Almond Fresh posted that they will be holding a giveaway on facebook tomorrow at 11 a.m (Eastern).  Like them now to save time when the giveaway starts.

Click here to like Almond Fresh on Facebook

This weekend January 5th & 6th, get 8000 bonus Optimum points when you spend $50 or more at Shoppers Drug Mart in Atlantic provinces.  The rest of Canada gets two movie tickets when you spend $75

Monday to Friday, you get a $10 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card when you spend $50 or more

Hopefully there are some good deals in the flyer.

Sign up to get your free sample of VPlenish Vitamin Boost, the world’s first taste free daily vitamin. It dissolves clear in any hot or cold food or beverage. Click here to order yours while quantities last.

Skinny Cow Canada is giving away something through Facebook , but it is a surprise! Click here to enter your details so they can send you your “Skinny Surprise” if you are chosen as a winner. You have until January 4th 2013 at 11:59:59pm EST to enter the contest. Good luck all!

You can now order your choice of three sample kits from Poise. Choose from the following kits:

• Poise Feminine Wellness Sample Kit

• Poise Liner Sample Kit

• Poise Hourglass Sample Kit

Make sure you click on the blue link and view in Canadian English in order to submit your info. Click here to order.

Some of these have been available before but are on websaver.ca again

• $1 Astro Zero (print or mail)
• $0.75 Dole Fruit Bowls
• $1 when you buy 2 dozen eggs (print or mail)
• Buy one get one free on Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers

Click here to check websaver to see what coupons came available for you today

ThriftyRebecca has been busy and uploaded many of the Ontario grocery flyers for the coming week.  Click on the store name to view the flyer

• Foodland
• FreshCo
• Metro
• No Frills
• Rexall
• RCSS
• Sobeys

Just a reminder that Canada Post are increase the cost of postage on January 14.  The cost of a regular P (permanent  rate) stamp will increase to $0.63 (and they approved $0.65 for 2014) so if you are running low, buy some before January 14th to save $0.02 per stamp.  If your stamps have a P on them instead of a price, you can use them without additional postage.

Other increases:

• For domestic letters weighing between 30 and 50 grams, a $0.05 increase to $1.10
• An increase ranging between $0.04 to $0.10 for all other domestic letter weight categories, with the heavier categories incurring the larger increases
• For letters, cards and postcards up to 30 grams destined for the USA, a $0.05 increase to $1.10
• For letters, cards and postcards up to 30 grams sent to foreign destinations, a $0.05 increase to $1.85
• For domestic registered mail, a $0.25 increase to $8.50

The new rates for lettermail are as follows:

iTunes are giving away two Ke$ha songs today in their 12 Days of Christmas giveaway.  Get Only Wanna Dance With You and Past Lives free.

Click here to download

The best way to meet your long term goals is to set short term ones. If you have been overspending, the shock of a frugal lifestyle can be a bit much but cutting down bit by bit can set you in the right path for the future.

Start with the easy stuff

Bills: are you paying too much?

TV: Not all of us are ready to “cut the cord” but you can go down to a basic package for TV. For my local cable company, Digital Basic is $32 but their recommended 3 theme pack package is $68, most of us have a few add-on channels plus the savings in taxes. Just by changing, you save $500/year.

Home Phone: Do you really need one? Many people keep their phone for ‘security’ purposes but if it uses electricity, it is useless. If you use it, great but for me, it is just another way for telemarketers to call me. You can save $20+ a month getting rid of the line, more with all the extra fees they charge.

Cell Phones: Do you need the plan you are on? Many people are not on the right plan for them. They either have a cheaper plan and pay overage or an expensive plan that they don’t use. Even a savings of $10 a month adds up over the year.  Call and ask if they have a plan that matches your usage better.

Internet: Do you need that high speed connection? Does your bandwidth match your usage? Many websites do not work at the super high speeds cable companies offer. Unless you have a lot of devices using the connection or another reason for needing the speed, 6-8mbps (or even less) packages are just fine – even for streaming! Check what monthly bandwidth they offer on the smaller packages or you could end up paying more for usage.

Decide if these services are a must for you and where you can cut. Giving up even channels on your cable package may seem like a big move but in a month or so, you won’t even remember having them. Call the companies, explain that you need to cut expenses and ask what they can offer you. Often their customer retention department will have much better offers than they show online but be careful they are not trying to upsell you!

Banking: Are you paying too much in fees? Get a fee free account (like the one available from PC Financial) or check to see if your bank have a cheaper package that suits your usage. Can you use your debit card less to save $5-10 a month? That $60-120 a year pays another bill.

Mortgage: Are you paying monthly? Can you change it to bi-weekly, you will get more payments in and pay down your mortgage more quickly. Can you remortgage to a better rate?

Utilities: Most utility companies offer a better rate for off-peak usage. Do that laundry in cooler water and at an off-peak time to save.

Groceries: You Gotta Eat

I used to buy roughly the same thing every week, if chicken was on sale I would buy that instead of beef, more broccoli instead of cauliflower etc but yet my grocery bill for just two of us could range from $100-130 a week, plus the bits we picked up during the week and eating out. Now I pay $50-70 a week and often much less.

If you are really trying to cut expenses – stop eating out now! Keep it as a treat and something you save for in other areas of your finances. It is easy to spend even $10 per person at a fast food place now and a restaurant – easily $50 for a couple. Do that even once a month and it adds up over the year. If you don’t brown bag lunches for work or school – start now. Coffee stop every morning? Make it at home!

SmartCanucks has a large couponing community, and it is a great way to save but not for everyone, it takes organizing, time, and can actually cost a little more in the short term as you build a stockpile. However, you can save a lot just by paying attention to sales, flyers and buying what is cheapest. Stores like No Frills, RCSS, Walmart and Freshco offer price matching on your groceries. You do not need to go store to store to get the deals. Spend an hour planning your meals, shopping and you can easily save $20 on every shopping trip.

There is also a lot to be said for the cash method recommended by Gail Vaz-Oxlade but you need to spend January working out a reasonable budget or you will give up (trust me, I have been there). Start with the saving tips all over SmartCanucks and take another 10% off for February as you will save more as you learn. For automatic withdrawals I just put an IOU in that jar so I “see” the money.

We will cover these more in coming blogs, but you have a lot to get you started.

This blog is part of our New to SmartCanucks series, click here to read more blog posts in the series

Each Wednesday during the month of January, get any size hot beverage for $1. Offer includes Coffee, Cappuccino, Hot Tea, Hot Chocolate & Lattes. Iced Coffee is not included. Click here to visit the 7-Eleven Canada Facebook page.

Save $2 on Swiss Naturals Joint Care products with this mail to home coupon from save.ca.  If you are thinking of getting into couponing this year, sign up to save.ca for lots of different coupons throughout the year.

Click here to get your coupon

Sign up for the Ensure Club to receive money saving offers, meal plan suggestions, and recipes on tips on using Ensure. You will receive up to $50 in coupons by mail after you register. Click here to sign up for this offer.

Shopping Chapters-Indigo Canada’s boxing week sale? Save an extra $5 on your purchase of $30 or more with promo code JANUARY2013 at checkout. Code is valid until January 31st 2013. Shipping is free on order of $25 or more. Click here to shop.

Gear 4 Angry Bird tweeters in-ear buds are on final clearance for $4.99 from Best Buy Canada. Save $11 off the regular price until January 2nd, 2013. They are available in 4 different colours while quantities last. Click here to order from BestBuy.ca.