look forward to it being over.  However, I thought it was a good opportunity for a little experiment.

Since he has been working so many hours, my partner has been unable to come home for dinner.  He also uses his brief lunch breaks as a few minutes of refuge and goes out frequently for coffee breaks to keep going. 

Hence, he has been eating out for nearly three meals a day for the last month. We both agreed this was a “necessary evil” that comes from working such excessive hours. Meanwhile, I have been eating at home and taking my lunch and coffee to work almost 100% of the time.   I thought I would use this as a demonstration of how much you can spend or save on food.

My partner, relying on the cheapest food available to him (cheap lunches like 6″ subs, simple coffees, no lattes at Starbucks, etc.) still spent over $650 within one month on food and coffee.  Thank God we don’t do this every month – that’s $7320 a year!

This works out to $21.67 a day, or $162.50 a week.

I, however, spent approximately $20 a week on grcoceries.  This includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, and snacks (and believe me, with him gone, I really relied on the snacks.)  It seems almost impossible, but I here’s how I did it: I ate insanely cheap lunches and breakfasts.  I used up leftovers, pulled the frozen chili I had made out of the freezer, ate up our dried soups that we had purchased at a discount, and made simple meals out of what we had, like veggie whole wheat pasta, tuna casserole, homemade pizzas, etc.  I took coffee to work and bought $1 coffees only twice.  

I should also mention that my grocery bill was low because I used coupons and PC points.

So, my partner spent $610 more than me on sustanence  – in just one month – by eating out.  See what a difference it makes?  Let’s consider what that $610 could buy you:

A 32GB iPod Touch, with anywhere speakers and a dock

A ticket to Orlando, Florida

Three leather purses at Roots

A typical monthly car payment, debt repayment, savings or emergency fund

What would you do with that monthly $610?  And do you know how much you spend every month on food and coffee? You might be surprised!

Cheap toiletries & bath products

I strolled into Honest Ed’s the other day for a quick look around and ran into some great finds.  They had my very favourite Ombra body wash on for $2.77 for a 300ml bottle.  Just to put this into perspective, Shoppers Drug Mart sells a 500ml bottle for $10.99.  The unit cost at Honest Ed’s is .923 per 100ml, compared to 2.198 at Shoppers.  In other words, Shoppers is more than twice the cost!

They had loads of other goodies at Honest Ed’s too, including scented Soft Soap refill bottles at 99¢, which came with a free sample of pomegranate body wash!  I hope to go back next week to find some more great deals, since I was in a rush during my last visit.

For those outside the GTA, check out your discount stores and please report back with any great finds!

My journey away from paper towels

I officially made the switch after going through a big box of handmedowns from my mom. It contained some really cute napkins.  I’m not sure where she got them or if they’ve been passed down, but many of them have an antique flair. So I decided it was officially time to cut paper towels out of my life and rely solely on cloth napkins and dish towels.  I have some rags for cleaning and my old pajama tops await a new purpose.  It does create more laundry because I wash my dishtowels very often, but they are so small that they are easy to add to a load of laundry.  It would probably take at least 25 towels to create a whole load.  It’s tempting to use my piles of coupons for paper towels but I think I will stay with this cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative.

Toasted almonds & other healthy snacks

Last weekend I made toasted almonds as a delicious addition to weekday snacking. I bought the almonds, un-toasted, on sale at Price Chopper – but you could visit the Bulk Barn, too. I used the same recipe I used for the pumpkin seeds (from Martha Stewart) only I doubled it to completely cover the almonds (I had quite a few).  Also, instead of toasting the almonds in an oven, I used a frying pan (see instructions here). 

I cannot believe how tasty they are!  And they are reasonably healthy, too.  You can also toast them and then add them to dried cranberries and/or raisons, pretzels, peanuts, or other snacks to make a homemade trail mix.  It’s a great addition to your lunch, and easy to leave at your desk at work for mid-day snacking.  Also great for road-trips!  Or if you are looking to supplement Christmas presents or stocking stuffers, you can put the almonds in a tightly sealed jar, and include it as part of the gift.

Cheap medicine!

I just discovered a great way to get over the counter medicine for cheap – shop at the clearance section of your pharmacy.  It sounds sketchy, but it’s not.  I just picked up some Benadryl for $3.99 – regularly $9.99.  I checked the expiry date and it does not expire until October, 2010.  We will definitely have enough need to completely finish that pack before its expiry.  After all, that gives us two full seasons of hay-fever and allergies!  

