Groupon...a new trick

I love Groupon. Before I make a purchase for a restaurant, activity or hotel I search Groupon first.
Log on to airmilesshops.ca first and search Groupon.  This will help you collect air miles on your purchase.
Recently I was searching out a hotel room for Niagara Falls.  I found a hotel that I liked and a price I was comfortable paying.   Just before I clicked to buy I logged in New York as my home city by accident.   The same offer for the hotel I was just about to purchase was much cheaper in American dollars.   I bought it, even with paying the exchange rate I saved $120 Canadian from my original price I was willing to pay!  
My air miles were also awarded.
Take an extra 5 minutes and after you find the Groupon you want to buy and play with other home cities and see if there is a difference in price.  I have never earned $120 for 5 minutes of work that was well worth my time! Happy shopping.
Join Guess  Who's Cheap on Facebook and Amazon.ca A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada

Keep your receipts

Our house tries to run on a gift card budget whenever possible.   I have mentioned before the importance of keeping your receipts for your purchases. Today my husband tried to use one of our Canadian Tire gift cards and it didn't work. Although it is frustrating, the money isn't lost. He went back to Sobeys and showed the receipt for purchasing the Canadian Tire gift card.   The money was put back on the card as the card and receipt numbers matched up and he was able to make his purchase. Yes, it is an added step but this only happens about once a year. Keep hold of your receipts in case this happens to you.
I know some of you may be thinking this is risky, businesses will take care of you it's ok. Having earned enough miles for free Walt Disney World for next  year makes it worth it to our family.
Join Guess Who's Cheap on Facebook and on Amazon.ca  A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada

Call the Hotel

I have always booked my hotels through either Expedia, or on the website of the hotel, for example Best Western.com

In the past month I have booked 11 hotel nights for various dates.
I searched Expedia, and Hotel.com for a while, tracking the price.  Each time you search, make sure to delete your internet cookies.
After searching a Wyndham hotel, I phoned them directly. I told them the I was on Expedia, and want a cheaper price. I said, oh I am so old fashion I prefer talking to a person vs online.  She asked me if I like coffee, and if I would enjoy an upgraded executive room. After a minute of chatting, I said two beds is fine, I didn't want to pay an upgrade. The woman said, no upgrade fee, and I will beat the prices.  The price I was quoted was $400 US currency lower, and an upgrade!!!
Not every time has this worked, but it is worth the 6 minute phone call to try!


 

I Wrote a eBook!

I have been collecting Air Miles for years.  At first I started collecting them to help us get out of debt.  Now that we have the house as our only debt, we have switched our focus to a fun vacation.  In the past two and a half year we have collected 37,000 Air Miles. I have been asked many times to share my tips and tricks. I have shared many on this blog over the past year and a half but I wanted to write an in-depth guide.  This eBook is available on Amazon to purchase for $5.  Here is the link to purchase, copy and paste

https://www.amazon.ca/Guide-Collecting-Air-Miles-Canada-ebook/dp/B07169ZK5R/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1493139592&sr=8-5&keywords=air+miles

check your receipts

When I grocery shop I try to always watch the cash register as things get rung in. Today I am sleepy and wasn't paying attention. 
When my purchase was complete I checked my receipt and noticed that my strawberries weren't discounted the half off.  I turned around and got my $1.24 returned to me. 
To most, this isn't a big deal and they may have walked away. To me, I am committed to this Debt Free Journey and wanted the $1.24.
It is now in our change jar. At the end of this month it will be a deposit into our bank account with what ever money has accumulated. This will be towards an extra mortgage payment. 
Always check your receipts for these little things.
Also, if you notice you are charged the wrong price, go to customer service. You will receive the item for free if it is under $10 as the Scanning Code of Practice. If the item is over $10 you will receive a $10 discount.
Also there are sometimes survey codes. I have never won a survey, but I keep trying. 
CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS!
Follow and Join Guess Who's Cheap on Facebook.

Loose Change

There are things to do to save money that seem obvious, but many just don't do.  I found this water jug on the side of the road during fall clean up two years ago.  I had always wanted to fill one to the top with change to see how much money could be saved.  We throw all the change that came across our hands in this jug for 16 months. 
It can be tempting to buy a cute piggy bank for $10 but why spend money for a container to save money? 
One day I looked at it and thought it looked like too much money to keep in the house.  I was also curious just how much money we had saved up. 
I poured it all into a 4litre milk jug and it was almost to the brim. Not bad for 16 months.
It took us two hours to sort and roll the money.  We passed the time watching a movie, so it didn't feel that bad.
Go to your bank branch and ask them for change rollers. They will give them to you for free, no need to spend money at a store on things that can be given to you for free.
We counted it up and were surprised at the amount of money that accumulated. We have decided to save and every month take it to the bank to deposit. We now keep it in an empty juice container.  If you are comfortable having cash in your house, a 4l milk jug works great.  Happy savings!
Have any tips for saving money? comment below or join
Guess Who's Cheap on Facebook

Freezer Inventory

Today I decided to attempt to tackle one of our deepfreezers. We have two, one we put all the prepared meals in, and the other is the dumping grounds.
I don't know about you, but going into my freezer is often a surprise, and a surprise that I actually have the items. Or worse, none of the items. A downfall of being a stockpiler is the assumption you always have items on hand. Today I discovered I was out of bread.
I threw everything out of the deepfreezer onto the floor. I brought over milk crates to help sort the items. 
I often grab veggies, fruit and ground beef from my deepfreezer. After I sorted the items, I grabbed large reusable bags and sorted on these 3 categories.  Then I put the randoms on top. As you can see, I have lots of treats. My daughter has a party this weekend, and icecream for the kids. I found a package of candycane bark from Costco that I had forgotten about that was a great surprise!
After taking inventory, I am now aware what I have in the house for food. There was more fruit then I realized which will help cut down on the upcoming weeks' food budget.
Now, get organizing the freezer and happy saving. Who else is cheap?
Follow Guess Who's Cheap on Facebook