Frugal Tip- Buy Gift Cards

During the holiday season, many places have incentives for buying gift cards. Usually they have a 'buy a $$$ GC, get a free ____'. Here is what we figured out last year: if you are planning on spending the $$ in that store/restaurant anyway, buy the gift card and pay with it to get the incentive for free! For example, I was eating at one of my favorite restaurants and the bill came to $30-something. I went up to the hostess stand and bought a $25 gift card, which got me an extra $5 card to be used in January. I then immediately used that $25 gc to pay for my meal... I would have been spending that money anyway.

Often times, things are more expensive in November and December. Even the 'sales' will be more expensive than they were two months prior. Take advantage of incentives during the holiday season!

It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year...
Black Friday has made it's way to Canada, and for the second year running, some major box stores are advertising some major deals! Here is a link to a great list of most of the big sale items available in Canada Black Friday List
More of a "One-Stop Shopper"?  Click here for a list of all Black Friday deals available at West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall Black Friday Deals
Remember to plan ahead, pack snacks, and stay hydrated...happy shopping :)

Super Deal on Lunch Containers & Waterbottles at Superstore

We spotted lunch containers and water bottles on clearance at Superstore in Sherwood Park. At .94 each, it's worth stocking up. If your house is like ours, containers seem to have a funny way of leaving and never coming back :)

Cadbury Family Sized Chocolate Bars A Steal of A Deal

If you haven't bought your Halloween candy yet, there's a great deal at Save On Foods this week. They have a 'buy any 5 participating Kraft products, get $5 off' coupon in stores right now. One of the 'participating products' is the 100g Cadbury (owned by Kraft) chocolate bars. They happen to have the bars on sale for $1.25 each. Buy 5 and used the coupon to take $5 off.

This works on the 100g Caramilk and Dairymilk bars... Oh there are some yummy flavors out there!

I bought all of the bars in the photo for $9.33- I got them for free with this coupon last year but I didn't want to wait in case they don't drop any further.

Cheap Granola Bars and Free Juice

Hurry to Save-On-Foods to get boxes of Quaker Chewy Peanut Free granola bars and Free Trop 50 Juice!

The granola bars are on sale for $5/10 and SOF has a printable coupon for $1.50 off each box, making them .50 each... Easy Peazie :)

PLUS- there will be an end cap display somewhere in the store with Trop 50 Juice coupons. The coupons are 'Buy 3 Quaker granola bars, get a free juice'. Go get 'em!

SOF coupon valid until Oct 16:
Click here for Coupon

Stellar Deal on Frozen Vegetables

Starting today, Save On Foods has the Europe's Best frozen veggies on sale for 2 for $5. With the $2 off coupon from a couple of the previous Red Plum inserts, these bags are .50 a piece!! We are trying to eat healthier hooves in our family and we will certainly stock up at .50 per bag.

If you didn't keep your insert, hopefully this inspires you to save the next set of coupons that comes in your paper ;-)

Toy Deals- Early Christmas Shopping

I don't often shop at Sears as I find that there are better deals to be had elsewhere but I went in this weekend to use a gift card that has been burning a hole in my pocket. I decided to browse the store to find the biggest bang for my buck and I came across a SUPER deal in the toy section. All toys were 50% off, INCLUDING clearance items!!! I bought a ton of great Christmas gifts at a fraction of the cost I would have paid otherwise. There were a number of clearance toys but even the regular priced items were cheaper at the 50% off than they were at other stores.

Be careful, some of the Sears stores no longer carry toys so call ahead to find out if your local store has them.

Barbie Coupons

It's hard to think about Christmas in August but if you like to be REALLY organized and have to buy for a little girl, here's a few coupons that might help you out. Websaver has put up 7 different Barbie coupons!

