Coupons in Canada: Where and How to Save

Last year I wrote the post the Extreme Couponing here in Canada, and well not much has changed on the Canadian market but I wanted to add to the list of places of where you can find coupons in Canada that can help you save.

Here in Canada we will likely never have the opportunities for savings like they do in the US. Simple fact is that we do not have the same retail marketplace. Here in Canada there is much less competition, and that is the reason it is harder to save. Not I said harder but not impossible to save with coupons in Canada.

So the list:

Where can you gather them from in Canada?

1. Newspaper inserts. With these I ask my neighbours who don’t coupon to save me theirs as well I go to my local corner store the day after and ask for the inserts. These inserts come out once every six weeks.

2. Check online resources. There are several websites that offer great coupons. They then mail the coupons to you:

3. Sign up for alerts with GroceryAlerts.ca a site that lets you know when new coupons are available.

4.  Participate in forums on Frugal Shopper.ca, RedFlagDeals.com and SmartCanucks.ca. By participating in these forums I have access to the latest information shared by great couponers. I have also been able to trade coupons and even participate in coupon trains.

5. You can sign up for email or write directly from companies as well. Also sometimes you can get high value coupons by simply writing the companies you love. Most have a contact us page, try you using it.

6. Facebook Fan Pages. Many brands are now offering coupons directly to their fans on Facebook. This week alone I scored 3 coupons simply by liking a brand on facebook.

7. One of my favorite bloggers A Busy Mommy just started a great weekly round up of where to get coupons in Canada. I love this and I know I will be checking in with her weekly to make sure there are none I am missing.

Now that you have your coupons it is time to discuss how to use them:

How to save with coupons in Canada

1. Use your weekly flyers to figure out what you want to buy that is on sale.

2. Match your coupons to what is on sale.

3. Compile your your shopping list and place coupons in an order so they are ready to use.

4. Check your store couponing policy. Different stores have different rules. Know yours. London Drugs is the only Canadian store that allows stacking. Stacking means they will accept more then one type of coupon for a product as long as they come from different media source ( ie. newspaper, inserts, online, etc. ).

5. Never forget about price matching. If you don’t want to run to 4 different stores there are several that will allow you to save on the item if you show them the cheaper price advertised.