The Frugal Canuck

Even the frugalist of people must shop sometimes. Whether it is a few necessities or splurging for that luxury item that I just have to have, it is important to search out and find a bargain whenever you can. One important aspect of finding bargains is ensuring that you actually need the item that you are buying. Just because electric socks are on buy-one-get-one doesn't mean you actually need them!

There are plenty of sites such as WOOT that provide some great deals for Americans, but they only ship to the United States.

With that in mind...here are some of my favourite online bargain sites...that actually work for Canadians!

1. Give-Away-Of-The-Day - (www.giveawayoftheday.com) - This site provides free full version software that can be downloaded anywhere in the world. The download is a full licensed version that is offered for one day only. The software must be downloaded, installed and have the installation code entered during the day it is offered. They also offer a 'sister site' offering free full version games each weekend. The idea is the same, just the software is a game...and only available on weekends (www.game.giveawayoftheday.com). Both sites are great resources for some free software.

2. Kijiji (www.kijiji.ca) - K'what? Kijiji is a free local classified ad site with thousands of local ads. While there are Kijiji sites dedicated to cities around the world, there are specific sites devoted almost 65 CANADIAN cities/towns. It is free to post and browse ads. You can find nearly anything on it. The site works like a good old fashioned classified ads. You find what you are looking for, contact the seller, and buy away! It is not an auction site like Ebay. A price is posted and you are free to negotiate a deal directly with the seller via phone or email. The best part is that you can actually go and see the exact item you are buying and check it out before you spend money.

3. Daily Circuit Breaker (thesource.ca) - Each day The Source (formerly Radio Shack) offers up a 'Daily Circuit Breaker' deal on its website. This deal is for an electronic related item. I have bought wireless speakers, cordless headphones and even a bluetooth headset off this site all at great bargain deals. The best part is that since you are dealing with a true box store returns are easy if not satisfied.

4. Home Depot Hammer Drop (www.homedepot.ca) - The Home Depot offers a daily 'Hammer Drop' deal. Items can range from power tools to hard hats but are typically offered up at great discounts. Being frugal has me completing several 'Do-it-yourself' projects around my house. This site has provided a few deals that have been helpful in some of these projects. (note: more on DIY in an upcoming post!)

5. Red Flag Deals - (www.redflagdeals.com) This is an online community devoted with finding bargains and deals for Canadians. From this site you can click directly to 100's of other commercial sites. There is a useful forum where people share bargain finds and deals that may or may not be published (ie. In-Store Specials). The information is from across Canada, so the information may or may not be useful to you (ie. Ipod Shuffles at $29 in Barrie Ontario isn't too helpful to those in Vancouver), but you are sure to find plenty of deals that are perfect for you!

A couple final warnings should be given when it comes to all these 'Deal' sites. First, these 'deals' are designed to drag you to the company's website on a regular basis. They are hoping that not only will you view the 'Deal', but that you will also browse their entire site and purchase something else along the way. And...always remember...A deal on something you don't need is not a deal at all. A big part of being frugal is prioritizing purchases in your life, knowing what you need to purchase and what you can do without. Just because it is a great deal, doesn't mean you should buy it. Happy...shopping...but remember...Be Frugal!

Photo Credit - BuyBargainAndReview.com

Well, it is that time once again! The time that we all lay out what we will do this year and this time we mean it!

While New Year's Resolutions may not always work out, but they are a good start when trying to make changes in one's life. This year I have made 3 New Year's Resolutions that all relate to a frugal life!


1. Blogging - Chronicle my Frugal Journey on this blog as a way to motivate myself to continue to 'Frugalize' my life and to share the lessons I learn along the way. Many bloggers start out with good intentions and quickly lose interest in their blogs, I will work at ensuring I provide regular, reliable and relevant content to my readership! This blog serves a few purposes for me. It allows me to track and communicate my frugal progress, share my learning, and allow me to connect with other frugalers!

2. Frugality - I will continue to find more and more ways to continue to live more frugally, while not compromising the things I enjoy in life. Many people interpret fugality as being cheap or doing without things. I am willing to forgo some luxuries in life, but there are many things I won't give up, but I will work at finding ways to be more frugal about how I attain these items. A recent example is coffee. I love a couple cups of good coffee in the morning. I have a favourite brand and it isn't the cheap grocery store brand. I have tried cheaper brands, but they just don't cut it. So instead I found ways to be more frugal about how much I pay for that brand and how much I use/waste.

3. Decluttering - Clutter seems to be a challenge in everybody's life. We all have a room, or rooms full of STUFF. I believe that this clutter leads to inefficiencies that take a direct bite out of your monthly budget. Throughout this year I will create and implement (and share) a focussed decluttering program for my home (sheds included). The challenge will be to reduce the stuff I have...and find creative, inexpensive ways to store what I do 'need'!


Tomorrow on The Frugal Canuck...My top 5 Online Bargain Sites...FOR CANADIANS!


Photo Credit: Colorcubic.com

Welcome to a blog focussed on Frugal Living for Canadians. During these difficult economic times it is even more important that we learn how to get the most of each and every dollar. As I browsed the web looking for money saving ideas that made sense in my life I became frustrated with the lack of Canadian oriented sites. While there is much one can learn about frugal living from American or International Frugal sites, there are also many aspects of frugal living that do not translate easily for Canadians. Some of the Blog posts I have found interest in and been disappointed with the content not applying to Canadians included, "Getting a Better Deal when Buying a Used Car", "Tax Shelters for the Average Income", and "Free High Interest Savings Accounts".

So I created this blog which I will share what I discover along my journey towards a frugal life in Canada.

It is important to clarify what I mean by frugal living. Many consider frugal living to be living cheap. To me they are not necessarily the same thing. I earn enough money to afford a comfortable lifestyle. While not independently wealthy, I have no problems affording the current lifestyle in which I live. Frugal to me mean making wise and sensible decisions about how I spend my money, while at the same time enjoying the things that are important to me. For example, some living a frugal life may choose a generic brand of beer to save money, but to me I am more then willing to pay more for the beer of my choice. Where frugality comes into it is that I would love to find ways to get a better deal for that chosen brew.

Frugal living must also be easy for me. I am not lazy, but there are many things I would rather do then spend a lot of time trying to save money. Time is money. That said, I do enjoy finding frugal savings and sharing my knowledge with others. I am not a frugal expert, though hope to be on a journey towards such a title.

Now I must admit that my frugal journey began before this blog. I have already made several frugal changes in my life. We live in a reasonable sized home (as opposed to the large homes many of our friends bought with large mortgages) and we purchased a highly fuel efficient vehicle.

Like what you read? Link to it! Have a related blog? Drop me a line, I would love to check it out and exchange links! Got a question or idea for a post?...email me...thefrugalcanuck (at) gmail.com.

To me the next step is to find way to save money on everyday expenses. So here we go...

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thefrugalcanuck (at) gmail.com