I also picked up a thermometer there for $9.99 that the store was selling for $21.99 in newer packaging – the exact same model!

By planning ahead with your family’s needs, you can get great deals.  If someone gets sick, you don’t care what the cost is to make it better and end up paying top dollar.  Plus, by planning ahead, you have all the medicine you need at your finger tips, and don’t need to dash off to the store in a hurry.

The art of the bargain

Don’t you love the feeling when you get a great deal?

All this for $83!

A couple of weeks ago at the grocery store I used close to $10 in coupons, saved another $40 by using the PC card, and sought out GREAT sale items.  In fact, I got everything on that lengthy receipt you see on the left, for $83. I was disappointed to learn, after my trip, that there were two coupons not accounted for. I’m not sure if the cashier forgot to put them in, or I forgot to give them to her.  The total loss was $1.75.

Nevertheless, a brief stroll around Shoppers Drug Mart made me feel happy about the great deals I got at Loblaws last Saturday.                                                                                                                                         Here are a few examples.         

(Keep in mind, many of my bargain prices were found by combining sale items with coupons or are based on buying 2 items.)

                                                                                I paid:       Shoppers Drug Mart:   

Pantene Pro-V  Shampoo/Cond. (w/ coupon)              $2.25                   $7.99 

Tampax tampons, 20 pack, cardboard (w/coupon)     $1.52                   $4.49

Always pads, 18 pack (with coupon)                          $1.77                   $5.99

St.Ives Apricot Scrub, 250 ml                                    $2.75                   $4.99

What a difference!  I think I’ve learned the secret to couponing: wait to use the coupon until a great sale comes up and then cash in!

10 suggestions for breakfast on the go

Recently my sister asked for some good suggestions for breakfast on the go.  

It is hard making time for breakfast in the morning.  Especially if you are like me, and want to sleep until the last possible second until I just can’t possibly hit the snooze button one more time.  Here are my suggestions:

1. Get into the routine of putting the coffee pot on first thing in the morning.  It actually takes less time to brew your own than it does to stop and wait in line for a coffee.  If you throw on the pot before you get ready, it will be waiting for you by the time you leave the house.  Just pour it into a travel mug and go.

2. If you are using whole bean coffee (like me) there are two ways to trim down those valuable seconds spent grinding your coffee in the morning.  One, grind it the night before and leave it in the grinder.  Not as fresh, but not dramatically so. Two, switch to ground coffee.  Again, not as tasty but chances are the coffee you are buying at Tim Hortons is not going to taste any better.  Save your whole beans for the weekend.

3. Every weekend, do a big batch of baking – muffins, banana, lemon or pumpkin bread, or other breakfast foods like homemade power bars.  Wrap them individually in saran. Then you can just grab one and go in the morning.

4. Buy small yogurts and fruit to take with you, and eat them on the subway.

5. The night before, wrap up a bagel with cream cheese, cheddar cheese or peanut butter so that you can just unwrap it and eat it on your way – or make up a pb&J sandwich to take with you.

6. Take a thermos of milk with you – or leave a carton in your work fridge – and keep some oatmeal or cereal at your desk.  

7. Or, purchase Bob Green’s cereal tupperware ensemble – it comes with a separate chilled compartment to keep your milk cold, and another compartment to keep your cereal fresh.  Eat it at your desk or, if you take the go-train, during your commute.  (I forget the actual name of this product but they sell it at Binz, which is just across from my house – if anyone is interested, I can find out for you.)

8. If all else fails, keep your desk stocked with snacks, so that if you are just too late in the morning, you know that you still have some snacks at work.  This could include fruit, crackers, granola bars, etc.

9. Remember that even if you have to rely on some pre-packaged food from a grocery store, like granola bars or yogurt cups, it will still be cheaper than buying breakfast at a cafe.  

10. If you cave, McDonalds is your best choice – the muffin is only 20¢ when you buy a coffee.

The best deals for your shopping this week

Here are my favourite deals this week:

FOOD BASICS

Classico Pasta Sauce – $2

Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail – $3 – with coupon – $2

NO FRILLS

Black Diamond Cheese, 520g – $3.97

Chicken Breasts, Skinless, Bone-in – $1.97/lb

Bella Tavola Olive Oil, 750ml – $3.99

McCain Fries, 750g – 1kg – $1.99

Heinz Soup – 39¢

PC Chips $1.69

Sweet peppers – $1.99

3lb bag, Red/Yellow cooking onions/carrots – 79¢

2.5lb bag, Clementines – $1.88

SHOPPERS DRUG MART

Gillette Fushion Phenom Razors – $6.99 - Free product if you use your $10 off coupon!!! 

