Strawberries @ Safeway ($2 x 2 packages= 25 Air Miles)

Strawberries are on sale for $2 at Safeway. Plus, if you go on to Facebook and "Like" Safeway, you can access a coupon where you can earn 25 Air Miles when you purchase two packages.

It is rare to find coupons in Canada for fresh produce items such as strawberries. That said, a good idea to keep an eye on your cereal box. I usually purchase cereal once a month so as to earn some extra Air Miles on the purchase. A few months ago (and without realizing it), I purchased several boxes of Kelloggs cereal that included a $2 coupon off strawberries. These have been wonderful to have on hand!

I have been able to use these coupons to lower the cost of strawberries at Safeway to almost free (since there are still taxes); if you happen to have some of these coupons, know that you can use them and still receive the 25 Air Miles offer. At least I have in the past.

Pretty sweet deal eh?

Even without the coupons for strawberries, it's still good value to get 25 Air Miles on $4 of strawberries. Check it out!

If you do take the coupon route, my thoughts are that it is important to try to make at least one other additional purchase and to be sure to thank the store clerk for their help. The more a retailer feels valued for enabling you to get such great deals, the more likely they are to continue to permit them.

Enjoy strawberry season!

Save 25, 30 or 50% off at Banana Republic and "Summer Love Sale" at the Gap (Canada)

Are you a member of the Banana Republic listserv? Check your e-mail for a coupon that will allow you to save 25%, 30% or 50% off your entire purchase. Your coupon can be used online or in store.

The Gap is also having a "Summer Love" Sale (online only):

Women and Men's Tees, Tanks, Boxers and Briefs from $12

Polo shirts from $20

Tops, shorts and shirts from $25

Dresses and skirts from $35

To join the listservs, visit the bottom right hand corner of the homepages.

West Jet "Everywhere we fly" sale is on!

Photo credit: Westjet.com

West Jet is having a seat sale on "everywhere they fly". Book by June 2nd, 2011. Click here for more details.

Happy travels!

I love the City TV iPad App!!!

Above video is embedded via YouTube, posted by Rogers Communication Inc.

If you're from the east coast like me, you'll understand how important City TV's Breakfast Television is for achieving a full balanced breakfast.

(Breakfast Television is a morning show hosted in Toronto, Ontario)

I grew up with Breakfast Television humming in the background while getting ready for school. As a child, I performed twice on the show. Once on my thirteenth birthday. And yes, I got the standard BT-style birthday shoutout... in person. It was pretty awesome. Everyone needs at least one BT birthday shout out in their lifetime.

Such a great show. Which is why I was sad to find out that in order to get City TV with my cable subscription out west, it would cost an extra $5/month. Given that I already added the package that included TLC for $10 and CNN for an additional $5 (see previous post on Shaw Plan Personalizer), the line had to be drawn somewhere.

No need to fear, though. Kevin Frankish and the BT gang can be viewed for free on the City TV iPad app! Alternatively through the City TV website.

Even if you don't particularly care for Breakfast Television like I do, the City TV app also streams the latest episodes of popular shows including:

• How I Met Your Mother
• Parenthood
• The Biggest Loser
• Not to mention my fave... Modern Family!!!

The app is free and available on iTunes. Would highly recommend: lots of fun!

How to save $10 on your next purchase of Claritin

Photo Credit: Claritin.ca

Seasonal allergies aren't very much fun. Nor are the prices on allergy medications: a 30-pack often hovers in the mid-$20s. With small effort and a little bit of luck, however, you can cut back on the cost of allergy medications significantly.

Tonight, I needed to purchase some additional Claritin. I prefer the dissolving tablets, although these tend to be a little more expensive. Shoppers Drug Mart had a 30-pack for $16.99 (plus tax) which is a good price considering the usual cost. That said, my local London Drugs was able to provide an even sweeter deal.

