Call Me Ajala

This post is close to my heart because it involves sharing info for better living. Today, I decided to share some shopping, especially grocery hacks I discovered and now take advantage of since moving to a new country- Canada.

Thankfully, these apply to most or all provinces and can be adapted to other country locations so I hope this info is beneficial to you!

Let’s dive in!

Walmart Delivery vs Instacart for Grocery Delivery

• Most people use Instacart or DoorDash for grocery delivery because they have several stores and options. However, let me put you on to Walmart delivery pass. If you shop at Walmart a lot, Walmart offers a 3-month free trial period for their Walmart Delivery Pass and then $89 a year afterwards.

Perks include: 

• No additional charges for shipping on Walmart products
  
• Minimum order of $35 for free delivery, but anything below that attracts a fee of $7.99
  
• Same-day delivery — depending on the time, it’ll be free; if it’s urgent, it’s about $5 delivery.
  
• You take advantage of all in-store and online discounts
  
• No extra service fee, so what you spend is what you pay.

You can choose not to pay for the Delivery Pass, but what that means is some products will be same-day delivery, some will be 2-day delivery, and so on — kind of like Amazon Prime vs no Amazon Prime.

Flipp App for Discount Watching

• An app for seeing all the discounts and offers that shops have in a given period. Shows all grocery stores and big box stores. Great for comparing deals and being in the know of what store is doing what deal. Take advantage of the discounts! 

Costco Membership

• Great for bulk shopping or if shopping for a large household. They offer a lot of perks, but I find that I don’t use them as much at the moment, especially when I compare some prices with other stores. Some prices there are unbeatable, though, such as store brand (Kirkland) items, electronics and bulk medicines. They currently offer 2 annual membership tiers so you can choose the one that works better for your household.

Points Collection = Money

• Points are a way for companies to encourage you to purchase from them. So the more you spend, the more points you get (when you join their points system). These points typically translate to money. After a while, the money accrued can be used to offset actual payments, so it saves you eventually. It’s usually free to join – all you need is to open an account. 

Some places where the points mean something include: 

• Petro-Canada – for buying fuel (AKA gas). Petro-Canada points can also be linked to your bank card if you use RBC, so you save some cents per fuel.
• Triangle Rewards – if you shop at Canadian tire this one is for you. it can also be linked to your Petro-Canada points to accrue more points per transaction.
• Scene + – this is used by so many shops and businesses, including sobeys, freshco, Safeway and Cineplex. I’ve used points accrued to pay for movie tickets before. If you bank with Scotiabank, you also accrue Scene + points with transactions. Landmark cinemas also offers an amazing points system, but their redemption is limited to purchases at Landmark Cinemas.
• Pc Optimum: this is good for Esso gas, Shoppers Drug Mart and other Presidents’ Choice companies. 

Ensure you scan your points card before any transaction, because they may not accrue the points afterwards. 

Asian Stores are a Go-to.

• Ensure you check Asian (especially East Asian) stores close to you for variety and great deals on produce, meat, and fish. They also carry a lot of Nigerian grocery items. For some of the seafood, you can literally do point-and-kill. Some common ones include T&T, but there are more specific ones per area, so a quick Google search will benefit you.

Facebook Marketplace is a Lifesaver

• Whether it’s brand new or secondhand, Facebook Marketplace is a great platform to leverage. As always, be aware of scams, but I more or less live on this site. You can find anything from houses to cars to smaller items and furniture. Whatever you need, someone is selling it or giving it out for free. You can also sell items there. Another good option is Kijiji, but I personally prefer marketplace.

Amazon Warehouse Deals

• When shopping on Amazon, most tend to buy brand-new items, which is not a bad thing. But usually, there’s an option to buy either open-box, used-like-new, or good items, depending on what you’re purchasing. Most are sold by Warehouse Deals, but others — like used books — are sold by other vendors. I bought a household item recently, and they had an open-box option at a much lower price which I purchased. Upon arrival, I inspected it, and it was in mint condition and unused. I guess someone returned it, and they could not resell it as brand-new. You can also buy used appliances there. I got a toaster from there once upon a time. I’ve also gotten books from there.

These are just a few of the hacks that have made my shopping life easier and helped me save money along the way. Living in a new country can be overwhelming, but little things like these go a long way in making everyday life smoother.

Got any tips of your own? Feel free to share in the comments!