Thursday 5 March 2009

Thank You!

Thank you to my fellow Toastmasters and friends for visiting this site. As my manual speech has been completed, I will stop updating this site.

This site will remain active, so if you would like to review some of the tips presented in the manual speech, please do so.

Plus, be sure to visit my regular freebies site, http://freestuffpage.com which contains (and will contain) the information presented here. You will be able to request for free stuff, coupons and more.

Once again, thank you for your support!

Monday 16 February 2009

Invitation to Attend My Speech on "Saving Money on Groceries"



I would like to invite you to attend my presentation, which will take place on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. It will take place during the Comox Toastmasters meeting.

The speech will be on "Save Money on Groceries." Here are the details of the meeting:

When: Tuesday, February 17, 2009; from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: 1700 Comox Avenue, Comox, BC V9M 4H4
Speech Length: 12 - 15 minutes

After the speech is completed, I will have to send an email to the group and provide at least one follow-up site update.

Sunday 15 February 2009

Brian's PowerPoint Presentation on "Save Money on Groceries"

Here is my draft PowerPoint presentation. Please note that as I will continue to work on it, the content and order may change.

Please note that some slides have animations, which will not be displayed in the presentation below.

Speech Reference: Review Receipt



One of the purposes to use the Internet as part of this speech is to provide additional reference and resources to the speech. This posting contains web site addresses and information for "Review Receipt."

Here are sites that list Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP), in which participating stores will give you a discount of up to $10 if the scanner price is higher than the shelf price:

    For more resources, please google "scanning code of practice."

    Speech Reference: Stay at the Store's Perimeter




    One of the purposes to use the Internet as part of this speech is to provide additional reference and resources to the speech. This posting contains web site addresses and information for "Stay at the Store's Perimeter."

    Here are sites that list shopping strategies, including staying at the store's perimeter:

    For more resources, please google "grocery shopping tips." Be sure to check out the Google News section for the latest news on grocery shopping tips. Lastly, YouTube has videos on grocery shopping tips.

    Speech Reference: Compare Flyers & Coupons



    One of the purposes to use the Internet as part of this speech is to provide additional reference and resources to the speech. This posting contains web site addresses and information for "Compare Flyers & Coupons."

    Here are sites that list store flyers (a.k.a. store circulars):
    • flyerland.ca: "flyerland.ca provides residents of Canada instant access to all of their favourite online flyers and printable coupons, anywhere at anytime"

    • Flyermall.com: some of the flyers are stores in central and eastern Canada; however, you will find national chains at this site

    • ShoppingFlyers.ca: "Canadian grocery flyers, pharmacy flyers, electronics flyers, hardware store flyers and much more can be found by using our Canadian flyer search"
    For more resources, please google "Canada flyers" and Store Name + flyer (e.g., Shoppers Drug Mart flyer).


    Here are sites that list coupons:
    For more resources, please google "Canada coupons" and Store Name + flyer (e.g., amazon.ca coupons).

    Speech Reference: Prepare Shopping List



    One of the purposes to use the Internet as part of this speech is to provide additional reference and resources to the speech. This posting contains web site addresses and information for "Prepare Shopping List."

    For more resources, please google "grocery list" and "shopping list."

    Rough Speech Agenda




    Below is my rough speech agenda. As I work on the speech over the weekend, it will be reworked and refined..

    Introduction

    Body:
    • Prepare shopping list
    • Compare flyers & coupons
    • Stay at the perimeter
    • Review receipt
    Conclusion

    Share your tips

    Friday 13 February 2009

    Save Money and Time with a Better Grocery Shopping List with "Grocery Shopping Helper"




    Visit Dave Cheong's site to generate a customized grocery shopping list. Unlike a traditional grocery shopping list, in which you write down what you need in a list. The "Grocery Shopping Helper" is a "formatted page of all the grocery items you are ever interested in, either sorted alphabetically or by aisle."

    Once you generate your shopping list, you could print multiple copies. Then, whenever something is running low in your household, you could either circle or highlight the item. This list helps you to save time because
    1. You don't have to write down the product, and
    2. You will have a clear shopping path, so you will never need to backtrack in the grocery store.
    This list helps you to save money because you will focus on what you need and be less tempted to shop for impulse items. Plus, the more time you spend in a store, the more money you are likely to spend. So, by spending less time in a store could help you to spend less money.

