As the summer starts looking more like fall, we wanted to go on our annual family vacation. We are cottage people. We don’t own a cottage but we rent a cottage every summer in the Bruce Peninsula. I am partial to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay in the Bruce Peninsula. I love south-western Ontario and take every opportunity to head out on a great lake if I have the chance. There is no better way to reconnect with the family than to sit on a beach and soak the sun in or play a round of cards with teenagers. There is plenty to laugh about and relaxing is the name of the game. The other thing that brings us together are sit-down, homemade meals. We decided to take the #FlippFoodChallenge and see if we could build our menu for the week and plan our grocery list using the Flipp App.
The Flipp app is a FREE circular shopping app that makes saving on groceries (and other items) a breeze. It is location based which means all you have to do is submit your postal code and it will find the appropriate store flyer in your area. It not only has grocery fliers, Flipp also lists home home and garden, electronics, fashion, automotive, sporting goods and office flyers. There are certain items (like paper products or household goods) that you can find in both a grocery store, drugstore or a home and garden store.
The timesaving search engine in this app is worth the price alone… just kidding…IT’S FREE…. but still a valuable tool to use. For example if you are looking for he best store to buy orange juice, all you have to do is put orange juice in the search and it will bring up every listing that has those two words in it. So it can be orange juice in a large carton or in juice boxes. I will show you exactly which OJ can be found where and at what special (discount) price.
Creating great meals begins with some good meal or menu planning. I am a firm believer that if you plan things out (especially meals), you will get ahead of the chaos. So with whiteboard and pen in hand, I put together this menu with my family. It is not easy when you have a picky eater (though he is in denial about this) and you have your mother and mother-in-law in tow. It means you have to take different dietary needs into account. Sometimes it means that you are putting together meals for the next week and they must include favourites.
So with list in hand, I plug in the different items that I am looking for: pasta, pork tenderloin, juice boxes, corn, orange juice, fruits. You name it, I will need I will need it for my family at the cottage. Once I start making a list I can also plan when and where I will be going. Not all great deals are at the same store so I sometimes have o go to a few. (the best is when a store price matches and I don’t have to drive around). But even that is o.k. because I have learned that by using the Flipp app, I am saving a ton of money and time! The app will also let you know if there are coupons available for the product that you are searching. Or better yet, it will let you know if a store has a price match policy on a specific item (see image below).
I have been a fan of the Flipp App for a while now and I use it on a weekly basis (probably a couples of times a week if truth be told). It is easy to use and keeps getting better and better and… IT’S FREE… did I mention that already? 
You can check out the Flipp app and take your own #FlippFoodChallenge and make a menu, create a shopping list and see how easy it is to save money with the help of you phone.
Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.