So you want to start couponing? Good for you!! It’s a great way to save money. Couponing may seem intimidating, so let us help by encouraging you to take the following baby steps into couponing:

Baby Step #1: Read “Extreme Couponing in Canada“. It will show you the basics of where to find coupons, how to pricematch, and how to save BIG!!

Baby Step #2: If you aren’t already receiving flyers, call your local post office and request to receive flyers. Flyers are necessary to price-match items and sometimes flyers will contain coupon inserts as well.
Baby Step #3: During your next shopping trip, price match one item. If you are unsure how to price match, read “Extreme Couponing in Canada“.

Baby Step #4: If you have price-matched an item already, great job! During your next shopping trip, use one coupon. If you are feeling uncomfortable at the thought of using a coupon, it is completely normal! You will gain confidence as you use them more. Give yourself time to build confidence. Every coupon helps!

Baby Step #5: Track your savings. I find the most fulfilling part is going home and totaling up the amount I have saved. Do it after every grocery store trip and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done =).

If you have completed all of the baby steps, way to go! Continue to build your confidence by price-matching more and using multiple coupons during your shopping trips. Every coupon saves you money so don’t be discouraged if the amounts are small at first, it will add up!

If you’ve watched the show “Extreme Couponing” you may have asked yourself, “Is this possible in Canada?”. Yes, it is! The main difference is that in the United States, stacking coupons (using multiple coupons on one item) is allowed. In Canada, most stores prohibit stacking coupons, however, big savings are still possible. In order to start Couponing in Canada you will need to familiarize yourself with these three steps:

1. Get yourself some coupons. See Where to Find Coupons in Canada.
2. Learn how to pricematch. See How to pricematch in Canada.
3. Start Extreme Couponing in Canada! See How to Save BIG!!

Where to Find Coupons in Canada

In order to start Couponing in Canada, you need some coupons! Where does a person find these coupons? Here are a few ways:

• Online Coupons: There are so many coupons to be found online! Some coupons are available for print, others are mobile cash-back offers, and some are mail-out. Mail out coupons will be sent to your P.O. Box completely free of charge! How awesome is that? Here are some of the online coupon websites we visit. We update our database daily with new coupons that we find around the web.  Check out our coupon database.
• Product Coupons: These are coupons you can find on the back’s of cereal boxes, inside labels and etc.
• Flyer Inserts: These are inserts that you find in newspapers or flyers.
• Tearpad Coupons: These coupons are found inside select stores. They are usually found alongside products or on a coupon board. Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, Sobeys, Metro and Walmart usually have tearpad coupons.
• Trades & Coupon Trains: Trade unwanted coupons for coupons you do want with other couponers. Read A Guide to Trading Coupons.
• Customer Appreciation: If you really love a product, why not call the brand name and let them know? Often to show their appreciation they will mail you out a coupon.

How to Pricematch in Canada

Price matching is a great way to take advantage of great deals at different stores without having to travel there. So how do you price match in Canada? Say you find that Shoppers Drug Mart has a great deal on Purex laundry detergent but you know you will only be shopping at Walmart today. All you would need to do to get that same deal at Walmart is follow these simple steps:

1. Take the flyer for the store with the item you want to price match and go to a store that price matches.
2. Pick out the item shown on the flyer.
3. When checking out your items at the till, notify the cashier you would like to price match the item you have picked out.

The Fine Print of Price Matching

Each store will have their own fine print for price matching, however, here are some general guidelines that are usually followed by every store that price matches:

1. The flyer you bring in must be current. Check the dates that the advertised price is effective. Sometimes there are special deals where you must shop within a specified time frame. ie (“Saturday & Sunday Only!!”)

2. The product you are price matching must be the identical product advertised. Avoid mix ups at the till by studying the product advertised carefully.

Price Matching Tips

1. Don’t just look at the photo. Make sure to read the print that goes along with the photo. Often times there are other products included in the deal that aren’t shown in the photos. Note that the writing in the example says “or Styling Products” as well.

2. Pay attention to fine print. Sometimes there are limits on the number of items you can take home for that price.

3. Keep organized. If you are price matching multiple items take a few moments before going the check out to organize. I usually park my cart behind a long line up and get organized while I wait. When I set my items down on the belt I group my items and place the appropriate flyer with that group of products.

That is it! Remember, you do not need to be embarrassed or shy about price matching. You will find that stores have their “We Price Match” ad’s placed all throughout the store to make customers like you aware.

How to Save BIG

It feels so good to get 90% off an item or better yet free products! Sometimes you can even get paid to take an item home! How neat is that? The key to saving big is the combination of a sale price and a coupon.

