Let Somone Else do Your Work for You!

I have found it really time consuming to go through the grocery fliers every week trying to identify good deals. In some cases I recognize the good deals right away, but I still struggle with knowing the base price of most products. This causes me to walk around stores for hours trying to establish baselines and find deals. That is why I almost sobbed in happiness when I found a blog where an expert goes through the Ottawa grocery fliers and picks out the good deals!  Hallelujah! This week I picked up their gold pick, which is a bag of frozen jumbo raw zipper back tiger shrimp for $5 off. They were SOOOO good that we went back and picked up another bag. That's $5 for the project and $5 for the real me.  I am so glad I found this blog.  Now I can spend more time buying the deals and less time trying to find them. This is a lesson I can try to bring with me into my future endeavors - Look for cases where others have already done the work for you.  No point trying to invent the wheel.  You might miss a deal or two, but you'll find many more deals than you would have if you tried to do it yourself. Hopefully the project will pick up in the next month with this in my arsenal.

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Collecting Data

I'm really having trouble finding grocery savings that meet the 1% threshold rule, especially since I have to split half of the savings with the 'real world me'. I have realised that part of the problem is that even though I have been trying to save for a while, there are many items in the weekly flyers that I still don't know what the normal cost would be so it's difficult to spot the deals. So it's time to do something more drastic. Last Friday I walked through the local grocery store and wrote down the price of over 100 things. I plan to do this every two weeks or so until I can't stand it anymore. It took me over an hour, but it will be worth it because I will end up with a database on what my normal purchases usually cost so I can spot the deals and even see the seasonal valleys and peaks for each item. Some might think this is a bit overboard, but I am determined to keep doubling and this is what I have to do to do it right now. And as an added bonus, it will make me save money in the future when groceries are off the doubling radar.

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Swagbucks

I have been hearing alot about Swagbucks over the past year or so. I finally decided to check it out and decided to sign up. You get "Swag Bucks" for things like using their search engine, doing surveys and using thier toolbar. Eventually, these "Swag Bucks" can earn you things like Amazon.com or Starbucks gift cards, among other things. I've used it for about 3 days now and I am aleady almost 1/2 way to a $5 Amazon card. Not bad and it fits in well with my current level since I only need to make $3.20 for a transaction to qualify.

I made a few more bucks on one grocery purchase, but they are much more difficult to find on this level. I will have to keep my eyes open for more ways to make a few bucks.

Level 17 Strategy and Due Date

I've been coming up with some pretty creative ways to save money in unusal ways. My wife had me buy some Vanilla Extract, but it turned out we already had some. I often would have just shrugged and thought to myself, "Money comes, money goes". I decided to return the bottle and give half to the double project (figured 50% chance we would have eventually used it anyways...) I was also going to meet my wife at a restaurant and then head over to my inlaws. I calculated that I could save $2.56 in gas if I took a bit more time and just drove home first so we could just take 1 car around town. These are great ideas aren't they? They are, but they didn't make me enough money to be ventures above the 1% of the current level. I can only participate in ventures that I believe will gain me more than $3.60 (ie. 1% of the $360 I need to complete this level.

Not to be discouraged, I went to an NHL game last night and instead of paying the $10 for parking, I parked 2Km away and ran in the freezing cold to the game. Since I definitely would have paid the $10 normally, this one all goes towards the project, plus the gas I saved! Also I made one grocery purchase which saved me approx $8. Overall, I have already saved $18 after two days, which is 5% of this level. So I guess this is my strategy - keep hunting for grocery deals while also keeping my eye out for other creative ways to save money, but they have to meet the threshold. I have a feeling this will be the last level this will work for a 3-4 month doubling period. Since I started gaining money two days ago, I will set my new deadline for three months from that date, which is April 13. Actually, that sounds like a terrible date since it is right in the middle of tax time so instead I will give myself an extra month and choose May 13, 2011.

Donated more Food to Charity!

Today I walked over to the grocery store and bought two cans of food for $2.38 from my overflow of the last level. Every time I do this it makes me feel proud that some needy family will have more food because of my work from this project. Every little bit helps. Hopefully I will make even more for them on Level 17.

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I was Lazy, not Late! (Oh, and I Completed Step 16)

Seriously! I really met my October 1st deadline, but I was bogged down with something horrible. Something so terrible that you will easily see why I was so late in posting (insert sarcasm here). You see, I had to do some math. That's right - math. Now I know what you're thinking. Firstly, how could a little math stop someone from posting on thier blog for 4 straight months, including over the holidays. Secondly, you are probably thinking that I am some sort of Math hater. Well, the truth is I love Math. I actually like it, but for some reason every time I sat down and thought I should write my post, I let the math stop me. It wasn't even the Math itself. It was just the effort involved in it. That was the old me. I have been doing some soul searching over the holidays and have started off the new year right. I am so focused these days that I can't imagine falling back into my lazy ways ever again. Yes, yes, I know I have said things like that before but this time I am serious. I am tired of losing focus on this project and other things I hold dear to me. I am committing right now to keep this project going no matter what. My first rule that has come out of this 'awakening' is that I have to post at least two times a month, even if there is no progress. That will hopefully give me the out I need if life gets too hectic, but will force me to keep thinking about it every few weeks which will keep things going for the longer term. I was reviewing other people's progress and it is very daunting to see how many people have let thier projects die. I must admit I even contemplated ending my own doubling adventure during my period of self analysis. BUT I am BACK and here to stay! I have realised that although I used to take insanely long breaks, I do have something that over 90% of the other doubler's seem to lack (the ones that quit). I may leave, but I ALWAYS come back. You might even call me the Prodigal Doubler. Ok, now I think I am getting a bit carried away.

