Correct Change

Last week I was visiting my parents in the States, and the kids and I did a bit of shopping.  I was using my American cash as much as possible, and I wanted to have the least amount of change after every transaction.  It seems that the art of making change has been lost.  I had three confused employees in one day!

The first was at Goodwill.  My total was $47.47, so I handed over

$20

$20

$10

$1

$1

25¢

10¢

10¢

1¢

1¢

(that's $52.47)

She tried to give me $10 back, and got really confused when I would only take $5.  She had to call her manager over, and I had to explain it all to her as well.  All was good in the end, and the kids and I got a chuckle out of it.

________________________

The second encounter was at Hobby Lobby.  My total was $33.17, so I handed over

$20

$10

$1

$1

$1

25¢

1¢

1¢

(that's $33.27)

She tried to give me my pennies back because the quarter already was more than the 17¢ I owed.  When I refused to take them back she was mystified, so I just told her to punch in what I gave her, once she had done that she understood. I only wanted 1 coin back, not a bunch of pennies!

__________________________

The third encounter was a short time later, also at Hobby Lobby (we forgot something), with a different cashier.  My total was $17.43, so I handed over

$20

$1

$1

25¢

25¢

(I had run out of pennies at that point)

(that's $22.50)

He tried to give my $2 back, and when I said no, he said, "but the $20 covers it."

I knew that, but please, "just trust me on this."

So, he punched it into the till, and viola! I received $5.07 back so I wouldn't have a bunch of $1 bills.

MATH TEACHERS, can we please work on money, and correct change so people can understand what they are doing on the cash registers?  I know most people pay with cards, I do most of the time too, but this is an important skill!

Church Challenges!

Last Sunday morning after church I picked up a cup of coffee, added my cream & sugar, & walked over to "my spot".  (Yes, I have a certain spot where I stand, it's just off to the side, people know where to find me, & I find it easier to hear what people are saying to me)

I lifted my little mug to take my first sip & noticed there was a bit of lipstick on the cup (which couldn't have been mine!), so I decided to wipe it off, & turn the cup to drink from the other side.  I turned it around to discover MORE lipstick!  At that point I couldn't handle it anymore, I don't even WEAR lipstick 90% of the time! So I returned the full cup of coffee to the kitchen & sought out a new cup of coffee & started the whole process over with less lipstick!

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During offering time I handed each of the kids a quarter.  Asher handed his back to me & whispered, "I can't put this one in, it's a special one!"

I took the quarter back & sorted through my wallet for a 'regular' coin for him to donate instead.  I was about to put the fancy quarter in my pocket to take home & add to my special coin jar.

Chancery then leaned over & said, "I want to see it!"

I handed the special quarter to Chancery, & just then the offering basket came by & Chancery put the special quarter in!

....so, I reached in & grabbed it back out!

I thought I was in the clear until a man sitting behind me leaned forward & said, "If you're that hard up for cash I could loan you some!"

Grocery Store Prices

After 3 months of living in BC & always wondering if the "closer, more convenient" (Save-On) grocery store was THAT much more expensive than the "seems cheaper, but farther away" (Superstore) store I decided it was time to make a list.  And make a list I DID!  I wrote a big list of the regular type things that I buy from the store, sometimes I get these groceries from Costco since it is so much closer than when we lived in PEI, but here's what I found...

On my list was:

Broccoli
Cranberry Juice
Veggie Juice
Dr Pepper
Milk
Coffee Creamer
Pilsbury Biscuits
Eggs
Butter
Margarine
Yoghurt
Magnum Ice Cream Bars
Vanilla Ice Cream
Cream Cheese
Bread
Bagels
Coffee
Coffee Filters
Tortilla Chips
Salsa
Flour
Sugar
Brown Sugar
Ketchup
Soup for Cooking (cream of mushroom)
Soup for eating (Italian Wedding)
Pasta Sauce
Butter Chicken Sauce
Oatmeal
Granola
Peanut Butter
Nutella

I compared the same sized items, & priced according to the brand I would normally pick if I was shopping at that store.  I only put the full price of the item on the list so I wasn't comparing sale prices  I then added all the prices as if I had bought one of each item at both stores & compared the final cost.

The results were...

Save-On-Foods (with 6 store brand items)  $203.04

SuperStore (with 5 store brand items)  $168.64

Individually, the only items cheaper at Save-On were bread & broccoli.  I did not compare other produce, but I'd be interested to know if that is cheaper.  I don't really like the selection at Save-On for produce though...  I was shocked at some of the price differences!

