If you own a Visa card, before you head out on your next shopping trip, or book your next vacation, check the visaperks.ca website. There are some great savings to be had with coupon vouchers for in-store use and coupon codes for online shopping. Some good deal examples we found include; $50 off each nights stay at participating Fairmont hotels, Canadian Family 1 year subscription for only $10 (70% savings), $10 off $50 at Gap stores, and buy one, get one FREE waffle cones at Baskin Robins. Definitely worth a quick search of their site for these savings!

Has Mother of a Deal helped you save big? Do you think it has added up to $500 over the year? Today’s Parent magazine is asking you for details on how you’ve slashed your spending to save at least $500 over a year. We’d love it if you emailed to let them know how Mother of a Deal has helped you keep more money in your wallet. Send your email before Monday, August 23 to editors@todaysparent.com with “Save $500” in the subject line. Selected tips will appear in January’s issue.

If you'd like to add a few more annuals or perennials to your garden this summer, now's a great time to grab some deals. Walmart, Superstore, Home Depot and many of the other big chains are starting to clear out their summer stock and have 50% off or more on plants. Many of the smaller seasonal greenhouses will be clearing out their product at this time as well.

It’s August and back-to-school sales are in full-tilt. Visa Canada reports that Canadians plan to spend an average of $621 on back-to-school shopping this year, much of it online. Mother of a Deal shares a few tips on how to make your back-to-school shopping trip, whether online or at a bricks and mortar location, an A+ success.

Did you know that "the average family saves a mere three percent of before-tax income, compared with 10 percent in 1990? One of the reasons we see so many Canadians in financial difficulty is that they didn’t learn these lessons at home.” Today's Parent magazine has a great article on teaching your children about money. Read these five great tips on how to put your kids on the right road to financial health.

Love browsing US shopping sites, but scared of the cross border shipping fees, or lack of shipping to Canada? If you're in the Lower Mainland you may want to check out places like Hagens of Blaine and Pacific Mail and Parcel in Blaine. They are parcel service centres and can accept and hold your packages for as little as $2 each and the overall savings can be substantial. If you live in another Canadian border city do a quick search of parcel service companies in your nearest US border city. While we are strong believers in shopping local, sometimes the products and deals available on US sites can't be beat!

Please note, the exemption to retail sales tax in Washington state for BC and Ontario residents has been blocked until further notice. This article in The Province newspaper gives details as to why this has happened and what the next steps will be. Sorry for all those of you excited to head down and shop tax free this summer! 

Road trips are a huge part of summer family fun. Whether it’s a smaller day trip or a few weeks holiday, costs can often escalate quickly in the name of enjoyment, especially when there are kids in tow. With a little bit of preparation, road trips really can be an inexpensive way to enjoy time with your family this summer – from start to finish! In this article, we share a few tips to ensure the open road doesn’t translate into an open wallet.

For a limited time, not sure how limited, iTunes has a number of TV shows and season premiers available to download for FREE. We just grabbed the Max & Ruby 3 episodes for FREE and will likely grab a few Sesame Street episodes too. These always come in handy at restaurants or waiting at the doctor's office to pull out your iPod and let the kids watch. From the main page of the iTunes store, head to the TV show section and then they have a button for FREE TV shows. If you don't already have an iTunes account you can download one here.

We’ve posted this FREEBIE before but it’s such a popular deal we thought it was worth a re-post. Birthday parties can add up, even 1st birthdays, so head to your nearest Thrifty Foods to order your FREE 8″x12″ first birthday cake, available in pink or blue. Click here for store locator. And thanks to Iris for confirming that their cake is indeed, very yummy and feeds 15 - 20 people!