Grab a friend and have fun at the Ultimate Girl’s Day out!

You can bring a friend to the National Women’s Show in Toronto and use this new printable coupon to save $5.00 when you buy 2 admission tickets. This National Women’s Show takes place in Toronto on November 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2014. This show will be at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in the South Building.

• Friday 11AM – 8PM
• Saturday 10AM – 6PM
• Sunday 10AM – 5PM
• Admission: $15

If you arrive early enough, you will also receive a Goodie Bag full of FREE samples, while quantities last.

You can shop at over 450 exhibits that offer unique products you won’t find anywhere else! There will also be celebrities, workshops, fitness and travel and more!

Click here to get this printable coupon for The National Women’s Show in Toronto, Ontario.

The North Face is hosting its first even Canadian Endurance Challenge this summer in Blue Mountain. It’s a trail race series that will be at Ontario’s Blue Mountain on July 12 and 13. They have distances from 5k up to 50 miles. Use the promo code: D30SAION for 10% off race fees for any distance. Bonus, there are kids races both days with medals included, and they are FREE! There are different runs available including a 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon relay, marathon, 50k, and a Gore-Tex 50 mile. Click here to view current fees & capacity status for each run.

If you register, a one-year subscription to the magazine of your choice will be included, which is a $20 value! You can choose from Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Bicycling or Prevention. Details on how to claim your subscription or request a refund can be found in your Virtual Race Bag.

Click here to register for The North Face Canada’s Endurance Challenge Race 

Via Rail Canada has new Discount Tuesday Special offer. Escape fares are discounted on certain routes.

• Buy your ticket before midnight today, Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
• Travel between Wednesday, March 5 and Tuesday, March 11, 2014, inclusive.

Click here to book your Via Rail tickets.

As I mentioned earlier, I got the chance to try out Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure from Influenster. They sent me three colours to try and I took off Jaded today and used the other two. I went straight for Jaded since I loved the colour and it is a little different than the classic red of Red My Lips and the vampy plum of Pat on the Black. I was a little disappointed at first, the first coat of Jaded was very thin and streaky. It is meant to have a gel finish but the streakyness didn’t have the classic look of gel where you can wear it without full opacity. It did however get much better with each coat, it took 4 for full opacity but looked great. The gel/creme finish meant it wasn’t really thick with 4 coats too. I wore it for 3 days, nowhere near the full 10 days the advertising says but I am hard on my nails and with the exception of a cured gel manicure, nothing is lasting 10 days on my nails. The included base coat does seem to work as I had no yellowing of the nails and green/blue nail polish often discolours my nails.

After removing Jaded, I went for Red My Lips with Pat on the Black as an accent nail as it is quite dark for every day use for me. The finish worked much better on these colours and only two coats of red and 3 of Pat on the Black were needed, they are not as streaky and the formula really works for the colours. All of Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes come in a fairly large bottle with a nice wide brush. Red can be a mess to apply and looks cheap if you get it everywhere so I was happy to find the brush was so accurate and not needing as many brush strokes helped stop the formula from streaking.

WIN IT:

We have a $25 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card to give away so that you can try Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure yourself (or use it for anything you want at Shoppers Drug Mart).  All you have to do is reply to this post letting us know which three colours you would like to try.  You can find a list with images of the colours here.  Entries will close at 11:59pm on Thursday 16 January ET.  One entry per person/IP address.

The winner is Autumn with this comment

EssentialApparel has NYDJ Flash Sale.

• Save 20% off NYDJ Jeans. This offer is valid today only, Wednesday, December 11, 2013 until 11:59 PM ET.

Also, EssentialApparel has new coupons valid until Thursday, December 12, 2013:

• Get 10 off $75 order
• Get 15 off $100 order
• Get 20 off $200 order

To get your discount, enter the coupon code SAVEBIG at checkout. The discount will be reflected in your shopping cart.

Click here to get EssentialApparel offers.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

– John McCrae

Take the time out of your day today to remember all that those who have served for our country have done for us.

Here are the items you can get free with coupons this week

• Food Basics: Ziploc Sandwich Bags $0.99 – $1 (websaver) = FREE
• Food Basics: Marc Angelo Pork Souvlaki 2pk $0.99 – $1 (mail out) = FREE
• Food Basics: Colgate Toothpaste $0.99 – $1 (call in) = FREE
• Rexall: Revlon Nail Enamel $2.99 – $2 (printable) – $2 (Checkout 51) = FREE
• Rexall: Stayfree, OB etc 2/$5 – $5 WUB2 = FREE
• Walmart: Fresh Express Cole Slaw $1 – $1 (call in) = FREE

Great Deals

• Food Basics: Lactancia Cream .99 – .75 (tear pad) = .24
• Giant Tiger: Janes Chicken $4.99 – $2 (tear pad) = $2.99
• Independent: Activia 650g $2.50 – $5 WUB3 (booklet) = $0.83 each
• Target: Holiday Carlton Cards $2.99 – $6 WUB4 (Target printable) + $5 GC WUB3 = $0.96 for 4

SmartCanucks just reached 15,000 facebook likes/followers!  One of the posts that many of you loved was a post about Walmart selling British foods, so help us celebrate with some British chocolate.

