In a post on my own blog I explained a little bit on how I organize my grocery list. So as you may have just read, I regularly use ad matching as a way to save on my groceries. I will walk you through this process in this post.

I also want to mention that I have heard from so many of you on how much you have enjoyed these posts! Thank you for your appreciation and you can continue to visit me on my personal blog as well during and after this Greater Things series.

Giant Tiger logoNow, on to the ad matching. Here is a list of stores that currently participate in an ad matching program:

  • Giant Tiger – They don’t just ad match but they will beat the price by 1¢. Also, if you bring your own reusable bags they will take 3¢ off for each bag used!
  • Walmart – They have most products that you can find at any of the other grocery stores!
  • No Frills – The prices here tend to be very low already so potential BIG savings at this store!
  • FreshCo – They will also beat the lower advertised price by 1¢ and they will accept internet/printable coupons.
  • Superstore – They have a coupon page on the their website that you can print directly from, so additional savings along with your ad matching!

Not a comprehensive list but I believe I have covered most of the stores that offer an ad match program. Some other important info to keep in mind:

  • You must have the current week’s flyer for the store that has the item on sale as they will check the date;
  • Keep an eye on the item being scanned in to ensure that the cashier inputs the ad match sale price; and
  • Have your ad matching flyers ready (think of the person behind you that has to wait while you look through every flyer trying to find that one item).

price-matchThis brings us to my next key point …

How to organize your flyers

In short, on my grocery list sheet (which you can view and print from here) I have my “legend” on the bottom left where I have a code for each store (e.g. FC=FreshCo, SS=Superstore, Z=Zehrs …. you get the picture). What I do with those codes is place them beside the item that I am going to ad match:

Example: Kraft Peanut Butter – FC $2.88

This simplifies things once you get to the till so there is no searching through the flyers to see what was on sale where. I place all the items on the conveyor belt after the non-ad match items, and notify the cashier at what point the ad matching begins!

I have also observed other people group their ad match items together and place the flyer on top of them; this is all about preference or doing what works for you.

Now, I know many of you may be wondering how much do you save doing this and is it worth it? I am glad you asked. Here is a quick example from my shopping trip this past week.

A few of the items I saved on:

Ad Match

In total I ad matched on 18 items and saved a total of $14.34

Let’s use this as an example for a year, so $14.34 x 50 = $717.00 (I knocked off 2 weeks for holidays or weeks you may not shop and this is not taking into account the tax savings).

Using your savings to contribute to Greater Things!

Now that you have saved that extra $$$, what are you going to do with it? Here’s an idea: gather them in a jar and at the end of the month or year (whatever you choose) place it in a Greater Things envelope. You may be amazed at how much money you can accumulate doing this!!

Let me know what you think! Or, if you need help starting this process yourself, come and talk to me. I am willing to help!

Until next time…

Lisa