As food prices continue to rise Calgarians are finding more and more ways to stretch their grocery budgets. Last week we discussed 7 ways you could save money on groceries, from planning your meals to shopping around for the lowest price. Another way you can save money is to check store flyers and look for coupons. A recent survey by StyleLabs found that the majority of people do look at flyers, with Safeway, Superstore and Co-op being the most popular flyers. Flyers are an important tool for saving money if you take advantage of the deals they show.
Start by going through your home and making a list of the items you regularly buy including food, toiletry items, cleaning products. Next, grab all the flyers from grocery stores and drug stores in your area, or check their websites. Superstore posts their weekly flyer on their website, making it easy for you to see what is on sale even when you aren’t at the store. Some stores, like Walmart, also post coupons on their websites. Manufacturer’s websites can also be good places for coupons, though you may be required to create an account in order to access them.
Once you have clipped and/or printed all the coupons you will use you might consider downloading some couponing apps. Apps like Coupgon and Checkout51 offer coupons that can be used at a variety of stores, with Coupgon offering discounts at the checkout and Checkout51 letting you take a picture of your receipt and receive cash back on various items.
Physical coupons can become easily lost, so consider buying a binder to store them in. Organizing your coupons by item type (produce, toiletries, cleaning products etc.) or by store will make it easier for you to see what items you have coupons for and plan your shopping trips accordingly. By using coupons and flyers together you can potentially even use your coupons on sale items, saving you even more money. However, restrictions vary from store to store so you will want to be clear on each store’s policy. Safeway and Sobeys both post their coupon restrictions online for easy referencing.
It also pays to talk to your friends and family about coupons. You might find someone you can trade coupons with so that you can each benefit more. If you have a dog you are more likely to want dog food coupons, which your friend who doesn’t have pets likely won’t use. Same if your friend has a baby and you don’t then consider offering her any coupons for baby items like baby food and diapers that you come across.
Have rising food prices affected your spending habits? Do you use coupons and flyers? We would like to hear from you. You could share your opinion call us at 587-880-3358 or use our contact form below.