In this example, the cream cheese is on sale for $2.99 (regularly $3.99 each). Use the coupon on top of the sale price and you are getting the cream cheese for $1.99 (1/2 of the regular price!)

Here is another example with shampoo and conditioner. Regularly $3.38 each and on sale for $2.72. Use the coupon ($1.25 off on 2) and you’ve saved $2.57. $4.19 will be your total (regularly $6.76 for both).

Tenderflake frozen pie shells for $1.93 (regularly $3.27).

That is how it is done! Enjoy =).

I believe it is made of paperboard, similar to a cereal box. The outside has a sheen and the inside is thin white paperboard. It has a stretchy fabric elastic to keep the coupon organizer closed.

The inside is accordion style and is already pre-labelled (which I thought was super cool!).

Here is a full list of the labels:

• Beverages
• Canned Goods, Frozen Foods, Soups
• Cereals, Breakfast Foods
• Cleaning Products
• Dairy Products, Meat
• Drug Items
• Flour, Meal, Baking Products
• New Products
• Paper Goods, Wraps, Baby Products
• Pastas Rices, Helpers
• Sauces, Seasonings, Condiments, Dressings
• Snacks, Pet Foods, Miscellaneous

When I started couponing I had a binder which carried all of coupons, and I would take a plastic accordion wallet with me to the store. This one reminds me of the one I used to carry. I think it’s a handy thing to have! It’s already pre-labelled and ready to go, and it’s only $1.25! What do you think, would you buy this?

Trading is a fun and effective way to get rid of the coupons you do not want and get in return what you do want.

Step 1: Join a forum where trades take place. I personally enjoy the Smart Canuck’s forum.

Step 2: List the coupons you would like to trade. On the page where you edit your profile, scroll down to the box ‘Trade List’ and enter in the required coupon information.

You should always include the following information:

• The coupon description. Ie. “Save $1.00 when you buy any ONE Bounty 12 roll count or larger”
• Any restrictions. Ie. “One per household” or “Excludes trial size”
• The expiry. Ie. September 30, 2016
• The number of coupons you have. Ie. If you have THREE of these Bounty coupons you may indicate it by typing this: (x3)

Your final text for this coupon would look like this:
(x3) Save $1.00 when you buy any ONE Bounty 12 roll count or larger – Expires September 30, 2012

Everyone has their own way of organizing their coupons. Some people organize them alphabetically, others put them in categories such as “Kids & Babies” or “Pets”. To get an idea of what this looks like you can take a look at the coupon list on the Smart Canucks forum.

TIP: Type up your ‘coupons for trade’ list in Microsoft Word first and then copy it and paste it into the ‘Coupons to Trade’ box.

Step 3: Add your coupon wishlist. On the page where you edit your profile, scroll down to the box ‘Wish List’ and enter the coupons you are interested in getting in return.

TIP: Make up a detailed and specific wishlist. Instead of typing something general such as “Oasis coupons” type “$1 off Oasis Health Break Juice 1.89L.” There are many types of Oasis coupons floating around, if you are specific it will help you get the offers you are looking for.

Step 4a: Let people know you want to trade. Go to the Canadian Coupons Trading & Discussion part of the Forum and make a post.

TIP: Draw people in with your title. If you have popular coupons for trade you may type this in the title box: “FT: (this stands for ‘For Trade’) $3 J&J Call In, $4 Ground Beef“.

Step 4b: Find the coupons you are looking for. If you prefer to jump right to finding the coupons you are looking for, go to the Coupon List. If you are looking for the coupon for $2 off Materna simply type in Materna. The search will pull up all of the users that have the word Materna in their trade or wishlists.

TIP: Once the search results have loaded, save yourself search time by using the Find tool (Ctrl+F).

Now you are all set up to trade your coupons! If you are a first time trader, here is the low down on how a trade happens:

Once an offer is made you can accept, reject or negotiate. When a trade is finalized, you will supply and receive a mailing address. Send out the coupons in a stamped envelope and include your Smart Canucks username somewhere inside.

Happy trading!! =)

Here is a list of the coupon websites that people visit regularly to get their online coupons. I personally check each of these websites when looking for coupons for the coupon database. This is a small look at what is out there. Honestly, I probably couldn’t keep up if I were to list every single website known to have coupons. Companies sometime will run coupon promotions for a time on their own personal website, or Facebook page. There are also hidden coupons, but that will be another post. Visit the websites below and check back again for more articles like this one!

