Hello. My name is Jess... I am a Couponer.

My name is Jess. I am the proud Momma of a beautiful baby boy, Big B, born this past July. I'm 25 years old, and for the time being, a stay at home Mom. I don't have a fabulous story as to why I started couponing, really. I almost think I was brainwashed into it. lol

Basically, during my pregnancy with Big B I had a lot of insomnia. I was up until all hours of the night. To get through it, sometimes I read. Sometimes I listened to music. But most of the time, I watched TV in our bedroom. At the time, TLC just started airing "Extreme Couponing". They played marathons upon marathons of this show. I would fall asleep (eventually) watching this show and I kinda got hooked from there. Mind you, I see what the men and women on this show are getting - mostly cleaning products or non nutritious foods, so I knew it was limited to begin with. I wasn't planning on being one of those broads with 1000 boxes of pasta in her basement. But I figured, if I can save a few bucks here and there, why not. I was preparing to go on Maternity leave and knew that my income was going to be cut down 45% of what I was used to making (which wasn't overly much to begin with). I knew that a baby costs a lot of money. And I knew that I didn't want my boyfriend to feel like I was just sitting there and not trying to contribute to the family. So, I thought I'd give it a go.

Well. Here's the kicker... in Canada, for whatever reason, it is next to impossible to shop like those people on that show. There are no doubling on coupons (though I hear a few small towns grocery stores will do this every once in a while - but very rare and with restrictions). There are very limited opportunities to 'stack' (using more than one coupon on one single item). The store cards are run differently, there are very few places that will give you overages - and those places are not ones where you can stack - so that makes it even harder to do. There are a lot more rules, regulations and walls to run into here in Canada. But for me, this makes it more of a challenge. And I like being challenged. It feels like a huge chess game. Takes a lot of plotting and planning to hit it big - Free!

There is a lot to learn to be a smart couponer in Canada - and I'm not going to say I know it all. I'm still learning. But I do believe I have a good grasp at the concept, rules and regulations. And like everything, these rules are generally Province specific. I could not do what I do in Ontario. Or Quebec. They have their own rules, store regulations etc. So, as I write - I am writing my experiences from the Central Alberta view point. My shopping area includes Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan. This is where I find my deals.

I will post my deals, finds and tricks that I know in hopes to encourage others to take advantage of what others do frequently. It takes some time, dedication and patience, but it all is worth it in the end when you end up with free or next to free items that you and your family use on a daily bases.