April Showers of Savings the sequel - 2015 Frugal Chatter

[sweet sparrow]

@Sweetsparrow Looks like I live in the wrong area! $1600 per month for one child - that is crazy!!!!! I have a daycare family leaving because subsidy is increasing their monthly fees to $900 for 2 children (1 fulltime and 1 school age). There is not a big market for daycare here as housing costs are lower so there are a lot of stay at home moms or families that have relatives that watch their kids.

Oh I wish I had family closer to us! The $1,600/month includes a catered organic menu, no additives, added sugars, or processed foods. Most are meals you would find in fancy restaurants, with the fat and sodium content strictly monitored. All snacks are baked on site and all ingredients are local. Most daycares are around $1,000 per child and home care can be as low as $600. The only issues with the other daycares and home cares I've visited is the TV time and heavily processed food with no nutritional value (like Kraft dinner with powdered juices).

As a friend of mine said, if you want quality care for your children around here, the line ups are out the wazoo and the costs are crazy. There's lots of room at places that stick your kids in front of the TV and feed them deep fried reconstituted chicken nuggets. I'm desperately seeking somewhere that doesn't have that.

We'd never be able to afford $1,600/month so we'd be applying for the subsidy, but thought we might have LO there for two months until she can have a spot at her cheaper daycare in the fall.

Of course they increase the TFSA from $5500 per person to $10K per person like seriously - dh & I don't even have a TFSA as we can't afford to put anything aside with all the rising costs of everything.

I did not even pay attention to the budget, I am not sure I want to know how much more life is going to cost. I agree about the TFSA, I am trying to catch up to the amount that we are currently entitled to, how do I find another 10000.

For this year, I suppose you would only need an extra $4,500 to max out your TFSA, if you had already contributed the maximum. M

Maclean's reported:
"The budget document provides statistics on TFSA holders that would seem to counter the notion TFSAs mainly benefit the rich. It observes: “Individuals with annual income less than $80,000 accounted for more than 80 per cent of all TFSA holders and about 75 per cent of TFSA assets as of the end of 2013 …. about 60 per cent of the individuals contributing the maximum amount to their TFSAs had incomes less than $60,000 in 2013.”

I would really like some advice from those people making less than $60,000 and contributing the maximum. I bet they don't pay for daycare or have a heavy mortgage payment.

For all you gardeners, I have a question. I did an experiment with my carrot tops this week. I put the tops, some of which had started to sprout in some water and now they are REALLY sprouting and sending out some little "hairy" root thingies. Can I plant these things in our tiny little garden? Can I plant them in a container? Will they actually produce carrots?

The cost of child care is SO exorbitant! I'm surprised people can afford to work!

It wouldn't hurt to try! Wait until the roots are over an inch long, and more roots make for a stronger plant.

I think job security is the big thing. There's no promise of another job after the kids go to school or the jobs might be further (increasing transportation costs or making a second car necessary). One of my friends makes a very nice salary and was able to find work for her DH at the same place. They carpool every day and moved down the street from her parents, eliminating a daycare cost, but also paid for a more expensive house in Toronto. I'm not sure which works out to be cheaper, but having your child raised by loving grandparents is priceless.

-here's a question how much sleep do you ladies average a night?? I am getting 6 hours-give or take (age 55 here to)either my hot flashes wake me or my dry gums

I won't answer that as you probably don't stay awake until 2 AM to scrub cloth diapers and little socks.

Fast forward to today - and on a different topic - he calls me late afternoon with "I had an accident" - well, my heart dropped - but he said no it wasn't with the car, it was at work.
(well, geez, his last work accident last year was horrid!)
But he said he was okay, got hit on the head, and just had to see a doc.

So I was left wondering til he got home - and he has a gash on the top of his head, and got stitches. He was working on an overhead light fixture and he was just a few rungs down from the bottom of the ladder when a piece fell down from the ceiling and hit him.
He's okay, nothing like a concussion or even a headache.

I told him - and he knows - that I'm always worried about him getting electrocuted. Well, he said, not long before that happened, he had a ballast catch on fire. SHEESH!

@Natalka , I hope you feel better soon. As for your DH, he tells you he was hit on the head and came home with stitches?! Sounds like my DH... Good gracious! I'm glad he wasn't more seriously injured, but getting stitches is a bit more than "just having to see a doc"!

