Coupon Shopping

Tough economic times are forcing some people to search for savings where ever they can find them.

Some consumers are turning to coupon clipping for up to 25 per cent savings on their grocery bill. If you spend $200 a week in the grocery store that's an impressive $2,600 that stays in your pocket.

But marketing expert Shirley Lichti says that unlike U.S. shoppers, Canadian consumers are not big coupon clippers.

"How many people do you know that say 'Oh yeah, I saw this great coupon' and they cut it and they put it away somewhere and they don't happen to have it with them at the point of purchase, so it's not convenient,'' she explained.

Worse, she said, people who use coupons are perceived as cheap!

I use coupons all the time and if people think I'm cheap, I really don't care.

Here's how I look at it: if the store was handing out free money when you walked in you'd take it.

I think more people would use coupons if they had a handy way to keep them. One example is a small accordion file kept in a convenient location.

To use coupons you do need to be organized and plan ahead. That's really the key to cutting your grocery spending. Use flyers to research prices and specials before you leave home.

You can use the advertised specials on meat and vegetables to choose recipes for the week or the next few days. Then make a list and stick to it.

Don't shop when you are hungry and don't take the kids. And if you have to run into the grocery store for a last minute item, try to shop the outside aisles.

That's where you'll find produce, bread, meat, and dairy items. It will keep you away from the tempting and more expensive packaged foods in the middle aisles.

Sometimes it pays to shop in bulk as well. But, not all the time. You need to be a little savy.

The good news is you don't have to do any math. Just look on the shelf for the unit pric, such as the  price per 100 grams. It will be in small numbers on the same price sticker as the big price. It helps to compare the unit price because some bulk buys aren't the savings you'd expect.

Fall Leaves

The colours are memorable. But most of us moan about the work of raking fall leaves. It might help to know all the good those leaves can do once they're collected.

It's an autumn ritual, the leaves fall and we have to rake them up. There was a time in Vancouver, when you just pushed them into the street and the city took care of them. Not any more.

"They can create a dangerous slippery situation for motorists and cyclists," explains Lynn Belanger of the city's transfer and landfill operations.

And they plug storm drains, so now it's up to homeowners to collect them. Leaves and other yard waste end up at a huge composting centre at the Vancouver landfill.

"First, we grind it up in the grinder [you can see behind me]. We turn the piles periodically then we screen the material then we sell it."

The city of Vancouver gets 45,000 tons of yard trimmings, an amount the size of a medium sized cruise ship.

That's a lot of steaming compost. The city sells the finished compost back to residents at a cost of $10 per cubic meter.

But you can make your own, and fall leaves are a "must have" addition to the compost heap.

"You need 50 per cent of leaves or brown material in your compost mix so your compost works properly," explained Sharon Stark of the Vancouver Demonstration Garden.

Leaves are the solution to the common compost complaint. That's the bad smell

"That is lack of brown material in the bin usually," said Stark

It also signals a lack of aeration. This is the only time of year you can get the leaves, so if you are composting, you need to store them for use next year. An extra garbage can is a good spot.

Smaller leaves are best: they compost faster but if you only have large ones Stark recommends running the lawnmower over them a few times to chop them up.

And if you have just a few leaves, you can just spread them around your garden because they'll help prevent runoff, soil erosion and soil compaction. Then in the spring, you just dig them in.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen