When most people think municipal elections, their feelings are often best summed up by a big yawn followed by a quick nap.  Many Canadians are so disinterested in local politics that they can’t even name their mayor, let alone their city or regional councilors.  But you know what?  You should care about local politics, because it’s the one place where your vote will most count towards saving you money.

Property taxes, water rates, parking meters — in most parts of the country, these things are dictated by your municipal government.  If you want to get your water bill down to a reasonable level (and if you live in Niagara like I do, believe me, that’s a priority), the best way to do that is to vote in a candidate who’s committed to your cause.

Even little costs can add up.  About 10 years ago our region placed a 2 bag limit on garbage.  Anything more than that and you’ll need to buy a “garbage tag.”  It’s not a system that I disagree with, but if I did, wouldn’t it make sense for me to vote in a candidate who wants to turn it around?

Not everywhere in Canada will be going through a municipal election in the coming weeks, but if you live in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, and select parts of Saskatchewan or PEI, your ballot box is just around the corner.  Hit up your city’s website, learn about the candidates, attend some debates, and — most importantly — show up on election day.  If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to your local government, make your vote count.

I’m all for the idea of cash’n’carry, but seriously dude — take a couple of trips if you need to.  Something tells me this car may have required a trip to the mechanic after this.  Something else tells me that you can come up with an outstanding caption to post in the comments.

I’m hoping for everyone’s sake that your next trip to IKEA goes better.

*Offer excludes outerwear. Styles and selection vary by store. Online, savings automatically applied at checkout.

I checked out the online store and I found about 10 items priced at $4.99 and a few more priced at $9.99. Lots of items at $19.99 – $29.99. The size selection is still pretty decent as of right now, but I bet they’ll go fast.

Click here to shop rickis.com.

Dynamite will be holding their Friends & Family event from Friday, Oct. 15th until Monday, Oct. 18th, 2010. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase and does not apply to gift cards, previous purchases, and beauty products. I particularly like this coupon because it doesn’t exclude sale items and no minimum spending amount to use.

Click here to print your coupon.

Thank you to cooka73 for finding this great coupon!

If you like Pizza Pizza’s cheese/pepperoni pizza, you’ll be very happy during the week of Oct. 18-24th because a medium cheese/pepperoni pizza will only be $4.99 (regular $9.99) and the awesome part is that a portion of the proceeds  will go to the Children’s Miracle Network. I personally prefer homemade pizza but I know a lot of people out there are Pizza Pizza lovers! Bring on the debate of which pizza place is the best….

Thanks to couponlady for posting this deal!

Purchase $249.99 (in-store ticket price) or more on winter jackets and/or pants and receive a $50 promotional gift card towards your next purchase. Purchase $499.99 (in-store ticket price) or more on winter jackets and/or pants and receive a $100 promotional gift card towards your next purchase. Offer runs from Oct. 13 – Dec. 24, 2010. Excludes items already marked down. Promotional gift card valid until Jan. 31, 2011.

Click here for more details.

I don’t know about you, but now that the leaves are falling from the trees and the nuts are tumbling down alongside them, my neighbourhood has been completely overrun by squirrels.  No word of a lie, when I opened my front door this morning I was able to count 8 of them as I looked around my immediate vicinity.  EIGHT.  It’s almost as if they’re amassing an army…

So what say you?  Can you come up with a militaristic yet cute caption for our little rodent army man above?

Suzy Shier is having their mid-season sale! You can save up to 70% on all of their merchandise both instore AND online!

I don’t see an end date for this promo, so start shopping now in order to view the best selection!

For the online sale, your discount will be applied at the checkout.

Click here to visit the Suzy Shier website!

thanks couponlady!

Naturalizer Shoes is offering 20% off online and free shipping until October 19th. Simply enter the discount code “NNCER” at checkout. Alternatively you can click here to print the in-store coupon.  I haven’t shopped online with Naturalizer for a while.  Last time I ordered I was really excited to receive my shoes and like a week later they sent me a cancellation notice!  Hopefully they are being more speedy at taking out of stock items off their site now.

Click here to check out Naturalizer.ca

Simply click here to request your free sample of Womanity.  I’ve never smelt this scent so I’m quite curious as to what it smells like.  Do you own this perfume? If so what do you think of it?

*Please allow 4 weeks to receive your sample.

Thanks Mozxie for letting me know about this great freebie!

On Monday, Oct. 18, 2010 and Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010, choose from either 15% off regular-priced items, or 15x the Optimum Points when you spend $50 or more at Shoppers Drug Mart (usual exclusions apply). I personally prefer getting 15x the points because the 15% off promo only applies to regular-priced items, and hardly anything I buy at SDM is regular-priced, plus I always use a lot of coupons to bring down my out of pocket total.

Click here to view the discussion thread.

Thanks to thetonester21 for pointing out this promo!

Click here to view the SDM flyer posted by Boo Radley himself! Thanks boss!

Our friends over at Niche Brands Inc are offering up a sample of their beconfident UNDERARM LINERS for a minimal 99 cents shipping charge, for a limited time only. Major credit cards as well as Paypal are accepted.

Now, I know that this can be a sensitive subject among many people….but according to the research, 1 in 3 women feel that they produce too much underarm sweat.

So Niche Brands Inc has come up with a product to help battle that problem. These liners can be worn with long sleeve, short sleeve or even sleeveless attire!

Click here to order your sample.

They are also offering up a $10 off coupon code to Smartcanucks members, towards the purchase of any regular package. 1 per customer please. Use code smartcanucks2010 at the checkout!

AND to top it all off, their current promotion gives you 3 FREE boxes when you purchase 3!
Offer expires December 25 2010.

Click here to order full sleeved liners.
Click here to order short sleeved liners.
Click here to order sleeveless liners.
Order the assorted package here.

Joe Fresh is opening their first flagship store and their grand opening is tomorrow!  Joe is the brand of clothes that Loblaws has carried in their super centres for the past few years.

To celebrate the opening of this Joe Fresh Style® store we will be closing down Granville Street between Pender and Dunsmuir for an exciting, free concert on Saturday October 16, 2010 featuring some of Canada’s hottest talent including performances by Marianas Trench, Divine Brown, Stereos and Sweet Thing!

Guarantee your access to the concert by being one of the first 100 shoppers on Wednesday October 13, 2010! Wristbands will be handed out at cash.

We will also be giving away a free packaway down jacket (a $39-$49 value) for the first 1000 customers who spend $100 or more*! And free Joe Fresh Style® reusable tote bags will also be offered to the first 1000 customers with any purchase.

The flagship store will open on Wednesday October 13, 2010, and is located at 540 Granville St, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 1W6, telephone: 604-681-4200.

This is amazing!  I wish I lived in Vancouver!  Click here for more details.

Thanks Mercy for the email.

Chapters Indigo followed Amazon’s announcement this morning and lowered their free shipping when you spend $25!  I figured Chapter’s would follow suit but I didn’t think it would be this quickly.  Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for Best Buy and Future shop to follow!  Click here to check out Chapters and Amazon.  This is so exciting to me because I’m always trying to find a “few smaller things” to get up to $39.  Now if I just want a book and a movie I don’t have to worry as I’ll already have the free shipping!

Do you think Future Shop and Best Buy will follow suit?

The Source is having a family and friends sale with employee discounts for only 3 days!  Starting Thurday October 13th at Midnight and ends October 15th at Midnight.  With extra savings up to 30%  on top of sale prices. How awesome.  Click here for the flyer that was sent directly to us from the Source.  Click here to browse The Source, happy shopping.