Shopper's Drug Mart Bonus Redemption......

This past week was a bonus points redemption event at Shopper's Drug Mart.  I had been saving up my points and had 130,000 points that I could redeem for $200 worth of free product.

Here is what I got for under $17 out of pocket.

I got 4 bottles of Aveeno body lotion, for the winter.  A Dove shampoo and conditioner.  An eight pack of Activia yogurt, a jar of pasta sauce, and two loaves of bread.  Plus some chocolate/mint cookie things for the Christmas party.

Also four pizzas for the freezer, a couple can's of baked beans, 4 litre bag of milk and the big ticket item 5 containers of coffee which if I had, had to pay for would have cost $95.  When did coffee get so expensive?

Pleased with what I got and everything was things we use and need, especially the coffee.  If you're in Canada, and collect PC points, did you cash in this past weekend?

Bonus Redemption at SDM

 SDM - Shopper's Drug Mart

I had a few points saved up, 130,000 to be precise, so I knew I could do 2 bonus points redemption.  My level was redeem 50,000 points for $75 worth of free product.  It would normally be only $50 worth of free product.

Now the key to doing these redemptions is to get as close to $75 before tax as possible.  This is what I got with my first 50,000 points.  Just bits and bobs we needed in the house, other than the wine gums.  I was just under $75 before tax, so picked these up for $3 to get me over.

So I ended up paying $5.47 out of pocket.  If I wasn't getting these things for free I wouldn't have gone out of my way to buy some of these things, as they were a little more expensive than I would generally pay; especially the yogurt.

This is what I got for my second 50,000 point redemption.  I had to bite the bullet and get hubby some razor blades, as they are so hard to find at a good price.  These were around 20 cents more expensive per blade than the ones on sale, which of course they didn't have in stock.  I swear they take them off the shelf when it's bonus redemption time.

I ended up paying $12.41 out of pocket, but only because I had to pay $10.06 in taxes.

Regardless I am super pleased as I got $167.88 worth of product for only $17.88.  I only have the 30,000 points left, so will build them up until I can cash them in again.

Did any of the Canadian's reader's cash in their points? 

How do our prices compare here in Canada to yours, in your part of the world?

Mini Closet makeover

One of the jobs to do this year was re-jig the coset to make more use of the 45' by 60" space.  We haven't touched it since we moved in other than paint it.  The first thing I needed to do was have a clean out of things we haven't used or worn in an age.

All the empty shelves were ones I wanted to remove, other than the bottom two on the right.

Hubby removed all the shelves I wanted rid of, and then we made a start on filling all the holes in the walls, which I sanded and then painted.  Yes that's a safe in the wall.

This is what I donated to the charity shop from out closet, although one bag was from our linen closet, as I had a clean out there as well.

The biggest expense in this closet mini makeover was the purchase of this chest of drawers.  I got these from Ikea.  I wanted a certain size, it had to be white and I didn't want drawer handles that stuck out.  These are from the Nordli collection.  

Although the reviews weren't hugely positive, we are very happy with them.  They are sturdy, not the easiest to put together but that's typical of Ikea.  Plus you could do different "layouts/combinations."  This one was the best for us and our space.

I spent a delightful hour or so, doing the Marie Kondo folding method of placing our clothes in the dresser.  However although I like the way the clothes are folded, I don't get the:

"Joy Tip: While folding, apply firm, loving pressure and thank your clothes for supporting you."

Just saying!!🙄

Now the following photos are out of order and for some reason I can't move them around????

This is a finished view of the closet.

This too is the completed look, notice how there is nothing on the floor now.

I purchased a couple of lidded baskets to put some odds and ends in.  They were in Shopper's Drug Mart as a seasonal product and around $15 each, I got two.

I got this shoe tower from Amazon and it is perfect.  It technically hold 7 pairs of shoes but as you can see I have more there.  You can see the product in more detail here on the Amazon website.  This unit was flat packed but was simple enough to put together, for hubby.

I also picked up this divider set to store my handbags, again from Amazon and you can see it in more detail here.  The dividers can be used for many other reasons as well.

