I’m Taking the #CentsAbility 30-day Challenge – Join Me!

I’m getting ready to measure my frugality in the #CentsAbility 30-day challenge and invite you to join me in being even more money-minded for the month of October! It’s the perfect time to embark on a budget blitz and take back our paychecks (whether we’re working full-time, part-time, or not at all!) by trimming all of those little splurges that add up to mucho-moolah over the span of a year! Check out how much a daily coffee adds up to over a year in the Cents & Sensibility video:

What is the #CentsAbility 30-day Challenge and how do I join?

The #CentsAbility 30-day Challenge is a social media photo-a-day challenge, open to anyone who is ready to take stock of their daily money habits and share their budget triumphs + temptations! Snap a picture-a-day on Instagram for the month of October with the hashtag #CentsAbility to demonstrate how you:

• resist unnecessary splurges
• cut-back on overspending
• find lower priced alternatives to must-have purchases
• stick to your budget

Why I’m Taking the #CentsAbility 30-day Challenge

I religiously measured my savings and earnings for my first few years after leaving the traditional workforce but haven’t taken a close look at the dollar value of my frugality lately. The lure of going back to “work in the city” is becoming more & more tempting now that both kids are in school full-time and it’s time for me to re-assess whether or not my Save-at-Home-Mom lifestyle is still the wisest budget choice for our family.

What gets measured gets managed.

I firmly believe in the adage “what gets measured gets managed” and I’m ready to measure my savings, manage my spending, and get inspired by other savvy peeps with #CentsAbility!

Please follow my #CentsAbility journey here:

• On Twitter @christaclips
• On the Christa Clips Facebook Page
• My #CentsAbility Pinterest Board
• ChristaClips on Instagram

Join the #CentsAbility Twitter Chat on Wednesday Oct 8 @ 9pm ET

All challenge participants are invited to join the #CentsAbilityTwitter Chat sponsored by Manulife on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 from 9-10pm ET. It’ll be a fun chance to connect with other money-minded folk, share our our savings tally-to-date, and laugh together at the splurges we just haven’t been able to give up yet!  Pumpkin latte season is just about here – help!

Flipp Makes Price-Matching Faster

Download Flipp and enter the $50 Visa Card Giveaway on ChristaClips.com

With more and more stores across Canada offering to match the price of competitors’ sale prices, the opportunity to save on groceries and other purchases has affected the way many of us shop. On the plus side, we’re saving money, sometimes on an extreme scale, and on the down side, the experience at the check-out counter can be a source of frustration for those waiting behind the savvy shopper who is stumbling through flyers to save on their purchase.

We’ll now there’s a FLIPP side – increased savings and decreased time at the checkout counter. If you haven’t discovered Flipp yet, you’re in for a treat!

Flipp saves time and money – it’s FREE, it’s easy, it has rocked the price-matching world!

Flipp is an iOs and Android compatible app that lets you view store flyers, search for the lowest advertised price for an item, and clip all of your best sales onto a shopping list. Instead of lugging paper flyers along to show the best price for an item at the cashier, simply flash your mobile device or smart phone at the cashier and say “I’d like to price-match this item to this flyer”. It’s a price-match revolution!

I price-match my entire grocery list each week. Here’s some of the fresh produce I’ve clipped and added to my Flipp shopping list this week:

By price-matching the lowest price on fresh produce using the Flipp app, Christa Clips saves $10-$20 on groceries each week. That adds up to over $1000 a year!

• Grapes – best price $1.49/lb
• Apples – best price $2.49 for a 3lb bag
• Watermelon – best price $2.47 each
• Cucumbers – best price $.50 each
• Cauliflower – best price $1.77 each
• Broccoli – best price $1 each
• Asparagus – best price $2.97/lb
• Green Peppers – best price $.79/lb
• Carrots – best price $2.50 for a 10lb bag
• Romaine Lettuce- best price $.69 each

By price-matching with Flipp, our family saves $10-$20 on our fresh produce ALONE each week which adds up to over $1,000 in savings per year. A thousand dollars!  So imagine the savings to be found on higher priced personal items like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, diapers, and razors – they’re always on sale, somewhere!  And when it comes to shopping around for major purchase like appliances, electronics, and furniture – remember that if an item is listed in a flyer, Flipp will help you find out where it’s on sale for the best price this week.

No more settling for “that seems like a good deal.”  Flipp has changed the price-matching game so that we are confident that we’re paying the lowest possible price each week!

My favourite part of using Flipp is that I can price-match these best prices at my local Walmart and enjoy all of these savings in a one-stop-shop. I place my groceries on the belt in the same order that they appear in my clippings list on Flipp, and then I scroll through and flash my phone at the cashier for each price adjustment. It’s SO fast! I dare say that most customers behind me are oblivious to the fact that I’m price-matching at all!