You can see the grand prize pictured and two runners up will receive a selection of five chocolate bars from the ones shown for the grand prize.

Enter using the rafflecopter form below (it may take a few seconds to load).  The contest will end at 11:59pm ET on Wednesday 8 May 2013.

You can refer a friend to our giveaway on facebook, twitter, email or any other method to receive up to 10 additional entries.  Please note that entries from the same household are not allowed and please ensure you are following the rules of any sites where you may place your referral link.  Please note that any entries that do not complete the mandatory entry question shown on the rafflecopter form will be disqualified).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners have been chosen, we will release the names as soon as they have confirmed their prize. If not confirmed within 48 hours, new winners will be chosen

As a couponer, I am not particularly brand loyal.  I will happily try something once and if I like it, will buy it when the price is right, along with any other similar products based on price.

This week, pretty much every brand of laundry detergent is on sale somewhere, and while I was going to buy Gain at Food Basics for $3.44, he wants Tide ‘because it is better’ (he does do some laundry so I can’t even pull the ‘how would you know card).  Tide is almost twice the price – does it clean that much better?

So what do you use? Are you brand loyal or do you just buy based on price (even from a list of a select few)?  Which do you find cleans your clothes the best?

It is rare that we post vote requests for our SmartCanucks members on the blog, but this is a vote request near and dear to many of our members.  If voting and contests is not your thing, we promise that we will not be posting many, so please just ignore this post.  Hallie’s Mom has been an active member of SmartCanucks since 2010, couponing to save money on her family’s expenses.  She describes her plea for votes better than I could, so here it is:

Seven and a half years ago, our beautiful daughter suffered a severe brain injury when her heart stopped during her birth. This has left Hallie with multiple challenges including Cerebral Palsy which limits her mobility. We have been blessed with many friends, who have helped us on our journey of recovery. One of Hallie’s respite providers, Lindsay, has taken the time to enter our Hallie in a contest to win a Wheel Chair accessible van. The modification to accommodate her power chair is very costly, and this would be a tremendous blessing to our family. Please forward this to your friends and family who you think might be able to spare a minute of time to help our family.

Last year Lindsay entered Hallie to win a van. We entered very late in the contest, but with the support and help of great family and friends, we were still able to get approximately 5000 votes in 5 short days. Hallie has taught us to never give up, so we have decided to give it another chance. If everyone can be so kind to pass the following links along, it would be a huge help to my family.

Currently, Hallie’s family vehicle can’t hold her power wheelchair, winning one would mean that she could use her power chair all the time allowing her to live a full life.  She has lots of people helping already and is in the top 5 but needs some help to push her to the top.  Voting only takes a few seconds and you can get a second vote by answering a simple question (and you can find a hint to the answer on her vote request thread).  You do not need to sign up for anything – I have got no spam from them while voting.

Click here or use the QR code to vote for Hallie and help change the life of a SCer and her family.

Unlike many people, Valery redeemed on a regular weekend when Shoppers Drug Mart had some deals she could use to maximize her redemption rather than wait for a bonus redemption weekend. Valery did two redemptions to get all of her items from Shoppers Drug Mart

Total Before Coupons $121.16 – $29.47 coupons used: Total $91.69 / Redeemed $85.00 / Total OOP $6.69
Total Before Coupons $77.81 – $17.46 coupons used: Total $60.35 / Redeemed $60.00 / Total OOP $0.35
For one of these transactions, she was also give the $10 SDM promo card and $10 TimCard despite redeeming

Click here to see all of the clearance deals she found and coupon deals she used – including her shopping at Walmart

ccmp1974 managed to score Similac formula for just $2.50 a can by combining pink sticker sales with coupons and Similac cheques this week, and got ready for next Easter while shopping!

8x $24.99 Similac – 50% off pink stickers -8x $5 coupons( doctor office) – 8x $5 cheques (mailout’s and trades) =$20 or $2.50 each can! – This ‘stacking’ was allowed as the cheques are a form of payment and not a coupon.