P&G BrandSAVER Online Printable Coupons

GoCoupons Online Printable Coupons

KRAFT Online Printable Coupons

right@home Online Printable Coupons & Mail Out Coupons

Save.ca Online Printable Coupons & Mail Out Coupons

SmartSource.ca Online Printable Coupons

Couponing in Canada has partnered with SmartSource. You can now print the SmartSource coupons directly from our website.

Walmart.ca Online Printable Coupons & Mail Out Coupons

WebSaver Online Printable Coupons & Mail Out Coupons

Last week I gave you 86 Gift Ideas for $3 or Less. This week I am bringing you my finds from the Dollar Tree costing $1.25 or less. As I mentioned in my previous post, these are financially difficult times for a lot of people. It’s especially hard as Christmas time draws near and perhaps your bank account doesn’t allow for the kind of Christmas purchases you had envisioned. I hope this post encourages you that there are good gift options out there that wont break the bank. Enjoy!

These items were all found at the Dollar Tree on December 9th, 2015. I do not know if the selection or pricing will be the same in your area, but I hope the selection is somewhat the same (and even better) for you. The prices aren’t listed because I didn’t see price labels on most items. Since everything in the Dollar Tree is $1.25 or less, you can probably assume everything is $1.25.

Solar Dancing Flowers. My daughter is always quite interested in these when we visit the Dollar Tree.

Dough Shapers

Play Mobile Phone

Slide Kaleidoscope

Disney Cars Candy Canes

Minions Large Candy Cane

Disney Doc McStuffins Carry Along Pack. It’s little coloring book with nice white pages and crayons.

Snow Globe. Another item that my daughter is intrigued by.

Minions & Avengers Lip Balm

Eye Candy Jewelry. I’ve purchased stretch jewelry from the dollar tree before and I found that the elastic breaks in no time. I think the beads are adorable but what I would recommend is that you re-string them on a heavier duty elastic cord. Purchase a pretty box from the Dollar Tree and you wont miss the original packaging =).

Disney Princess & Frozen Roll On Perfume

Glitter Dough

Play-Doh

Softee Dough

Silly Putty – The Original

Crayola Poster Markers. Colors on light or dark posters. I remember at Dollarama they had a pad of dark colored paper that these markers could be paired with.

Inside Out Play Pack Grab & Go! 4 Crayons, 25 Stickers, 24 Coloring Pages.

SpongeBob Squarepants Play Pack Grab & G0! 4 Crayons, 25 Stickers, 24 Coloring Pages.

Disney Jewelry

Disney Stretch Rings

Bath Puppet

Bath Sponge. Pair with bubble bath and bath crayons.

Sesame Street Bib. Something for the little ones =).

Snack Pod. Similar to the Gerber Graduates Active Snacker from Dollarama.

Snack Containers. Fun for kids and very useful.

Bathtub Toy Set. The packaging isn’t great, but the product seems like the same quality you would find at Walmart. If I was gifting this, I would take them out of the package and pair them with some other bath time related items like bubble bath, a bath mit (shown above), or bath sponge (above) and a tear free shampoo and/or body wash.

Disney Cars Boo-Boo Pack

Jumbo Curly Straws. Pair with Minnie Mouse cup (below).

Disney Frozen Twirl Straw. Pair with Frozen cup (below).

Frozen Cup (Large)

Minnie Mouse & Frozen Cups (Large)

Bendable Flower

Pretend Fruit. My daughter enjoys this area so I thought I would put it out there as a gift idea for pretend play. It’s a nice accompaniment if they already own a shopping card or a play kitchen. You could also pair these with a basket and play money (see below).

LED Pillar Candles

Disney Night Light

Playskool Jumbo Crayons

Captain America Jumbo Crayons

Ninja Turtles Coloring Pad

Alphabet Beads. Pair with pipe-cleaners for little kids or elastic cord for older children.

Woodshop Build & Play Helicopter. They had a few different Woodshop toys to choose from.

Barbie Mini Coloring Pack. 30 mini pages and 4 crayons.

Paint-a-Bank Craft Kit. Maybe throw in a few coins as well to get your little saver started ;).

Disney Minnie Scratch & Reveal

Disney Princess Stamp Activity Set

Sesame Street Paint With Water Book. I keep going back to purchase these – they are great!

Paint With Water Book. This one has black dots as opposed to the colored dots in the Sesame Street book.

Sesame Street Bubble Book

Sesame Street Color & Trace with Big Bird

Disney  Sunglasses. Not really in season, but certainly useful for future (summer). Also, they have stickers on the back that have them originally labelled as $9.00+.

SwimWays 3-D Swimmies. You could pair these with a swim pass for your local pool.