Now the key to everything fitting and looking tidy was giving the closet a good clean out, as what we had before wouldn't fit like it does now.  The top shelf by my handbags is all hubby's CPAP stuff, and I have yet to have a clean out and organize that, as hubby is getting some updated equipment.  So will sort all that out when he gets the new stuff.

The black handbag is a Coach one, I am going to hopefully sell that one as it is way too big for me now.  Plus the bigger the handbag, the more stuff you lug around I find.

Finally, budget.  I had originally hoped to do this for around $500.  BUT, the original unit I was looking up went off sale and it doubled in price to over $700.  So I went with plan B, and bought the units from Ikea, which in fact worked out better with more storage.  Although I have given you links to the products I got from Amazon I was able to get both the shoe storage and the dividers at a slightly cheaper price.  The baskets from Shopper's were spur of the moment buys, not planned.

All the supplies for fixing the walls we had on hand, so that was free.

So all in all I was probably $160 - $175 over budget.  Coming in at around $660 - $675 for this.  A lot cheaper than having a company come in and it suits our needs exactly.

So that is one job ticked off the list for this year.

Bonus Redemption Week

 If you're in Canada, you'll know exactly what that title means.  Shopper's Drug Mart are having their "Mega Bonus Redemption Week." The equivalent store in the US is CVS, in the UK, Boots.  We collect points when we shop there or in any other of the Presidents Choice brand stores.  I also have a Presidents Choice Mastercard and earn points on that as well.

You normally get $1 per 1,000 points when you cash them in.  As you can see you can get more for your points during this bonus redemption time which happens at this level once per year around Black Friday time.

I was lucky and had enough points to be able to cash in 130,000 points to get $200 worth of product in the store for free.  A lot of folk cash their points in the electronics, especially Nintendo and PS5's that sort of thing.  I neither want nor do I need that sort of thing, so I just stock up on everyday things.

The key to all of this is that you have to have enough product before the 13% taxes are added.  So I needed to spend $200 before tax, to be able to cash in the points.  I was a bit bummed as I only had one coupon to use and that was for the BOOM CHICKA POP snacks; and that was a buy one get on free.  Still I saved over $6 on those with the coupon, and I'll use the snacks for our get together next week.

You can never have enough toilet paper.  Remember when toilet paper was in short supply during COVID?

So it took me a full hour of going round the store to get all that and tally it all up.  As you can see it added up to $201.07 before the taxes were added.  

After I cashed in my points, I paid $21.91 out of pocket.  We are stocked up on a number of things so all in all, it was a productive 1 1/2 hours, which includes driving time to and from the store.

I came home and flaked out in the chair.......seems I am not fully recovered from this cold!

Did any of you who are in Canada cash in your points?

Bits and bobs...........

Just having a catch up.  Been a busy weekend with one thing and another.  Snowed on Sunday, so we had a lazy snow day.  Hubby was watching football games from the UK.  He wanted to see the Wrexham game.  We watched the series on Netflix, Welcome to Wrexham, which was interesting.

On Saturday I went to Shopper's Drug Mart to pick up some things that were on sale.  You also got either 20 or 30k in points when you spent over $60.  I was lucky and got the 30k.  I stocked up on toilet paper; had coupons to make them cheaper.  Stocked up on coffee and picked up some "fancier" shampoo that was on clearance, along with the usual eggs.

This is what I spent and how many points I ended up with.

I spent $65.32, and got over 36k in points which is worth $36.  I had already cashed in $60 worth of points the day before, so my balance is down slightly at 313,114 points.  When I was in SDM, I actually stopped in my tracks as I was wandering round as I was shocked at the price increases in a lot of items.  I truly can't believe how much everything has gone up.

Got a couple of book reviews published also on Saturday, you can read them, here and here.

Someone was saying I didn't have much produce in my fridge.  I had a look (Sunday morning) and I have 3 romaine lettuce hearts, 3 sweet peppers, cabbage, carrots, rutabaga, courgette/zucchini, red onions, yellow onions and a cauliflower.  I maybe didn't have much in the photos, here.  I also have mandarins and bananas in the fruit bowl and potatoes in the cupboard.