• London Drugs recently came out with a coupon book (available in stores for free) that includes a $1.50 coupon off the Claritin product I needed. 
• Some stores (including London Drugs) will accept printed coupons from the internet: a few weeks ago, I happened to print a manufacturers coupon for $4.00 off my desired Claritin product. 
• To top it off, London Drugs had posted an additional manufacturers coupon next to the product worth $4.50. Most stores only allow you to use one manufacturers coupon per item; London Drugs is a rare exception as they will allow you to combine them provided they are different coupons with different codes. See their coupon policy for the full details.

As a result, I saved $10 off my purchase! Meaning I only paid $12 (plus tax). How wonderful!

Thank you London Drugs!

I don't consider myself to be an extreme couponer like the folks featured on TLC's Extreme Couponing show. I do enjoy using coupons to lower the price of 1-2 units of a much needed item on my grocery list. My philosophy around groceries is "when possible, have a spare": this way, I am able to consistently purchase items when they are on sale vs. full price. It only takes a few minutes each week to request coupons; in an upcoming post, I'll go over how to do this.

Hope this helps to put your sneezing to rest!

This one is for my colleagues: $1 Pop all summer long at McDonalds

My colleagues love the $1 pop deal at McDonalds. So as a shout out to them, thought I'd share their fave with the world! It's a great way to grab a drink if you're out on the town.

Thanks colleagues.

West Jet One Day Sale is on now!

Usually when Air Canada posts a seat sale, West Jet follows. And vice versa.

Photo credit: Westjet.com

Features Canadian destinations. Book by May 25th for Mon, Tues, Wed, Sat travel. Travel has to be between June 4th and July 13th, 2011.

Here's the link

Finally! A Seat Sale on the Entire World!!! Thanks Air Canada

Ok one more amazing deal coming your way... The Air Canada World Wide Seat Sale!!!

Photo Credit: aircanada.com

Need I say more? Does it get better than this? Sale is on until Thursday, June 2nd at 11:59 EDT.

To access the seat sale, click here

Happy Travels!!!

Hooray! We're going to NYC for 40% off!

I will be in Toronto later this summer. My sister and I were able to take advantage of Porter Airlines' 40% off sale to book a trip to New York City!

Photo credit: flyporter.com

Use the promo code "THANKS40" said to be valid until May 30th.

Thanks to the amazing bloggers at smartcanucks.ca for sharing this with the world. Excited to see the Big Apple for the first time!

Free Movie Ticket Offer at Mr. Lube

Check your mail: there might be a coupon for a Free Movie Ticket with any oil change package at Mr. Lube

Photo of the coupon I received today:

Enjoy the film!

Saving on your Cable + Internet +Home Phone Bill for Shaw Cablesystems Customers (Western Canada)

Above video embedded via YouTube- Shaw Plan Personalizer TV Commerical

Recently, Shaw Cablesystems introduced the new “Shaw Plan Personalizer”: a bundle offer that allows you to customize your preferences for television channels, internet service and home phone (if required).

Over the weekend, I made the switch from my existing Shaw plan (from the pre-“Personalizer” days) to a plan that covered all of my favourite channels and included the same level of internet service that I had been receiving in the past. I am not a home phone user, so I was able to save $15.00 off the total. In the end, I’m now saving about $30-$35/month when compared with my previous rate.  It would be another $15 less if I was willing to give up TLC and CNN. But lets be honest: I’m not.

I also tried out their online customer service platform for the first time. It was a great experience! They were very helpful when I asked to switch my plan and paid great attention to detail. Because we were using an online IM platform, they were more than willing to pause and allow me time to read materials and make an informed decision. I wasn’t expecting to receive such wonderful service considering that I was essentially asking to reduce my monthly payments. But the folks at Shaw were understanding and great to work with. Kudos to Shaw!

If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out the Shaw Plan Personalizer, I recommend that you do. Depending on your selections, you might find savings on your monthly cable/internet/home phone bill.

35% off two items at the GAP (today only)

Another funzie from my morning e-mail: 35% off two items at the Gap (today only- Tuesday, May 24, 2011). Just in time for the arrival of summer weather!

You'll want to bring a copy of the printable coupon (from the e-mail) with you. To access a copy, just join the listserv. If your making your purchases online, use the promo code GAP35.

