October 2016 Frugal Chatter Thread All Welcome!!!

[Ciel]

With the winter posts, I'm feeling a tad nervous. I've boots but my gloves need upgrading to something reliable with palms that can grip objects. A knit hat would be lovely too.

Furnace is not on yet, but we've come within 2 degrees of it. I made sure the thermostat this week was set closer to 68F (during summer, someone cranked it down into the 50sF) when I realized how close to 0C we were getting at night. The furnace switch has been on all spring/summer and it cycles a click on and off. I'm assuming it will turn on when the time comes.

Guess I lucked out cutting some of the grass just prior to Thanksgiving. Dad says there's no more grasscutting but he's not chasing the leaves either. Drying laundry out on the line when there's sunshine even if the wind has teeth (is cold).

Yesterday I was in baking mode-pizza dough topped with diced bell peppers (two colours!) and green cauliflower I had leftover for lunch & cranberry coffee cake (added some peach-mango jam too-cranberries were tart). Roasted florets from a cauliflower I bought yesterday-was heavy on the curry but adding sea salt saved the batch. Was delighted to find 4 large bell peppers for 99 cents on the Longo's produce clearance rack yesterday. The cranberries were 99 cents at Fotino's produce rack (everything else was higher priced and not of use to me).

Today-did the semi-annual furniture polishing of the tables in living room and oiled the hinges/door hardware of front door. Will have to chase dust bunnies from behind the wooden pantry and fridge sometime next week with the vacuum cleaner.

If anyone is having issues with too many fruit flies hanging around indoor produce, 2tbsp of white vinegar mixed with 2tbsp of dish detergent (handwashing kind) in a plastic container should help to reduce the population. You may wish to also check if your nearby overhead lights might need cleaning. I noticed two fixtures (kitchen and dining room) had some zapped flies, despite my cleaning those objects last month-cleaned the light covers again. The liquid trap (mixture) was a tip I found for discouraging flying gnats at an outdoor party but I wanted to see if the solution would deal with the flies indoors (some fell for the vinegar and that was that).

[Ciel]

@Andit -adorable photo of your furry friends!

[Giseledta]

went to costco this am. Got a new rug for my daycare. the kids are going to love it!!
also picked up part of a Christmas present. so I am feeling good

froze a bunch of vegtables once I got home.
we needed to take our son to a art store, scored some newprint paper for the daycare kids ( I suspect I spoil them!!) it was a fanatsic price and the nice big sheets. so I am happy for a while.
anyone with kids should check out the pads.... these were 2 feet by 3 feet... about 100 sheets per pad.... cost was 1.59 a pad . and since my son is a student ...10% off that. I got 5 pads. very good deal.

[avoncallingu]

Andit, great picture of the critters! Glad to think you are thinking about a new friend.
Ciel, you are one busy lady! Thanks for the fruit-fly fix.
We still have our Windows open. I don't k ow how long that will last in the day, but DH always has the windows open in the bedroom at night until he finds frozen icicles on my nose in the morning!

[thriftygranny]

Avon I am one of those window open in the winter people, we are in a two story with vaulted ceilings and the heat from the furnace rises right up to our bedroom. I close off our registers it gets so hot. I can't stand the stagnant air in the winter and have to some some fresh stuff!!!!
busy day today. the hunters came home with muddy, soaked clothes so I have done about eight loads today including the bedding from three beds. Everything is put away and tidy. I made 20 beef burritos for the freezer and am just about to start Chicken Alfredo for supper. Lots of snow on the ground here but tomorrow is going to 8 so I really hope I can get my front window cleaned and the rest of my spring bulbs in the ground...the leaves are still on the trees for heaven's sake, winter came way too early here and the long range forecast isn't too positive for another warm spell in October.
My granddaughter called and wants to be a flapper girl for Halloween, my daughter took her out to find a costume but they are all too short for her, she is only 12 and is 5' 8'', she is going to be one tall girl!!Anyhoo I guess I am up to making a costume so that is a priority for this week, this month is flying by.

