20X the points at Shoppers

Now that the mega redemption has passed and a new year is on the horizon I thought I would do a post about 20x the points days and when they are worthwhile to do.
Tomorrow Shoppers is offering 20X the points when you spend $50. To make this a good shop here are some key steps.
1. Buy a Shoppers Drug Mart gift card,you get points for buying their cards $50=500points (if you have the Shoppers Optimum Mastercard you get more points if you buy the gift cards with that, or wait until Nov each year to get bonus points for buying gift cards)
2.Plan your shop carefully with the flyer and the sales and coupons(coupons are available at save.ca, websaver.ca, brandsaver.ca, and gocoupons.ca)there are some great discussions on the Smart Canucks forum
3.Use Mail in Rebates. Right now there are 2 you can print off. You usually need to send in your original receipt so you need to do one at a time. The scented oil Air Wick starter kit is here They will give you up to $11.99 for the product and it's taxes. It seems to be around $7.49 at Shoppers. The Air Wick scent ribbons candle is here They will give you up to $13.99 for the product and it's taxes. It seems to be around$10.99 at Shoppers.
4.Combine bonus points on products when possible. Bonus points are updated regularly here.

5.Use worz to calculate your shop. It calculates tax at 13% so adjust according to your area. You can make an account for free and then click on calculators and then Shoppers Drug Mart. It will total up your shop with and without taxes and coupons! Very helpful.
You can click on the pink picture to make it large and see a sample shopping list.
With this list you would get 10200 points. At a Mega Redemption 95000 points is worth $250 so one point is  .0026315(approximately, ha ha!) so at that level these 10200 points are worth $26.84
This shop cost $42.77 - MIR of $12.30 for a total of $30.47.  If you were to subtract what this shop would be worth at a Mega redemption($26.84) this shop would cost $3.63.
Sometimes there aren't good enough sales to make it worthwhile, but this time it seems like there is!

10% off Tuesday and Combining Deals

As you probably already know, Tuesday is 10% off day at Safeway. I don't often participate in 10% off day as I find it quite difficult to find $35 worth of stuff that is at a good price! Well, this week I am going to do some combining of deals to get to $35. I will use these coupons. If you got the Kraft Sample box you will have also received the top 3 pictured here. I am guessing that each product will run me about $3-$4 each. That's $9-$12. The Tampax will probably be $3-$4 each. The oasis juices are $1 each when on sale, but at Safeway they can be close to $2 each! So, I am close to $20 dollars here. I need to buy tp and the Purex is 24 for $4.99 plus 30 airmiles for buying 2. Right there I am pretty close to $30! I will get a few limes 2/$1, maybe some Imperial Margarine if it is a good deal(it says BOGO on the front of the flyer) What I noticed the last time I did the 10% off day was that they added all the REGULAR prices of the items I was buying and gave 10% off of that! Bonus! So a $35 shop actually saved me $6 plus the coupons I used!

These are some mail in rebates that are available right now.  The ones on the left are good for Air Wick Scented Products.  One is worth up to $13.99 which covers the cost of the item, it's taxes and postage. The other is worth $11.99. You can print off your own form here The one for Finish is from the Smartsource insert that was in your newspaper.
Now,with these mail in rebates you need to send in your receipt. So, usually I do each one separately. In order to combine deals you could buy the $13.99 one next Saturday if you are going to do the 20X the points day at Shoppers. I used these mail in rebates many times with many different products to bring down my total at Shoppers 20X the points days.(There were lots out there last year!)
If it's a regular 20X the points you will need to spend $50 to qualify. So, this would bring you down to less than $40, needing to be spent.
You could buy one at Safeway. I might use the Finish one on 10% off day.
There are also the 10-15%off coupons when you spend $25-$100 at Extra Foods. They have the following:
Pineapples $1.97
Yams .46/lb
Cabbage is .38/lb
Broccoli Bunches are .96
No Name Cheese is $7.98 for 800g (limit 4)(I will buy some and grate it and freeze it.)
These are just a few ideas for combining deals and saving money. What do you do to save on groceries??