Ninja Turtles Super Paddle Ball

Disney Princess Inflatable Ball and Paddle

Disney Figurines

Sofia the First Stickers

Disney Stickers

Disney Princess Tattoos (25)

Disney Glow Wand

Disney Princess Sticker Album & Stickers

Monsters University & Planes Photo Album

Disney Double Sided Crayons

Disney Winnie the Pooh Flashlight (batteries not included). It requires 2 AAA batteries which can be purchased in a pack of 8 at the dollar tree for $1.25.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Maracas

Play-Doh Grab ‘n Go

Fisher-Price Little People Puzzle

Disney Water Bottle Keyring. Many characters to choose from.

Disney Magic Towel

Minions Pencil Case. Fill with crayons and/or markers, fun erasers (shown below), a pair of safety scissors (shown below). Add a coloring book or construction paper pad and you are good to go =). It’s not shown in the photo but it has three holes where it can be put in a binder.

Disney Pop-Up Pencils

Monsters University Jumbo Eraser

Safety Scissors with Lift Assist

Crayola DryErase Markers

Tool Erasers

Playskool Fun & Reward Stickers

Sesame Street Sticker Pack

Insects and Bugs Sticker Activity Book

Disney Sticker Tote

Mickey Mouse 3-D Journal

Crayola Window Markers

4 in a Row Game

Strawberry Shortcake Coin Bank

Wooden Magnetic Numbers

Dress Up Necklaces

Fairy Wings

Tea Party Set

Magic Bottles. Liquid disappears when you turn them upside down.

Baby Bottle.  Liquid disappears when you turn it upside down.

Dora and Friends Jump Rope

Strawberry Shortcake Pinball Game

Ribbon Twirler

Pom Poms

Bug Watch. Not in season but it would be a LOT of fun in the summer!

Ninja Blow Dart Shooter

Ninja Inflatable Bop Bag

Marvel Ultimate Spiderman Inflatable Shield

Marvel Avengers Boxing Glove

Batman Keychain

Disney Cars

Touchable Bubbles

Twisty Balloons with Air Pump (Balloon Animals)

Magic Cube (like the Rubik’s Cube)

Whoopie Cushion

Plastic Animals

Educational Card Games

Play Money

Train Whistle. This works! We own one.

Fizzy Dinosaur

Grow and Glow Snake

Grow and Glow Bugs

Glow in the Dark ZyroFoam

Glow-in-the-Dark Dinosaurs

Fiber Optic Light

I hope you enjoyed these ideas. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out my finds from Dollarama – 86 Gift Ideas for $3 or Less =). Check back again soon for more great articles like this one.

I took a trip to my local Dollarama and found all of these items on December 4th & 5th, 2015. I do not know if the pricing or stock will be the same at your nearest Dollarama, but I sure hope you are able to find many of these same items =)! In the province where I am living, the economy isn’t great and many families are currently out of work. As Christmas time draws near I am sure there are many people feeling the pressure to give their kids a bountiful Christmas when you know you really cannot afford it. I hope this encourages you that you can get some pretty awesome gifts without spending a lot. Here are 86 ideas, enjoy!

Disney Milk Chocolate Minnie Mouse – $3.00

Disney Princess Notebook – $3.00

Schoolio Erasers – $1.25. My thoughts went instantly to my daughter’s tea party set. These mini erasers are the perfect size for her serving plates.

Animal Scissors – $1.25. My daughter owns a pair of these in the cow print and really likes them.

Studio Magnifying Glass $1.25. My daughter also owns this magnifying glass. It’s a lot of fun during the summer when we can take a closer look at nature.

Studio Fineline Markers $3.00. Pair these with one of the sketch books from Dollarama and you have hours of creativity for the creatives.

Chalkboard Pastels – $1.25

Simply Art Acrylic Paints -$3.00

Ornament Painting Set – $3.00

Ornament Painting Set – $3.00

36 Mini Erasers -$3.00. Kids have fun with these! My daughter doesn’t know they are erasers, to her they are fun figurines.

Lunch Kits – $3.00. These felt like they were made from quality materials.

Dora the Explorer Meal Time Set – $3.00

Craft Scissors – $3.00. I purchased these and I am happy to report that they work! The diagram on how you detach handles to swap out patterns is WRONG. Notice how it shows the scissors closed to remove the handles? They actually need to be open to do so.

Disney Photo Holder – $3.00. Note the original price on the card is $5.88.

Disney Princess Jewelry Holder & Mirror – $3.00. Note original price on the card is labelled $9.88.