[coupon girl]

-just got home from babysitting Sebastian -oh he was so good too -we left at 3.30 got there in a hour and a half to Toronto -he was fussy when we first came but daughter was there -her hubby was at work for the day til 6.00 p.m so they went out at almost 7.00 and came back at 10.15 -they bought us burgers/fries from a fresh burger shop and brought us a haggen daz icecream bar on the way home -they only went in their area at a local small pub-Sebastian took the breastmilk in a bottle for me no problem I burped him ,changed him into his sleepers and he went back to sleep -managed to take 2pictures of him when he was awake -my daughter thanked us -no problem -oh and I gave my daughter a new mommy gift a quo manicure set I paid 11.89 last year for ,hue socks ,and shower gel -I thought it was nice to give her a nice note saying she is a great mom and a small gift

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Friday was a bit of a frustrating day. Even though my phone just came back from repair it was fine for a couple of days and then became worse then before it went it so I look it to a phone shop in the mall to see if they could diagnose or fix it. Turns out some of hardware programming in my phone is corrupt so basically my phone is no useless so back to my old phone again and wait to see what they do with this one. Kind of annoyed we got new phones and I still spent quite a bit of time using my old phone which is still more reliable.

Since I was at the Mall I decided to try to spend my Mall Gift Cards because I never go to the Mall never shop at any stores in the Mall but figured well I was there why not. Well this turned out to be an impossible task. I went into 5 different stores and all 5 told me they do not take the Mall Gift Cards. So I went to guest services and asked which stores accept the Gift Card and was told it was pretty much hit and miss, they could confirm the stores that for sure would not take them and then started to list the stores that say they do not but if you fight (her words not mine) with a manager they will take them but you have to go to manager and usually get mad before they will. By this time I was so frustrated I just left and am still stuck with these gift cards I have no use for. Shopping should not be this stressful.

Yesterday I did not get much done so will have to make up for that today. Hoping to get some prep and stuff done for the week as it is back to work, wow this week flew by but I knew it would.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

[Giseledta]

that is just wrong about mall gift cards. just wrong.



I have a very large ham in the oven. it will be supper, and double as lunch meat for my kids for the week.
working on the housework. and laundry is going as well.
I will work on a bit of sewing I have to get cut out later, so I can sew at night and whenever I have down time.

spent money on a fundraiser. but thtat is ok. I got a few pumpkins out of it.

[thriftygranny]

Well my front windows are washed and sparkling!! I froze out there but I did not want to look out dirty windows all winter so I am happy. I did a little Christmas shopping this morning with my daughter and splurged on Starbucks coffees for us after, it was a nice morning and we found some great deals for Christmas gifts!! She volunteered at a Dress for Success garage sale yesterday and she found a beautiful beige and cream tweed winter dress coat for me with the tags still on it and a few other things, so that was a nice surprise.
I have two speckle geese roasting and will make a few sides and serve with a port orange sauce for supper. Goose is not my favorite but with enough orange sauce I can tolerate it!!!

[lilo0003]

Just waiting for dinner to finish. It was a warm day here so the windows are open but not many days left of that.
I made a brownie and roasted 2 squash while the pork roast was cooking. It makes meals during the easier.
This weekend just flew by. I still have some vacation to use so I may try to take this Friday off just to get ahead.

[macw1960]

If anyone is having issues with too many fruit flies hanging around indoor produce, 2tbsp of white vinegar mixed with 2tbsp of dish detergent (handwashing kind) in a plastic container should help to reduce the population. You may wish to also check if your nearby overhead lights might need cleaning. I noticed two fixtures (kitchen and dining room) had some zapped flies, despite my cleaning those objects last month-cleaned the light covers again. The liquid trap (mixture) was a tip I found for discouraging flying gnats at an outdoor party but I wanted to see if the solution would deal with the flies indoors (some fell for the vinegar and that was that).

Thanks for the tip as my DH the non believer thought it was a dumb combination to attract bugs. Works like a charm.

[Angela273]

We saw my mom and her fiancé for a total of 7hrs. My brothers were here for an additional 3hrs while my mom was out shopping. They drove 10hrs round trip. They decided to do a variety of extra things in Regina and cut their actual visit with us even shorter. It was their choice. I'm glad we saw them.

I've been up with twin baby boy most of the night. He is running quite the fever. Tylenol hasn't helped too much yet. Dh thinks he may have caught a bug from our whirlwind visitors. I currently have twin baby girl in my arms.

