Math is Real Life - November Edition

It's that time of the month again, and I am eager to once again join up with the fabulous linky hosted by Miss Math Dork, 4mulafun, Fourth Grade Studio, and Teaching to Inspire in 5th!

So here we are, the first full week of November and it is definitely feeling like winter outside.

This month, I wanted to write about something very important to me...saving money! I fully admit I am a bargain hunter and I will not pay full price for anything! I was taught very young the value of a dollar, and how to stretch it. Those who know me, make fun of me all the time, but hey it makes me happy! Each time I go shopping it is like my own little math challenge to save the most money possible.

Being Canadian, we already celebrated Thanksgiving back in October, and now that we are in our new house, we have the room to host such dinners. Well, as I am sure you know having a large family dinner can be expensive. Luckily everyone signed up to bring an item of food, so I was left with the turkey and the pumpkin pie...and so began my hunt for getting the best deal on my holiday dinner.

Step 1 - Do your research

In order to get the best deals on anything, you need to know your prices. Thursday the flyers arrive at the end of my driveway, which is one of the highlights of my week (sad I know, but hey its the little things in life...). So I started by looking through the flyers and comparing prices.  I didn't have to look far, as every flyer had a turkey on the cover, however I wanted to get the best deal all around, not just on the turkey. With my list beside me I compared all the prices of the items I was going to need to purchase to pull off a delicious dinner. Once I evaluated all the comparisons, I then decided on the store.

Step 2 - Make a plan

Most of the prices were actually pretty similar, so I took a few other things into consideration.

I decided to go to Safeway. Not only were the turkeys $0.99/lb, but if I did my shopping on Tuesday (customer appreciation day) I would save an additional 10% on my total order. I am also an avid Airmiles collector, and Safeway is the only grocery store to offer airmiles, so that helped me make my decision.

Before I headed out to the grocery store I finalized my shopping list, double checked my prices, did a quick coupon match-up, and patiently waited for Tuesday.

Step 3 - Go shopping!

When Tuesday finally arrived I was ready to go. I got everything I needed and didn't break the bank. The best deal, had to be the turkey.

Regular price- $20.56
Sale price- $13.72
Additional 10% discount - $1.37
Total cost of the turkey - $12.35
Total savings - $8.21

I ended up paying $12.35 for my 13.8 lb turkey, which turned out beautifully (I wish I had taken a picture) and it was more than enough for the family. We had turkey leftovers for 2 days and I was still able to make a huge pot of homemade soup.

I think I got my money's worth. What do you think?

I plan on teaching my students how to get the best deal, when we start learning about unit rates in the next few weeks...by then we will be thinking about Christmas dinner.
Here's a little preview of something I've been working on. I hope to have it posted by American Thanksgiving.

How did you use math this month? Any other bargain hunters like me out there? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

I hope all my Canadian friends had a great Thanksgiving, and I wish all my American friends a wonderful Thanksgiving.



Kim