Disney Frozen Canvases – $3.00. The light pink one on the right has some pretty sparkle detailing as well that you cannot see in the photo. I noticed that Walmart has one that is half the size of this with glitter accents that was close to $15.00.

Perler Silicone Pegboard – 2/$1.00. Have you seen how to use these? If not, Google it! So fun.

Hello Kitty Backpack – $3.00.

Disney Sofia the First Backpack $3.00

Craft Pack – $3.00

Scented Paint – $2.50. Pair this with one of their canvases (see below).

Dinosaur Canvas – $3.00

Skritch Skratch – $1.50

Boo Boo Buddy – $3.00. Cute design and I like that it has a cloth cover.

Sofia the First Purse Set – $3.00. There are three zip up purses in size small, medium and large.

Sesame Street Purse – $1.25. A plastic zip up purse with a see through backing.

Disney Princess Press on Nails – $1.50

Hello Kitty Chapstick – $2.50

Hello Kittty Chapstick – $3.00

Minnie Mouse Nail Kit – $1.50

Hello Kitty Lipgloss Set – $3.00

Disney Princess Lip Chap – $3.00

Minions Lip Gloss Watch – ?? Sorry! Didn’t get a photo of the price on this one.


Hello Kitty Nail Art Set – $3.00

Disney Slap Bracelet Digital Watch – $1.50

Disney Princess Spinning Top Watch – $3.00

Star Wars Digital Watch – $3.00

Paw Patrol Glider – $2.50


Edmonton Mini Hockey Stick – ?? Sorry, forgot to take a photo of the price on this one. Unlike the sticks beside it, this one has a durable design.


Snowball Maker – $2.50

Snow Brick Maker – $2.00. Remember when we had Target in Canada for a brief while? I first saw these there.

Bubble Bath – $2.00. I am including these in my children’s stockings this year.

Graduates Active Snacker – $3.00. Mom’s with little ones will appreciate this.

Dora the Explorer Bath Book – $3.00. There were a whole lot more of these bath books a few weeks ago. They have been cleared out for good reason, these are great little books. We own three.

Hello Kitty Stuck Book (left) – $3.00. It’s a story book with characters that suction to the pages to create different scenes. Hello Kitty Book & Blocks (right) – $3.00

Doc McStuffins Coloring Book with Stickers – $3.00. Nice white durable pages with fun stickers included.

Doc McStuffins Puzzle Book – $3.00

Strawberry Shortcake Pop-Up Books – $3.00

Hello Kitty Story Book & Magnetic Drawing Kit – $3.00

Play-Doh Mini 4 Pack – $2.50

Elmer’s Washable Jumbo Crayons – $2.00. Great for little hands! Pair with one of their coloring books or construction paper pads.

Dora the Explorer Water Magic – $3.00. These are fun! You paint with water and the color on the pages appear (with really neat patterns I might add). Once the page dries it can be re-used over and over again. The water pen they include is difficult to use and requires a lot of strength to squeeze out the water. We used a paintbrush instead with ours and it worked much better. Do use a small paintbrush though because too much water will destroy the pages.

Disney Frozen Magic Paints Posters – $1.25. I really like that the paints are included right on the page. I have not tried these out, let me know if you have. Did they work well?

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Activity Book – $3.00

Doc McStuffins Activity Book – $3.00

My Little Pony – $3.00

Disney Jewelry Set – $2.50

Disney Frozen Elsa Charmlite – $3.00

Play-Doh – $1.25

Sud Smart Sea Life Bath Puzzle – $2.50

Sofia the First Princess Amber – $3.00

Sofia the First Princess Sofia – $3.00

Paw Patrol Mashems – $3.00

Sud Smart Animal World Coloring Bath Set – $3.00

Puppy in a Purse – $3.00

Little People Klip Klop – $3.00

Disney Frozen Puzzle – $3.00


Disney Princess Glitter Puzzles – $3.00

Puzzle for Little Hands – ? Forgot to get a photo of the price on this one.

Fisher Price Book & Floor Puzzle – $3.00

Toss ‘n Catch – $3.00

Squishy Dinosaurs – $2.50

Dig & Fun Set – $1.25

Growing Reptile Egg – $1.50

Dino Excavation Kit – $3.00

Punching Bag& Gloves – ? Forgot to get a photo of the price on this one.

Monsters Inc. Figurines- $3.00

Disney Planes Fire & Rescue – $3.00

Disney Planes- $3.00

Matchbox – $1.50

Hot Wheels – $1.50

Chuggington Musical Car – $3.00

Disney Cars Micro Drift – $3.00

Angry Birds Yellow Bird Racer – $3.00