I’m wondering about attempting to “Extreme Coupon” for our $5.00 per week. I’m attempting to gather some flyers, coupons, online deals, etc. to see how I can really stretch my $5.00. So far I haven’t done too well, but I found a free Arby’s burger with purchase of fries and a drink. That would probably take up a reasonable amount of the $5.00, however, what if you split it with another participant?
But then, I was thinking: it takes a reasonable amount of time and planning to match coupons, and Internet access. The people on the TLC show, Extreme Couponing, at least), take up their entire week to clip and organize coupons. This luxury of time is something I’m pretty sure Food Bank Patrons would not have, or be able to ‘catch up’ on in order to take advantage of the savings, if you know what I mean. Plus, we are not able to actually find the same deals as they can in the USA, ie: Coupon Doubling, receiving “Credit” for overages (except at a few places such as Wal Mart I believe?)
So, what is the reality of coupon usage for Food Bank patrons?
September 11, 2011 at 11:47 am
Hi Lesia! I’m looking forward to reading your contributions this week, thanks for giving your time and energy to the challenge! Although coupons are definitely helpful in stretching in small ways – extreme couponing isn’t really viable in Canada. Supermarket chains in the US tend to have in-store promotions that double the values of printed coupons, and other similar programs that make the results we see on tv possible. Canadian chains generally don’t participate in the same types of promotion, and will almost always have limitations listed on coupons (limited number per customer, cannot be combined with any other offers, etc.).
September 11, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Thanks Rhonda! Yep that’s what I was trying to refer to re: coupon doubling etc. as being not possible in Canada unfortunately. I wish it was more possible. I heard the main reason is because there’s not as much competition as there is in the states?
September 11, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Hey, I’ve done some investigation about extreme couponing for my frugality blog, and there are many more opportunities to “extreme coupon” in the US. However, those sorts of items tend to be quite random, so the participants wind up with shelves and shelves full of dog food, toothbrushes, window cleaner, etc. When there’s food, it’s usually of the extremely-processed variety. Not sure if there’d be the sorts of things we’re going to need for the challenge – i.e., milk and eggs usually don’t have coupons. Yet another challenge for food bank recipients to live healthily!
September 13, 2011 at 11:43 am
I see couponing in Canada as more of a “it takes money to make money” or save money. Sure you can save 10% off your grocery bill on the first Tuesday of every month – if you spend a minimum of $25. Most in-store coupons are BOGO style or only offer savings with multiple purchases. And, I have never seen (Canadian) coupons for fruits, veggies, milk, or eggs….
Good luck on the challenge, Lesia! I look forward to following your journey this week!
November 1, 2011 at 11:20 am
I actually disagree wholeheartedly. I have a huge stockpile of goods that I have paid little to nothing for. Dempsters have free bread coupons, there are egg coupons, meat coupons, cereal, cheese etc. You just have to put the time in to get it. We are doing a donation box this christmas and have thousands of dollars of stuff for about $200 out of pocket. And this includes 3 breastpumps, 21packs of diapers, 10 Cans of formula, 17 bottles of ready to serve formula and 1 case of concentrate (all of which are very expensive to buy normally). There are so many FB pages and websites that are devoted to extreme couponing in Canada and tips and Tricks on how to stretch your dollar. Pharmasave also offer double coupon days here in Canada. We can also stack coupons here in Canada at certain participating stores to get free items. Most coupons are NOT BOGO, there are tons for dollar off items or for free items.
Good luck and happy couponing!