Wallet

I am like most women and love purses and wallets. Finding the wallet that works best for me has been a challenge as I love my loyalty cards and running a GIFT CARD BUDGET. I also needed a wallet that can hold a lot of change, any Canadian knows these toonies and loonies add up fast.  After receving a Michael Kors wallet that I LOVED and spent a small fortune on I realized it didn't work for me. Side bar, it was sold online for what it was paid for, phew. It was hard for me to realize this, but my need to be frugal far outweighed my want for a nice wallet.
The wallet that works best for me is from 31 Gifts, and is called the Benjamin.  It holds a lot of cards, currently has 32 cards in it (OMG 32 really?) and it zips up so my lose coupons also don't fall out. It also has a wristlet to be carried without being in a purse.
I have a second wallet though for the cards that I don't use regularly. I live an hour away from the closest city and many of my cards that I have are used only when I shop there.
This smaller wallet holds my gift cards and loyalty cards for these stores. When I am making  a trip to the city I just throw that wallet in with my purse. It lightens the load a bit.
BONUS FRUGAL TIP
A saving tip I use is to think about my purchases from stores for 24 hours. I carry the gift cards to stores that tempt me in my secondary wallet. This way, when I am out and about and browse stores ( Winners, oh Winners we have a love hate) I won't make an impulse buy because my gift card for there is in my other wallet. This helps me sit on my decision and decide if I really want it. Most times, the answer is no.

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Post Christmas Sales

Boxing Day Sales are a great time to start shopping for next year.  I know, I know I sound crazy.  I go out every Boxing Day to all the Drug Stores, and the day after to the grocery stores and Walmart etc.  It is a great time to stock up on gifts for next year and also birthday gifts.  There are many things that you can pick up that are not necessarily Christmas.
Today ( 10 days after Christmas) I bought items that can be used now and saved a ton. 75% off to be exact.
1) bubble bath gift sets that I will take out of the Christmas box and put in Easter baskets
2)placemats for my house that have sparkles on them, apparently they are Christmas?
3)toothbrushes that are characters with toothpaste in a gift box (well, the kids brush their teeth)
4)hand cream in cellophane packaging, perfect for my purse and work desk
5)bath puffs that had crayola tag on it, perfect for my showers and I replace them regularly. I don't care if they say crayola. 
Get out there and shop, remember Easter baskets, Christmas stockings and birthday gifts. There are many things that are always able to be used, despite being marketed for Christmas.
Happy Shopping
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Packing up Christmas

Today is that dreaded day, the day where I tackle under the Christmas tree.  Despite that we cut down on the amount of presents bought and the money spent the number of gift bags and tissue paper looked like it grew.  When I tidy up this mess of Christmas I save everything that I can.  I have a bin that I put all the tissue paper that I can save in to re-use.  I flatten it as best as I can and fold it up for the container. When I was out shopping the Boxing Day sales with a friend I did pick up a package of white tissue paper half price in case I needed it.  I buy 1 new package a year, this year it was 64 cents.  The rest of my tissue paper is recycled from birthday parties and Christmas.  This little tip will save you a few dollars a year.
Next I sorted out every gift bag that was in the house.  Surprisingly we have a lot of gift bags!  I had two large plastic gift bags that the handle broke off of, and used one for Christmas and one for birthday themes.  I folded each gift bag into the "holder bag" and I should have enough to last eternity.  Until today these bags were saved each year but just shoved in an area of my basement.  I did find some Valentine bags that I added to my Valentine storage tub.  Not needing to buy a gift bag for each event saves at least $1.15 a bag.
I also went through the wrapping paper that I have and organized into two categories, Christmas and everything else.  I had bought the storage containers half price at Canadian Tire three years ago. I also weeded out the character wrapping paper that I had that I know the kids won't like anymore. Dora, really???Obviously forgot about that roll of paper for the past 4 years.  I filed that in the Yard Sale area of my basement.
Lastly, all the bows were placed in an open gift bow bag.  Although the stickiness is long gone, it is nothing that some Scotch tape can't fix.
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Free Wood

We have a fire place wood insert in our home. I love wood heat! We burn a lot of wood a year along with our heat pump.  In the summer when there isn't a fire ban we also use our fire pit quite a bit.  A few days ago a friend of mine moved into a new house and cut down some trees around the property.  She posted an ad on Facebook to have the wood picked up curbside, and I jumped all over it.  It took 2 trunk loads to bring this home, but well worth it being that I can drive by the house on my way home, no special trip needed.  Some pieces are large and my husband will cut it up to use in the house and some pieces are ready to go in the fire pit.  I say free wood on the side of the road, a few days of free heat, well worth my stop.  Side Bar, I am sure anyone driving by was laughing that I was taking free wood from the side of the road wearing a Michael Kors dress $3 yard sale find! 

Printing Coupons....Printer Ink

Printer Ink can be very expensive, yet printing coupons can save you lots of money. It can be a toss up if it is even worth it to buy the ink to print the coupons. My answer is yes it is!!!!
When I print coupons at home I make sure that my printer is set to black ink only. This can be found in the printing options under Advance.  I also click to print in the grey scale, it makes the printing a bit lighter and uses less ink. 
When the ink runs out it is expensive to replace.  We purchase ours online at either Amazon.ca or Ebay.ca and my husband refills it.  Make sure you log into airmilesshops.ca first to get your Airmiles. 
This can be messy, he uses a syringe (left over from kid medicine) a pair of old plastic gloves, and a yogurt container. 
I have only had a problem at one store with a printed coupon.  Make sure it says Internet Coupon and you will be ok.  Don't ever photocopy coupons. Each printed coupon has a special bar code. Sometimes if you open up another Internet Browser you can print more.  I use Modzilla and Explorer.
Happy Coupon Hunting!
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Pink Stickers

Today is Thanksgiving, and my family has a lot to be thankful for.  There aren't many days in the calendar year that the grocery store is closed.  I love shopping the day before the store closes as there are magical pink stickers placed on many fresh products.  I haven't quite figured out if there is a time of day that is the best for the pink stickers, but I tend to head out mid afternoon.  I prefer shopping at my local No Frills, however, on these days I find the larger grocery stores have more mark downs.
Yesterday I found many items for the deep freezer and to use during the holiday
2 garlic fingers
4 pizzas
1 whole chicken (dinner Tuesday night)
2 skinless bone in chicken (this was a mistake I thought it was boneless but will be great in the crockpot)
2 packages of red peppers already sliced
2 packages of green peppers already sliced
1 package of sliced cucumbers
1 spinach  dip
1 family size pesto alfredo chicken (dinner for a night this week)
1 package of rolls
 for a grand total of $36! 
Morgan had collected $20 of PC Plus points this month and I cashed it in and paid only $16.  2 meals, had a munchie with raw veggies with our company yesterday, rolls with our dinner tonight and 4 nights of our Friday pizza nights with 2 nights a bonus of garlic fingers and chicken to prepare an evening.   7 meals!!!
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Teacher Storage Uses on the Cheap

I am a teacher, and trust me there are many ways that I could spend my money daily at work.  I have become quite resourceful with being cheap at work also.  A few examples are in the pictures.  I rolled up my boarders to store in empty frosting cans.  I use Baby Wipe containers to store pens, markers, pencils, dice, glue sticks, the list goes on and on.  My favorite teacher frugal use is my home made white boards. I bought 15 plastic plates for $3 and use them as white boards!!!!!   They last a long time, I am on year 2 with the same plates!