It's easy to save money with Coupon Christine
For most students, finances are
as much of a burden as their studies.
Many either cannot find
employment or don't have time to
earn quite enough money. How
can a student stay away from further
debt?
If the adage is true that a penny saved is a penny earned, London's own cost-cutting guru, known by her fans as Coupon Christine, just might have the answer.
Christine Hicks is the savings and discount expert of CouponChristine.com and facebook.com/savingyoucash. She started couponing to save on basic family expenses and eventually began teaching others to save through workshops and her website.
Many students are shopping for living essentials for the first time, a perfect opportunity to learn good shopping habits. Regarding couponing and money management, Hicks said, “People ask me, ‘Is it worth it?' Well you have to ask yourself, is it worth it to be saving $20 to $100 every time you go shopping?”
Fanshawe's busy students will find that Hicks' strategy doesn't take a lot of time. “If they're already thinking, ‘There's not enough time in the day for this,' Coupon Christine does a lot of the work for you,” Hicks said. “We actually go through all the flyers, every single week. On Thursday, [the Cheapest Price List] is posted and [the list] will tell you where's the cheapest place for ground beef ... apples ... grapes.”
Noting some students are unfamiliar with price matching, Hicks explained that some stores, such as Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore, will let you buy items at the price advertised in another store's flyer. The Cheapest Price List is handy since you don't have to spend an hour sifting through flyers. Since the printable list shows you which store has the cheapest price for each item, you only need to search one flyer for an item. The site also provides a Printable Flyer Matchup List (found under the Flyers tab), which shows you which items are not only on sale, but also have available coupons that can be used at the same time. How the coupons can be acquired is included on the list.
Another resource is Save.ca, which has over two million members, according to the Canadian Deals and Coupons Association. Hicks said, “Save.ca has recently merged couponing with their online flyers ... you can actually click on the items in flyers and add them to a shopping list.” She further explained, “But the best part about this shopping list is after you've done it, you can email it to yourself, you can print it off...It's giving students an ability to go directly onto their laptop, onto their tablet. You can do this from your phone.”
You can also add coupons from Save.ca to an online basket that appears in the same cart as the shopping list. Some can be printed and some get mailed; in either case, you can log on via Facebook or by signing up as a member.
For further savings opportunities, CouponChristine.com has links to printable coupons such as those from Smartsource.ca, and the Couponing 101 tab provides tutorials and tips. The Daily Deals tab reveals the Coupon Find of the Day and the Savings Tip of the Day. Other tabs included Budget Cooking, Store Policies and Free Stuff. Don't miss the link to London-area deals!
It is important to remember, though, that part of smart shopping is taking advantage of sales and coupons for the products and services you actually need. You aren't saving money if you buy things just because you can get them on sale.
What do you do with the coupons you don't use? Don't throw them away! You can trade your coupons with someone who has some that are useful to you.
You can still find coupons in weekend flyers, store shelf tear sheets, and in your mail, but thanks to the online couponing community, a little time spent can mean a lot of money saved.
KNOW YOUR COUPONING LINGO
BOGO or B1G1: Buy One Get One. Depending on the offer, a second same item is free or half-price.
FPC: Free Product Coupons, vouchers for which the item has no charge (though sales tax may still be applicable to the shelf price).
One Per Customer or Transaction: Coupon fine print setting a limit of one coupon on one product on one transaction total.
One Per Purchase: You can buy any quantity of the coupon item but can only use one coupon per item.
SCOP: Scanning Code of Practice
If the adage is true that a penny saved is a penny earned, London's own cost-cutting guru, known by her fans as Coupon Christine, just might have the answer.
Christine Hicks is the savings and discount expert of CouponChristine.com and facebook.com/savingyoucash. She started couponing to save on basic family expenses and eventually began teaching others to save through workshops and her website.
Many students are shopping for living essentials for the first time, a perfect opportunity to learn good shopping habits. Regarding couponing and money management, Hicks said, “People ask me, ‘Is it worth it?' Well you have to ask yourself, is it worth it to be saving $20 to $100 every time you go shopping?”
Fanshawe's busy students will find that Hicks' strategy doesn't take a lot of time. “If they're already thinking, ‘There's not enough time in the day for this,' Coupon Christine does a lot of the work for you,” Hicks said. “We actually go through all the flyers, every single week. On Thursday, [the Cheapest Price List] is posted and [the list] will tell you where's the cheapest place for ground beef ... apples ... grapes.”
Noting some students are unfamiliar with price matching, Hicks explained that some stores, such as Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore, will let you buy items at the price advertised in another store's flyer. The Cheapest Price List is handy since you don't have to spend an hour sifting through flyers. Since the printable list shows you which store has the cheapest price for each item, you only need to search one flyer for an item. The site also provides a Printable Flyer Matchup List (found under the Flyers tab), which shows you which items are not only on sale, but also have available coupons that can be used at the same time. How the coupons can be acquired is included on the list.
Another resource is Save.ca, which has over two million members, according to the Canadian Deals and Coupons Association. Hicks said, “Save.ca has recently merged couponing with their online flyers ... you can actually click on the items in flyers and add them to a shopping list.” She further explained, “But the best part about this shopping list is after you've done it, you can email it to yourself, you can print it off...It's giving students an ability to go directly onto their laptop, onto their tablet. You can do this from your phone.”
You can also add coupons from Save.ca to an online basket that appears in the same cart as the shopping list. Some can be printed and some get mailed; in either case, you can log on via Facebook or by signing up as a member.
For further savings opportunities, CouponChristine.com has links to printable coupons such as those from Smartsource.ca, and the Couponing 101 tab provides tutorials and tips. The Daily Deals tab reveals the Coupon Find of the Day and the Savings Tip of the Day. Other tabs included Budget Cooking, Store Policies and Free Stuff. Don't miss the link to London-area deals!
It is important to remember, though, that part of smart shopping is taking advantage of sales and coupons for the products and services you actually need. You aren't saving money if you buy things just because you can get them on sale.
What do you do with the coupons you don't use? Don't throw them away! You can trade your coupons with someone who has some that are useful to you.
You can still find coupons in weekend flyers, store shelf tear sheets, and in your mail, but thanks to the online couponing community, a little time spent can mean a lot of money saved.
KNOW YOUR COUPONING LINGO
BOGO or B1G1: Buy One Get One. Depending on the offer, a second same item is free or half-price.
FPC: Free Product Coupons, vouchers for which the item has no charge (though sales tax may still be applicable to the shelf price).
One Per Customer or Transaction: Coupon fine print setting a limit of one coupon on one product on one transaction total.
One Per Purchase: You can buy any quantity of the coupon item but can only use one coupon per item.
SCOP: Scanning Code of Practice
