September 2015 Frugal Chatter Thread

[jasperandchar]

I called pc about the elite mc and they said I will have an answer within 5 business days (fingers crossed)

[coupon girl]

well hubby dropped me off at my son's this morning as he lent his car to son while he put a new battery in his car
-then hubby had my car all afternoon and then my car wouldn't start -it needs a new battery -ugggg-just when I didn't want to put a money into a 11 year old car -oh well battery is not that much -hubby will buy on Tuesday and put it in for me

-treated hubby and I to little cesars pizza tonight 3.99 -customer appreciation day

[jasperandchar]

Question for those that have the pc mastercard and pc plus points.

Dh & I both have the mc, I am the only 1 with the pc plus card as dh doesn't do groceries.

Anyways I have been noticing on my pc plus statement (online) that only 3 transactions with dh's mastercard have shown to earn points. I get my mastercard statement every month that says xxxx amount earn this statement. But like I said dh's mastercard only shows 3 transactions since we got the mc in Feb. of this year. I'm not sure if we are actually getting points for his mc purchases via pc plus. I have the my mc card identified, his mc identified, our bank cards and pc plus card....Anyone having the same issues?

Also does anyone know how long on average it takes to get the pc plus points for purchases made with the mc? For example if I made a purchase today with my mc, I should have the points added by 3-4 days.

We've had the mc like I said since Feb. get the monthly statements but things are not lining up or making sense re the pc plus points for dh's purchases.

I have sent an email this evening to pc plus asking for their clarification with this situation.

Any feedback, input, comments etc is appreciated.

[Granger]

Back to school at GT FOR NEXT YEAR

Butterfly backpack $3 Reg $5
Frozen $5 Reg $15
Roots lunch $5 Reg $10
Pencil case $2

OOP $20 reg $42

The butterfly pack seems light duty but DD picked it and for Gr. 1 shouldn't matter.

I didnt like the Frozen lunch (too small) so got a Roots for DD#2 too.

Hope the lunch last two years!



And my cute little bat. Second hand costume for $5. I like it more than Josie!



It has a hat too, but I think her round head and wings are perfect without it! I will have her wear a pink sleep under neath for Oct 31

[lilo0003]

So typical: I have heard good things about that book. I need to purge the basement, everything else is good, like you I don't try to sell stuff. I do have all the ski equipment ready for ski swap, but that is because one son needs bigger boots. That also seems easier than kijiji. We have a platos closet close by so I may try that. My boys have very different coloring so we don't pass down much anymore. They are increasingly close in size as well. My oldest turns 15 today, where has the time gone. That cute little boy now stands as tall ok taller than me at 5 ft 9 in and wears a size 11 shoe. He loves that he is taller then his mom.

[lilo0003]

I have been a PC MC holder since my oldest was born so I made the switch as soon as they offered it. I don't have the card yet but as of last week my MC transactions are listed as elite card. So fingers crossed it is earning at the higher rate. As soon as I have it I am canceling my SDM mc, glad to have one less piece of stuff in my wallet.

[avoncallingu]

Hi folks! I put a post in the "Chat-a-Thon" thread in the Tea Room.

We are in London, ready for DH to see two drs. Tomorrow. Also I have to have a follow-up for my sleep studies. If you are so inclined, I would appreciate a few good thoughts for tomorrow. DH is in a lot of pain and I hope they can help him and find out what's going on!
I ,should put in for a wake-up call and get some sleep.
Wow, all you folks in the west- trees turning and all, reminds me I DO love the fall.
Have a great Tuesday, everyone. I will fill you in when I can.

[lovelikewinter3]

Does anyone have any advice for getting rid of books? There's so many that I haven't read yet, and so many I want to read again, but I have no space for new books... I know I don't need all of them but... it's so hard. Books are one of my addictions that I just have such a hard time letting go of! Other clutter and accumulation I can usually deal with and get rid of as I go, but books seem to be the exception.

[Angela273]

Does anyone have any advice for getting rid of books? There's so many that I haven't read yet, and so many I want to read again, but I have no space for new books... I know I don't need all of them but... it's so hard. Books are one of my addictions that I just have such a hard time letting go of! Other clutter and accumulation I can usually deal with and get rid of as I go, but books seem to be the exception.

You could possibly sell, donate, or give away the books. You could make a list of them and borrow them from the library when you want to read each one.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning All,
Time is so getting away from me lately. Weekend did not go as planned, Saturday I was moving furniture around got a call printers at work were not working so off I went to try to fix. I could not fix them so as I told everyone I came, I tried, I failed, I am going home. Managed to get a few things done Saturday but not nearly as much as I had hoped. Sunday I was all ready to go, had something to eat and all of a sudden I did not feel well which lead to very little getting done all day.

