Buying Groceries Pt 2

Another thing you need to know when shopping for stuff in the store besides getting discounts or bargains are what to buy and how to buy things:

• Before you feel that you are getting ripped-off, it is important to understand that unlike most developed ASEAN countries like Malaysia or Singapore, most items do not carry a expiry date here. Unfortunately Canada’s government does not have a very strict enforcing mechanism to ensure that retailers and producers come up with expiry dates for perishable products. So, sometimes you’ll have to bite your tongue and get with it.
• Confusing labels, yes it is a common sight here in North America that product labels and the offers shown in the brochure may appear the same!!! But do not be easily fooled, check and double check!!!
• Fish and cold cuts – if you’re buying fish, sometimes it is better to head to the fish monger and ask them to weigh it for your, rather than buying the fish that has been readily packed. That’s because the packed fish is weighed with the packaging itself and thus cost more than if you were to get the fish off the counter. The same applies for cold-cuts like your ham or prosciutto. Take for example, Atlantic Superstore’s PC brand 125g of prosciutto cuts in a package cost CAD$ 4.99 but may cost your CAD$ 3.44 over the counter. The same applies for things like bacon, tilapia, salmon, etc. as well
• If you need to buy nuts or bulk items like oats, choose to shop at either Costco where these items are sold in large containers but are way cheaper. Or if you’re not a costco member, then head to the store called “Bulk Barn”. Students get 10% discount on Wednesdays.
• Sometimes, you may want to look at shopping in stores like No Frills.

Buying Groceries Pt 1

So you’re a newcomer to Canada. Here are some useful tips when going shopping for groceries:

• Elderly shoppers would be able to get discounts when shopping at most of the stores like Atlantic Superstore/ Sobeys – but you may need some kind of identification for that
• Students do get some break as well. For example in Halifax NS, students can shop on Tuesdays at either Sobeys or Atlantic Superstore to qualify for a 10% discount on top of total amount spend (p.s. doesn’t not apply to pharmacy products and for Sobey’s, you’ll need a minimum purchase of CAD$ 25 for it to apply). Of course you’ll need to show your student ID first.
• Pete’s frootique store in Spring Garden Rd or @ Bedford has a Pete’s customer loyalty card which gives a discount upon the tenth transaction using the loyalty card.
• Look out for bargains. Go online or check out the weekly brochures from the stores itself.
• Collect coupons and use them at the counter. Don’t worry, most coupons can be used as many times on the same item which means that you can use 2 of the same coupon on a single product. And most of the time, you can still use the coupon despite the fact that the product is already on store discount and/or you apply your student/elderly discount. Where to get coupons? Besides the coupon section of stores, you can subscribe online to http://coupons.ca and order your coupons. Check out magazines as well.
• NOTE: its pretty common that stores personal do not update their price tag from time to time  (be it on the shelf or in their system). Thus always make it a point to check your receipt after making payment to make sure that you that you’ve paid the correct amount for the items you’ve purchase. When you realize that you may have overpaid for e.g. your apples, take it to the customer service outlet and point out the mistake. Most large supermarkets like Sobeys or Atlantic subscribe to fair price policy in which if they have overcharged you, then you are eligible to the item for free!!!

Year End (Window) Shopping

No we didn't buy anything. But we did open our eyes to lots of stuff out there. Some interesting things were the Foosball table which was on bargain in Walmart. You can't find such things sold back in Malaysian, even if you were to convert it in RM.




Then of course there was kitchen stuff. One thing that caught our eye was the bread making machine. Yes we are currently very much into baking and our all time favourite apart from muffins - is none other than our all time most consumed food - bread...

Which is why the following kitchen equipment caught our attention when we went for some window shopping in Zellers




It wasn't really that cheap as Zellers tend to hike up their actual prices.


Here's another brand - Sunbeam. From what I read, it is a better one than Black and Decker

MEC - Mountain Equipment Coop

We went to MEC, and purchased some winter stuff. Interestingly, MEC is a coop, so we had to sign up as a member in order to make any purchase. But it wasn't that bad as we only paid CAD5 for a life membership. With that, you could purchase anything from MEC. Although we'd be eyeing for its clearance stuff as normal price could be pretty pricey, unless of course if we had no other choice.