They are:
$3 off Fashionista Barbie
$9 off 2-story Barbie Beach House
$3.50 off Barbie I Can Be Doll
$6 off Barbie Flower and Flutter Fairy Doll
$5 Hair-Tastic Cut and Style Doll
$5 Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 2 Merliah Doll
$2.50 off Barbie Fashionista Ken Doll

And the best news.... They're printable! You don't have to wait for the mail to get these coupons. Watch for summer clearance on these doll to score a great deal!

Find your coupons at www.websaver.ca

Added Note: Toys r Us is currently giving customers a $10 Barbie savings card WUS $30 on Barbie products.

How to Save on Printer Ink

Ok, we have a new tip for all of the couponers out there.  We all know that with the amount of printing we do, we go through printer cartridges, and ink, like crazy.  I THOUGHT we went through alot when it was just my "tween" daughter printing page after page of "stuff", but the reality is, I print a TON of coupons.  So then I went to printing in only greyscale...still burned through the next cartridge in just over a month.  I decided to take a chance and try something new.  "Real Deal Finder Sister" suggested I google to find less expensive ink over the internet, as she was able to order hers on e-bay for a fraction of the cost of the cost for her "Brother Printer" cartridges.  I discovered that my cartridges were not THAT much cheaper on e-bay, and once you added shipping, I thought I was better off just buying it at Staples.  Then, I came across some "do it yourself" refill kits on e-bay.  I honestly felt like it might be WAY more than I could handle, but I watched a 42 second video (no joke...42 seconds) and I thought, if this is anywhere near as easy as it looks...I can totally do this!!  Watch the same 42 second video here :)
So...I took a chance.  For the price of 2 new Cartridges (that INCLUDED shipping), I ordered the kit which included enough ink to refill EACH cartridge 20 times (there are 4 colours in my printer).  I figured it was a good gamble considering the promise of at east 60 fills with the system.  Shipping  took only 3 days, and the box sat waiting for me at the front door today.  I left it there...at the front door...for a few hours this evening.  I think part of me was afraid to break it open and get started...the part that still thought MAYBE the whole idea was WAY over my head.  Then, reality hit.  I am a smart girl.  I have done great things, and I can do this (and so could the dude in the 42 second video...with ease I might add...so, really, come on...42 seconds?!)
I have great news...I DID IT!!!  All 3 of the colour cartridges (I chickened out 2 days ago and bought a new black one from Staples as an insurance policy, a girl can't go without ANY ink ;).  I can say, that there are a couple of small quirks I need to figure out.  1. I don't know yet how to "reset" the cartridge so that it recognizes it's NOT out of ink, so it keeps telling me it's not going to print, but it does, and 2. the print quality isn't quite as good and crisp as BRAND NEW ink.  It is good enough to live with though, and it passed the "Real Deal Finder Tween"s test ;)
So, my tip of the day...TRY IT, you will save yourself a fortune!  If you want to make sure you can print excellent quality documents, have 2 printers.  You can get a basic HP for $20 at Walmart right now, use one that you re-fill for coupons etc, and another just for the important stuff ;)

Brandsampler is Active- Get Free Samples

P&G has activated their brandsampler site once again. You can fill out a VERY short survey and get free samples of household products. We have even received full-size samples of some items (like razors and Febreze air fresheners). You have to hurry, samples go fast and the website won't be up for long!!

Get your samples here: Brandsampler

Smart Source Insert Preview

Watch your local paper this weekend for the Smartsource insert here are the coupons you will find:

$1.00 Advance White Toothpaste
$1.50 Arm & Hammer Spin Brush
$2.00 Resolve
Free Jet Dry
BOGO Uncle Ben's Bistro Express Rice
$1.00 Select Uncle Ben's Products
$5.00 Lysol No Touch hand Soap System
$3.00 Woolite
$3.00 WUB $10 Airwick Freshmatic
$2 WUB $6 ANY Airwick Scented Oil Products
50c POM Wonderful juice
$1.00 Scott Towels
$3.00 Pedigree Dog Food
$2.00 GoodNites (Jumbo or Larger)
$1.50 Rubbermaid LunchboxSandwich or Salad Kit
$1.50 Poise Pads
$1.00 Poise Pads
$1.50 Poise Hourglass
$1.50 Poise Body CoolingTowlettes, FW, or PF
$2.50 Poise PL or Roll-on Gel