Gap.ca website


(Note that the listserv sign up is at the bottom right hand corner)

As with the Banana Republic sale (see previous post), don't forget to sign into airmilesshops.ca to earn up to 5x the airmiles if you are making your purchase online. It appears they are also having a 3x the points event on Banana Republic and Gap... does anyone know if these will combine?

Enjoy!

Deal of the day: 40% off tops and shorts at Banana Republic (5-8 pm Local Time)

Need some new work or play clothes? Banana Republic is having a 40% off sale on tops and shorts!

Today's sale is from 5-8 pm local time (in store). No store nearby? You can also take advantage of the sale online by using the promo code BRCHAPPY. If your order is over $50, free shipping applies.

Banana Republic website

Also, if you're ordering online, don't forget to sign into Airmilesshops.ca (if you have an airmiles card) to earn up to 5x the airmiles on your purchase thanks to the 5x the points event (from now until June 14). It appears they are also having a 3x the points event on Banana Republic and Gap... does anyone know if these will combine?


Enjoy!

Mint.com: The best budget buddy ever!!!

 Mint.com video embedded via YouTube

Whether you’re creating a personal budget for the first time or are a seasoned pro, here’s one tool you should definitely check out:

Photo Credit: Mint.com

Mint.com

Both Canadians and Americans can take full advantage of what this site has to offer. And it’s FREE! In summary, Mint.com pulls spending information from your various bank accounts, investments and loans to give you a complete picture of where you stand financially.

The online portal uses the same level of security that banks use for their online banking. Your banking cannot be altered by you or anyone at Mint.com: the program simply reads your statements so as to compile and present information for you about your personal finances.

Things that Mint.com is capable of:

-       Illustrating your actual spending each month by category (eg. housing, groceries, restaurants, clothing etc) via visual diagrams

-       Helping you to set both monthly and annual budgets

-       The program is “smart” and can identify which purchases fall under which categories. You can also manually assign purchases to categories as needed

-       Monitoring each budget line and letting you know if you’re getting close to exceeding your set amount

-       Showing you up-to-date information re: your budget on the go via the Mint.com phone apps

-       Recommend credit cards and investments that would appear to provide you with a high rate of return based on patterns in your spending

Again, signing up for Mint.com is totally free. My understanding is that Mint.com profits when people act on one of the recommendations made to them as a result of participating in the website. For example, if you were to sign up for a recommended credit card, Mint.com receives a commission from the credit card company.

This website is so helpful. Not only does it give you a complete picture of where you stand financially, but it can help you make the best in-the-moment decisions possible eg. "should I buy this pair of shoes or not?" If you tend to buy things on impulse and benefit from having a friend around to remind you to save... this program + phone app can be there for you 24/7!

For more information on Mint.com, check out their amazing website here. For information specific to Canadians, check out this page for all of the details.

Try it. It makes monitoring your personal budget a piece of cake! Enjoy!

If you try it out, tell us what you think! Did you find it helpful?

Deal of the day: Try Netflix for free for a month and get $10 in Amazon Gift Cards

I know this sounds too good to be true. Hopefully it isn't.

Have you heard of Swagbucks? Essentially, it's an online portal where you can earn credits (aka swagbucks) for doing your web searches using their tool as well as taking surveys, playing games and browsing/purchasing deals. I recently signed up to see what it was all about. After interacting with some of the activities, it seems to me that it would take a fair bit of time and effort to accumulate the necessary number of points to trade in for gift cards and the like. That said, one deal caught my eye:

If you sign up for a one month free trial of Netflix, they will give you 1000 "swagbucks". If you look up the possible ways to use 1000 swagbucks, you'll notice that you can order $5 Amazon gift cards for 450. So my understanding is that by signing up for a free trial of Netflix, you are eligible to receive two $5 Amazon gift cards.

Pretty amazing. I hope it works!

To visit the Swagbucks website, click here

Regarding Netflix, the concept is amazing. I've especially enjoyed playing with the iPad app. It's a shame there aren't as many movie options available as in the U.S.; hopefully this will come along.

Deal of the day: Lady Gaga's Born This Way Album for 0.99 on Amazon

Everyone needs a little Lady Gaga in their life.