Here are the things we got, a cap for Mrs. and to protect her ears.
Pretty nice with pony tails - but its an acceptable fashion ;) I've seen one with bunny ears too.


Mittens for both of us (because gloves just won't do). Mittens are warmer. We both had to purchase them from the teens corner as the adult ones were simply too BIG....


And a round turtle neck scarf which you could pull up to cover your mouth and nose too if it gets too cold.


We also got a MEC bag for joining as new members. Pretty neat...

Easy pocket guide: A Student's Guide To Shopping Essentials In Canada (Applies to Halifax, mainly).

As part of my continuation to the earlier blog entries I had written,

• A Student's Newcomers Guide (Prelude) to Studying In Canada
• A Student's Newcomers Guide to Studying in Canada Part 1
• A Student's Newcomers Guide to Studying in Canada Part 2
  

I'll like to share another tip for any other newcomers to this part of Canada particularly (Eastern side - Halifax, NS). Although its meant to target students, but it may apply to others who believes that there's always other better deals out there.

Here's all you need to know, to get going and being able to start your life and live within your budget. Personally I wish I had known most of these before hand so that I could have saved more.
p.s. you may be a bit luckier if you had gone to studying in bustling places like Toronto, Calgary, Victoria, Vancouver, etc as they tend to sell some of the essentials at a slightly lower price as oppose to over here.

So, here's the deal...

When down in Halifax, all you need if you pretty noob and new to the surroundings, just find out how to get to Halifax Shopping Center (HSC). The stores that you'll find bargains for your simply basic needs are.

• Dollarama - simply things like light bulb, kitchen utensils, glue, stationary, gloves, scarfs, etc.
• Walmart - don't buy it unless there's discount. But most things should be better priced then others like Zellers. They do have discounts regularly, so watch out for things like electrical items (boiler, mixer, mini-oven), clothes, shoes, ligthings, bedding wears, etc.
• Sears outlet - if you want to find for slightly branded items that are on discount (believe it or not up to 70% sometimes), then this is the place to go. Its a little hidden here in HSC (behind of Walmart), so be on a lookout for it. You'll find your Timberland or Columbia shoes going for 50% - 70%. Clothes are also cheaper and of more variety. Of course you'll have to find if there's any your size or not. The trick is, there's no fitting room, they store tries to make it as hard as possible for your to try different things on and decide. They just want you to buy it there and then without much evaluating. And to top that up, there's no returns! But mostly the things there are at a bargain! Just that they may have some slight defects so be on a look out for it and see if you're comfortable with that.

As for food? There's no 1 particular place that sells them at a bargain. This is a bit tricky. I wrote a short blog on it comparing the various retail outlets here.
Personally I feel that Atlantic Superstore has the best offers although, you'll need to be careful as they are a bit more lousy when it comes to quality control (for fresh products). Sobey's on the other hand tends to offer things at a better deal if you'd buy a little more. e.g. a buy 2 of the same product and pay less overall.
Of course if you're not really into fresh food, then you could just settle with Walmart. But if you feel that you miss your home food and want to whip something like char kueh teow, then you could head to the Asian groceries. Just google it within Google Maps (type Asian Groceries) and you'll be able to see where they are located. There's even an Indian groceries at Robie Street.

I've snapped a shot of Walmart (Mumford road) and Halifax Shopping Center using Google Street view.

Our First Few Days In Halifax

How are we? Surviving I guess :)
12 hrs of sleep non-stop... But not before a long grueling hunt for a bed... Its not CHEAP here...

So we eventually decided to rough it out - with camping gears... Got some photos of our trip to hunt for essentials before our long hibernation. Here goes


While waiting for bus home @ Lakewood terminal


Observing the cars passing by...

Our kitchen... Its OK... Love the stove though... Everything is GE.


Bought a Black & Decker electric boiler for a BARGAIN - CND 30 Only from trusty Wallmart and while we are that, also bought stuffs from Canadian's equivalent of Wal Mart, Zellers...


Yes, evidence of our act of shopping at WalMart @ Bayer's Lake Business Park


Camping in our bedroom... When you're tired, anything goes...


The view from our apartment... The sky is BLUE and very clear...

Another view, what you can see here is the hospital.

Cheers, will keep posting more when time permits... Now its off to doing some more shopping :P