• 2x $0.05 Easter Cello Bags = $0.10
• 2x $0.01 Easter Colouring cup – 50% pink sticker = FREE!! (odd 50% off of a penny = free!! LOL!!) & 2x $0.01 Easter Coloring cup =$0.02
• 83x $0.05 Easter egg colour kit = $4.15 & 43x $0.05 Easter egg colour kit – 50% pink sticker = $1.29
• 2x $0.01 Easter Shaded mazes =$0.02
• 3x $0.01 Egg grippers – 50% pink sticker = FREE!! & 2x $0.01 Egg grippers = $0.02
• 2x $0.01 Easter garland = $0.02

I wish I could find pink sticker clearance at $0.01!  So what will ccmp1974 do with all those egg colouring kits?  They are going to be given to all of the children in her daughters’ school for next Easter.

Click here to view her full brag

CouponDiva scored some great deals while shopping in Newfoundland this week by keeping an eye out for unadvertised store specials like pink stickers.

Some of the highlights of her shopping at Dominion are:

• 4 x IOGO Probio Vanilla Yogurt 650g @ .99 ea (used 4 x .75 coupons from gocoupons.ca)
• 3 x Dial Eco-Smart Hand Soap Refills 1.18L @ $3.49 ea – 50% pink sticker = $1.74 (used 3 x $2 coupons from recent insert) Each bag is supposed to fill 5+ pump bottles!
• 5 x Crest Regular Toothpaste 100mL @ $1.49 ea – 50% pink sticker = .74 (used 5 x $1 coupons I found today in Coupon Zone!)
• 2 x Kotex Natural Balance Panty-liners 33ct @ $2.99 ea – 50% pink sticker (used $1.50 wub 2 tearpad coupon I found around Christmastime)

and then onto No Frills where she made use of a rebate offer

• 3 x Ziploc Freezer Bags @ $2 ea (used 3 x $1 coupons from recent Facebook promo)
• 7 x Glade Decor Scents 2pk Refills @ $2 ea & 1 Glade Decor Scents PlugIn Warmer @ $2 (used 4 x BOGO tearpad coupons)
• So together I paid $13.86 for the Ziploc & Glade but I’ll send in the receipt for the $10 PC Gift Card wub $20+ SC Johnson!

and finally, at Walmart

• 9 x Finish Powerballs @ $2 ea (used 9 x $2 coupons from inserts)
• 6 x Chips Ahoy Extras @ .99 ea (pricematched Coleman’s local supermarket & used 6 x $1 tearpad coupons)
• 1 x Voltaren Emulgel @ $7.97 (used $5 Novartis printable)

Click here to check out her full brag

While getting anything for free is excellent, most SmartCanucks members hold onto their free product coupons (FPCs) until they can make even more from them – you can use them on items with bonus points, for items with more coupons on it and in some cases towards minimum spend requirements for promotions (not at Shoppers Drug Mart).

Including tax, ErinsMom paid only $6.88 for everything pictured and received 9 Airmiles and coupons for five free Blizzards from Dairy Queen and five free drinks at Orange Julius.

• Kraft Shredded Cheese $3.99 – $1 coupon X 2 = $5.98
• Lean Cuisine Fresh Inspirations $ 4.29 X 6 (6 FPCs) = $0
• Orville ready to eat Popcorn $2.99 X 2 (2 FPCs)= $0
• Apple Cinnamon Cheerios $5.19 X 5 (5 FPCs) = $0

Click here to read her full brag

We have discussed this before on SmartCanucks and likely will again, but the topic came up on our facebook page yesterday.

Do you think it is ok to snack before paying in the grocery store?  Does this differ for you if it is a bulk item compared to a single priced item?

A few weeks back I saw a woman bring her banana skin to checkout with a 2nd banana, she handed both to the cashier and said “I ate the banana, it was around the same size as the other one, so just charge me for two”.  As usual, bananas are checked out by weight, so the cashier can’t just enter two x weight.  She countered by doing two weighs of the same banana.  She only had about five other items – would it have really killed her to wait to eat that banana.  She paid for it, which is much more than many people who like to ‘sample’ produce and bulk goods, but still…

Does your opinion change when it is a child? I know many people bring a snack for their child while shopping, but my neighbour was once stopped by loss prevention asking for the receipt for the snack bar her child was eating, which the store did sell in singles (which shows the issue of eating in the store is an issue for stores). But a snack can soothe a child and allow everyone to shop in peace.  Is it that big a deal to pay for the one item then shop?  Many stores have a customer service or hot food counter where you can pay for an item.

What about testing a grape to see how sweet they are before buying?  You can’t check a cookie from the box or a slice of bread from a loaf – all those grapes must add up to lost profit and higher prices?

What do you think? Do you snack/sample while shopping?  Cashiers and other store employees, how does your store handle this?