So, I open my mailbox today, fervently sift through all the junk in it and then I see it... an envelope from Pita Break! This has got to be something good! I rip open the envelope and sure enough, in it I find a $5 off coupon for any 2 Pita Break products. Considering most of their pre-packaged pita products usually sell for under $2.50 at No Frills, this means that I am getting two of them for free! Yeah!
Ask any hard-core frugalite and they will tell you that there is nothing more essential to saving money than using coupons. It was not so long ago that I used to shop around based solely on deals advertised in local flyers, oblivious to the fact that I could be saving tons more by using the coupons that are available from so many different sources nowadays.
I still remember the days when I was a wee little munchkin and my mom used to clip coupons out of the grocery flyer. I wasn't too sure what the point was, but I loved playing with scissors at the time, so I was more than happy to help out. While still fun, clipping coupons out of flyers is no longer the only option thanks to the wonder of the internet. Nowadays coupons can be ordered online and subsequently received by mail, they can be printed directly off of certain websites, they are often included in separate inserts in local newspapers, they can be found in stacks hanging on the shelves in grocery stores, they can be traded with other coupon aficionados who hang around "deals" forums, "virtual" coupons can be applied directly to online purchases during the checkout process... the possibilities are endless.
My personal coupon stash has gotten quite massive lately, which has prompted me to start trading the coupons I don't need with other coupon fanatics who send me the coupons that I desperately long for. I have also joined a number of coupon trains which involve the mailing of an envelope full of coupons among a handful of individuals; each person takes out coupons useful to them and puts in coupons that they are not using. Once again, there are many websites out there that facilitate this process, but my favourite one is
www.pricenetwork.ca which is a forum containing up-to-date information on freebies, deals and (of course) coupons, including coupon trading and trains initiated by the site's members, as well as tips on matching coupons with current sales at various store chains.
Some of the most popular ways to obtain valuable coupons are
save.ca, Smart Source and Shop'n'Save. The first option, save.ca, is a Canadian website that lists dozens of manufacturer coupons and allows members to select the coupons they need, which are subsequently printed and mailed to the recipient free of charge. Every once in a while, you may stumble upon a coupon that allows you to obtain a certain item for free. One such example is the "$2 off Satin Care" coupon currently listed on save.ca. As you may or may not know, Satin Care shaving gel often goes on sale for just under $2 at various stores, such as Shoppers Drug Mart and Walmart, so if you use the coupon, you end up getting the gel for free!
Smart Source and Shop'n'Save are coupon flyers that can be found at regular intervals in local papers such as the Toronto Star, as well as in some free community papers, such as the Ajax News Advertiser which I receive. Keep an eye out for them, as they often include FPCs (free product coupons), "buy one, get one free" coupons and other valuable offers. For instance, the latest issue of Smart Source which came out last week contained a mail-in rebate for Pledge Multi-Surface spray, a FPC for Glade Sense & Spray refills and a FPC for Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel. It was like Christmas in March! :) The distribution schedule for these flyer inserts for the remainder of 2009 is attached below for your convenience.
Smart SourceApril 18, 2009
May 16, 2009
June 20, 2009
July 11, 2009
August 1,2009
August 22, 2009
September 26, 2009
October 17, 2009
November 7, 2009
December 5, 2009
Shop & SaveMay 2,2009
June 6, 2009
July 4, 2009
August 15, 2009
September 5, 2009
September 26, 2009
October 31, 2009
November 21, 2009
Oh and in case you want to get your own $5 coupon for Pita Break, head on over to their
website and sign up for their Coupon Club! They claim that they send these coupons out to their members automatically every 6 months. How amazing is that? Bon appétit! :)