This Week's Sales

The sunset on the Lake Okanagan...taken by my talented husband!
So it's September 1st, and to me this is more like the new year than January is. I enjoy this season, especially where I live now as we have a true fall. Right now there are beautiful flowers blooming everywhere. I am always shocked as it's only been 4 years that we have lived here, and I spent so many where the leaves all fell off right away and that was it...winter. I enjoy all the seasons, except winter, so I am never in a rush to get to it. Another reason I have to be thankful! Anyways, this time of year is a time of getting back into routines. We will be learning at home again this year, and have decided to start Sept 6.

Now is the time for harvesting. In our yard we have grapes(many, many grapes), plums(only half a tree this year after the bear took out the other half), hazelnuts(I am hoping this year the Stellar Jay might share!), and walnuts. Besides that this is the time to enjoy the upicks around town. I was told yesterday that there are peaches to be picked for .50/lb! We are coming to the time of year where it's getting safer to use the oven inside, evenings are cooler so the chance of getting things cooled off for sleeping is good. So, now is the time for planning how to properly preserve the bounty so it will last the winter. More on that in later posts!
Walmart 2-8
Red,green,or black grapes seedless .97/lb
Fresh Boneless Loin Center and Rib Pork Chops $7(this is a good deal if there is a kg or more in each package, be sure to root through them as they are all different weights and more is better!)
Cantaloupes are $1.47
Cucumbers .50
Pears .88/lb
Tomatoes .77/lb
Cauliflower .97
Royale TP 48singles for $9.97
Report covers(we called them duo tangs!).10
Bic pens $1 for 10 pack

Superstore 2-8
Sept 2-4 spend $250 get a $25 gift card
Chicken Legs $1/lb
Broccoli .96
Pears 6lbs $4.98(.83/lb)
Bok Choy .38/lb
Cantaloupe $1.46
Rye Bread is $1.66 when you buy 3
Whole Chicken $1.98/lb
10 pack Bic Pens .99
Black Diamond Cheese 700g $6.99

Extra Foods has the coupons on the front of their flyer. Mon and Tues 10-15% off when you spend $25-$100.



Shoppers Sept 3 only
SATURDAY ONLY 20X the points when you spend $50
Paper towel life brand $1.99 for 8 pack limit 4
Maxwell House coffee 925g $6.99 limit 4
Christie cookies and crackers $1.79 limit 4
Everyday Tuna 170g .59 limit 4
Campbellls' Soups .49 limit 4
Dempster's Hot Dog Buns 2/$3 for 12's limit 4
Sept 3-9
Everyday Market Butter $2.99(limit 4)

Safeway 2-8
Tuesday Sept 6 is 10%off day. Spend $35 minimum
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $2.99/lb ($26.36/box) limit 2
White Mushrooms $1.99/lb
Corn on the Cob 10/$4
Here's the Old Town Market Specials

A great deal on photos!!! Blacks has 50 6X8's! Yes, that's the big size for $5! I am seeing comments on their site that you can get the same deal on 4X6 and 5X7. I think I am going to print off some of our summer photos and use them as thank yous. Click here to check it out. Offer ends Sept 6.

Freebie!

In this week's Smart Source there is this rebate to try the Air Wick Starter kit.
Spend $12.99 or less, mail in your receipt with the Air Wick purchase circled and the UPC code handwritten on the receipt.
Want to make this purchase go further? You may have heard the rumor that Shoppers is doing 20X the points next weekend again. Typically that is a spend $75 and get 20X the points. If you buy this then you will have spent $12.99 of your total and only need $62.01(a smart Smart Canucker had this idea!).
How much is 20X the points? Well typically you would get 750 points for a $75 purchase. On 20X the points day you get 15000.
8000 points =$10
22000 points =$30
So, it's worth close to $20 worth of free purchases. If you spent $62.01(after you got the Air Wick) you would end up getting $20, so $62.01-$20=$42.01 So, $75 worth of purchase would in the end cost $42.01 close to 50% off.
Did I lose you? Don't worry, it scrambles my brain too.

Buying stuff just to get points doesn't make sense, but if there are things you already need and are a good deal at Shoppers, why not?
Yesterday, I got $125 worth of merchandise for free(I had to pay the HST).That goes a long ways to helping with the Christmas budget!
If you have a Optimum card and receive emails from them be sure to look at the Free $10 coupon one. Select people have a survey in the upper right side of the email worth 5000 points!