Sweet sparrow, it does get better. We once had to borrow money from the parents because the house needed a roof and we could not afford it. The key to our success was buying a house we could afford and then never leaving. 20 yrs in the house, but we never had to deal with all those costs associated with moving, so many people do this multiple times and it all adds up. It was never the plan but we quickly realized buying a bigger house meant leaving Oakville. For us the luck was buying in Oakville long before it was so crazy expensive

I am sure you have exhausted your options but if your employer has an EAP they may have a child care service that helps you see what if any other options are out there. One of our best experiences was with home daycare, but it is not for everyone. But the costs now are crazy, I think at the most costly I was paying 200 a week for 1 child.

We bought during the bidding wars, but I don't think we'd be able to afford our house now. Although, with all the improvements we've had to make, and still need to, maybe it's equivalent.

Home care just went up. I might be a bit paranoid, but I know a few people who have had poor luck with them. Even in the regulated ones where there is one surprise visit a month, there is no restriction on the people the caregiver lets through the door. The police checks are done on the caregiver, but no restrictions on animals or visitors. One parent I know found her child at the mall, unsupervised with the other children, waiting outside a shop. The caregiver dumped them alone on a bench so she could run errands. I'd bet she doesn't have five carseats in a car to transport all those kids safely and she had no permission from any of the parents to leave the house. I really wish she had reported her!!

I would be fine with homecare if I could find the right person.

[cdngal75]

Just want to say first of all that I love this thread and have been reading it off and on for about a year. I could sit all day and read, "Ways to save and cut back" Anyway I have a few ideas:
1. Can't stress enough that it pays to check receipts. 3 weeks ago I was charged 21.99 for a pound of butter. Yes you read that right! I was price matching it for 2.99 and the cashier made a mistake. ? It wasn't until I got home that I noticed it and therefore had to drive back across town the next day. To top it off the store I had shopped in right before this experience also had overcharged me 2.80. I caught this one before leaving the store. Walmart overcharges me it seems on a regular basis also.
2. I look for SCOPS and items at SDM that are free or almost free with the managers stickers. This month so far I have received: Sunlight laundry (40 load), Baby waterplay toy set, plus 2 boxes of tea all with SCOP and 3 boxes of cookies with managers stickers...all free. These items would have cost around 40.00.
3. I ask myself ...can I make it instead whether its baby wipes, all purpose cleaner, muffins-cookies-cakes-jam etc, etc.
4. It never hurts to ask. I waited 4 months for a replacement WM card. I finally called them back and asked if I could be compensated in any way for losing lots of reward points in 4 months. To my surprise they sent me a 20.00 gift card. Also this am I had a similar thing happen when I called 1-800-SHOPPERS. I complained that I had never ever received personalized emails with optimum offers while hearing about so many people receiving them. Again I asked if they could in any way make it up to me. The attendant offered me 2000 points and reassured me that I WOULD be sent email offers very soon as she took things one step further. (whatever that means)
5. Use less- whether its shampoo, dish or laundry soap, etc
6. Sell items on Kijiji, or garage sale sites. Last yea rI made at least 200-300 dollars by bringing home items left at curbs etc, cleaning them up/ paint touch ups and then turning around and selling them. Our city is having another curb-side swap this weekend.
I know lots of these ideas have already been mentioned but they are my favorite.

I always check my receipts. The three worst stores for scanning errors(in my experience) are Shoppers, Superstore and No Frills.

[cdngal75]

Oh and I love Shoppers manager's special stickers. I recently got two tubs of Activia yogurt (good for a month) free after $3 off managers special. No idea why they were on special but can't beat free!

[frugalmom]

I always check my receipts. The three worst stores for scanning errors(in my experience) are Shoppers, Superstore and No Frills.

The 21.99 butter was from our No Frills.

