July Sizzling Savings- July frugal chatter

[Crochetlady]

This afternoon I went to get my nails and calluses done. My feet feel good for another 8 weeks. The Dr. noticed a red patch beside the nail on my big toe. It didn`t hurt til he touched it. Turned out it was the beginning of an ingrown toenail. He dug it out...not fun...hope that`s the end of it.
My fave bookstore is across the street. I knew I shouldn`t have gone in. Love their discounted racks. Came out with 2 bags of books and a much lighter wallet.

[YOU AND ME]

Hi all - on TLC on Bell channel 521 There is an extreme couponing marathon if anyone needs a little inspirations (lol) or laugh

Maybe i should watch it as on Sunday one of the cashier called me a extreme couponer.I had $80 in coupons

[YOU AND ME]

We had a good find this weekend, prepared meat for $2.99/lb, when we usually buy it for $4.99/lb. I usually purchase it raw at that price and have to do all the marinating and cook it myself. Even if we did have to pay the tax on it, I still find that a good price! It saved us from turning on the oven for over 40 minutes, and lots of time in meal prep. (Maybe this should count as June savings?) So far, we've used it for four meals on the first package and we're not completely through it yet.

I did turn on the oven anyways, and used up some yogurt for brownies (yum!) and tried a new recipe for oatmeal blueberry muffins to share with some dear friends. We were also able to see fireworks on Canada Day from our front window and got a load of laundry out on the line (and it didn't rain on it!!). Yay!

To empathize with all the plus-sized girls from last month's thread, I am now nine months pregnant and at the point where stretchy maternity clothes feel really tight. (What??!) I now feel like I'm a size million. Ugh. On the bright side, I did save a lot of time this year (and money, I guess) in clothes shopping. I haven't tried on anything new except for flip flops all year. That's a new record for me.

Another win was a discount from our insurance. We were eligible since we renewed last November, but I thought I needed the paperwork as proof and called in during March. The rep told me he couldn't help since he wasn't able to go back before the current date. What's a girl to do? Well,.... I found the contact info for the ombudsman and sent an email. The worst they can say is no, right? I got my money back! I actually did a happy chair dance! "Found money" to go towards debt. I am all smiles today and told my mother over lunch.

Small victory for me, and compensates a bit for a non-frugal dinner out to celebrate our seventh anniversary. Though I will say it was worth all $23. Yum! I imagine once the baby comes, we won't be eating out for a looong time.

Happy Anniversary sweet sparrow


Well i banked another $100 for cleaning but i'm so tired i think i'm off to bed

[avoncallingu]

Sounds like a lot of us have challenges in the summer to try to be frugal. Our car needed $500 spent on it today just to do maintenance.....ouch! We go to a company in the states for tire work and so we got our tires rotated for 0 $ today but not even at the company we usually go to. DH stopped at one tire place to ask them where OUR tire place was located - they offered to do it for free - and were really fast and pleasant.

We found some really nice and also cheap blueberries which I'm going to freeze. I also got some more annuals which I'll fill in some pots which were $3.99 for a flat.

I've been trying to find time to do some more purging so that I can list some things on Kijiji, too. You guys inspire me!

Frugal tip of the day: Use your dryer lint to start your campfires.

[Insane]

I'm hoping to end the summer with some cash in my bank account. Daycare costs go down for the summer plus Aug I get 3 pays. Although the end of June was expensive for me. I made a meat order, had to buy some clothes for the kids and shoes for the baby. Kids don't come cheap!

[Insane]

Well so far I have $20 in sold items (highchair from Timothy). Hurray!

Selling those unused, no longer needed items really adds up. I've got nearly $900 cash saved for a new couch. And we've already bought a new lazy boy and a kitchen set using money from items we've sold and GC from family in lieu of birthday/christmas gifts. And that doesn't include when I've diped into that special fund to buy things (like hockey equipment or just to take the kids out for lunch). It amazes me how much "hidden" money I have. Especially since we are so done having kids, so I've been selling baby gear as he outgrows it.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning All,
I think it is going to be a very long bad day, sometime overnight my sinuses decided to get angry with me, not sure if it is just my sinuses or allergies or both but I wish I was at home in bed, but since it is not worth it for me to take a sick day I am at work. All I want to do is sleep right now but on the up side only 8 more hours to go and than I get to go home.

Looks like there will be a little extra spending this week as it looks like I am running low on sinus pills and those things are no cheap. As well found a few items in the preview flyers on sale I wanna pick up.

I just have to say has anyone else noticed how expensive potatoes have gotten and they never seem to go on sale anymore.

[Frugal Lisa]

Good morning everyone! My house is all cleaned now, it doesn't take long for things to get away on you a little. We were so busy this weekend that it got away on me a bit, it drives me crazy! Lol. But it's all organized again now. I hope you all have great 'hump days', and sassy Ashley, feel better soon!!!

[alicia]

well I've decided to go back to swagbucks - for the past six months I've been super busy and didn't have time for it. Now I will be able to do it enough to probably earn $10/month... nothing major that's for sure, but I really miss having a little bit of "free" money to play with that I don't feel guilty about. plus it really helped me last Christmas - I had $300 saved in Paypal for gifts. I'm just hoping for a movie GC or Swiss Chalet every once and a while to have a date night

[Giseledta]

love swagbucks!!! Ok 3 loads of laundry on the line. Hoping for another 2 at lunch time , with a high of 27.... it will dry fast. going to the wading pool with the kids. may pick another bowl of strawberries from the garden. editing to add.... will start some pumpkins today, and more lettuce. we have our lettuce growing in a shaded area, and its doing very well.

