January 2016 frugal chat thread

[lizzie bargain]

Still in BA and flying back on Sunday night. Very interesting to see the cruise ship "The World" sail by my sisters balcony today. It appeared to be the size of a typical cruise ship that would carry 1500-2000 passengers but it contains just 165 suites-bachelor, 1,2 and 3 bedroom that people live in and sail the world all the time. My word just imagine-definitely not for we smart canuckers! A couple more days of sun and sightseeing and back to reality! Since we are always talking about utility bills my BIL says he just got his monthly bills for their 2 bedroom apt

gas @2.50 US
electric $25.00 US
internet and TV $100 US per month

Next weekend there is a Formula E race( electric cars) right outside my sisters apartment so that would be interesting to watch if we were still here.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Not sure today is going to go as planned today. I woke up in the middle of night just not feeling well at all, I ended up, up half the night not able to sleep.

Hoping to turn things around after some tea and breakfast as I would like to do some cooking for the week. So well I sip my tea I am looking up pressure cooker and slow cooker recipes. Mom and a friend went a Chinese Market that recently opened in our area (first one in this area) and she was able to find some amazing produce deals so our fridge is quite full of produce which is a nice change. Not that we have ever been out of produce but some weeks it has been a little limited.

Off to figure out what to cook, have a great day everyone.

[Ciel]

I got to Lowe's today just prior to 7am only to see a long lineup of other keen people ahead of me! Store had a system of tickets handed out to the first 200 in line so only they could collect the $25 gift cards (so no luck for me). The free bags are about the size of a larger Sephora bag/clothing store bag-ideal for paint brushes or say one faucet box.
Glad to see that the lighting/flooring is fairly bright throughout; store stocks the Feit 11W LED bulb (to replace 60W incandescent bulbs) that was Consumer Report's best buy. Bulb is quite heavy and the next one up to replace 100W bulb is like a heavy grapefruit in weight. All that modern bulb architecture to make energy use low...Tiger Cats will be on-site after 1pm today.
While I have been diligent in loading the weekly 1000 bp offer from Guiding stars, I have not been keeping up the produce shopping. Have a personal offer on PC frozen vegetables that might get used.
Discovered at $10 bill from three weeks ago that I tucked away in my coat-had to go to Sobeys on Thursday to buy the $1 pop and Jamie Oliver's green pesto (tangy) and a can of beer. Good thing I had my photo ID-cashier asked to see it and entered the birthdate into the register after she entered their own code on the self-checkout register. Now I know how the process works in the store. Beer sales are permitted one hour before through to one hour after the LCBO store hours down the road.
Starbucks' La Boulange Almond Croissant was a delicious baked treat for Thursday. Worth the one week of thinking about the croissant since the store e-mail showed it paired with a new tea latte....

[lilo0003]

It's been a long but frugal week. I was away for work so everything was paid for. DH and the boys managed, he is still not over whatever is wrong and we have no answers just medical appointments. My mom offered to come stay but the boys are old enough to manage and DH is far better than he was so they did one dinner out but still within budget. Dinner today is burgers and fries on the BBQ. I will walk up to the plaza for the yummy fresh buns from Cobbs. I cleaned the freezer a few weeks ago and found the last pack of homemade burgers from the fall.
I will come back later and catch up on the action.

[jasperandchar]

gah where did January go??? Just realized its the 30th so decided to start the February thread while it was in my thoughts
http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/413179-...a/#post6553333

[jasperandchar]

@lilo0003 geez your poor dh, does he have a follow up appointment soon with his family doctor?
@lizzie bargain your bil can't complain with those prices...geez...I would imagine that the electricity part would include an air conditioner running most of the time? But the tv and internet seems a bit high but I guess the big picture so to speak is so much less. How are the food prices down there out of curiousity? Enjoy your last few days

[jasperandchar]

Dh is truck is getting some body work done, the $ was saved up by putting his work cheques into an account and not getting the work done until the monies were all saved up which is such a great feeling . The truck should be ready sometime Monday so dh may need to borrow a vehicle from his folks which should not be a problem. We still have quite a few things to bring the truck back up to snuff BUT much cheaper than purchasing a new vehicle so well worth the efforts.

Chicken drumsticks tonight new recipe using cornflakes so fingers crossed it's a hit.

[coupon girl]

hubby and I just got back from late lunch out 3.10 or early supper -nice high end burger/fries at earth to table breadbar (an awesome restaurant on locke street)all made fresh on site and we drank water came to 36.00 paid for with a xmas giftcard from my daughter/hubby will still get another meal out of it -they make awesome pizza's too
-I got dressed up in my past the knee length black skirt with a knit top and my new leather black boots even curled my hair -I love the feeling felt so feminine and pretty
-see gotta have these moments when you have been married past 30 years spending quality time together

[lizzie bargain]

J and C-I find the food more expensive here than at home but my sister does live in quite a nice neighbourhood-there are certainly some slummier areas that likely have cheaper grocery stores. They don't have a car here though so easier to go the closest place than take a taxi or cart your groceries on the bus. I would say though for sure the fruits and vegetables taste better and fresher than at home though.

[avoncallingu]

Hello folks!

I am dropping by to fill you in. My DH's CT scan and ultrasound have, unfortunately revealed that his cancer has returned after many years in remission and has moved to his liver, lung and also to a part of his abdomen.

We are struglling with the shock since he has been having regular CT scan s every few months as part of a clinical study, but they were scanning his pelvis looking for metastases in his bones. It snuck in the back door into his liver and lung which are less likely destinations.

He has appointments with experts on Tuesday and Thursday next week and we are hoping for a quickly implemented plan to fight this scourge.

We have put a halt to marketing our house until we know where we are at.

We'd appreciate any good thoughts you can send our way.

Thank-you, my friends!

[Angela273]

Avoncallingu I am so sorry to hear about the unexpected return of your dh's cancer. Cancer sucks. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

[jasperandchar]

@avoncallingu so sorry to hear this, thoughts and prayers for you and your dh.

AND thanks for letting us know, sometimes it helps to share and find comfort in words from friends (hugs)
@coupon girl sounds like a hot date to me and free also, what more could a girl ask for

[jasperandchar]

well the chicken was a success, I was skeptical but should not have doubted Martha Stewart (haha), here's the recipe if anyone wants to give it a try AND let's not forget ds1 does not like chicken and he said yes to me making it again. It was so simple BUT sometimes simple is best.

http://www.marthastewart.com/336896/...-baked-chicken

[saundyl]

Avoncallingu I'm so sorry to hear! Thinking of you guys

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[saundyl]

Got our power bill. I just want to scream....they blame it on Xmas lights....but we didn't have any. Our neighbour's were gone for the month and their bill Doubled as well.

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