I am going to make cabbage roll casserole, cauliflower with cheese sauce and garlic bread; shepherds pie, chicken and veggie stir fry this week, so that will use up a lot of veggies.  I may also make a lentil and sweet pepper soup for my lunch this week.  I got the sweet peppers on sale for $1.89 for the 3 which was a super deal.

I am now taking oldest grandson for swimming lessons every Friday, so I will be popping into another store I don't normally drive to, to pick up their deals as well.

I made Cabbage Casserole for supper on Sunday.  It will last us a couple of suppers.  I first posted this recipe here back in August 2008. It takes a while to bake in the oven, so it was good to cook it on a Sunday when the hydro is cheaper.  I love eating the crispy edges!!

It was yummy, been a while since I had made it, so made a lovely change.  Plus there is enough for another meal.

This weekend seems to have flown by.  Going to spend Sunday night doing a bit more cross stitch.  Still have one more book mark to complete after this one.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend? 

Seriously, I need to get a life...

I had to buy some eggs the other day and they were on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart.  Went into the store to where the eggs are and picked up a box.  I always open the box to make sure that none are broken or cracked, do you?

When I opened the box, there were brown eggs in the box.  Thought this was a mistake so I opened a couple more boxes.  Again all brown eggs.

There was an employee nearby stocking the dairy section, so asked him why there were brown eggs in the white egg box and were these on sale as well?

Turned out that someone at the factory had mixed up the cartons and put the brown eggs in the white egg boxes.  Yes they were on sale for $3.29 CDN per dozen, as they scan the bar code on the box; brown eggs are normally $5 + per dozen.

I was so excited about this that I did two transactions and bought 4 dozen eggs, with a mid February expiry date!!!  There was a limit of 2 dozen eggs per transaction, after that it went up to full price; so that is why I did the two transactions.

So who gets excited about brown eggs over white eggs............NOBODY but me it would seem 😁  Told you I need to get a life!!!

Oh and the reason I like the brown eggs over the white eggs are the yolks.  I made scrambled eggs the other day with white eggs and you would have thought I had made them just with egg whites, as the yolks were so pale.  The brown eggs yolks tend to be a bit darker.

Two thoughts passed through my mind.....

When I agreed to have my hand operated on:

1. What will we eat for nearly three weeks as dh doesn't cook....I prepared meals on the Monday afternoon.


2. Will dh take me to SDM on Saturday for the Mega bonus redemption as I won't be able to drive.....he did and I kept him busy by calculating how much the shop was costing.


On a normal day when you cash in 95,000 points you get $170 in free products.  On a bonus redemption day they up it to $200 in free product, for MEGA bonus redemption day it's $250!!!
I only had enough for one bonus redemption of $250. Here is what I got:


4 x Peak Freans cookies @ $1.99 each


2 x Dempsters Bread @ $2.49 each


2 x 16 pack Silhouette yogurt @ $3.99 each, have enough codes now for a free year of a magazine


1 x orange juice @ $1.99


2 x Half and Half @ $1.99 each


4 x french Fries @ $1.99 each


1 x sweet corn @ $1.99


1 x Mixed veg @ $1.99


1 x 4 litre bag milk $4.19


3 x Bags of chips 3 for $5


4 x Swiffer cloths @ $5.49 each


1 x Lysol Wipes @ $3.99


3 x Gillette Razor Blades 12 pack @ $37.99 each, flipping expensive, but got 15 x the points on them


6 x Herbal Essences shampoo @ $2.99 each


1 x Scott Paper Towel @ $4.99


Subtotal: $293.77


HST : $28.96


Total: $322.73


- $250 in points = $72.73 out of pocket


Now if you're puzzled that the above list doesn't add up, you're right it doesn't as I had to take out around $85 worth of product as it's Christmas gifts and a certain person reads my blog, dd!!!


I only had $2 worth of coupons I could use though which sucked.

However dh has enough razor blades to hopefully last him the year, with what he also had in the house. He has enough shampoo to last a while. Oh and I earned 15,690 in points bringing me back up to 25,905.
 