(Unfortunately, Shoppers Drug Mart would not give me overage on this coupon!)

LOBLAWS

Silouette/Danone Yogurt, 12 pack, 100g each – $3.50

Avocado – 99¢

PC Chips $1.69

Ristorante Pizza $3.99 – with coupon – $3.24

So Good soymilk $2.99

Survival Foods

No wonder cabbages are considered survival foods.  I read in the weekend paper that cabbage can actually stay in your refrigerator for months, wrapped in saran wrap.  In fact, even if it grows mould, the mould can be scraped off, much like cheese, leaving the rest of the cabbage uncontaminated.  So why not incorporate cabbage into your soups and stews, braise it, use it in a stir-fry, make sauerkraut, or make a salad with it. Although coleslaw is an obvious choice, you can add shredded cabbage to leafy salads too.  My favourite salad, when I lived in Oxford, UK, was in one of the school canteens.  It contained shredded cabbage, sweet corn, and a mixture of other salad fixin’s. I’d love to recreate this salad at home. And at 99¢, you can’t beat this nutritious survival food.

The best deals for your shopping this week

This morning I scanned the flyers to check out the best deals.  All the stores try to make it look like they are giving the best deals, but not all advertised prices are really that great.  By price-shopping and comparing prices on a regular basis, you get to know which prices are really good and which ones are not.  You can see the full flyers for your region (if in Canada) at flyerland.ca but I have taken the liberty of scrolling through the flyers to point out the really good deals!  My choice this week will be, if I have the time, Loblaws, although some of those deals in the stores are pretty tempting too. 

FOOD BASICS

Black Diamond Chedder Cheese, 520g – $4.44

Equality Large White Eggs, $1.99

Life Brand cereal, 600-650g, $2.49 – with a coupon from previous box – $1.99

Oasis Juice, 960ml, 99¢ – with coupon – 24¢

Oasis 100% fruit juice blend, $2.99, with coupon – $1.99

Coke, 18pack – $3.99 (works out to 22¢ a can)

Pet beds – $7.99

Flaked Light Tuna – 79¢

Tomatoes on the Vine – 99¢/lb

Avocados – 5 pack/$2.49

PRICE CHOPPER

Black Diamond Chedder Cheese, (including old) 520g - $4.44

Gold Seal Salmon, 213g – 99¢

Heinz Beans – 79¢

Classico pasta sauce – $2.59

Cascade auto dish detergent, 1.7kg – $2.49 – with coupon from Brandsaver – $1.99

Tomatoes on the Vine, 99¢/lb

LOBLAWS

Lantic or Redpath white sugar,2kg – $1.69

Kellogg’s Cereals, 350-775g – 2/$5 – with coupon – $1.50 each

Robin Hood flour, 2-2.5kg – $4.49 – with coupon – $3.75

Crisco vegetable oil – $3.99 – with coupon – $2.99

Tenderflake pie shells (2) – $2.99 – with coupon – $2.49

Pantene shampoo, 200-375g – $3.49 – with coupon – $2.25

Tampax – $2.77 – with coupon – $1.52

Always – $2.77 – with coupon – $1.77

Classico Pasta Sauce, 270-700g – $2.49

Silhouette Yogurt – $1.99

Canola Harvest canola oil – $2.99

Plus – get 3x the points on PC points and 2x the points with your PC Mastercard

Plus – get 5000 points when you spend $75 or more, (worth $5) or 10,000 points when you spend $150 (worth $10)

SHOPPERS DRUG MART

Royale Toilet Paper, 24 roll (2ply) – $4.99 – with coupon - $3.99

Kotex pads or liners – $1.99 – with coupon – 99¢

Villagio Bread – $1.69

Ombra body wash – 25% off

Duracell mini battery charger – 20% – use with coupon for $5 off

Plus: This weekend get a free $10 food card (Montana’s, Harvey’s, Kelsey’s, Swiss Chalet or Milestones) when you spend $50 or $20 when you spend $75