Interesting Walmart Fact- Different Pricing

We are shocked about pricing today! If you take a look at the Walmart flyer for this past week, you will likely see that the price f Charming on the front page is $15.97.... Unless you live in Sherwood Park!! There, the price is $13.97 for the exact same product during the exact same week. We discovered this because we decided to do a shopping trip in the city today and found the pricing discrepancy when we pulled up the flyer online. It defaulted to our local Sherwood Park store and, surprise, the price was different.

Having a marketing background among us, we know that it is against the rules to have different pricing among stores in the same city (this came about long ago when it was discovered that a certain grocery chain was charging more in the University area because people didn't have cars to 'shop around'). Although Sherwood Park is technically not part of Edmonton, We are surprised that this shopping giant is pushing the boundaries like that. Be careful where you shop!

Another Freebie- Skinny Cow Ice Cream Bars

Want a great way to cool off from this summer heat? Skinny Cow has offered a $5 off coupon for their ice cream bars when you like them on Facebook. We have tried skinny cow and it gets our stamp of approval!! The boxed varieties are on sale for $5 at Superstore this week making them frrreeeee (you will pay .25 for the get).  The coupon is good until the end of August, so it will still get you a super discount even if you miss this deal!

To get your coupon visit the link below:
Skinny Cow Coupon

Cool Off With a Free Slurpee!!!

Today is free Slurpee day at 7-11 and with the heat wave, timing couldn't be better. Be one of the first 1000 customers and your Slurpee is on the house :)

Dove is Back and Stackable

What a score! London Drugs has the bonus packs with the full sized conditioner attached to the shampoo, with stacking, this makes foe some good deals. Look out for Dove tearpads, they are stackable at London Drugs and Dove is on sale for $3.99 this week. We just stocked up... Including the bonus items this was approx $120 worth of products, we paid $4.17!!!

A couple of things to remember:
1. Some coupons look exactly the same but have different barcodes
2. Some LDs forget to put the sale signs on the men's products but they are $3.99 too!
3. Be organized. Have your coupons in groups ready for the cashier.

Who says you can't "coupon" for healthy food?  Part of "couponing" is just being aware of where you can find the best deals at any given time to combine those sales with the coupons you have, or even just learning how to price match so you don't spend you "savings" in gas getting what you need.  Strawberries are on sale at No Frills for $1/lb.  That's cheaper than the frozen 
strawberries at Costco (and WAY cheaper than fresh).  I used the No frills flyer and price matched at Walmart.  8lbs of strawberries for $8 (Walmart's current sale is $4 for 2lbs, so that's a 50% savings off of their "large" package sale price).  I also came across an amazing deal on fresh pork chops at Save-on foods in Summerwood Sherwood park 99c/lb (that's a 75% savings off their regular price).  The meat manager said they had just "over purchased" and had marked them down to move them...not old, not bad! There were still LOTS of packages left this afternoon if anyone wants to call to see if they have more.  Combine those with my "free" Almond milk coupon from the All Bran I bought for half price a few weeks back, and I'd say it was a "healthy" shopping day ;)

Save 30% off your entire purchase at the Gap, OldNavy, Banana Republic TODAY ONLY (June 3rd). FREE shipping on orders over $50, and you can combine from all 3 stores!
Enter code 24HRSCDA at checkout 
Offer valid through 6/3/2012 at 11:59 PM ET. Valid online only on Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic merchandise only in Canada. Not valid at Old Navy, Gap or Banana Republic stores, or at Old Navy Outlet, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic Factory Stores or Edition by Banana Republic. Not valid on Gap Leather & Suede, Women's Shoes and Kids' Shoes and DIANE VON FURSTENBERG FOR GAPKIDS. Not valid on Old Navy dresses. Not valid on international purchases. Qualifying amount applies to merchandise only, not value of gift cards purchased, packaging, applicable taxes or shipping & handling charges. Cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts including Gap Inc. employee discount. Offer is nontransferable and not valid for cash or cash equivalent. No adjustments on previous purchases. Offer subject to change without notice.