Now on to bigger and better news. I have completed step 16! Yahoo! I did it by saving money on groceries again. I ended up overshooting by $4.80, which I will split with Charity. It's nice to get a small treat, but the real benefit is the feeling of giving to others in need. (Cue corny 'Full House' type music). I'll leave this post here and update my numbers. I'll give a bit of a think of what my strategy for Step 17 will be and will post it in the next few weeks.

Thanks for still reading (if there's anyone out there still listening)

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Chuggin' along

Picked up some more on sale groceries today. It definitely is slower going this level. I think only big ticket items are going to work next level. I purchased a notepad today (with double project money) so I can write down the weekly specials I am interested in. It was getting to be too much of a hassle fumbling with the coupons at the store.

Running out of Time

Yikes! I am running out of time before this step needs to be completed. Only one month to go! I saved some approximately $15 today purchasing items on sale from the grocery store. I also saved a huge amount by buying beer in Quebec instead of Ontario. I saved $15 from one single 2-4. I never realised how much taxes could differ from one province to another. I'll have to keep my eyes out for other such deals. It's a good thing I set this deadline or I probably wouldn't think about the project for 3 more months. I am determined to double by Oct 1st as declared!

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I Sealed my Own Driveway

I found a huge opportunity to save money last week. Every 2 years I pay a company to seal my driveway, but I have noticed that many of my neighbors do thier own. I researched it and found that I can save a LOT of money doing it myself. I went to the local hardware store and bought the sealant and a roll on brush and went to town. It was surprisingly easy, although I don't think I did quite as good a job as the professionals. Still, it looks pretty good and I saved a whopping $120 ($60 for the project)! Unfortunately the paint roller broke and I had to buy another one. And then I ruined my pants so I had to buy new ones. At first I was very annoyed as this was going to cut into my profits, but in the end I found some unbelievably cheap $3.50 pants that are really good quality. They were so great I bought two! In the end I made $62.97 for the project. This puts me slightly ahead of the pace to meet my deadline of October 1st.

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Just when your day can't get any worse... it gets better

I had to drive my wife to class today and grumbled a bit when I had to pay $1.50 for parking. Then she bought a drink and the vending machine short changed her by a quarter. Grrr.... What could possibly happen to us next? Well I looked over and saw a crisp new $10 bill sitting on the ground. Suddenly I didn't care that we just lost $1.75. I added it all to my stake since found money is fair game. 6.25% closer to the end of step 16! I also checked my doubling bank account and found that I had made 2 cents in May and 6 cents in June. Not much but it is PASSIVE income, which is the best kind!

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Due date set for Current Level

I didn't realise that so much time has gone by since I completed step 15. One entire month! I was on vacation for some of it though, which is part of the reason I wasn't setting a due date. I didn't want to consider myself on the clock while I was trying to relax. The vacation is now done, so I will put my standard 3 months due date on, which means I need to complete step 16 by October 1st, 2010. I did make two purchases before my vacation that were not recorded. Firstly, I purchased a pair of pants for an unbelievable price of $3.50. These are used pants, but they are in good condition. I don't think I can use the base price of $20 like the last pair of pants since they are used and may wear out quicker, so I will half it and say they're regularly $10 for a savings of $6.50. Halfing that according to the rules for coupons/sales, etc. gives a profit of $3.25 to the project. I also bought 4 more jars of Ragu on sale for $0.99, for a savings of $3.20/2=$1.60 So that is $4.85 for the project. I'll need to do better than that at this level.

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Donated to Charity

I had $2.98 reserved for charity so I walked over to the grocery store today and bought 3 $0.99 cans of food for the food bank. Imagine my dismay when one of them only turned out to be $0.89 cents! I ended up with 11 cents so I put it in the blind dogs head again (in case you missed my earlier posts, it's like a giant dog piggy bank to support guide dogs or something). I must admit, I never realised how satisfying it is to donate, especially food which is something 'real' that families need. And it's all because of the doubling project. Awesome!

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Completed Level 15!

I usually go to a certain place to get my hair cut and in fact I went to get it done, but he was too busy that day. I usually would just try again, but instead I got my wife to cut my hair, which I havn't done in about 3 years. She did a really good job. I figure the money saved here qualifies since I almost certainly would have just gone the next day or so. If memory serves me corretly, his hair cuts cost about $12 and I usually tip him $3 (he is insanely fast - I am usually in and out of the store in five minutes; no joke!) Savings are always split between the project and the 'real' me, so that is $7.50 saved for the project, which puts me over the top for Level 15 for a total of $165.95. Splitting the extra gives $2.98 to charity and $2.97 to buy some thing for myself.

