New Brunswick couponer says saving still possible amid sky-high prices

If your weekend chores took you to the grocery store, you might still be a little shaken up by your total at the checkout.

Soaring prices don’t look to decrease anytime soon with inflation on the rise and experts forecasting a recession ahead.

In June, Food Banks Canada data showed 23 per cent of Canadians reported eating “less than they should” due to rising inflation.

“This summer will be the toughest Canada’s food banks have ever experienced in our 41-year history,” said Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley.

“The majority of food banks in every region of Canada are already stretched to their limits, with demand expected to remain high throughout the summer months as more and more Canadians struggle to cope with rising inflation.”

READ MORE: Atlantic Canadians making more cuts as interest rates rise, data shows

With prices still climbing, is it even possible to find savings anymore?

Ruth Ann Swansburg, once known as the Moncton Coupon Lady, says it’s not only possible, it’s essential.

“Budgets just are not big enough these days to buy the way we used to buy,” she says.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Budgets just are not big enough these days to buy the way we used to buy," she says.

Swansburg has expanded her brand beyond just couponing, but still has a tip or two to share on cutting costs.

She says some of the old staples have gone the way of the dinosaur.

“Price matching has disappeared at a lot of stores that used to have it,” she says.

“As far as shopping around, it used to be really common to go through the fliers and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to this store for this and that store for that’ … It’s just not feasible anymore with the price of gas or transportation to get between the stores.”

Swansburg says coupons have made a comeback after being sidelined through much of the COVID-19 pandemic, and popular points programs are worth checking out.

READ MORE: Inflation climbed even higher in June amid ‘reopening effect’, economists predict

She also says a recent phenomenon of smartphone applications offering cashback rebates on certain products is on the rise.

Apps like Checkout 51 and Caddle offer weekly product-specific deals that can get you some of the money you spend back after purchase.

Shoppers need to sign up, check the offers, save their receipts and scan them into the app after purchase to get a small amount of money back.

Once you’ve reached the company’s threshold to “cash out,” you can get that money back either through direct deposit or via cheque.

Swansburg says these apps are only getting better.

“I have noticed lately that some of them are becoming more useful,” she says.

“There are actually brands of milk right now on Caddle, which is one of the apps, Northumberland milk, sour cream, coffee cream. There are cashback offers on that. You never usually see offers on dairy products, so they’re worth checking out.”

She says the app tracks your purchases the same way some of the loyalty programs do, so you have to be comfortable having a bit of your data shared.

She also acknowledges the process can seem a little daunting at first, but that saving a dollar this week over last is still saving.

“It adds up,” she says.