Knock Knock ;)  Have you seen these door hangers in your latest flyer stacks??  Combined with other offers, they are a great thing to have!!  Watch your flyer stacks for others (there is also a $3.00 off Glad coupon out there)

KIDS BOWL FREE!!!

This looks like a really great program!  Select Bowling Alleys across North America (Yes, in Canada too) are offering free bowling ALL SUMMER to children under the age of 15!  You can also add unto 4 adults to a family pass for a one-time fee of $24.95.  You can get the details here:
www.kidsbowlfree.com

There has been much confusion over Safeway's policy on using a BOGO coupon WITH their BOGO events. Many "coupon" sites have been giving misleading information, further frustrating store managers and Safeway...
Here is what they have posted with regard to their policy:

"You are able to use a BOGO Coupon on a BOGO Sale. We would like to clarify that a free item cannot result in a free item. In order to receive a free item from a BOGO purchase or transaction, one item must be physically purchased. If you apply a BOGO coupon to an item that is under a BOGO offer, you may receive an additional free item. However, the original item must still have been purchased (Example: Buy 1 Get 2 free with offer and coupon)." -Jessica, Customer Support


It is a good idea, if you haven't already, to check out their Facebook page for Canada Canada Safeway Facebook make sure you change "highlights" to "posts by others" so you can see FAQ's and answers

These rain boots in pink AND blue were spotted in children's sizes 12/13 at the Costco located in Sherwood Park this afternoon for ONLY $2.97!! WOW!!

AWESOME deal on Bullseye BBQ Sauce

Sobeys has Bullseye BBQ sauce on at 3 for $4.98. If you combine that with the BOGO coupon at www.smartsource.ca you get 6 bottles for $2.49 (this is because Sobeys discounts by the original price when using a coupon, NOT the sale price. So, this works out to 42c per bottle including tax!!!

SmartSource April 7th

Look for these coupons in the SmartSource insert this weekend:

Save $1 Oxiclean Max Force Power Crystals/Packs 
Save $1 Oxi Clean Max Force Spray/Stain Spray Etc
Save $1 Oxi Clean Stain Remover Powder 
Save $.75 Huggies Baby Wipes
Save $1.50 Any Huggies Diapers
Save $2 Huggies Little Movers Slip Ons
Save $2 Goodnights Bed Mats
Save $2 Irish Spring Body Wash/Deodorant
Save $1.50 Proseries Spinbrush Toothbrush
Save $.75 Arm and Hammer Toothpaste
Save $1 Clorox Clinging Gel 
Save $.75 Scrub Free Bathroom Cleaner
Save $.75 Scrub Free Extreme or Natural Clean
Save $.50 Purina Cat Chow


*Thankyou FEM for the coupon List

Brandsaver April 7th

Here are the coupons to look for in the Brandsaver this weekend:

Save $5.00 WUB any Venus razor AND any Venus cartridges together
Save $3.00 WUB any Gillette Venus and Olay or Venus Embrace razor
Save $2.00 WUB any Venus Disposables or Daisy Disposables razors
Save $1.00 WUB any Satin Care shave Gel
Save $5.00 WUB any Gillette ProGlide cartridge and save $5 on a ProGlide razor
Save $2.00 WUB any Gillette 3-bladed disposable razor
Save $5.00 WUB any Gillette ProGlide Styler
Save $2.00 WUB any Gillette Mach 3 cartridge
Save $2.00 WUB any Gillette Fusion/ProGlide shave gel (excludes trial sizes)
Save $3.00 WUB any TWO Olay moisturizer, lotion or cleanser products
Save $1.00 WUB any ONE box of Nice'n Easy hair colour product
Save $3.00 WUB any TWO boxes of Nice'n Easy hair colour products
Save $3.00 WUB any TWO Covergirl products
Save $0.50 WUB any Crest Complete toothpaste
Save $0.75 WUB any Scope Dual-Blast rinse
Save $1.00 WUB any Oral-B Advantage toothbrush
Save $3.00 WUB any Oral-B battery brush
Save $7.00 WUB any Crest 3D White Whitestrips (excluding Vivid)
Save $1.00 WUB any Crest Pro-Health Clinical Sensitivity paste
Save $0.75 WUB any Crest Pro-Health toothpaste
Save $0.50 WUB any Oral-B Glide floss
Save $1.00 WUB any Crest Pro-Health rinse