[lilo0003]

SweetSparrow: I so agree on home daycare. It’stough. The one that made me a fan was a mom that I found in the schoolyard. Ouroldest boys were in kindergarten together & she had three under 5 so neededto stay home, I watched her with her kids and felt I could take a chance. Well10 years later we are great friends and my youngest and her middle son are inseparable.But not everyone gets lucky and with a little one its harder because theyreally can’t tell you what’s going on.
We could not afford to buy our house now either.We bought when the bubble bust 20 years ago so it was a bargain, but now it’sworth 5x more than what we paid for it.
For anyone interested in a better understandingTFSA there is a book by Gorden Pape that I found helpful. Some people suggestthat depending on your income a TFSA is smarter than an RRSP (not sure I agree).We actually did not start funding our TFSA until we paid off the mortgage so westill have some (a lot) of catch up to do and then as a couple this is an extra$9000 a year. There is just no way.
Natalka: sorry to hear about the pain.Aging is not for the faint of heart. But enjoy your new wardrobe.
Avon: Still praying things turn around foryour DH.
Bobbiegirl: thanks for the budget link. Iam going to check it out.
Coupongirl: I am a terrible sleeper and Ifind as I age it just gets worse. I am my own worst enemy though as I stay updoing laundry & mindlessly surfing the internet.
I am going to miss the Vector coupons, lastnight I was able to buy 2 pounds of strawberries for .48 cents, almost 4 poundsof banana’s for free and 5 boxes of Vector for free and then found the winterwindshield washer for .94 cents. So I bought5, that should last a winter. All this for less than $10.

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy hump day! I am trucking along. Both kids are busy with afterschool activities every night this week so I am just floating along. I did do some laundry last night so will try and continue tonight. Kitchen is clean and all clean dishes put away so I have that at least lol. Lunches were packed easily for the boys and I brought oatmeal for my breakfast and leftover pasta my wonderful man made Monday night for my lunch today. Looking forward to it since it is so so good! Glad I didn't eat it yesterday I collected $40 in sold items yesterday and have 3 pick ups lined up today for a total of $15 so hopefully they all show up today. Will try and bump/post a few more items this evening once home with kids

[Frugalbigmama]

@lilo0003 - Did you find the windshield washer fluid marked down at a Loblaws chain? Our was last week and I had bought 8! and they had tons but then when I went on the weekend I didn't see a jug kicking around so everyone must have stocked up around here!

[Andit]

Good morning, everyone.

I feel like such an idiot. After 2 days of tearing my place apart, making a colossal mess, I found the tax forms...the rather large portfolio they were in fell behind my desk (not sure who knocked it over, won't mention any names ). So on today's agenda is the cleaning/making livable of our little home, so the brats can run around (it's an obstacle course right now, sigh). I think going to the post office will have to wait until tomorrow.

Better go double check my figures so I can actually file my taxes. Blech. On the plus side, they are what they should be - whenever there is +/- $20 due or refunded, it means someone did their job right. Getting money back just means the govt held on to too much of my $$.

Still waiting for the sun to make an appearance.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[sweet sparrow]

SweetSparrow: I so agree on home daycare. It’stough. The one that made me a fan was a mom that I found in the schoolyard. Ouroldest boys were in kindergarten together & she had three under 5 so neededto stay home, I watched her with her kids and felt I could take a chance. Well10 years later we are great friends and my youngest and her middle son are inseparable.But not everyone gets lucky and with a little one its harder because theyreally can’t tell you what’s going on.
We could not afford to buy our house now either.We bought when the bubble bust 20 years ago so it was a bargain, but now it’sworth 5x more than what we paid for it.

For anyone interested in a better understandingTFSA there is a book by Gorden Pape that I found helpful. Some people suggestthat depending on your income a TFSA is smarter than an RRSP (not sure I agree).We actually did not start funding our TFSA until we paid off the mortgage so westill have some (a lot) of catch up to do and then as a couple this is an extra$9000 a year. There is just no way.

I am going to miss the Vector coupons, lastnight I was able to buy 2 pounds of strawberries for .48 cents, almost 4 poundsof banana’s for free and 5 boxes of Vector for free and then found the winterwindshield washer for .94 cents. So I bought5, that should last a winter. All this for less than $10.

Yes, I'm a bit hesitant on home daycares because of what I've seen lately. There's a house on the street, completely unkempt, broken windows in the middle of winter, wooden chairs and tables with splinters sticking out all over, fabric chairs out in the yard all year round. A bunch of children play there, the caregiver lets them run into the streets, far out of her reach or even callling distance. There are big city streets nearby with 70 km/hr speed limits, six lanes across. It makes me nervous. The caregiver is a larger sized lady who wears flip flops in summer and moves fairly slowly. With over ten children to look after, I'd want to see running shoes on her! There's no way she'd be able to catch some of the older ones on bikes.