Level 16, here I come!

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More Deals

Today I went a bit out of my way to purchase something to save $2.50. In hind sight, it was not a good deal. I had to drive 8.8km there and back, which results in a cost of $0.88 to the project. Subtract this off the $2.50 savings and you get $1.62. Since the project only gets 1/2 of the profits from saving, this is a $0.81 cent gain, which is JUST what I need to make it qualify. This is fine, except we unexpectedly ended up in the area later at night to go to a restaurant, so if I had just waited a few hours I could have tacked on the $0.90 I wasted driving there the first time. Oh well, I guess you can't win them all. I also bought some Gatoraid for $3.99 (Reg $6.49), Apple Juice for $0.70 (On sale at Loblaws for $1.25 on what they apparently call a 'blowout'), and some shampoo for $1.99 (Reg $3.72). Calculating it all out, gives the project another $6.12 for a total of $158.65. I also calculated that otherwise, I've gone 4km out of my way, which translates to a 20c cost to the project. Only a buck sixty five to go!

More grocery savings

I bought some Gatoraid for $3.99 and priced it at $6.49 at my usual grocery store. I guess they don't consider it food because it is surprisingly taxed, which is bad for the real me and good for the double project (because I saved even more). I also bought some mayonaise for $2.97, which I priced at $4.79. This all comes to a gain of $2.32 for the project. I am creeping up to the finish. I wish there was something I could just buy and get it over with, but there weren't too many good deals this week. I guess I am starting to be stocked up with all the non-perishables we use so this method may slow down soon. Only $7.47 to go and then I am done level 15!

Bought shoes, shoes and more shoes

My wife and I needed new shoes. She needed new jogging shoes and I needed both joggers and cross trainers. Usually I would just go out and buy shoes when I need them, but this time I watched for sales. I usually buy my shoes at the running room, but this sale took me over to Sports Experts. I found cross trainers on sale for 59.99 (reg 99.99). I also found a nice pair of joggers that were usually 179.99, but were on sale for $119.99. My wife found a pair for the same deal. This was starting to look like a total savings of $160, $80 of which would be for the double project. Wow! Then I remembered that I would normally have bought them at the running room, so I headed over there to check out the prices. They ranged from $129.99 to $169.99. It is impossible to figure out exactly which pair I would have chosen so I decided I would be as conservative as possible and price them at $129.99. I really want to make sure this project doesn't affect my finances negatively, so this ensures it. So that is a $10 savings from both sets of jogging shoes. The running room doesn't have cross trainers so I decided to let the $40 savings stand on the other ones. $59.99 for Adidas cross trainers is a really good deal. So that totals $67.80 (including tax) in savings, $33.90 of which go to the double project. I also purchased something else on sale, which netted me $3.57 for the project. I am over the $150 mark and almost done this level! Time to browse the fliers!

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Quick update

Quick update today. I bought three more things that gained $1.32, $1.78 and $3.67 for the project today. Found many things that were $1.50 off, which is too low since I need $0.80 after halfing it. So I am up $6.77 for a total of $112.74 today.

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Bought something for myself

I had 4.77 burning a hole in my pocket (overshoots from previous levels). I decided to spend $2.25 on some 'wallet windows'. This is what people usually put pictures in, but being the crazy lunatic that I am, I plan to put coupons in them. That way I can flip through them at the store without having to fumble around with them. That still leaves me with $2.22 to buy things with. I'm a rich man!

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Gave to the Food Bank

I had $4.77 ear marked for charity so today I walked down to the grocery store and purchased 5 cans of vegetables (corn, beans, carrots, peas, etc.) for $0.89 each and placed them in the bin for the local food bank. It felt really great to know that because of the work I have been putting into my project, some families are going to have an extra can of vegetables some night when they would otherwise have gone without. I also dropped two coins into the 'blind dog' piggy bank to round out the $4.77.

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Car savings

I made two more purchases today.

1) Motor Oil. My car is not the best. I have to add a quart between oil changes as it seems to burn or leak it all before 5000Km. I have always just purchased an extra quart from the local gas station. I knew I was paying more, but I did not know how much more. I priced it at $5.49 where I usually buy it and then I went to Canadian Tire and found some on sale for $2.49 a quart. It was such a good savings that I decided to buy 8. With the reduction in taxes saved and splitting the savings between the real me and the project, this netted a cool $13.56 for the project.

2) When I priced the motor oil, I decided to also price the windshield washer fluid, which was $4.99. I usually buy it at the gas station as well. I found some summer stuff for $1 at Canadian Tire so I purchased two (only two because I can't use it when the winter comes or it will freeze. You have to buy the -40C stuff then. That netted me $4.51 for the project.

So with just two purchases, the project is $18.07 richer for a total of $105.97.

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