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!

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.

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.

Save Money On Groceries

View more presentations from bchow. (tags: grocery toastmasters)

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:

• FrugalShopper.ca's Article on SCOP: A short article that summarizes what SCOP is and how it works
  
  
• SmartCanucks.ca's Article on SCOP: Another short article on SCOP; the article lists participating stores
  
  
• Retail Council of Canada's Offical Page on "Code of Practice: Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code": The official SCOP code is listed here
  
  
• RedFlagDeals.com's Discussions on SCOP: Read other shoppers experience on SCOP
  
  

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:

• LifeHacker's Shop Healthier at the Store Perimeter: Make your next trip to the grocery store as healthy as possible by shopping the perimeter of the store; read the other nine tips in the referenced article.
  
  
• Canadian Living's 6 budget grocery shopping tips: "Impulse purchases at the grocery store are even more frequent than those in your favourite clothing stores...Whether you're saving up to buy your first home or worried about the looming food crisis, you're probably looking for ways to save some money."
  
  
• 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": A resource that was previously listed on this site
  
  
YouTube 7 Keys to Great Grocery Shopping with TonyaTko: "I went to the grocery store. Journey with me as I show you some easy tips and tricks to get the MOST out of shopping."

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:

• save.ca: order free product coupons from well-known manufacturers by mail
  
  
• FrugalShopper.ca's Where to Find Coupons in Canada: A comprehensive article on where to find coupons in Canada
  
  
• SmartCanucks.ca's Coupon Database: Find a list of online and store coupons and coupon codes

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."

• Dave Cheong's Grocery Shopping Helper: Generate a shopping list template sorted alphabetically or by aisle; it will help you save time in the store
  
  
• About.com Printable Grocery List: A simpler printable grocery shopping list, if you find the previous site's grocery list too complex
  
  
• The Simple Dollar's Synergizing The Shopping List And The Coupon Box To Save Big Money At The Grocery Store: Read a short article on tips to use the shopping list and coupons to save money

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

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.

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.

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.

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!