We also went out in the afternoon and I took advantage of a good sale at Mark's Work Wearhouse and saved at least $45 there.  Also picked up another Christmas gift for someone else.  I am more or less done with my Christmas shopping, just got a couple of small things to buy.  I have done a bit of shopping online this year and took advantage of another great deal on Groupon for a couple's Christmas gift.  Again I can't tell you as she may read my blog!!
 
BY THE WAY FROM WHAT I CAN GATHER, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR SDM HAS DONE THIS MEGA BONUS REDEMPTION, SO HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE AN ANNUAL THING?

Off to Grandma's house we go, just follow the trail of sugar......

The one thing about not being well, is I am confined to the house and can't inflict any damage on anyone else.

However on Monday I was feeling a bit better and wanted to take advantage of the deals on at Shopper's Drug Mart, which included 2kg bags of sugar for $1.50 per bag (limit 4)  Now I need a fair amount of sugar for all the jam I am making for the wedding favours.  So I pop my four bags of sugar in my trolley and wander around the store.

Unbeknown to me (honest!) there was a small hole in one of them.  It wasn't until I put the bag of sugar on the counter and covered that with sugar that I discovered the hole.  When I looked down below my trolley was a lovely pile of sugar and when I looked back there was a trail of sugar.  Mix that with everyones wet feet and you have a sticky mess!!  I of course apologised and they were very kind about it all, but I bet they were cursing me under their breath....LOL

Also checked out a new to me flooring store.  Saw the most perfect tiles for our mud room, they look like planks of wood but are tiles, here is what they look like.  They also had a great selection of both laminate and hard wood flooring both at good prices.  Plus I think we will be getting our carpet for the attic from them as their pricing was pretty good.  They are a small local company and it a good thing to support your local companies.

Dh said to me when we were washing up on Monday night that I must be getting better as I am back to shopping again!!!

Um, um good..........

I wish we could smell things through our computers, as believe me this ham smells as good as it looks!!

I used a new to me glaze recipe on it, here is the link.  My only advise with this glaze, it's like toffee if you let it cool down!  It's good though.

While I had the oven on, I made a couple more Rhubarb Crumble Pies, recipe here.  One for us and one to sell at the Church Strawberry Supper.

Saturday was another busy day for me.  I baked the ham and the pies first thing in the morning before it got too hot.  They are for lunch today.  I then nipped into town to take advantage of the 20 x the points deal at Shopper's Drug Mart.  So I am now stocked up on toilet paper and laundry detergent for the next six months.  With coupons I only paid 99 cents for a bottle of Purex.  Plus I treated myself to a 24 pack of Nestea.  I don't have it that often so it makes a nice treat.  I see they are changing the points system at Shopper's and not in our favour!!  Here is a link to what's what.  Now the girl in the store was saying that next weekend it's a bonus redemption weekend here in Ontario, so I may cash my points in.  I only have 40 odd thousand; still I can get $100 worth of product free with that.

By the time I got back home and unpacked the groceries, it was lunch time.  After lunch I made a potato salad for lunch today.  Then fiddled on for the rest of the afternoon until it was time for me to go out at 4pm.

I went to the Strawberry Supper and sold a few recipe books; so far I have orders for 32 recipe books, so not too bad a start.  There was ham, various salads, and rolls for the main course, with fresh srawberries, whipped cream, ice cream and shortcake for dessert. Coffee or tea.  It was $14 for adults and $6 for children and under 4 was free. 

There was also a table where homemade bread and biscuits/scones were being sold.  I bought a couple loaves of bread.  Also there was a table with homemade pies that the church ladies provided.  They were selling pies for $10 each. There must have been around 40 pies on the table and when I left there was probably only 10 left.  I am pleased to say someone bought my pie.  At the time of writing I don't know how much money was made, but I know there was around a couple of hundred people who bought tickets for the meal.  Regardless it was well worth while.

Busy night at The Acreage - bit of a funny story coming up!!

