Canadian Budget Binder

It’s October already can you believe it with Thanksgiving knocking on our door and the scary monsters are anticipating the fun of trick or treating. It’s that time when we give thanks for all the blessings in our life and appreciate this beautiful world we have been given to live in. Take the time to thank those that have helped you in any way even if it is opening a door or making you smile. The power of the spoken word can make someone’s day a little brighter, especially those that don’t hear it often enough.

The Grocery Game Challenge has been going on almost all year now and we are a few short months away from seeing how we made out for the year. Although I suggest checking in every few months to make sure you are on track for the most part if you stick to your budget you should hit the mark.

We are aiming to ramp up our goals for next year and make some new changes with our grocery budget. We hope the changes will allow us to better get a grip on our expenses. I’ve also updated the grocery game template that will help us keep our shops nice and tidy each week and easy to follow on the rules page. I will post it below, as one fan noted they couldn’t copy paste it and that was my fault as I posted it as a photo. You can add in what you like ie: Total SCOP, Total Discounts, etc. It’s up to you but it’s nice to see it all in one spot at the end of each fans shop.

Template: Copy paste this each week.

Name Your Store ie: Zehrs

We had a slow start to the month as our freezer is filled to the rim but we also had to take the time to go through it all. If you haven’t heard of the Canadian Food Inspection Beef Recall that’s been going on this past few weeks it’s important you do. Apparently there has been E Coli a potentially deadly bacteria found in beef products and they have shut down an Alberta plant XL Foods Manufacturing until further notice. There is a list of stores and a list of recalled products that potentially have the tainted meat and you are urged to read the list and go through your freezer to check the dates. This is another good reason to download my freezer inventory list so you have all this information at your finger tips.

As we know Halloween is creeping up and with that brings Mr.CBB back to the kitchen to whip up some scary sweet treats. Stick around to see what I come up with… subscribe to Canadian Budget Binder so you get all my scary emails this month sent right to your inbox. We enjoy Halloween but are also feeling the spending pressures of the Holiday season approaching so we are focusing on both scary little people, turkey and Christmas shopping. Now is a great time to start your shopping and saving money in your budget.

Christmas is one of the biggest reasons credit card debt grows exponentially simply because there is no planning for heightened expenses over the holidays. This is another reason why Canadians are in debt so we need to have a plan of action in place to stop this cycle of debt.

• Do you budget for the holidays?
• What do you do to lessen the expenses?

Finally, This month if I get 5 new grocery game challenger posters join I will draw an extra winner for the month of October. I’d like to see that the people who do post their shops do it because they “want” to save money in the budget and that my prize is just that a perk.

I would like to  see Canadian Budget Binder Fans around the world post their shops….

1. To save money in the grocery budget.
2. To hold themselves accountable for their shopping.
3. To motivate not only themselves but others.
4. To make like-minded friends who also post their shops.
5. To understand where their money is going when grocery shopping.
6. To think of other ways to save money in the budget.
7. To spend some time in the kitchen exploring new recipes.
8. To help with meal planning.
9. To encourage other Canadians to join the Grocery Game Challenge Movement.
10. To promote saving money wherever possible and make it a life-style change not something you feel you have to do, but something you should do.

What are your reasons for joining the Grocery Game Challenge?

Frequently Asked Question: Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop? No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have a few posters from around the world.

What are you waiting for? Join in and Save!

September Grocery Game Challenge Winner is…………… #10 shop belonging to Wingsze Blake. Congratulations WING and Congratulations to all of you who posted your shop, we are all winners… saving money is a big Win! So pat yourselves on the shoulder for investing in your finances and posting your shop. The biggest win of all. 

Coupon Match-Ups

Here are your Coupon Match-ups for the week  October 5-11, 2012 from around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better. Just one of my favourite Couponing sites for finding the hottest grocery deals in Canada! Check it out!

Wal-Mart

• 1x bag of carrots Sale $1.00
• 1x bag of yellow onions Sale $1.00
• 1x Rutabaga $1.91
• 2x 1L Neilson Cream Sale $2.00 Each
• 2x Black Diamond Cheese Bar 500g Sale $3.77-$1.00 coupon wub 2
• 2x broccoli PM No Frills Sale $0.77
• 2x Eggs Sale PM Freshco $1.67-$1.00 wub 2
• 1x Spray Deodorant $3.28 was on sale came up reg price so I had them apply the Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) so it was – FREE!
• Total Coupons Used: $2.00
• Total SCOP: $3.28
• Total Out Of Pocket: $18.33

Shoppers Drug Mart

• 2x Royale Bathroom Tissue Double Rolls Sale $3.99-$1.00 go-coupon
• Total Coupons Used: $2.00
• Total Out Of Pocket: $7.02

Weekly Grocery Game Challenge Results for Mr. and Mrs. CBB

• Total Grocery Budget for the Month of October: $190.00 or $63.33 per week for 3 weeks a month with one no-shop week.
• Total Coupons Used this Week : $4.00
• Total SCOP this week : $3.28
• Total Spent This Week:$25.35
• Total Spent So Far for October: $25.35
• Total Over/Under spend this shop: $37.98
• Total Over/Under spend for October: $37.98
• Total Left to Spend for October: $164.65
• Total Coupons Used In October : $4.00

Weekly Overview: We didn’t need too much this week so we have used up some of what we have in the house instead of piling on more. We’re hoping to set some new goals next year where if we overspend one month we make it up the next. I got this idea by another Grocery Game Poster, Mary who does this and it makes sense. If we have a yearly goal of $190 x 12= $2280 for example we need to stick to it even if that means we cut back the next month if we went over budget. The money has to come from somewhere so if it’s not budgeted in you need to make up for it. Don’t forget when making your grocery budget for all the birthday parties you might have to plan, holiday dinners etc. It’s better to estimate something than nothing at all. If you don’t use it then that’s extra money in your pocket. Smart! Thanks Mary.

Finally, I want to Thank everyone who has participated, mentioned, tweeted whatever you have done to get the word out about Canadian Budget Binder and  The Grocery Game Challenge. It’s because of all of your support I continue to turn on my computer and log in to this blog and to my social media outlets each and every day, so Thank-You. Happy Thanksgiving to All my Fans! -

XoXo Mr.CBB

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Related articles

• The Grocery Game Challenge Sept 17-23,2012- Bring On The Rain! (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
• The Grocery Game Challenge Sept 10-16 ~Almost Fall! (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
• The Grocery Game Challenge Sept 3-9,2012 Back to School! (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
• Are you a Grocery Store Snob? (canadianbudgetbinder.com)

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