Can You be an Extreme Couponer in Canada?

We usually gather on this blog to discuss the latest Canada mortgage news and discuss how you can get and use things like home equity loans. Today though, we’d like to talk about a way to use that mortgage (and those loans) to save you even more money – we’re talking about extreme couponing!
We’ve all seen, or at least heard of, the show Extreme Couponing on TLC. Seeing these people on the show load up three or four grocery carts with miscellaneous goods ranging from food to pet supplies to clothing – and then only paying $50 for the lot – has gotten a lot of people really excited about collecting coupons! But it’s important to remember that the show features individuals and stores in the United States, and those same deals just aren’t available in Canada.
It’s not uncommon on the show to see a person turn in a coupon for $1 and have it triple its value at the cash register – saving the person $3 rather than just $1. This is actually one of the main ways that the customers on the show save money, because one coupon is really three coupons! The way this works is that lots of stores in the United States have “Double Days” or “Triple Tuesdays,” and customers know that their coupons will be worth that much more on those days. We just don’t have those in Canada though. If you get a coupon for $1 in Canuckville, it’s only going to be worth a dollar. It doesn’t matter what store you use it at, or what day you go.
But just because we don’t get those same kinds of deals doesn’t mean that we here in Canada can’t gather up those little scraps of paper and try to save money wherever we can – it just means we have to work a little harder. Look wherever you can for those advertisements and coupons advertising the things you need for your home. Of course, look in places like the newspaper and flyers, but don’t forget to look in “hidden” places too. The next time you go shopping, look for a catalina coupon on your receipt. These coupons are printed on the back or bottom of the receipt and are another great way to save a lot of money.
Another hidden place for coupons is the Internet. No longer do you have to count on only the weekly flyers and adverts to get your coupons. With sites like Canadian Coupon Queen and Coupons for Canada
So the next time you go shopping, make sure to do your research ahead of time and use the money from those loans or HELOCs a little more wisely. Just don’t expect to fill five carts and spend $5. It is still Canada, and we just don’t have those kinds of deals here.