I spent time meal planning yesterday. My brothers helped me dig the rest of our carrots and potatoes. My mom brought a large grocery bag full of their garden potatoes for us. My mom bought gift cards from our son's gymnastics fundraiser. I'll need to figure out how to place the order online later today. I want to avoid as many of the fees as I can. Gymnastics will give me back my $20 fundraising deposit, not sure when.

[lizzie bargain]

Quiet weekend around here-but starting tomorrow I have 4 childcare committments Tues-Fri that will keep me busy. Down from 3 families to two families now as one Mum is headed back to work soon so she needed to hire pretty much full time care. I may look for another PT family close by after my holiday in Jan-sometimes hard to find that combo of enough work but not too much as I still like to travel and have time for my own family too( for eg we only have one car so I have to share it). Anyway I am sure another PT opportunity will come along in the New Year. I do enjoy the little ones, but 12-20 hrs per week is plenty to keep me busy.

Keep thinking once DD goes off to university next year we should move to a warmer climate but don't think DH will be onboard with that. At least he is fine with me traveling in the winter.

[barbis9]

I have a large filling scheduled for Wednesday....blah there goes my budget.

[sweet sparrow]

Since I was at the Mall I decided to try to spend my Mall Gift Cards because I never go to the Mall never shop at any stores in the Mall but figured well I was there why not. Well this turned out to be an impossible task. I went into 5 different stores and all 5 told me they do not take the Mall Gift Cards. So I went to guest services and asked which stores accept the Gift Card and was told it was pretty much hit and miss, they could confirm the stores that for sure would not take them and then started to list the stores that say they do not but if you fight (her words not mine) with a manager they will take them but you have to go to manager and usually get mad before they will. By this time I was so frustrated I just left and am still stuck with these gift cards I have no use for. Shopping should not be this stressful.

@SassyAshley : That's crazy. I've never heard of a mall gift card that was only authorized at certain stores. I would expect Guest Services to have a list of them all, not the customer to wander around, find something they like, and then go through the hassle of not being able to use a mall GC. That's ridiculous!

That said, I really miss cash being given out as gifts. Can be used anywhere, deposited in a bank, or used to pay a utilities bill. So useful and saves on the gas or time on exchanging cash for a gift card! Why is it so unpopular?

sweet sparrow -I love the mellisa and doug line -they have awesome crafts and toys for various ages

@coupon girl and @Frugalbigmama : Thank you for the suggestion. I didn't even know Walmart had a clearance section before I saw it this weekend. The only thing at our WM clearance are toys that have been opened with a piece missing, box being used as a soccer ball, etc. It was a tiny stand-alone shelf that looked like they could take down within a few minutes.

Feverish baby. Happy it's the weekend. Two birthdays tomorrow 6 and 60!!!

@Granger : Hope it was a good weekend and that the baby feels better!

@sweet sparrow there is a mail in rebate in the Wm magazine that expire late December buy a turkey and mustard and get mustard free after rebate, something to consider when you purchase for Christmas as it's too late for the one already purchased.

@jasperandchar : Thank you for the suggestion. I've always looked for extra points, Air Miles, or some other benefit when I pick up the turkey. This year, I could only muster a 3% return, but lost $0.03 on the cash rounding. We've been told just to have the one turkey on the receipt, not to pay by GC, in cash is best, and basically to make things as clear and as simple as possible for the stores to pay out. It's ridiculous. I think I used an FPC once to get 1 measly Air Mile and there were questions and comments that held up our refund. DH's work makes things so unnecessarily complex.

Quite an expensive weekend. I think it was over $400 just on maintenance, not including my Old Navy order, Amazon, and Toys R Us. TRU and Amazon will be out of GCs I'm trying to use up. LO is going to a spa themed dance lesson for the birthday next week and she's so excited. I'm not sure if she's more excited about missing her nap or the dancing. Cost of a gift is a good trade-in to pick up the free bassinet and clothes for the new baby from my friend as well.

We had our furnace cleaned and bought a new filter. The issue had nothing to do with the cost as it was just some wires that became disconnected in the thermostat. I wonder if that's been our problem for the past five years!

We also replaced our windsheld that had a crack and a large chip. It was less than I thought, but still over $200.

Now to start saving for Christmas!