    Updated Speech Introduction: Save Money on Groceries




    Below is an updated speech introduction for my speech. I will email a copy of this to my speech evaluator, so that he has some background and information to introduce me. As always, there may be changes to further refine the speech introduction.

    Brian will present a speech from Project 5, “Enhancing a Technical Talk with the Internet” from the “Technical Presentations” manual. The title of his speech is “Save Money on Groceries.”

    The objectives are to:
    • Understand the nature and process of a technical presentation supported with profession-level visual aids
    • Arrange pre-meeting communications via email
    • Find or create a post-meeting web site for further dissemination of information supporting or enhancing your verbal presentation

    The time limit of this presentation is between 12 to 15 minutes.

    In tonight’s presentation, Brian will present a speech on saving money on groceries. As everyone here shops for groceries, it is important to find ways to save money while shopping for groceries. The tips are a combination of Brian’s experience and research. So, please help me welcome Brian.

    Thursday 12 February 2009

    Watch How "The Coupon Mom" Saves Money on Groceries




    Here is another video on couponing. Be inspired by the news feature on The Coupon Mom, who showcases how much she saves on each item shown on camera. Sometimes she would even get items for free.

    Her main message is to match coupons with the products at their lowest prices. She also mentioned five common mistakes on shopping, such as not having a plan. Please note that when they mention "double coupon" policy, it is mostly applicable to American supermarkets. These supermarkets will double the value on the coupon on certain days. So, if you have a $1 coupon, on "double coupon" days, you could save $2 on the specified product. That's why it is a lot easier to get products for free.

    How often do you use coupons? Take the poll on the top right side of the screen and share your thoughts!

    Take a Grocery Shopping Quiz to See How Much You Would Save in a Supermarket



    How much do you know about saving money in a grocery store? Take a short and fun quiz at SavingAdvice.com to test how much you know!

    I learned a lot from taking this quiz: I found out that my knowledge is about average of other visitors of this site. I saved about "$500." Please keep in mind that this is a bargain hunting site, so many of the visitors are astute shoppers. So, please don't feel bad if you score below average.

    So, how did you do? Post your result in the comments.

    Watch how to clip multiple copies of the same coupons



    If you have multiple copies of the same coupons, you could save time by following the strategies used in the video. You will need a stapler and a pair of scissors. These strategies are useful for the coupon booklets inserted into your weekly newspapers. The video clip runs for 6:29.

    Do you collect coupons? If so, how often do you use coupons? Please comment and share!


    The Narrower Topic: Save Money on Groceries




    Instead of a broad topic of frugal living, the narrower topic for the speech is "Save Money on Groceries." The reasons for this direction are:
    • Everyone needs to shop for groceries for food and staples,

    • I have presented several similar speeches before, so I know where some of the sources are,

    • It appeals to almost every audience member, and

    • It may lend itself to specific visual aids during the presentation

    I believe that this topic may be further refined in order to stay within the 12-15 minutes time limit. For now, I have changed the blog title and will post related articles on the blog. What do you think? Please feel free to share your topic selection strategies.

    Thanks to Cynthia for your suggestion. It is a good direction that I will use for a future speech.

    Tuesday 10 February 2009

    Need to Narrow Down the Topic from "Frugal Living"



    As I am working on my speech right now, I notice that "frugal living" is too broad of a topic to talk in 12 - 15 minutes. To ensure that I will not go over time, I will need to narrow the focus. Personally, I feel that it is never too late to narrow down the topic, as it is always better (to me) to have a speech that is detailed and focused on few topics, than to have a general one that broadly covers large topics.

    Given that my theme is on frugal living. How could I narrow the topic down? What would you suggest?

    I will need to brainstorm some "more specific" topics.

    Speech Introduction for "Frugal Living"




    In the Toastmasters meeting tonight, I have learned the importance of speech introduction. Good speech introduction will help transition to the speaker and set up the tone for the presentation. Therefore, I have just prepared my speech introduction for the upcoming speech "Frugal Living."

    While this speech presentation will be read by either my evaluator, Rob Wolfe or the Toastmaster of the evening, I would like to share it in its draft form. I will hand a "final" edition to my "introducer."

    Brian will present a speech from Project 5, “Enhancing a Technical Talk with the Internet” from the “Technical Presentations” manual. The title of his speech is “Frugal Living.”

