Shopping tips for the United States - Guest Post by Sondra
Shopping in Fargo and Grand Forks is very popular with Manitobans and it can be hard to find all the best deals, or know the best way to do it. Here’s a great guest post by Sondra with all her best tips!
First thing is to wait til Pembina to fill your vehicle as gas is a lot cheaper than in Canada.
With a little bit of work you can save hundreds of dollars while shopping in Grand Forks or Fargo.
First off keep all receipts because you can claim back your taxes on all purchases over 25.00 that you are bringing back to Manitoba. Here is the link for the tax rebate (my last check was for almost 250.00 U.S)
When looking for hotels keep in mind how far you want to be away from the shopping malls. The Holiday Inn and Stay Bridge Suites use priority points which you can convert air miles into so you can get your hotel for free.
Here is a Grand forks zip code for when you are looking for coupons and deals – 58201.
Sign up for emails from your favorite restaurants, they send out freebie coupons all the time. IE: Texas Roadhouse, Space Aliens, Denny’s, Ruby Tuesdays, Wild Bills buffalo wings.
Groceries
First off figure out which items you want to buy and once you have your list then you can start looking for the coupons.
JC Penney usually has great door buster and weekend sales and if you’re a card holder you get extra discounts.
Target has printable coupons – usually can save 150.00 on items.
Wal-Mart also has printable coupons.
Sign up for shop my way rewards for deals at sears and Kmart (they offer actual cash off items)
Kohl’s sends out coupons to your mailbox and also has secret sales.
Menards is a great place to earn savings. They usually have 11%rebates on all purchases and always have mail in rebates for a large amount of the stuff they carry.
Hobby lobby sends out coupons via email that are printable.
CVS pharmacy offers huge discounts and coupons to members (free to sign up)
Couponing sites to get extra coupons from manufacturers so you can stack coupons. (Please make sure you check store website FAQS to see if they allow stacking coupons)
– Redplum
Shopping at Sam’s club is worth it – you do not need a membership but they charge 10% for your purchases. If you shop in the states and want to save on gas also then it’s worth it to get a membership. You can split it with another person so it would be half price and you get discounts on your gas also.
Remember that there are limits to how much you can bring back from the U.S
Here are the latest limitations for bringing items back (copied from customs website)
24 hours or more
Up to CAN$200 – Alcohol and tobacco cannot be claimed. Goods must be in your possession at time of entry to Canada. If the value of the goods you have purchased abroad exceeds $200 after a 24 hour absence, duty and taxes are applicable on the entire amount of the imported goods.
48 hours or more
Up to CAN$800 – May include alcohol and tobacco products, within the prescribed limits set by provincial or territorial authorities. Goods must be in your possession at time of entry to Canada. Travelers absent for periods of 48 hours or more will have the applicable exemption level credited against the total value of goods.
7 days or more
Up to CAN$800 – May include alcohol and tobacco products, within the prescribed limits set by provincial or territorial authorities. For the seven-day exemption, goods may be in your possession at time of entry to Canada but are also permitted to follow entry to Canada (such as via courier, mail or delivery agency), except alcohol and tobacco products, which must be in your possession. All the goods will qualify for duty- and tax-free entry if they are declared at the initial return to Canada.
Make sure to check what you’re allowed to bring back into Canada here.
With a little planning before you go you can have huge savings.watch instore for tearpads and samples as they always give great coupons.
I hope this helps you save money and happy couponing.