New (to us) bicycle.

The Green Zebra book strikes again!  When we went to Epic! Sustainable Living Expo (I swear, that's what it is called) last month, we spent about $10 on a book of coupons that was essentially like the Entertainment book that has all the coupons in it, but these ones are all coupons with an environmental bent.  Also, the coupons are also offered for the Green Zebra through an awesome application that is available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry called Clip Mobile.  So we've been doing pretty well with using the coupons whenever we go out somewhere or when we need to get anything (we also have an Entertainment book, and I really recommend buying both Entertainment and Green Zebra, because for what you pay - $20 is the usual price for each of them, I believe - it's quite a deal).  I particularly have managed to use up lots of Marketplace IGA coupons for $5 off whenever I go there for our weekly groceries, so we've saved way more than the cost of the book.

Tim recently has expressed some interest in getting a bike and starting to get outside to exercise more.  I already have a bike, but he didn't, and that was really the type of exercise he was most interested in, and of course I am excited to have something like that which we could do together, and with the dog, now that he has recovered from his hip replacement surgery.  So I came across a coupon in the Green Zebra book for 15% off at Ride on Again, a bike store in Vancouver, on any second-hand bike.  We drove down there yesterday, coupon in hand, and picked out a bike!  We immediately went home and got my bike and took the dogs, and the bikes, to the dog park we normally go to.  The "park" is more of a long trail by a river, and it is always full of dogs, most of whom are well behaved.

We didn't want to buy a brand new bike, due to waste/landfill concerns, and also, I think it is really important to support businesses that provide these sorts of options to consumers.  And, it's even better when you can have a coupon that pretty much eliminates the tax!  The great thing is, more and more businesses have started providing these options!