Brown Sugar       Superstore $4.98          Save-On  $6.49
Peanut Butter      Superstore $8.97          Save-On  $11.88
Salsa                    Superstore $6.99         Save-On $12.89

I'll still shop the flyers since I know Save-On have good sales on some of my regular items (Magnum Ice Cream Bars!), but I definitely will aim for Superstore more often now!

Hard Choices

My parents are up visiting for a few days, & today while we were out & about we stopped to have lunch at Tim Hortons.  Just after we had gotten our food as we were bowing our heads to pray, a man came up to us & said, "Please could you buy me some food? I have not eaten in 2 days."

At first we said no.  We didn't have any cash or change with us, then I thought about how we were bowing our heads to pray, thanking God for the food we have while this man is asking for a meal.  I got out my credit card & went after the man to tell him I'd buy him some lunch.  At that point he was at another table asking another woman for some food.  She was reaching into her purse as I came up to him & said, "I'll buy you something."

The man replied, "She's going to give me some money."

The lady said, "I only have about a dollar."

"That's ok," he said to both of us, "she's giving me some money, you don't need to buy me anything."

Funny how if he hadn't eaten in 2 days he was happy only getting $1 rather than having a meal bought for him!

Couponing the Easy Way

Couponing was all the rage in the States a few years ago, but it has never been as easy to save using coupons in Canada.  There are a few reasons for this...

1. There just aren't as many coupons available
2. Most stores don't allow you to use more than one coupon per item
3. Unlike the States, there are no "Double Coupon Days"

Recently, however there have been a few apps that have coupons you can use after you have shopped.  You simply buy whatever product they have listed, take a picture of your receipt, & choose which coupons you qualify for.  Once you   Since you are getting paid after the shopping trip, with multiple apps, it is possible to save more than what you spend on certain items if they have coupons on multiple apps!

Without further ado, here are the coupon apps I use, & how they work, listed in order of what I use most.  (In all cases, you must view the app before you shop so you know which products are listed.  Though sometime I have lucked out & unknowingly purchased an item I could get cashback for)

"PC Plus" - Superstores have a free loyalty card which you scan each time you shop.  Register your card online, & make sure you 'Load Your Offers' each week (agree to the weekly email to remind you to do this!).  The store has points offers every week, but your offers are specifically tailored to what you buy.  1000 points = $1.00.  When you have saved a minimum of 20,000 points you can redeem them towards your purchase.  Save them throughout the year & you can have free groceries at Christmastime!

"Coupgon" - This is an app that lets you save at the checkout.  You choose which coupons you are using today, then scan the QR Code at the checkout.  So far only certain stores are participating, but Atlantic Superstore (where I get most of my groceries) is one of them, check to see if one of your local stores participates.

"Checkout 51" - After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $20, you can cash out at anytime.  They will send you a check for your balance.

"Zweet" - After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $20, you can cash out at anytime.  You also collect points, & they have offers available you can use your points for like gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon, Tim Horton's, etc  They will send you a check for your balance.  What I like about Zweet, is they often have offers for "Any Milk", or "Eggs", so it's not a specific brand, but something I buy every week anyway.

"Snap by Groupon" - After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $20, you can cash out at anytime.  They will send you a check for your balance.

"Save.ca" -  After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $5, you can cash out at anytime.  They will send you a check for your balance.

"CartSmart" - I don't know how much you need to have saved before you can cash out, but you can get paid through PayPal, or a check.

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"EBates.ca" - For online shopping, you can find coupon codes on the EBates site, as well as earning cashback on all purchases that you make with the stores on the site.  All you need to do is go to ebates.ca then look for the online retailer you want to buy from (ex. Old Navy).  Any valid coupon codes will be listed.  Then click the link to go to that site & you will be redirected to Old Navy.  Once you check out on Old Navy's site, eBates will let you know how much you have earned.  Once you have earned $5.01, every 3 months they send you either a check, or pay you via PayPal!

Good luck, & happy savings!

My Crazy Day

Yesterday I brought my Pathfinder into the shop since I’ve had a leaky tire for the last 6 weeks or so.  I figured it was time to get it fixed.  It was a perfect time to do so, since PChad is gone on a trip so I’d have full use of the car.

 

This morning, as I was dropping Asher off at school, the check engine light in the car came on.  Since I don’t know a whole lot about vehicles, I figured I’d better bring IT to the shop since I didn’t want to do something foolish like drive around without oil.

 

The VW people said the Jetta should be done by lunchtime, & they’d give me a call.  A few of us girls were planning on getting together today, so I called my friend Sarah, & asked her to pick Chancery & I up on her way.

 

After out morning out, I still hadn’t heard from either dealership, so I had Sarah drop Chancery & I at the house.  By 3pm I was calling both places.  My truck hadn’t been looked at yet, & the car had a broken heat sensor they were working on replacing.

