I promise that this is NOT going to become a full time couponing & money saving blog BUT I thought you might want to know how this weeks shop went after finding all those coupons. Need to find coupons? Read this post! First off, I did a meal plan for the week to determine what we needed to buy. This week we’re going to have:
Sunday – Vegetable soup and cornbread
Monday – Grilled pork tenderloin, green beans & potatoes
Tuesday – Homemade Pizza & salad
Wednesday – Out for work event
Thursday – Breakfast for supper – peameal bacon, scrambled eggs and biscuits
Friday – Spaghetti with Meat sauce & salad
Saturday – Probably eat out for Will’s Birthday
Now for the shopping…..
Today was “get double the GST off” day at Superstore (I had no idea, I’m just lucky) and I had quite a few coupons. So discounts were:
- Double GST off discount – $14.40
- In store coupons – $3.00
- Manufacturer’s coupons – $16.96
- Mail In rebate (assume I will send it in) – $10.99
Total Saved = $45.35 for a discounted total of $177.32.
The Good:
I was very happy with my results! You will notice that I have quite a few non-food purchases this week. We were out of quite a few bathroom/toiletry items which really added up but I also had coupons for almost all of them. The other unusual item(s) this week were the Rubbermaid canisters at the back (total of $43.14). I have been buying more items in bulk so I wanted containers to make my pantry a bit less messy. Superstore had the cheapest ones I’ve found yet & they were 10% off b/c of the double the GST event so I went ahead and bought them.
You will also notice that there is no meat in my grocery shop this week. I buy all of our meat at Costco in bulk and then portion it, vacuum seal it & freeze it to use throughout the month. It saves a ton of money and it keeps us from eating out because I can “shop” our freezer and then use pantry items to fill out dinner.
A few items I didn’t have coupons for but I thought I would mention:
- The Purex laundry detergent was on special for $4.98 down from normal $8.99. This was a much better deal than any of the laundry detergent coupons I had so I bought it even though we aren’t out of laundry detergent.
- I needed both whole wheat and all purpose flour this week. I decide to buy the generic brand because it was $5.38 for a 5 kg bag versus Robin Hood which was 8.99 for the same size bag.
- Woolite delicate laundry detergent was $10.87 but by going with the store brand I saved almost $4.
So all in all the shop this week was pretty successful from a money saving perspective even with my lack of organization & absolutely NO use of fliers.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, the trip wasn’t all fun and games. I went to The Real Canadian Superstore because it routinely has the best prices. I must admit that I HATE shopping there. It sucks my will to live. It is THAT bad. They were out of quite a few items that I needed (onions, bell peppers, string cheese) so I had Andre run to our local Co-Op where he probably spent an additional $20 on things I couldn’t find at Superstore.
The Ugly:
My cashier was DREADFUL. She could not handle coupons. She had to triple check every one and she couldn’t seem to “get” what the items were. It took an additional 15 minutes to use the coupons I had and she had to get an override because one of the coupons was over the limit allowed.
So how do you think I did? I know there are improvements I can make but I think for the first week it was pretty successful.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I know people think I’m crazy but I love shopping at Superstore. I go to the Huntington Hills one and it’s usually at like 10am or 9pm so that probably helps. But I’m always happy with the food and I love the Presidents Choice brands. I’m also a pretty independent shopper, I almost never ask for help with anything so that’s never an issue for me.
I also get my meat at Costco and freeze it. I really like the quality of their meat.
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I love the President’s Choice brand too. I’m not sure what happens to me but about 20 minutes in my brain revolts and I can NOT focus. i feel like I turn into a zombie.
I also shop Superstore & Costco. Costco somehow I never have problems. I seem to be able to get my head ready for the fact that it is always busy and people can be crazy. It goes smoothly. Superstore however I agree I can never get my head ready for it! I have started going at 7:30 when it opens which actually makes it so much more enjoyable – just that my body revolts the early rise
But the savings can add up and it looks like you did well!
Danielle S recently posted..Leftover Pizza
I agree…though Costco is just as busy, it doesn’t give me the numb, brain dead feeling that I get after 20 minutes in Super Store. I don’t know what it is but it drives me NUTS.
I also go super early in the morning and it’s not so bad. I used to hate shopping at superstore and felt like it was eating away at my soul. My husband has helped me (we shop together) to just relax and take my time. It’s way more enjoyable now that I’m not pressuring myself to go faster! My DH used to work in a flour mill and the no name is the exact same as the brand name, they just change the bags lol. I can’t believe how little you spent. Our weekly shop this week was $412 and that’s with the double gst off and the store coupons…
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Oh and deerfoot is a nice location too, the one up by sundridge is the most depressing ever!
Blueheadlights recently posted..Busy busy
I like the SS on 64th Ave in the NW but I went to the Country Hills location this past weekend. It’s just ok. I agree with you that the NE one is horrible.
You did awesome! Nice work. I’ve only started couponing, but I’ve been ad-matching for a while. In time because we grocery shop the same time and day every week we’ve figured out who our go-to cashiers are. The ones that are quick and know how to handle the coupons. It’s a good idea to check out the coupon policy before you shop. More knowledgeable couponers suggest printing a copy of the store’s coupon policy out and having it with you for such hiccups. I will almost always pick up laundry soap or toilet paper if it’s a fantastic deal. I haven’t had to build storage facilities in my house….. yet. Love that you’re posting about this too.
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It will be fun to compare notes!
Do you find Costco meat cheaper than SS? I need to do a closer compare. I generally go to SS, but our Walmart became the super walmart and now I find I”m popping in for a few things each week and have avoided a big shop for a very long time. I do the big cook so find I’ve managed to cut back meal shopping quite a bit (although running low now so must rethink the next chunk of time).
The first question I had wanted to ask though before I was distracted, was; where do you find all your manufacturers coupons? I see crazy coupon clippers, but thought that was mostly in the states. I get the coupon freebie at SS if I spend too much, but where do all the other coupons hide??
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You know…I haven’t compared Costco to Superstore very closely. I hate SS more than just about anything. I would really prefer to NEVER go there again but I must.
Previously I always bought groceries at the Co-Op right by my house & Costco was definitely cheaper than that.
As for coupons….I wrote a post about that. http://merrywithchildren.com/2011/04/couponing-in-canada-part-1-coupons/ It has all the info on where to get coupons. I also picked up quite a few on the SS coupon wall. Always check there when you go.
That is an impressive total amount for the number of people you shop for
. I think my Mom spent about that much on our family of 6 (plus a dog), but that was back in the late 80′s – 90′s and she hated coupon clipping. The Superstore in Heritage is terrible for when you’re looking for something specific. I prefer the one in Mackenzie Towne on 130th. What I do like about Superstore is that they’ve slowly been starting to carry a lot of the not-so-cheap vegan items I normally have to make a special trip to Community Natural Foods for (like Vegenaise, ice cream made with coconut milk, Earth Balance Margarine and Tofurky). And because Superstore starts carrying them, the price on those items has started to drop in CNF. Yay 
.
Not to mention the self checkout lines; for those days when I’m schlepping it in sweats and don’t have any makeup on and therefore do not want to talk to anyone! I think you can scan coupons there, in case you don’t want to deal with an inept cashier!
Hmm…that would be interesting if you could scan your own coupons. Not sure how to find out for sure, though. I think it would be more of a nightmare if you couldn’t & tried b/c there’s only one cashier for multiple self checkout lines.