July 20 Stock Pile

 I love a bargain.  When I see a great deal I buy multiples of the item, this is called "stocking up".  I started to build my stock pile slowly, and over time it has become quite large.
Stock piling toiletries is a great place to start if you have storage room. 
Did you know that if an item is on sale you can also use a coupon on the item? Sometimes cash back apps also have money back options on the item, or bonus points with your loyalty cards.
I stock pile body wash, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toilet paper, paper towel, cleaning supplies, razors and shaving cream just to name a few.
Mail in Rebates are around a few times a year for items and take advantage of these for your stock pile. 

 Shopping your stock pile helps save you money.  I have not needed to buy some items for a long time, which allows money from the budget to go towards other financial goals. such as paying off det or saving for a vacation.

It pays to be frugal.

On Amazon check out my Ebooks A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada and A Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid. 

Donat Dollar$

No Frills
3.91 watermelon
2.97 10 pound potatoes
2.47 a pound yellow, orange, red peppers
1.88 poi yes with $10 spent on goldfish crackers and Campbell’s soups
1.97 source yogurt

Sobeys
200$ in gift cards is 100 Air Miles
3.99 watermelon
2.00 ciabatta baquette
2/5 El Paso slash and shells and bowls spend $10 earn 15 Miles
1.99 sensations chocolate bars
3.00 3 pack romaine lettuce

Super Store no tax Saturday

Giant Tiger
99 cents celery
4 pack peppers 2.47

Walmart
6.94 950 g Folgers coffee

Lawton’s
BOGO 3.99 planters peanuts
BOGO 3.69 nail polish

Pharmasave
BOGO nail polish but not sure of price it wasn’t stated

Shoppers spend your points Saturday

July 17, Portion Size

Everyone needs to wash their hair and their body...or at least I hope so lol.
I was noticing that I was going through a lot of shampoo, conditioner and body wash monthly.  I took a minute about 3 years ago and really read the label for the amount needed per use. 
Each bottle gives a different and vague answer in the directions on the label. 
I know it sounds foolish to read the directions on basic items, I felt a tad bit silly doing it too.
What I have come up with that works for my shoulder length hair. I use the size of a quarter for shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair.
I use body wash and use the size of a pea or a dime and put it on my loofah. It really does foam up and do the trick.
Paying attention to the portion size of these items has paid off, and my toiletries are lasting longer.

It pays to be frugal.

July 16

Today's post is self explanatory.  Hang your clothes to dry.  I don't have an outdoor clothesline at my house but I improvise. 
I have a clothes drying rack always set up in the basement.  It can hold one full load of wash and I use that to dry our clothes. On nice days if my kids aren't playing outside I take the drying rack outside to dry faster. 
In our basement bathroom my husband geared up a large drying system for me.  He hung bungee cords back and forth to be able to hang our towels.
Also if you look closely at the photo I bought two racks at yard sales to hand on the drying racks.  These racks have clips that hang small      items.

July 15 Financial Advisor

Once upon a time, when we first were asked if we had a financial advisor we responded that we didn't have any money.  Our friend that asked us quickly responded that we never would if we didn't have a financial advisor.  That night my husband and I talked to each other and decided we should meet with someone.
We had an appointment and talked to them about our dreams to retire at 55, pay off our home, and to pay for one degree for each child.  A plan was created and we began our journey with one small step.
Fast forward 9 years and we are on our second financial advisor for a few reasons. 
Trust your gut, and ask many questions to your advisor. 
We are very happy with our current Financial Advisor.  We meet with him twice a year.  We go over what has changed in the past 6 months both from our current financial situation and we also review our investments. Sometimes we make changes to the type of portfolio we have, other times we just do an educational re-visit into the types of things we have in our portfolio and what they mean.
Talk to your advisor about all your dreams and plans etc.  This year we were debating a new to us SUV but were having a hard time pulling the trigger.  An honest discussion into the reasons we wanted it, the impact it would have on our portfolio etc. We decided to go with a great second hand one and took our time to find the right one for us and our desires.  The honest discussion with our Financial Advisor helped. 
No matter where you are in your journey to building wealth, a Financial Advisor can help. The plan is able to change with you, start today!

It pays to be frugal. Check out my Ebooks on Amazon A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada and a Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid.

July 14

We are a family of 4,2 kids and 2 adults and a golden doodle dog.  This means we do a lot of laundry.

Laundry seems to pile up here very quickly.  We do our laundry on the cold wash setting.   This avoids paying for the water to heat up during the cycle.

There is even laundry detergent that can be purchased created specified the cold water setting.

My husband is a Massage Therapist and his laundry is done on hot, I feel better knowing ours is done and cold and cutting down a bit on the laundry costs.

It pays to be frugal.   On Amazon check out my EBooks A Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid and A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada.

July 12 Price Match

Flyer Time!

Wednesday after work there is a little  plastic bag in my driveway that saves my family lots of money.  I love the flyers! I make a mug of green tea and get ready for 20 minutes of home budget work.   

 

When I first started to watch my prices, I would write down when I got home from the store how much I paid for an item, and record the size of the item.  I would then figure out cost per unit…how much the item costs per ml, L, g and kg.  It gets a bit tricky as some items are priced per pound, be aware.  I am not the math person, and my husband gets calls from me time to time at the store asking him to figure this out fast! It can get over whelming at the store to do this when you are in the moment.  Getting to know the prices of the items you regularly purchase will help you know when the item is a great deal. 

I first sort the flyers by the grocery stores that I prefer.  

 No Frills in my town is my favorite grocery store and I start there. The owner is present, and is very helpful with the customers.  No Frills also has the PC Optimum, where you collect points on every day purchases and points when you charge to your PC Master Card. And….No Frills will Price Match.

 

In my town ( and across Canada) Giant Tiger and Walmart will Price Match.

How Do I Price Match?

If you see an item in the flyers advertised cheaper than what it is at No Frills, Giant Tiger or Walmart you may Price Match. I circle item in the flyer, and take it with me to the store. You are allowed to Price Match as many items as you like, but can only get 4 items of the same product. For example, if Dawn liquid dish soap was on sale at a Lawtons, I take the flyer to a store that will Price Match and get the exact item for the advertised price.  I could get 4 of the Dawn liquid soap, and then also Price Match other items, such as bread. 

Flipp App also allows you to price match.  It has all the local flyers on the app, and when you are at the cash, before the cashier rings in your item, show the Flipp App on your phone and the cashier will adjust the price.

Why Would I Price Match?

I price match to cut down on my driving to other stores.
Also, I price match to get points with my loyalty cards.   No Frills belongs to the PC Optimum program, I try to buy as many of my groceries there as possible to collect points.