Frugal March chatter (Marching on with Savings) cont'd Frugal Feb....

[matty's mom]

Your mortgage terms sound very similar to mine, I make a a prepayment every week, small amounts but it makes a huge difference, ours is not up until Oct. 2015 so I'm thinking it may still be worth biting the bullet, I would still stay with whom I am with as I am sure they would offer the same rate as other institutions because they want my business.

HERE's a tip: When you give a bank your mortgage ask them to give you WAIVE YOUR PRIMARY BANK ACCOUNT FEES for the duration of your term. So if you renew for 5 years your checkings account which is your primary account, you would not have a monthly service charge fee. My bank charge $11.95 x 12 = $143.40 a year x 5 year mortgage term = $717.00 saved on bank fees for your mortgage renewal term.

The banks cannot really refuse your asking this as they can reduce your bank fees in certain circumstances (they make so much interest off you that they won't sweat over $717.00 really

Did not know that! Good to know. Currently my mortgage isn't with a bank but a mortgage company. I think that is why it is such a good rate and flexible. As for banking fees, most of my banking is PC. No fees.

As for biting the bullet... If it works to your benefit... Good for you!

[LuvToUseCoupons]

It's not an allergy per say. We just don't eat it (I can't look at it when it's broken).

just curious if someone in your home has an egg allergy or it's just a means to not use eggs which would be really good on the wallet and the savings could really add up "being us frugal folks"

[Insane]

Cornstarch is an issue for me here as well. There isn't a lot around me. And I have had some surprises, for example, I had to ask the natural store to order in the washing soda. They had no idea what it was used for!. When I was living in TO I would buy corn startch @ Whole Foods. Can't remember the name. Joys of being in a big town. GMO is really starting to bug me! I have a friend who tests water and she had a clean up project involving a GMO crop and a river system.... it was scary stuff.

Thanks for the lead on the website. It is great!!! And I love that the dishwasher recipe is without borax.

Arm and hammer washing soda is the only one in town. I've decided that sometimes I just need to be at peace with what I can get. Would I prefer better stuff-sure, but am I going to stress over being able to find it? Nope. Just using it is better for my family, so it's a step in the right direction. If I can find it, I use it, otherwise, I'm just at peace with the fact that it's not possible.

But man, it's very difficult to get stuff up here. It's not even like I can drive a few hours and stock up...I'd have to drive like 18hrs-one way! LOL

[Insane]

Did not know that! Good to know. Currently my mortgage isn't with a bank but a mortgage company. I think that is why it is such a good rate and flexible. As for banking fees, most of my banking is PC. No fees.

As for biting the bullet... If it works to your benefit... Good for you!

Same. We used a mortgage broker for ours. The mortgage is actually with Scotia, cause that's who had the best rate and would do a mortgage in the NWT. Our rate is fantastic. I'm super happy and it saved us the hassle of shopping around. I'd recommend using a mortgage broker to anyone who needs a mortgage.

[macw1960]

Arm and hammer washing soda is the only one in town. I've decided that sometimes I just need to be at peace with what I can get. Would I prefer better stuff-sure, but am I going to stress over being able to find it? Nope. Just using it is better for my family, so it's a step in the right direction. If I can find it, I use it, otherwise, I'm just at peace with the fact that it's not possible.

But man, it's very difficult to get stuff up here. It's not even like I can drive a few hours and stock up...I'd have to drive like 18hrs-one way! LOL

And here I am feeling like I live in the boondocks!!! LOL

[Insane]

My dryer balls arrived today! I'm super excited. No more having to buy bounce sheets and it should cut our drying time-saving electicity. And my Bissel Little Green Machine arrived yesterday. My OOP for it? $0!! I used my airmiles. I decided it was better to use my airmiles on this than on GC for restaurants. I can get more use out of the carpet cleaner than a GC to a restaurant!

I make my own cleaning stuff too. Except the toilet bowl cleaner. I don't have a recipe that works well enough for our large family! But I use citrus vinegar. I use leftover orange rinds and soak them in vinegar for 2 weeks. Strain. Then to clean, I dilute it in half with water and put it in a spray bottle. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. I use it undiluted as a rinse agent in my dishwasher. Although I've heard that can ruin the compartment-so I'm not sure about that. A $3 jug of vinegar is far cheaper than the cleaners I was buying.

[macw1960]

Went and picked up some groceries today. Total spent $27.68 and coupons used $48.71. Also found some coupons to post on my trade list. $.78 spent at TH's and won a free doughnut. No spend days to date 4.

[lecale]

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[matty's mom]

I <3 dryer balls! I have been using them for the last three years in my HE dryer. LOVE THEM. They work so well. I have bother soft and hard plastic ones. The hard plastic have left some dents in my drum . But I don't regret having them at all.

Here is a link to make them with felted wool if anyone needs some and doesn't want to pay.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/...yer-balls.html

I will try the citrus cleaner. I bet it smells fresh! I inherited a LOT green cleaners when my Mom died. I am almost finished them. The only one that I have made was to clean DS's toys that I couldn't run through the dishwasher(water, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide). I got that recipe from 7th generation when they discontinued my favourite scented cleaner. (cedar orange- it smelt so good!!!)

As for the bissel little grean machine, great thing to have!!! It feel good to get it free. I managed to get it out of pocket for $7.00 (close to free) with airmiles (zellers gc and a rebate).

[macw1960]

Well, I followed your link and it seems I am going to buying some 100% wool to make these dryer balls. For that price it definately has to be worth it to save the cost of electricity and cut down on my laundry time.

Meal plan done.
Saturday: Pizza with veggies and dip
Sunday: Boiled dinner
Monday: Chicken, potatoes & veggies
Tuesday: Left over boiled dinner
Wednesday: Spaghetti with homemade garlic bread
Thursday: Deli Dogs with salad
Friday: DH may or may not eat but if he does it is usually a plateful of shrimp & I eat whatever is in the fridge looks good

[SassyAshley]

I have been looking at the cleaning vinegar but was not sure if the results would be worth the higher price.

The citrus vinegar sounds nice!

We use cleaning vinegar (10% strength instead of 5%) a lot around the kitchen...good idea!

[Caseythegoalie]

Ladies who make laundry soap: Does it smell fresh? That is my only concern lol. Maybe superficial of me but I love the smell of fresh, clean laundry and I have switched from Tide to Gain....or whatever is cheaper. I haven't experimented too much with laundry because of this.

[SassyAshley]

Does anyone here use vinegar in their Laundry?

I have been adding it but not really sure what I think of it yet.

[matty's mom]

Does anyone here use vinegar in their Laundry?

I have been adding it but not really sure what I think of it yet.

I have been using it as a rinse aid for my laundry when it has been really dry. The vinegar combined with the dryer balls drastically reduced the static cling. DH has a couple pair of pants that are prone to static cling. But normally, I don't really use it. Don't need to...

Caseythegoalie- the laundry soap that I use doesn't have much of a scent at all... which is why I like it. We are a "smell-less" home. You can make your own dryer sheets with "smell" in them. If you really need fragrance in the washing machine, you can make your own laundry "crystals". It is just a mix of 1c epsom salt or course salt and ~ 10+ drops of essential oils.

[Caseythegoalie]

Well, my tax refund hit my account today.
I stared at that nice big number for a bit and then started making payments and transfers.
Mastercard paid off!!!!! yeehaw!