In A Pig's Eye
If you wanted to poke your finger in the eye of a certain misogynistic pig from down south, I saw an article from Yahoo Canada about how to shop for Canadian groceries Of course, they went off the deep end and produced a nine-page list with such well known brands as Skippy’s Kettlecorn & One Degree Organics? I will endeavor to keep US brands off of our lists. More than anything, if you just get into the habit of flipping the package over and having a look, you ARE Canadian. I am still buying Cheez Whiz. SYMBO won’t eat celery without it. I am still buying Mott’s. I can’t drink vodka without it. But … where I can make a good decision, I will. It goes without saying that boycotting Walmart, Target and Home Depot keeps your contributions to corporate profits, from going over the border to a US company. That’s an easy call.
I tried this year, I really did. I have a Super Bowl rule. I don’t even tune in until 6:30 after completely skipping the FIVE-hour pre-game show. That didn’t get it done this year. You needed an extra eleven minutes, staring in horror at what some surgeon has done to Tom Cruise, while listening to his “this is a big game” diatribe. The game started at 06:41. The first possession, three and out with a bad call. Then, I kid you not, a five-minute break for ten commercials. The game was three minutes old! Second possession, a first down, then three and out with a bad call. Ten more commercials. It’s now 7:00. Nope. I went to bed with a good book and my favourite puppy dog. I checked in a couple of hours later. The score was thirty-four to nothing. Good call Mitch
It's not just Zehr’s that offers rewards programs anymore. I continue to watch the other chains as they play catch-up and I read their flyers. I am going to start giving you the best couple of items from those flyers but would suggest you try and keep the majority of your shopping in the Loblaws branded stores. Why? Most of the continuity offers are based on a minimum spend. If you stop in at FreshCo for $11 of veggies on sale and miss out on 5000 points at Zehr’s, you probably lost money. There remains three good reasons most of my grocery money goes in this particular direction:
1) My Zehr’s is a full-service store. Bakery, butchers, florist, deli counter, etc. I like that and I like not having to make additional stops.
2) The ability to move redemption benefits across to Shoppers Drug Mart gives you an added dimension that the other chains simply do not have.
3) The Optimum Program (while difficult to navigate) generates the highest return rate on your grocery spend. Last year, we spent $12,142 on groceries. I went back a found we spent $1,122 at Costco and $325 at Food Basics. There were a few other small shops but close enough. That leaves $10,695 at Zehr’s and Shoppers. I did 1.42 million points and received $2,010 of free product. That’s like getting nearly 19% off across the board. No credit card cashback, no membership chain, comes close.
Man, I felt like I spent all week reading flyers. There is just not that much out there? Lots of flowers on sale? The way to SWMBO’s heart is fresh lobster and a mushy card. That’s Plan A. At Shoppers, there are some major points to be had if you want headphones or a new vacuum. Also, a Bonus Redemption event starting tomorrow. At Zehr’s, what I did was give you are shorter list and a few of the better offers. I suggest you look in the cupboard, look at your fridge list and see how many you can easily hit while keeping your spend down this week. I am thinking there will be a total spend continuity award within the next couple of weeks. Here is your list:
What I’m Reading
Ice fishing is done for the season so I got back to reading a bit as I have fallen behind my goals. Here is where I am YTD along with the review links from Goodreads:
The Winter King – Cornwell (names are historically accurate and yet painful)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7169825311
Enemy of God – Cornwell (better, it’s taken two books to learn the names FFS)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7302275106
Artemis – Weir (his comeback novel after The Martian. Panned, but I liked it)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6121769677
The Night Fire – Connelly (five big stars, what a book)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7304878319
What We Are Watching
Finished Season Two of SAS: Rogue Heroes. Jack O’Connell (who plays Paddy Mayne) is going to be a big star.
Finished Season Two of The Recruit. I love this show.
Finished Season One of the Agency. It has been renewed for good reason.
The Planets with Brian Cox on YouTube!! This is one of the greatest astronomy documentaries ever made and was released in 2020. I am not sure how it got on YouTube for free, but make popcorn, gather the kiddies around the tube and enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oB83Is8xDU
We Will Not Be Watching
This Four Nations Hockey bullshit. “Let’s extend the NHL season into July so they can close shop for two weeks in February and get these poor millionaire players and owners some extra money.” I’m going to turn TSN off for a month and put away two carloads of fishing gear. Maddie will be of no help whatsoever.
