Bargains & Freebies

All us deal hunters and freebie hounds have heard the stories: There are people out there who can walk into a grocery store and walk out with hundreds of dollars worth of food using nothing but coupons and their own penchant for organization. The rest of us are left to wallow in resentment, since we know deep down we don't have the discipline for those rewards. Then that resentment is followed by a certain brand of consummerist backlash. "These people are going too far. Do they really need two hundred deoderants?"

Shows like TLC's Extreme Couponing seem to do nothing but fan those flames among us average shoppers. Yet, when you see stay at home mom Joanie Demer of McKinleyville, CA buy $638.64 worth of groceries for $2.64, there's a skeptiscm that doesn't really believe that this 98% savings is possible. Still, we all want a piece of that don't we? We all would be extreme couponers if it didn't take such dedication.

Still, is it really possible to pull it off? The show only answers that question in the affirmative for the American audience, but you hardly ever hear of extreme couponers hauling wheelbarrels full of product out of a Safeway or a Loblaws. Walletpop wanted to find out why that was and what we discovered is that there are still tricks to saving with coupons in this country, but not to a degree that's going to allow the neighbours to shop out of your garage.

Who doesn't like getting free stuff? A new e-book will help you to discover where to get free stuff on your birthday. It's called Free Stuff on Your Birthday for Canadians, from Grocery Alerts.ca and it's a handy resource that will help you to take advantage of all of the goodies in your area.

Black Friday. The name always sounds ominous but it's the best sales day of the year in the U.S. and thousands of Canadians cross the border to take advantage of crazy markdowns. This year is no different especially thanks to the strong Canadian dollar.

I was recently in Chicago and every single store had sales signs in the windows. I did a little shopping but had to restrain myself because I didn't want to incur too much debt (I do write for this website after all) and I could only bring so much back to Canada.

Of course bring your passport with you when you head south but here are some other tips when hitting Black Friday.

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You must have seen the TV commercials: an adult offers a child something, and then, he offers something better to another child, just because that child is, as one of the commercials puts it, newer.

It's all about offering incentives to newcomers while earlier clients have to make do with services they have signed up for earlier, getting no new incentives in return.

Are the commercials a smart way of marketing financial (or any other) services? Or are they a sad commentary on the fairness (or lack thereof) when it comes to attempts to drum up new custom?

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"What the heck is that?"

This is the reaction of most people the first time they see a Quick Response (QR) Code. You know, those squares of digital hieroglyphs that kind of look like the negative space in a crossword puzzle? You'll usually see them on storefront windows or paired with virtually any product or street advertisement.

These are digital bar codes that when scanned with a smartphone. For customers, they can unlock everything from bonus content and event directions to giveaways and coupons. For companies, they are just another point of contact where potential customers get to interact with their brand and target certain audiences in a much more controlled way.

Just like typical barcodes, like those ones scanned in the supermarket, QR codes can be snapped with a smartphone camera and then scanned using a QR scanning app like Bakodo, RedLaser or ShopSavvy, but they will often take you to a website or some other portal with special bonuses, discounts or information related to the advertisement.

But not everything a QR can do has to pander to your most base capitalist sensibilities, sometimes the point, shoot and scan experience is so much more than that.

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Many people still consider all dollar store food unhealthy. Why? It could be that the poor quality foods of early discount stores lingers on or it could be that people perceive food sold for less as being past its best before date but that hasn't been my experience.

It's my belief that you can eat well with food from the dollar store. Here's why.

Just the other day I was in a cab with a friend. I had done some writing and editing work for her and in return she offered a marketing and branding session. That had more value to me than being paid so I accepted.

This made me think about the old skill of bartering. We're used to paying money for goods and services but not everything has to cost money. The old skill of bartering, once forgotten, has returned as a way of getting what you need without spending money. I took a skill I already had and exchanged it for wanted advice.

Shannon Simmons of the Barter Babes Project has been doing this for a while. She barters her financial advice for goods and services. She talked to Walletpop about her experience.

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Movie stars Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker have topped Forbes' list of highest paid actresses. But don't worry, just because you don't get paid like them doesn't mean you can't dress like them. Just step inside a warehouse. She's a beauty, isn't she? 240 thousand square feet of retail therapy. Long held as a movie industry secret, movie wardrobe sales are now accessible to the public. The key is to find out about them.

You have two choices. First: Befriend a wardrobe master/mistress and badger him or her every day until they dish you the dirt about the next sale. Second: Get your name on the mailing list.

The Canadian Alliance of Film & Television Costume Arts & Design holds two wardrobe sales annually. These sales typically take place in a warehouse and are held in the spring and the fall. The cost to attend a wardrobe sale can be as little as $5 and the deals inside could be as much as 90% off the original price. If you are dying to have any of Angelina Jolie's blockbuster outfits or if you covet Sarah Jessica Parker's shoes, you could snatch them at a bargain warehouse price.

If you're looking for proof that you can't judge a book by its cover, look no further than the discount table at your nearest Chapters or Indigo store.

Warning: In many cases, the covers are hideous. Surprisingly, some major publishers obviously forgot the time-worn mantra that customers do judge books by their covers. But the stories inside are gems.

For $5 to $10 – or, in some cases, even $2 – you can acquire books by big-name Canadian and international authors that have won, or been nominated for, major awards or spent several weeks on bestseller lists.

You want fiction? Non-fiction? Autobiography? Self-help? Hardback? Paperback? Take your pick. Chances are, you'll find something you like – for less.

Why are they so cheap?

A survey from classified site Kijiji revealed that two out of every five Canadians are throwing away their old possessions instead of selling them and missing out on upwards of an estimated $400.

Even if the Canadian economy is relatively stable at this point, why would so many people throw away free money? For the answer, we asked Kijiji's resident de-clutter expert, The Clutter Wrangler, Jaclyn Ray, who wasn't at all surprised by the results.

"I don't find it surprising. I think a lot of people find that getting rid of clutter is a bit of a hassle Also, I can see why people would think it would be easier to put it in the garbage rather than take the time to find the right person who might want it," she says.

However, it doesn't have to be a hassle; Ray has made a career out of making clutter less overwhelming for people. As a professional organizer she gives people strategies for taking control of their space and applying order to their lives and one of those is by teaching her clients how to sell merchandise they no longer need through online classifieds.