    The objectives are to:
    • Understand the nature and process of a technical presentation supported with profession-level visual aids
    • Arrange pre-meeting communications via email
    • Find or create a post-meeting web site for further dissemination of information supporting or enhancing your verbal presentation

    The time limit of this presentation is between 12 to 15 minutes.

    In tonight’s presentation, Brian will present a speech on frugal living. As there are so many ways to live frugally, he will provide his approach on living within the means. Then, he will ask the audience for their ways to live frugally.

    Monday 9 February 2009

    Quick Article on Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Supermarkets: Cut your grocery bill now: "7 ways to avoid the cash traps at your local grocer"



    The Blogher site has a short and concise article on how to save money in supermarket. Essentially, it provides seven items that you should avoid buying, as they tend to be heavily marked up. For example, a bagged salad costs more than three times than the cost of a head of lettuce. Visit the site to read "7 ways to avoid the cash traps at your local grocer."

    Even if you forget the seven items to avoid, the most important tip (actually a reminder) for me is to stay around the perimeter of the store to shop for the basics: fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and bakery. The inside aisles are where you will find the processed, "less-than healthy" highly marked up products.

    What have you done to stretch your dollars at a supermarket? Leave your comment and share!

    Get Frugal Living Tips at "About.com: Frugal Living"



    About.com is an online site with "guides," experts that are specialized in different topics. One of their topics is frugal living. Frugal living is as important as saving money. Living frugally allows you to
    • use less with what you have,
    • get more whenever you use something, and
    • help you to simplify your life.
    Whereas, saving money helps you to stretch the money whenever you spend. When you visit the site, you will find tips on "Cheap Valentine's Day Gift Ideas" and "Eat Out for Free."

    Compare to other sites that I have listed so far, this site is more passive. Visit whenever you have time to get inspired on frugal living strategies.

    How do you live frugally? Leave your comments and discuss!

    eHow.com How to Save Money in a Recession Article



    eHow.com is a site that allows anyone to contribute tips and ideas on a given topic. One of their articles is "How to Save Money in a Recession." This article has five easy steps to follow in saving your money during tough economic times. For example, Step 1 is:

    "Step 1: Figure out where every dollar is going. Write a list of the things that you pay for with your money. Be sure to include monthly bills such as electric and mortgage, weekly purchases like gas and groceries, and small daily purchases such as the cup of coffee you pick up each morning on the way to work. "

    I find the steps basic, but may be too simplistic for some. However, it is a good basic page to help you get started. What do you think? Leave your comments and start a discussion!

    Sunday 8 February 2009

    RedFlagDeals.com Deals, Coupons and Freebies



    RedFlagDeals.com is the largest Canadian deals site that showcases the latest shopping deals, free stuff offers, coupons and much more. Be sure to visit the Forums section for the latest offers, as members post their findings from across Canada. Notably, the "Hot Deals" subsection of the Forums is constantly updated with online and offline (a.k.a. brick and mortar) deals.

    When you have more time to explore the site, you may want to read the research pieces that they have on financial matters. You will find these useful articles in the "Features" section. For example, Mitchell's recent presentation on Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) may inspire you find out where is the best place to set up your TFSA.

    This is a great daily site to visit for the latest offers!

    Background and Objectives of Project 5: "Enhancing a Technical Talk with the Internet"


    This project includes not just the presentation, but communication with the presentation's audience both before and after the presentation. This can be done by e-mail, maintaining a blog or website, and using other online services to keep in touch with members of the audience.

    Time: 12-15 minutes
    Objectives:

    • Understand the nature and process of a technical presentation supported with professional-level visual aids.
    • Arrange pre-meeting communications via e-mail.
    • Find or create a post-meeting Web site for further dissemination of information supporting or enhancing your verbal presentation. You may create a Web page and add it to your club's Web site, making use of podcasting, webcasting or a basic Internet template.
    • Use a desktop computer, Microsoft Word, a Web browser, a simple graphics program for photos and other images, Microsoft PowerPoint as well as the venerable flip-chart to support your presentation.

    Welcome to Brian's Frugal Living site!




    This site is created to fulfill Project Five of "Technical Presentation," an Advanced Communication manual of Toastmasters International.

    The purpose is to showcase a list of frugal living sites and discuss ways to save money. Feel free to comment and ask questions.

    Thanks for visiting and have fun!