With extra time, preparation, and education, your grocery bills can be reduced drastically with good old-fashioned couponing.
This simple but invaluable tool is being reintroduced to many with help from a Barrie woman.
Pat Hollett is the CEO of Canadian Saving Group, a website and Facebook page filled with tips and information on how to get the best bang for your buck.
Hollett explains, "we find the best way to get a product for the best price by using coupons, cashback apps, points offers and price matching. And we will show you and explain how to utilize all of it!
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Examples include getting a 20-pack of toilet paper for $1 or a box of cereal for 17 cents.
These products are great to stockpile when the price is right, so you don't have to buy them at full price continually.
It's not just canned and boxed items you can score for a deal. Hollett and her team regularly post deals for produce and meats, which can be price matched with participating stores.
"We've been able to get free fresh vegetables and meat at a good price. You can get many things for free if you know how, and we can help with that," she explains.
Learning the tricks of the trade takes a bit of time, but Hollett says it's easy to master once you get the hang of it.
"There is a different mindset when shopping to save. You have to train yourself to say, 'I'm gonna stop paying full price for my groceries because I don't want to keep paying $12,000 a year or more.' And you can cut that cost back by 80%, which is huge!"
The Canadian Savings Group has nearly 100.000 members across the country, with new people joining daily.
Members include all age groups including seniors and college students who are tight on cash, single people, and families.
Part of the groups success is it's clean and simple format, making finding deals simple.
"I have to have everything in its right place according to the threads such as 'Ontario deals,' 'Quebec deals,' 'West Coast deals,' and some fun stuff like freebies and samples." Hollett says.
She understands some people might be nervous using coupons and price matching at the checkout, but she explains you get comfortable with practice.
"If I have a lot of coupons, I usually tell the person behind me, 'I've got a lot of coupons; it might take me some time if you want to pick a faster line?'"
"We don't want to hold other people up or inconvenience them, but it's all part of our savings. We need to do it. "
For some fun, Hollett says it's nice to be a coupon fairy and share them with others who could use them.
"It's a very giving group," she says happily, "and we try and help people save as much as possible so they can live comfortably."
For more information about the Canadian Savings Group visit them here or on Facebook
feature image courtesy of Pexels
