Flyer Thursday

Thursday night is my favourite of the week.  It even beats Saturday night.  That’s because the local newspaper stuffed with store flyers is delivered to my home.  I sort through them and circle the sale items that I need or want to stock up on.  The “winning” flyer that has the most items circled will be the store I go to.  Despite my love of price matching, I still prefer to go to the actual store that offers the best deals.  Currently in Ontario, only No Frills, Walmart, and Superstore (for baby items) offer price matching and they may not carry the exact product as advertised.

The front page of the flyer will likely feature a “loss leader” item.  This means that the store is selling an item at their cost or below cost to entice you to come and do the rest of your shopping there.   But unlike most normal people, I use the loss leader items to plan my shopping trips.  I will usually go to two different stores several days apart to capitalize on all the sales!  I especially like to load up on pantry items, such as canned soups, pasta and pasta sauce when they are on sale because the shelf life is approximately 2 years.  These are also great items for donating to your local food bank because of the long shelf life.  If you shop wisely, you can easily spare a dollar or two to help feed a family in need!   Justin Bieber and Shania Twain, international music superstars, were both users of Ontario food banks.  You could be helping to feed the next Canadian singing sensation!  Just to clarify, being cheap is not the same as being a miser.  Saving money when possible can allow you to be charitable, even if you think you’re not well off enough to give.  As one Canadian bank says in their ads, “You’re richer than you think.”