What next you ask!!!  So on Sunday night we go to bed.........don't worry its not an x-rated tale!!!  Just as we're falling asleep, Molly starts to growl and bark; frightening the living daylights out of us.  Anyway we settle her down and have no idea what was wrong as we couldn't hear anything.

Dh gets up at 12.45am to go to the bathroom, and Molly bounds out of her bed all ready to go.  So I figure she must want out for a pee.  She goes downstairs and stops half way down and is really interested in something on the stairs.  She is poking at it and shaking her head.  I peek over the stairs to see what she was doing and it was a BAT on the stairs.

So now not only is Molly bounding about because of the bat, so am I, as I am not happy about a bat being in the house.  Now dh isn't keen on removing wildlife from the house, so I generally do it.  However, he knew by the tone of my voice I wasn't happy.  So he went and got a dust pan and brush and opened the front down and got it on the dust pan and threw it outside, where it flew away.  It took me ages to get back to sleep.

Now I have a couple of nagging questions.  Like where did it come from?  Why was it lying on the stairs?  Are there any more in the house? 

Then when I got up I discovered two more mice in the traps.......like what the heck...where on earth are they coming from this time?  When I went to throw out the ashes the wind blew back towards me, and I got covered in ashes {{{SIGH}}}

Keeping with the wildlife theme, someone sent me this last week:
http://video.telegraph.co.uk/services/player/bcpid1529569286?bctid=5524339001

Just discovered that Molly like carrots, is that a normal thing for dogs???

Had allergy testing done on Monday and it turns out I am not allergic to the normal things, which is good.  However the doctor has no idea what I could be allergic too and suggested I talk to the local agricultural society to see what is in bloom at the end of June through July, as he thinks it is a crop of some sort that's causing my allergies.

For those of you who live in Canada here is a tip to get more Shopper's Drug Mart points.  Whenever you go to shop at Shopper's Drug Mart, figure out what you have spent.  Then buy a Shopper's Drug Mart gift card.  When doing that, give them your Shopper's Drug Mart card, as you get points for buying the gift card.  Then, buy your items and use the gift card to pay for the items, and again hand in your card, as you will get points again.  For example, you buy a $25 gift card, so you get 250 points for that.  You buy $25 worth of stuff (before taxes) and pay for it with your gift card, and again you will get another 250 points for that.  So all in all you got 500 points for buying $25 worth of stuff.

In Ontario Shopper's Drug Mart is one of the cheapest places to buy 4 litre bags of milk.  Eggs are on sale regularly there, as low as $1.29 per dozen.  Their cheese is one of the best out there and there is a coupon for Armstrong Cheese, see here.  In general Shopper's Drug Mart prices can be more expensive, but if you buy the specials and use coupons, you can get good deals there.  Plus you get the points which you can redeem.  I will try and remember to let you know when there are good deals on at Shopper's so you too can take advantage of it.

Last day of November already and a good deal.......

I can't be the only one who thinks this year has just flown by, am I?  Not sure if it's because I am getting older but I am finding time just flying by.  One minute it's the beginning of 2009, now we are on the countdown to 2010.


As most of you know we adopted Molly from the Toronto Humane Society back in August.  Unfortunately the Toronto Humane Society has been in the news this past couple of weeks, and not for the right reasons.  Please read this story (warning if you click on the photos on that page they are very graphic) and this one to let me know what you think.  Thankfully for what we can gather Molly was only in there for a few days.  It breaks your heart though knowing that some of these animals have been suffering.


I had a couple of good shopping days this weekend, as Shopper's Drug Mart was having a bonus redemption weekend.  I cashed in my points and was able to get $500 worth of product free. All I did was pay the taxes which came to less than $65.  So I was able to get some more Christmas presents, and stock up on a few items.  I now have only 8,500 points left, so I will continue to built those up over the next few months.  I think I have got either $700 or $900 worth of free stuff from Shopper's Drug Mart points this year!!


Now for the good deal, there is a coupon for $5 off no minimum purchase from Chapters from November 29th to December 1st, see here  I have to go out on Monday reasonably close to a Chapters, so I will be stocking up on a number of items.  By the way on that page there is a photo of a throw they are selling.   I bought one of those on the weekend for us, and it is just gorgeous and so soft, and well worth the money.