FREE Crest Pro-Health paste (up to 130ml), Crest Pro-Health rinse (up to 1 L), and any Oral-B Glide floss WUB any Oral-B premium electric toothbrush
Buy any ONE Pantene Shampoo, conditioner or 2 in 1 (375 ml) and get another Pantene shampoo, conditioner or 2 in 1 (375 ml) free
Buy any Febreze Fabric Refresher and get ONE Febreze CAR (1ct) Vent Clip
Save $3.00 WUB any TWO Febreze products
Save $1.00 WUB ANY Febreze product
Save $0.50 WUB any Herbal Essences product (excludes trial sizes)
Save $1.25 WUB any TWO brands: Bounty, Charmin or Puffs (excluding single roll/pack)
Save $0.50 WUB any ONE Bounty paper towel product (excluding single roll)
Save $0.50 WUB any ONE Charmin product
Save $0.50 WUB any ONE Puffs product (excluding single pack)
Save $3.00 WUB any Swiffer WetJet starter kit
Save $1.50 WUB any Swiffer refill
Save $1.50 WUB any Swiffer Sweeper starter kit
Save $1.00 WUB any Swiffer Dusters (excludes 1ct) or Swiffer Dust & Shine
Save $1.00 WUB any Head & Shoulders product (excludes trial size) Not applicable on special packs
Save $2.50 WUB any Head & Shouders shampoo + conditioner (excludes trial size) Not applicable on special packs
Save $2.00 WUB any TWO Secret Outlast antiperspirants/deodorants
Save $3.00 WUB any TWO 709 ml Ivory Body Wash or Ivory 10-bar pack
Save $1.50 WUB any TWO 354 ml Ivory Body Wash or Ivory 6-bar pack
Buy ONE Cascade ActionPacs tub and get ONE Dawn 561 ml or 709 ml product FREE
Save $2.00 WUB any TWO Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (excluding 1ct) or any TWO Swiffer Dusters (excluding 1ct)
Save $1.50 WUB any TWO Mr. Clean products
Save $0.75 WUB any Mr. Clean spray
Save $0.50 WUB any Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (excluding 1ct) or Mr. Clean liquid.
Save $1.00 WUB any ONE Bounce dryer bar
Save $.50 WUB any ONE Bounce dryer sheets
Save $2.00 WUB any ONE Downy UNSTOPPABLES Fresh or Lush.
Save $0.50 WUB any ONE Downy product (40 load or larger)
Save $2.00 WUB any Tide Liquid or Tide powder product.
Save $0.50 WUB any Tide Stain Release Boost, Tide To Go or Tide Washing Machine Cleaner
Save $1.00 WUB any Duracell Coppertop or Ultra Power batteries (8 ct or higher)
Save $2.00 WUB any Duracell NiMH Rechargeable batteries
Save $5.00 WUB any Duracell NiMH charger
Save $5.00 off Pampers Cruisers WUB any ONE Pampers Swaddlers, Swaddlers Sensitive or Baby-Dry
Save $2.50 WUB any Pampers diapers or pants AND wipes
Save $2.00 any ONE Pampers diapers or pants


*Thankyou SmartCanucks for the Coupon List

30% OFF 2 DAYS ONLY GAP OUTLET

We have just received a coupon for 30% off at the Gap Outlet for 2 days only (March 17 and 18th)  You can sign up for these e-mails at the Gap.com, or e-mail us at admin@therealdealfinders.com and we will forward it to you!