 

A few minutes later I got a call from VW…

“We noticed your headlight is out, would you like us to replace the bulb for you?”

 

Normally I’d say yes, since the bulbs on the Jetta are not the easiest to replace, but PChad had recently told me that the headlight has an ongoing issue…

“NO!  Please don’t change it!  If you bang on the headlight, it comes back on,” I told the service guy on the other end.

 

I’m sure he was wondering at the urgency in my voice, but we have had them replace a perfectly good bulb before, & I didn’t want an unnecessary expense!

 

Around 5pm, I got the call that my Pathfinder was ready, but since I have no other vehicle, & no driver, I asked to be picked up.  They didn’t have anyone available until 5:20 to drive me.  I had been hoping to be able to get my truck while Yumi (our college student) was still home, but she wanted to leave shortly after 5, so I asked to be picked up with the truck since it had the kids’ car seats in them that would be necessary to transport them to & fro.

 

Two minutes later, I got the call from VW that the Jetta was ready.  I asked if they could pick me up figuring I could cancel the Pathfinder pick-up for today, & get it tomorrow.  VW had no drivers available, but offered to send a Taxi at no charge to me.

 

I asked Yumi to hang out with the kids for a few minutes while I got the car, since the car seats were in the car & truck respectively, so I had no way to transport the kids in a cab.  She agreed, & I took my first Charlottetown taxi ride!  In a smelly, smoky cab!  But I got my car, so it all worked out.

 

Once I got home, since I had delayed Yumi, I offered to drive her to her friend’s house.  I loaded everyone up & off we went!  I got home from all the running around around 5:45, ordered Dominos, gave Chancery a bath, we ate dinner, & the kids even got to bed on time!  Whew!!!

 

Tomorrow I get the truck, we’ll see how smoothly that goes…

A Lesson In Government

I had to bring some papers to our accountant today, & I was trying to get the kids moving.

 

Me: “Come on, we need to go see the tax man!”

 

Asher: “We shouldn’t go see him, he’s just going to take our money!”

 

Me: “Well, we have to give it to the government anyway, & the tax man is the guy who makes sure we give the right amount.”

 

Asher: “But he never gives US any money back!”

 

Me: “Yes, he does.  Sometimes we pay too much & then he gives us some back.”

 

Asher: “What is the government anyway?”

 

Me: “It’s a group of people who make the rules, & then make sure people are following the rules.”

 

Chancery: “I wish the tax man could babysit us sometime.”

 

Asher: “He can’t babysit us!  He’s a MAN!”

 

…next up, a lesson in gender roles???

Finders, Keepers

 

This morning, Chancery & I were in line at Starbucks, & the woman behind us dropped some change on the floor.  She stooped to pick it up, but Chancery noticed a dime that the lady had missed.  Chancery picked up the dime, & held it up to the woman.

 

Good, she’s giving it back to the lady, I thought.

 

But no!

 

Chancery held it up to the lady & said, “It’s mine now!”

 

She has learned the value of money, but perhaps we need to teach her a few things about manner yet…

Money, Money, Money!

 

Ok, Readers, I’m in need of your opinions.  I am wondering how you handle you kids’ money.

Our current modus operandi is: PChad gives some pocket change to the kids, the kids put it in their piggy banks, the banks get full, I empty them into a jar, I use the money in the jar to pay for school lunches, etc.

 

It’s our money cycle.  If the kids get money as gifts, we usually use it to buy a toy/clothes/shoes for them.  So far, the kids don’t get allowance, so we haven’t had to deal with that either… yet.

 

Here’s where you come in!  How do you handle your kids’ money?  Or, if you don’t have kids, how WOULD you handle it?  What did your parents do when you were a kid, & did that system work?

 

Comments, please! 

Big “Helpers”

I had a few checks to deposit at the bank today.  Going to the bank is not at the top of my “Fun Things To Do With Kids” list.  There’s no drive through, so I have to unload the kids, & bring them with me.  The kids like to go to the tellers & ask for stickers & lollipops, but the lines are usually quite long.  I often go when the actual bank isn’t open, doing what I need to do at the ATMs.

 

This morning while I was in the midst of entering all the check info, I’d gotten to the point where it asks, “Would you like to do another transaction?”  Asher kept asking if he could push the buttons, & I kept telling him that he could not.  Despite my warnings, he reached out & hit the “Cancel” button, returning my card to me, & cancelling all the info I’d just entered.

 

So, I started at the beginning again…

 

Next stop, the grocery store.  I wonder if I can get out of there in under two hours?