I finally have my appointment at the Allergists on Monday afternoon, so it will be interesting to see what he has to say.

Why you SHOULD shop at Shopper's Drug Mart!!!

Below is what I got at Shopper's Drug Mart on Sunday morning, and I ended up paying $14.10 out of pocket for it all.
(click on the photo for more detail)

This is what I got:

4 x Whole Wheat Bread
1 x English Muffins
1 x Mesh body puff thingy
1 x Christie Thinsations
2 x Shave Gel
2 x Naturegg Egg Whites
2 x 750g Silhouette Yogurt
1 x 250g Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese
3 x Hunts Pudding Snacks
2 x Creamer for Coffee
2 x Lays Stax Chips
1 x Webber Glucosamine
1 x 2 Pack Nice'N Easy Hair Dye
1 x Swiffer Wet Cloth's
2 x 1 dozen Eggs
2 x Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner
4 x Mouthwash
2 x 4 litre milk
3 x Purex Laundry Detergent
1 x Pures Fabric Softener

I had $22.99 in coupons and I cashed in $100 worth of points.

Now Shopper's Drug Mart is having a referral event from Monday August 10th to Wednesday August 12th. If you spend $25 you will get 5,000 bonus points. If you refer someone else and they shop, you will get an extra 5,000. If anyone in Canada wants a referral just leave me a comment with your email address (I won't publish your comment) and I'll send you a referral, you may as well get the extra points. Purex laundry detergent is on sale on Monday for $3.99 which is a good price.

Now for something a little different, I am working all this week. Just at my old work and only from 9am until 3pm, but every little helps, as the house is needing more money spent on it!!! Linda is on vacation, so I am covering for her. Looking forward to it, just not looking forward to the driving, as it is at least 1 hour and 15 minutes each way to the place, just wish I had one of those audio books to while the time away!!!

DEAL ALERT!!!!!!

Canadian's only though, sorry.......

I was just at Shopper's Drug Mart and they have Life Brand tuna flaked or chunk, for 39 cents a can, until December 31st. I have never seen it that low.

I buy my milk there, when I have to buy milk, its $3.99 per 4 litre bag. Also eggs are only $1.69 per dozen at Shopper's Drug Mart.

So now I need suggestions for tuna recipes, as I think we will be including this more in our menu plan from now on.

The only one I have is this one

I will add any other recipes to this post, if you provide me with a link........

Niki has this recipe on her blog, and evaporated milk is on sale at Price Chopper this week @ 4/$5, so that's handy.

Just love Shopper's Drug Mart bonus redemption days....

Today (May 31st), you could cash 40,000 points in for $100 worth of product, instead of the normal $75. Also you could cash in 75,000 points for $200 worth of product instead of the normal $150.

As luck would have it I have 115,000 points. So off to Shopper's I went!!

I went to the first store as they have an ATM that spits out bonus points coupons.......it wasn't working today :( However at that store I wanted to get stamps. So I bought $110.29 worth of stamps, cashed in 40,000 points and ended up paying $10.29..........why do I need all those stamps, well I do coupon trains and I trade stamps for Free Product Coupons, so they will come in handy, plus I need stamps for all my regular mailing.

I then went to the other store to cash in my 75,000 worth of points.

In the toiletry department I got this:



In the cleaning department I got this:



In the food department I got this:





I stocked up on a number of things. Dh will not need shaving gel, or deodorant for the rest of the year!!! Or mouth wash for a while!!!

I used $45.78 in coupons and I paid out of my pocket $29.81 for all of that!!! So for all of you who know me, it is worth while shopping at Shopper's Drug Mart. I cashed in $900 worth of points last year. This is the first time I have cashed in my points this year. I now only have 8,970 points, but I will slowly build them up.

Overall I am happy with what I got today. It did take a bit of planning, as I went over the flyer last night, pulled out all my coupons and took a calculator with me to the store to keep a running total. Then I had the best cashier in the world, Gloria, she is the best, as she knows how to process the coupons etc.