During the approximately 100 hours I spent watching TLC over the holiday break, I learned some important lessons: 19 kids are far too many, petite girls should never carry big purses, and Sarah Palin is a good shot. Some of the most useful information, however, came from a new show called Extreme Couponing, which follows diehard coupon collectors as they use coupons to reduce $2,000 grocery bills to $40. Although McGill students may not have the time or desire to knock on all their neighbour’s doors to ask for their coupons or have the space to stockpile enough rice, deodorant, canned soup and shampoo to last 10 lifetimes, as the people on this show do, there are some easy resources you can use to save money on items you buy frequently.

coupons.smartcanucks.ca

This website collects coupons and offers a database of printable ones. You can search by company or by category, like grocery, beauty, or garden. There’s also a list of the week’s most popular coupons which can help you find the best deals.

flyerland.ca

Instead of dealing with the waste created by a weekly flyer package, find out about the deals they contain by entering your postal code on this website, which provides online access to all the weekly flyers from your area. If you use some of these deals in combination with a coupon from Smart Canucks, you can often get something for close to free.

Groupon

Although it’s been around in different countries and cities since 2008, Groupon has recently seen a surge in popularity, and you may have already gotten emails or Facebook messages from friends who are using the service. Each day, one specific deal is offered for the city you’re in. However, the promotion is only valid if enough people sign up for the offer.

Company email listservs

While you might be hesitant to give your email address to the cashier at Gap for fear of being spammed with useless emails, the promotions these companies send out can help you save money. Some stores, like J.Crew, often offer online deals for limited periods of time, which you can only find out about through email. Consider creating a separate email account for emails like this so they don’t clog your inbox.