[sweet sparrow]

You are doing awesome, happy anniversary to you and your dh

Happy Anniversary sweet sparrow

Thank you!

im so dreading painting the kitchen. anyone wanna do it ?

A coat of paints does wonders for the house & the moral but I find it's a never ending battle, what I mean at the rate that dh paints it's time to repaint where we started....he hates it but he does such a great job

I'm like that too, I'll take forever. After a while though, I find I can get a straighter line than I can get following the tape. Anyone can do the walls, but I get very possessive about the baseboards and windowframes. I think painting brings out the crazy in me. If it weren't for the fumes, I think I could spend a day with the music and the colours... Sure, sign me up in about a year after the baby. Sure, sign me up for an SC painted kitchen!

You all must give me pointers on how you do it on kijiji. I've been wanting to for ages, but I'm afraid of strangers coming by the house. Do you meet people outside or in a public place? Do you have a lowest price in mind that you'll let people barter to? What will you say to people who offer you something ridiculous like $1 for an item worth much more? In your ads, do you highlight certain words to make your item stand out?

[sweet sparrow]

Looks like there will be a little extra spending this week as it looks like I am running low on sinus pills and those things are no cheap. As well found a few items in the preview flyers on sale I wanna pick up.

I just have to say has anyone else noticed how expensive potatoes have gotten and they never seem to go on sale anymore.

Wish you could come by, SassyAshley. I'd give you all my sample sinus pills. Every two or three weeks, the local store sells potatoes for $0.99/10 lbs. I would have bought some, but DH grew up eating them until he was sick of them and I don't want to eat them all myself. Then I can indulge my ketchup addiction! Ok, yes, come on over next time they're on sale!!

[Frugalbigmama]

I'm hoping to end the summer with some cash in my bank account. Daycare costs go down for the summer plus Aug I get 3 pays. Although the end of June was expensive for me. I made a meat order, had to buy some clothes for the kids and shoes for the baby. Kids don't come cheap!

lol Kids are not cheap but I don't find them that expensive (besides my hockey kid but it's fun to watch and he loves it so worth every penny!) I put money aside each month for clothing for my boys so whenever they need something it doesn't feel like an expense since I have the money ready. I just buy it and then transfer from "Boys Clothing Account" to my Credit card. It is building up nicely since I have been very frugal and bought 3 garbage bags full of clothing from a co-worker for $20 (all name brand and like new) so it seems I'm always pulling something new out to hang in the closet.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning All,
I think it is going to be a very long bad day, sometime overnight my sinuses decided to get angry with me, not sure if it is just my sinuses or allergies or both but I wish I was at home in bed, but since it is not worth it for me to take a sick day I am at work. All I want to do is sleep right now but on the up side only 8 more hours to go and than I get to go home.

Looks like there will be a little extra spending this week as it looks like I am running low on sinus pills and those things are no cheap. As well found a few items in the preview flyers on sale I wanna pick up.

I just have to say has anyone else noticed how expensive potatoes have gotten and they never seem to go on sale anymore.

YES!!! BF bought a bag a few weeks ago ($3.99 for 10LBS) as we hadn't had any for a long time but splurged lol Really I guess 40 cents a LB is not bad but not what we are use too. We are almost out too so hoping they go on sale soon. Usually in the fall they are always cheap.

[MaddensMomma]

Can I ask a rather personal question here... How many of you own your home?

DH and I are both students, and DH just started his 3 year Computer Tech course (after finishing a masters degree in a totally separate field). My SIL (and best friend - married to DH's brother) just informed me that when they move out of here next spring (we all live in a 4 bedroom townhouse) that they will be moving into their own home (they're both students too but her parents are buying the house for them). They will be buying a back split and moving my MIL (DH's mom) into the basement. She said she wanted us to live there but there were a few reasons why they decided against it... the biggest reason being that they don't feel like dealing with all the family drama it would cause with DH's sister (our SIL). I hope all of this is making sense lol.

Anyway I am of course happy for them. We can only dream of one day owning a home with the credit we have and the fact that we will be in lots of debt from student loans. Owning a home was something I never cared too much about until we had kids. Now I'd love one. Not to mention our neighbor was robbed a few days ago and someone broke into his house last night. Would be nice to be in a better area lol. That being said, I don't want to move again until we can buy a house though... If we can, ever.

Anyway as I was saying... I'm happy for them but ever since they told me and DH I have been feeling sad. DH's parents don't have the means to help us and although my parents do, we have a rocky history and wouldn't even co-sign for us in the past, even though we have never paid rent late. I guess I should note... They have since then loaned us money on a contract since then and we *have* always paid them back on time.

... I'm not even sure why I feel sad. Maybe just cause having our own house is something that if it is possible, won't be for quite some time.

Anyway..... Time to get the kids in the bath :p

We bought our first home back in September. We were then 23 and 24 but both working full time (although we don't earn a lot). We have some debt but not a huge amount. We were able to get a low interest rate on our mortgage and saved for our down payment. Although we still had to pay CMHC fees, we are proud to say that we did it ourselves without any financial help from our family. Our family has helped us out HUGE with renovations and all the manual labour that has gone into the house though! DH is very handy so we bought a fixer upper that was still in livable condition in a nicer area rather than a nicer house in a crappy area. We have slowly been putting the work in as we can afford it.