Saving on weekly groceries continues to play a role in my Save-at-Home-Mom strategy, and I’m so pleased to have found an app to help me save time as well as money! Join me by trying Flipp …

• Download Flipp for FREE on iTunes 
• Download Flipp for FREE on Google Play

Happy Saving!

 

Saving on 376 School Lunches with Flipp!

Our kids started grade 1 and grade 3 today – they’re super excited and I’m pleased as punch to get back to the blog! First up: how to save time & money on lunchboxes with the Flipp mobile app!

I have 376 school lunchboxes to pack between now and next summer – YIKES!  In addition to saving on all of the fruit, vegetables, bakery and deli items that I’ll pack, pre-packaged lunchbox items are another easy category for savings at the grocery store by using the Flipp app! I commonly stock up on 100% juice boxes, granola bars, pots of fruit sauce, and yogurt tubes (they freeze well!). Before filling our pantries and fridges with lunchbox items that “seem” like a good deal, though, there are a few things to be mindful of:

Know your needs

What are you permitted to take to school when it comes to nutritional ingredients, allergens, and packaging?

Know your limits

How many lunchbox items will you need by the end of the school year and/or the product expires?

• I have 160 lunchboxes to pack before Christmas (80 days x 2 kids)
• 96 lunchboxes between New Years and March Break (48 days x 2 kids)
• 120 lunchboxes between March Break and the end of the school year (60 days x 2 kids)

Know your prices

Keep an eye on sale prices and stock up on your favourite items when they’re on sale. Try to match the sale price with other layers of savings such as coupons, store perks, specially marked packaging with coupons or useful offers, cash back rebates, etc.

The absolute EASIEST way to keep an eye on prices and be ready to stock up on back to school lunchbox items is with the Flipp app! I’ve been an avid Flipp user for over a year now and have been able to save hundreds of dollars and a WACK of time. Here’s how!

How to Use Flipp to SAVE time & money on groceries:

Step 1. Find out if an item you want is on sale this week by typing it into the search bar of the Flipp app

Step 2. Based on the search results, choose the flyer that has your item for the lowest price this week, regardless of where the store is located

Tap the screen to add an item to your Clippings list

Step 3. Add that best price to your Clippings List by tapping on the item

Step 4. Buy the items on your Clippings List and enjoy your savings, knowing that you bought your items at the lowest price offered this week without having to scour the paper flyers on your own!

Tip: Put items on the conveyor belt in the same order as your Clippings list for fast & easy price-matching!

Yah … but …..

How can Flipp help me save money if the best price is at a store that’s far away?  

No prob! Simply flash the Flipp app at the cashier of your local store that price-matches! Walmart, Giant Tiger, and Real Canadian Superstore are my three favourite stores to price-match in my neighbourhood.

It doesn’t make sense to pay for an app that will save us money.

Apparently the folks at Flipp agree – it’s a FREE app available for iOS and Android!

• Download Flipp for iOS
• Download Flipp for Android

I don’t buy processed or packaged foods for our lunchboxes.

Try searching for the best prices on fruit, veggies, dairy, meat, etc. Then price-match them and save on ALL of your grocery needs! One of my many saving mantras is “Grapes are always on sale, somewhere!” Here’s my blog post with 4 Ways to Save on Fresh Produce.

I don’t have a data package on my mobile device.

Even though many stores offer free WiFi access now, there is the odd “dead zone”. To remedy this, the Flipp app has a great cache system. Simply open any flyers that you might want from home or wherever you’re connected to the internet. Then when you’re out shopping, anything you’ve previously opened and/or clipped will be accessible without internet connection when you open the app next!

I get embarrassed about holding up the line when I’m trying to price-match and/or use coupons.

Fumbling through paper flyers while trying to organize our items on the conveyor belt can trip up even the most seasoned couponer or price-matcher. Flipp makes checking out while price-matching SO much easier! I put all of my regular items on the belt first and put a divider bar down before placing my items to price-match in order as I scroll through my clippings list on my phone or iPad.

• Me: “I’ve got a few items to price-match after the divider bar”
• Me: “Grapes are on sale for $.99/lb at FreshCo. this week”
• Show the cashier the sale price on your Clippings list
• If the cashier needs to scrutinize the date, size, brand, etc., simply tap the clipped item and it leads directly to the online flyer with all of those details.
• Cashier: “My oh my, you’re a smart shopper.” *
• Me: “Why yes, yes I am!”

Hmmm … I really must shoot a quick video to show how fast and simple it is to save time and money at the grocery store with Flipp. Stay tuned! *some parts of the example transaction may be exaggerated!