Last night after work I went out, we did some grocery shopping and shockingly came in under budget, I was seriously shocked I thought we were quite a bit over but the numbers don't lie and we came in $4 under. I also went and got a TON of yarn for my new crochet obsession, yes it is a full blown obsession, I did not have anything to work on Sunday and it drove me crazy. So I went to Michael's lowest price of the season sale which got some amazing deals and add in Mom's discount on top of the sale, I think I did pretty well, although I will admit I really do not know what I spent as I was scared and gave Mom my debit card and walked away. All I am going to say is baby steps crochet and knitting is my me thing, something I do just for me and it has to be important to me and with that has to come the understanding that it is okay to spend the money for my me thing. This was my one big purchase to get me started (our yarn collection is still lost in our house somewhere) and from here on our I will budget a certain amount each week to be set aside for my me thing. Obviously I will not make purchases each week but this week if a great sale comes along I will have the money set aside and this money cannot and will not be used to anything but something for me. I am working on it baby steps.

I am currently making myself a schoodie for the winter, it looks like there will be a lot of travelling in my future to our locations which means a lot of time outside defrosting my car since most of our locations are in heavy snow fall areas. I am determined to be warm this and this is my first step.

Time to get back to work, have a great day everyone.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good for you SassyAshley! I have just started spending on myself (with kids I would buy all the fancy fruit and save it for them) But now I am comfortable spending and enjoying stuff myself.

[sweet sparrow]

It was quite the shock. I think I'm most sad for their baby because he'll never know his daddy.

I'm sure his family will make sure he grows up knowing his daddy loved him very much. Thinking of you with a heavy heart.

This weekend I picked up the book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" - I have heard so many great things. But I am little bit scared to start reading it. I might throw everything I own away!

Anyone else read it?

I have it on order from the library and have heard maybe about a quarter of the e-book. I think if you fold the way she does, you actually have more room in your drawers so there looks like there's more space. I know there are a lot of things we need to get rid of, so I'm trying to declutter a teensy bit before I read it. Like read the books I've never read and go through the magazines I never had a chance to while pregnant. You know, the slow way and how you're not supposed to do it.

This is where I am struggling, he is 17 months and our first so I am hanging on to everything; just in case.

I'm keeping all our baby things just in case. Two of our friends have had "surprises" this past year and have had to buy back or borrow everything they used to have. Most of our things were borrowed anyways, so what we do have fits into maybe five diaper boxes at most.

I'm so disappointed that I don't qualify for this new card given the annual salary and/or combined income.

I don't get it if a person has good credit why disqualify them based on salary...

I think those rules are just to hook the high earners (and potentially good interest payers). They have to pay for your benefits, so they offer it to the lower income people on request (considering good history, etc.). Good luck on your application!

Does anyone have any advice for getting rid of books? There's so many that I haven't read yet, and so many I want to read again, but I have no space for new books... I know I don't need all of them but... it's so hard. Books are one of my addictions that I just have such a hard time letting go of! Other clutter and accumulation I can usually deal with and get rid of as I go, but books seem to be the exception.

I'm a book lover too, and all I can say is use, use, use the library! Angela273 had some great ideas. Set yourself a deadline after you get a new book. If you don't read it within the timeframe (like three months) then you weren't as interested as the other stuff that kept you occupied.

Keep the ones you want to read again.

Or, bring a book with you in your bag. If you're waiting in line (at the grocery store, checkout counter, returns line, etc.), whip out the book and get a page in before you're served. I read while flossing my teeth.

I either read slowly when I can, or get rid of the book completely.

Give them away as gifts and have Christmas taken care of. If you really miss them, you know who to borrow from later (like a secondary library).

[Frugalbigmama]

I use to keep books too (Bought like new at garage sales or received as a gift) But now once I read it I get rid of them because I know I can get it again at the library if needed) I use the library 99% of the time but like to buy at garage sales so I have books to take on vacation and not worried if I drop in the ocean or leave behind

[Frugalbigmama]

I just cleaned up the budget. Comes in and then goes out! My car insurance account is going to be double the amount of insurance once I renew next June which is ok with me! I will keep putting the allotted amount away and decide then if I should reduce the amount and put the difference in RRSP/TFSA. Same with house insurance.

[Frugalbigmama]

I am so disappointed with the Walmart Anniversary sale. No idea why I was expecting a better sale. I can honestly say that I hardly buy anything from Walmart anymore. I don't even use the flyer when price matching at RCSS.