Especially when you can have her new album for 0.99 thanks to Amazon.com. Check it out today... who knows if it will be around tomorrow.

To get Gaga, click here

You need to be a resident of the U.S. to score this particular deal.

What did you think about Gaga's performance on SNL this weekend? Did anyone else notice that Mark from SYTYCD Season 4 was one of her dancers?

For the most up-to-date list of deals I'm excited about, follow me on Twitter: @myfriendtellsme

Enjoy!

Welcome to the savvy savings movement!

Everyone loves a good deal. But even more: “that friend” who always seems to have the latest scoop on sales, deals and coupons.

We all know at least one friend who fits the bill. Though I’ve encountered many savings-minded friends, my first true “savvy yuppie” friend is a former colleague of mine who we will name Zac. Always in the know about the latest clothing sales and travel deals, Zac could (and still can) be relied upon to rally the troops for lunchtime visits to the mall or arm the team with booklets of printed coupons for outlet malls adjacent to conference locations. Although he is an incredible shopper, Zac’s best talent is finding amazing vacations for incredibly low prices. New York, Orlando, Caribbean cruises…  so many of us wondered just how he pulled it off, time after time.

Fortunately, when it comes to sharing information on the best deals in town/around the world, Zac always has an “open-door policy”. If only I had known how helpful his tips and mindset would be in the years to come.

Recently, I made the move from Ontario to British Columbia. This was my second move from Ontario to British Columbia in the last ten years; the last occasion was for post-secondary education. As a university student, maintaining a budget was always on most people’s minds. That said, living a “no frills” lifestyle was somewhat easy in that everyone was doing it! As a result, I didn’t fully encounter the financial impact of living in BC, which my aunt affectionately refers to as “Bring Cash” (Yes: she’s from Alberta).

The last few months have provided me with some additional perspective of the cost of living in this beautiful (but admittedly expensive) province. Groceries, gas, and especially housing… it seems that most of my monthly expenses would rival those of someone living in downtown Toronto. And I assure you, I am not living in downtown Vancouver… in fact, five hours away in the Okanagan (a region located in south-central BC).

I quickly realized that the more I was able to take advantage of sales and special offers, the more I would be able to take advantage of the many amazing activities available in my new surroundings. It would also support me towards continuing to save for important life purchases that typical 20-somethings have on their radar.

It seems I’ve now become the “Zac” of my workplace. By sharing my “shopping savvy” with others, I notice an increased awareness of:

• the quickest ways to rack up airmiles and aeroplan points
• the wonders of beyondtherack.com
• how to get a free coupon book when you visit an outlet mall in the USA
• how to find and use promo codes
• “average person” couponing strategies (not to be confused with “extreme couponing”)
• What the term “Blue Tag Thursdays” means

It’s fun to see the look on a friend’s face when you’ve helped them to save a few dollars. They usually return the favour. That is what I am hoping this blog will provide: a forum for like-minded individuals to help one another towards their goals.

So come back often. I will be posting articles on tips of the trade that I’ve stumbled upon. If there’s a particular topic you’re interested in seeing, by all means please e-mail me at somyfriendtellsme@gmail.com

Also, if you follow me on twitter (@myfriendtellsme), I will be posting interesting deals as I come across them. Feel free to send me tweets of examples you’ve noticed and I will do my best to share them with others who are following the feed.

I hope that each of you will find something helpful in this blog as it unfolds. It would especially mean a lot to provide helpful insights for fellow “up-and-coming twenty-somethings” who are working so very hard to get their financial feet underneath them.

Until my next entry, keep your eye out for any great deals. I look forward to hearing about them!

Until next time, save-on my friends,

Little Miss Savings

We are under construction... stay tuned

Are you looking to stretch your budget and have a lot of fun doing it in the process?

Join our circle of friends on twitter @myfriendtellsme

Did you come across a great deal? Tweet it to us so we can re-tweet it to our community of friends!

Check back soon: we will be posting regular articles and updates.

Most of all, thanks for checking us out! We hope you'll join us as we attempt to tweet the best deals in and around Canada!