This Week's Candid Canuck is Frugal Edmonton Mama, check out our interview with her..
What is Frugal Edmonton Mama all about?
I started Frugal Edmonton Mama as a way to share deals, promotions and sales – but it’s funny because I was just learning myself. Before starting the blog I was a self-confessed non-frugal shopper that wouldn’t have a second thought spending upwards of two hundred dollars on a haircut and color. After becoming pregnant and realising the sheer expense of having children, I knew there had to be ways to save, without sacrificing the stuff that I wanted. There was – and now, I share those deals, shopping tips and product insights with Moms.
Share some of your best shopping/saving tips with us.
Choosing when to shop is the most important thing that you need to know about shopping. Shopping in advance – before you need the items and have to pay full price isn’t a new concept. It’s something that our grandparents did – and something that can save you hundreds of dollars every single year. Shop ahead for the next season at the end of the current one, stock up when items are at their lowest price and use the sales at Costco to save. Doing this, you can save without even clipping a coupon.
What is the best deal you ever found?
There have been a few great deals. I was able to stock up on diapers for our oldest for two years for under a hundred dollars. Of course, that was back a few years ago when you could still stack coupons. One of the most exciting deals? We paid $39/person to go to Las Vegas combining an Expedia promotion code with a hot sale. That’s flights + accommodations for four days. For that price, how could we not go!?
Surviving Canadian winters, what can you not live without in February in Canada?
The fireplace. We live in a newer house but on those windy days it seems that the house just can’t get warm enough. We hang out in the living room watching movies together and doing crafts to get through those cold days.
For occupying the kids? Food coloring. There are so many crafts and activities that we do with food coloring from painting in the snow, bringing the snow inside and painting it, colored bath tub paint and liquid watercolors and even making fun hair colors. It’s the cheapest tool I have in my beat-the-winter-boredom toolkit. That, and I’m always freezing but never wear socks, so warm boots!
Do you have a popular blog post that people keep coming back to?
There was one time that I was able to use Scanning Code of Practice at Costco. That never happens. I titled it “I Won the Costco Lottery” for that reason. It’s only a couple of months old or so but it gained some traction with the most viewed post on Frugal Edmonton Mama. That’s impressive since there are some big contenders. I have a deep love for Costco, you can find me there a couple of times weekly!
Tell us about you and your background before you started blogging.
Before I started blogging I was a student and freelance writer. I had met Frugal Dad and it was a whirlwind relationship. We were seeing each other for a couple of weeks, moved in together a month later and got engaged just a few short months after that. Just over a year after we had been engaged our first child was born, and it brought out my inner frugalista. I wasn’t willing to change the quality of items that we purchased, but I was willing to hunt around for the best price. It was a hobby-turned blog that quickly caught on with local readers and has been growing ever since.
You can find Lori blogging frugal living tips, DIY projects and the latest Canadian deals at Frugal Edmonton Mama. She’s also over-sharing on Twitter, giving hot money-saving tips on Facebook and addictively pinning on Pinterest.
Thanks so much to Lori from Frugal Edmonton Mama for sharing her tips and tricks with us! Want to be one of our featured Canucks? Sign up here.
Right now, link up your Canadian blog and social media accounts, find some new reads and new friends!
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