Thank goodness for my Dad who has now provided me with a laptop so I can get more regular use of the computer. Sharing computer time with "game boy" is impossible or next to impossible, so thank GOODNESS for my dad! Yay computer time once again! Victory is mine...well...sort of.
See, the reason I was unable to procure computer time to blog was because after one month of hauling my cookies daily to the Edmonton dirt lot train station parking lot (finding it to be full and then parking on a residential street and walking), our mother-in-law had to return to watch someone else's children. We had been unable to find childcare...and with that said, the cost of child care for two children far exceeds what we are able to budget. Being that my job is reasonably well paid, it had me starting to wonder...how is one to get ahead in life with more than one child? The more people I spoke with, the more it became clear. This is a huge problem for society as a whole.
I went to work and provided them with two weeks notice upon the realization that I actually could not AFFORD to work because the cost of child care is so expensive and I do not qualify for subsidy and on top of that there was no child care that would transport my child to school (kindergarten starts this year), now I am forced to find night employment at minimum wage in order to be able to pay the bills and be able to transport my child to school. On the plus side, I will be able to stay home and be home for my kids, but its going to be hard to work all the time (at night and on the weekends) and pull in the numbers we are going to need to keep our house afloat. I had one of what I hope will be many interviews for a minimum wage position. I have applied for so many part time jobs I cannot even keep them straight. I have even gone searching for jobs late at night (and applied at several Boston Pizza locations. Odd...none of them want to hire a washed up legal assistant mom with two kids... and next to no server experience)...even though I have been told I could easily pass for 25-26. Lol. Nevertheless, I persevere and put on a happy face because heck...maybe I can find a job where I can find more coupons! :)
That being said, couponing has kicked into overdrive. I am mostly purchasing items I can get for free or nearly free. In the time that I have not been blogging, I have since stocked up on diapers and wipes (for each pack of pampers and each tub of wipes I paid $1.99...that was together...what would that make them...$1.00 for the pampers and $0.99 for the wipes...can you say "stockpile"??). Also, I was able to locate boxes upon boxes of cereal on clearance at Shoppers Drug Mart for $2.99 and I had $1.50 off coupons! AND the boxes had Free Product Coupons (FPC's) on them for Skinny Cow Ice Cream novelties (up to $5.99 I believe)...AND what was even better, they had boxes of Raisin Oatmeal Crisp that had coupons for $5 off ice cream and they were on clearance for $1.99...and the coupon exceeded the value of the cereal. Awesome!
So, here is my list of things I have learned recently:
1. Price match whenever possible. Since I love love love to stack at London Drugs, I go there often and price match on a regular basis. This has saved me an incredible amount of money. Over the course of the weekend last weekend, I accumulated $200 in coupon savings. One of the items I was able to get was cans of Campbell's Soup for $0.04 per can with my coupon stacks. Mmmm....mmmmmm good.
2. Do not be shy about asking your neighbours to contribute to your efforts to save money. Make em laugh. charm them. Get their inserts. Just ask people. Most people do not want to pick up the papers off the step let alone put them directly into the recycle bin/bag whatever the case may be...so ask around. If you are too shy or feel too weird about that then...
3. Join a network like Smart Canucks and start trading. I have met so many incredible people and have been a part of an incredible experience by being a part of Smart Canucks (hereinafter referred to as "SC"...sorry....legal writing habit...). Many traders are generous and people go to great lengths to get their inserts, but the bonus is that they are also willing to share them....I am greedy. I want them all. Just kidding. Seriously though, they are a great bunch of people and I do definitely recommend getting involved...although, I have been privy to many a cat-fight on the pages of SC so...be tactful...be respectful...be courteous...be privy to great deals and fun trades.
4. Walmart clearances rock. You will recall Walmart allows overage, and their clearance allowed for me to accumulate lots of overage on items. It was great!! For instance, I made $1.00 off each Loreal hair product I bought, which was great because I didnt realize this until AFTER I traded for the coupon, I just thought I would get them free....it was a total bonus!!! I made $0.53 for every 3 cans of Gillette I bought AND I made $0.52 for every two boxes of tissue I bought...I do not get a ton of overage items at one time, but enough to make a difference and every amount of savings helps for two reasons....the overage frees up chunks of money in the groceries and all of that savings adds up, plus I am able to obtain items for my family that I would otherwise not be able to afford because often times it is the fancy health and beauty products that I have been able to obtain overage or get for free and normally it is hard to find the cash for such bonus items (like Loreal Volume spray...aveeno body wash...etc.). AND I am able to provide many of the items to my friend's foundation that she is beginning to create in honour of her daughter. It is called Isabella's Umbrella, check her facebook page to learn more about this and her goals! Simply type Isabella's Umbrella into the search part, and it should be the first thing to come up.
I am too tired to continue to blog right now...but before I go, one more thing i have learned is that the savings are out there. When you are on a very strict budget, you CAN make it happen and make it appear as though you and your family are living the high life, when you are actually shopping on a dollarama budget. Oh...speaking of Dollarma, many locations are accepting coupons now. That's right. Dollarama's take coupons...not all of them yet...but that should be in the works from what I understand. I havent been able to try this one, but I have heard many a story about people's conquests from Dollarama including Vileda Scrunges for free. That's sweet. I have that coupon.