I read the Gordon Pape book and thought it was interesting too. I agree, I don't think there's much left over for the TFSA. I still have heavy repayments to the HBP to catch up on.

I have two free Vector coupons to use up this weekend!

On the budget, I was disappointed to see the environment was a back seat to the other issues. Happy Earth Day everyone and think green today!

[lizzie bargain]

I was reading on another forum that the new federal budget has not been passed into law yet so not sure when that will happen. So even if a person had extra dollars to bump up their TFSA contribution for this year perhaps it would be prudent to wait for the vote and the governor generals signature-no doubt it will all but a done deal but... who was it the other day talking about not counting your chickens before they are hatched. I think it was SA and J and C. I agree with what many of the younger families are saying with mortgage payments, childcare costs etc- it is very hard to get ahead-but as Lilo said for many of us things get better financially as we get older and some costs go down. Not that this is guaranteed and nobody can predict the future prices of housing, hydro, inflation etc but I personally found from my 30's-40's-50's costs have eased and I have been able to save more. Of course for the remaining decades of our lives I cannot predict our long term health costs etc so we just try to be as prudent as possible with our funds while still enjoying some extra's as our budget allows.

[lilo0003]

@lilo0003- Did you find the windshield washer fluid marked down at a Loblaws chain? Our was last week and I had bought 8! and they had tons but then when I went on the weekend I didn't see a jug kicking around so everyone must have stocked up around here!

yes, it was the RCSS in Oakville & they had lots if anyone is still looking. DH ran out in the winter and paid 5 dollars at Petro canada for one. I nearly died.

[Frugalbigmama]

Yes that's why I was so happy to see it under a $1!! I don't commute like I did years ago so I should be stocked up for years

[sweet sparrow]

Just a random thought that popped through my head.... I was listening to an episode of Marketplace where they were talking about shrinking products, or when consumers are forced to pay the same amount for less product. So many companies are doing product testing and asking for reviews on their goods. I wonder if they're sending out these products to see if consumers are noticing the size difference or only focusing on performance.

I know I have received a few "full-sized" products over many years, but never thought to compare them to the older versions. If they're smaller, I think I will be sure to highlight that in my review! I very rarely review products though.

[Natalka]

^ there was a thread running on that topic, maybe in Rants?

I'm 50-50 about it for most products - I understand prices going up, and I also understand companies not wanting there to be sticker shock and just shrink the size of the contents. However, for some things I wish they would keep to a standard size, like a litre or a kg, and just put the darned price up.
For example, I want to buy somethin for 1kg and have it be that size for my wanted use, and not be 680g, then I have to buy two.

[lizzie bargain]

With regard to the discussion about the price of meat and looking for cheaper recipes-I personally find that on sale I can buy a dozen eggs for $1.99 and a can of chickpeas or mixed beans for .99 on sale. Which are both excellent and cheaper sources of protein. And I should probably add lentils and barley in there too for soups etc. So you can have some meatless meals or base your meals on one of these items with a little meat for flavour.


Some of the meals we enjoy are:

-vegetarian chili or add a smaller amount of ground meat for flavour
-quiche with a little ham for flavour
-chicken fried rice with a smaller amount of cubed chicken as there is also the egg, rice and mixed veggies for added protein
-bean salads, homemade humus etc
-for sure homemade soups and stews with or without a small amount of meat are a great way too
-I might even try a tuna casserole again as I can usually find a can of tuna on sale for a dollar
-stir fries-anything you can do where the meat is sliced thinly and mixed with other ingredients sure stretches out the meat
-we also like homemade mac and cheese-not that cheese is cheap but I find I use less if I use old cheese as it has a stronger flavour
-lentil or slit pea soup with veggies and a little ham for flavour


The problem is I think a lot of us grew up eating a pork chop( or two for men) or a whole chicken breast etc and it is hard to change that habit- and now even hamburgers are expensive! I especially think many men and teen boys like to go heavier on the meat and lighter if at all on the veggies/salads etc . Luckily for me my husband will eat anything and feels we don't need so much meat-it is me who still tends to plan our meal around the meat main course so I am having to change my thinking. And of course we have the picky eater DD to add into the equation as well! I am sure we all have our meal planning challenges based on budget, preferences( X the number of people in your family), what you have left in the pantry/freezer etc). My Mum had 5 kids and if you didn't like the one meal that was being served the only other option was a peanut butter sandwich or nothing.