1. Make your List – Make your lists (I say lists as there should be 2 lists) of what you NEED and what you WANT! They are totally different.
2. Check your Flyers– Check your flyers to find the best overall savings! It can make a huge difference in how much you save! I use the Flyer Apps such as Flipp and Reebee as it allows me to double check a price and price match in-store if necessary.
3. Pick the best Shopping Day for You – My favourite or best shopping days are Friday or Monday evening. I say Friday as if there are any limited time specials, no tax days this is usually one of those days. The new flyers start for most stores. My favourite time to shop is Monday evening.
4. Monday regular staff come in and restock shelves, unload new orders etc. If things ran low on the weekend chances are they have them ordered in now:) Monday is a valid day for Shopper’s special deals. I find that on Monday evenings; staff has checked dates from products from the weekend and marked down bread products, meat, fish and poultry are marked down; all to make room for the Fresh stuff for the week. This is normally when I stock up on our protein. If you have coupons you can use them in addition to the markdowns for even more savings!
5. Take Reusable bags – They do not need to be cloth or even purchased; take back the plastic bags you brought your groceries in last week. Most retailers give some sort of credit or bonus points for using them. **Did you know if you purchase a reusable bag at Sobeys and it wears out they will replace it at no charge?
6. Ensure you have your loyalty cards – PC Optimum or Air Miles whichever card or cards you need ensure you have them with you! I use the PC  Optimum Points App and the Air Miles app so if I forget my card they can scan my phone; make sure you download new offers each week to get maximum points.
7. Watch for In-store Promos and Packaging Coupons – Take a moment to look at the boxes. Very often you will see identical items side by side however one may have a coupon in the box to get a free product and the other may not have any promotion. Why not choose the one with the Free Product Coupon inside to get the most for your buck? It’s great to see often when out shopping for non-advertised store specials. This is great to save extra especially when you don’t expect it.
8. Check the packaging of the box for quantity! I found this very frequently in single oatmeal packages and cereal bars. A box of single serves regular oatmeal may have 10 packages in the box while the chocolate chip oatmeal box only has 6 packages in it. I have seen boxes of cereal bars vary from 5 – 10 per box. That came to make a difference between 1 week of breakfast & school snacks or TWICE that!
9. Check Cash Back Weekly options: Checkout51, Caddle,  – Each week there are new offers; never the same and you can easily claim cash back each week!
10. Complete the survey at the bottom of the receipt. It’s a great way to give feedback directly to the store and there are high chances you could win a gift card. Most survey draws are limited to 250 entries so good chance to win!
11. Complete any Mail in Rebates – If you make a habit of doing them up as soon as you get home; it’s done and you’ll never miss a rebate!
12. Check the packaging for Pins or Codes – If you purchased items such as Pampers or Lunch Mates be sure to get your pins/bucks/points out of your packaging so that you can build up your rewards! If not it’s like throwing money in the trash!
13. Package Refunds– Bottle deposits are the most popular that people are familiar with however there are other options as well. TerraCycle is another great free program that you can send in your packaging in pre-paid envelopes to raise money for charity!

It may seem like a lot however after a few grocery trips and going through the steps it won’t take any time before your doing it naturally and saving money on each trip!