Blizzards are Never on Sale!

I LOVE DQ blizzards and if you are the same, you know that these pieces of heaven are rarely on sale. Well, for a limited time, they are 'buy 1, get 1 for .99!!! Oh cruel world: I am on the pink method diet... Go have one for yourself and enjoy one for me :)

Pick Your Sale! Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire has sent out their scratch and win tickets again. The minimum you can win is $5 so when you combine a coupon with a sale on one of many items, you can get them for next to nothing. Examples of products you should look at: Charming toilet paper, bounty paper towel, finish dishwasher tabs, glad garbage bags... An the list goes on!
Hurry! The scratch card is only valid on Saturday.

Coffee Deals

It's Roll Up The Rim time and who doesn't love that??? If you don't neeeed the Timmies cup, look for coffee deals at other java places around the city. Tim Hortons has such a corner on the market during RUTR that other shops HAD to take notice. Last year McDonalds even gave their coffee away for free (and they still weren't lined up for a cup of Joe). This week, McD's has 'save $1' on coffee but I wouldn't be surprised to see them for free before this promo is done :)
Watch for other deals and let us know if you find any so we can share!!

Dawgs Shoe Sale

We came across an AMAZING sale yesterday at Dawgs Shoes in the mall.  They are very similar to "Crocs" but also have some neat other styles, and are great for kids.  All of their "SUMMER" stock is 75% off...yes, that's right...NOT winter, but SUMMER stock!!  So I picked up a pair of the shoes in the photo for my son for only $9.  They also have those fabulous little ballerina flats along with a "flipflop style" that fold up and you can tuck inside your purse for only $4!  Check it out...not sure how long it will last, but they had TONS of stock in Sherwood Park yesterday.

H & W Produce

The Real Deal Finders Sisters and Family have been busy implementing a shift in the way we eat.  We have heard all over that it is really hard to save money and eat healthy...a challenge we were happy to take on.  Well, as it turns out, our grocery bills have actually FALLEN!!  We are not able to use coupons for as many things as we did before, but extreme coupling is still big for us.  In Edmonton, we found this little Gem of a produce store called H & W.  When we combined what we knew about what was on sale at some of the major chain stores, and purchased the remainder at H&W, we save a bundle (3 LARGE BAGS FULL of produce for only $20 on average).
If you are not in Edmonton, and know of a similar discount produce store in your area, please post on our Facebook wall so we can share.
So the bottom line now is that we are feeling GREAT, and saving even more money.
Here is a link to the H&W website if you are interested in checking it out
H&W Produce

Deals at Futureshop Calgary Trail

Thought this was noteworthy. Futureshop on Calgary Trail in Edmonton is closing (no need for that store and the one down the street in South Edmonton Common). There are some great deals to be found and some really good prices if you're willing to take a floor model.
Thanks for the tip Sherri!

Jamaica!!!

Jamaica anyone??  Looks like Air Canada Vacations still has some flights availabe (Jan 16-23rd) at $99 plus $162.42tx...so that's a grand total of $522.84 for 2 pple RETURN from Calgary to Jamaica INCLUDING tax!!!
Click here for AirCanada Vacations website, then click on "flights" and enter dates Jan 16-Jan 23
Bon Voyage :)

Cool Local Edmonton Only Coupons

There are some REALLY great local Edmonton coupons available to celebrate the Ice on Whyte Festival.  Businesses included in the coupons are: The Ice on Whyte Festival (2 for 1), The Tin Box, Planet Organic, Head Case, Bee Bell Bakery among others!  Click here to print your coupons

$2 Royale coupon

Visit the Royal Facebook page for a $2 off coupon. Hurry, they only have a limited supply. Click here to get your coupon http://m.facebook.com/RoyaleKittensChatons?refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRoyaleKittensChatons&_rdr