January 2017 Frugal Chatter - All Welcome!!!!

[jasperandchar]

Lol, me too. The freezer is fairly rotated but I did serve a prime rib recently that I froze in March. it was a nice treat in otherwise tight month. I also used up a cake mix dated January 2016. the kids ate it up and no one died. I am getting pretty excited about all the close to date stuff that is getting used this month and with almost half the month gone I have used less then 1/4 of the grocery budget.

great job

[jasperandchar]

Snow day here, I made bacon for lunch, the freezer is still 1/4 full of bacon (chest freezer), I loved that bacon coupons paired up with the b3g1 Prime stuffed chicken

Supper tonight is homemade meatballs with rice. I will also make dh another 2 sandwiches for his work lunch tomorrow, still quite a bit of pork roast left to use up.. He's easy to feed so that's good.

Dh is picking up the new to us car tonight, nobody knows except dh & I. It will be a fun surprise for the kiddos, I'm sure ds1 will be excited but this will not be the vehicle for practicing his G1 when the time comes.

He was all excited to get his G1 when he turned 16 BUT he has not been studying and well, he needs to study to write the online exam as we don't want to have to pay for retest and the drive itself is 1 hour away each way so if he wants to write the test he better study. MIL & FIL has offered to pay for his drivers ed which was very generous of them, so financially that part is covered which is a great relief, it's quite pricey out here.

Does anyone put all their coupon savings aside for something special? I have a friend that puts all her savings aside and travels down SOUTH with her family of 5. I'm considering doing this at some point.

Wishing everyone a great day

[thriftygranny]

I do put all my check out 51, zweet etc into a Christmas account, this is the first year i am really tracking my savings seriously, just out of curiosity. I usually have an idea but I would like to know the exact numbers!!
I have some cauliflower to use up so I am making cauliflower pizza for supper, the no spending is going really well, hoping not to shop until after the weekend at least for milk and produce!!

[Ciel]

PC free detergent is now $16.99 per 96 load jug, so 3200 PC Plus points to me. Redeemed 20K pts on a few food items, foil and cream for Mom (though I have a rant about her to post). Good false spring day!
Had picked up some branches-nothing major got upset in the winds except for one downspout shifting off the splashblock.

My shoveling effort yesterday meant no ice on walks-happy about that.

If anyone uses PC original detergent 52 load jugs, Fortinos Ancaster has them on blowout for $10.74 (think the reg. price was $13.99). You may wish to see if your local store has it marked down too.

[Frugalbigmama]

Snow day here, I made bacon for lunch, the freezer is still 1/4 full of bacon (chest freezer), I loved that bacon coupons paired up with the b3g1 Prime stuffed chicken

Supper tonight is homemade meatballs with rice. I will also make dh another 2 sandwiches for his work lunch tomorrow, still quite a bit of pork roast left to use up.. He's easy to feed so that's good.

Dh is picking up the new to us car tonight, nobody knows except dh & I. It will be a fun surprise for the kiddos, I'm sure ds1 will be excited but this will not be the vehicle for practicing his G1 when the time comes.

He was all excited to get his G1 when he turned 16 BUT he has not been studying and well, he needs to study to write the online exam as we don't want to have to pay for retest and the drive itself is 1 hour away each way so if he wants to write the test he better study. MIL & FIL has offered to pay for his drivers ed which was very generous of them, so financially that part is covered which is a great relief, it's quite pricey out here.

Does anyone put all their coupon savings aside for something special? I have a friend that puts all her savings aside and travels down SOUTH with her family of 5. I'm considering doing this at some point.

Wishing everyone a great day

My savings help me keep a low food budget. I already save each month (RESP/RRSP/Vacation account etc) I don't put the "savings" aside because for the most part I wouldn't buy the item if it wasn't a good price in the 1st place I don't think.

[lilo0003]

J & C: Our oldest was the same way, was convinced he was going get his G1 at 16 and then his birthday came and while he was studying he was not interested. He was the one that decided to do it over Christmas and was successful 1st try. Even that was expensive. Close to $160.00 for the GI (it includes a G2 road test) and Drivers Ed is costly here too. He is going to start at the end of the month and it is close to 1000.00 for 4 days in class and 10 in car lessons. But its not optional in my opinion. DH has had him out a few times. I am not ready yet.

[Ciel]

@lilo0003 -hope your DS does not have to do a road test in Burlington. One survey is trying to get Burlington council to ban driving tests on three roads as so many driving schools and the actual MTO place conducting road exams all use the three roads.
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/70...-trial-period/

I went into Reitmans because I got e-mails saying extra 60% off on clearance merchandise. I checked all the sales pant racks and did not see anything I can wear. New spring stuff-bell sleeves are definitely in. There's a faded blue denim and white horizontal pinstripe top with boatneck and the bell sleeves. Price tag said $34.99? Three variations on white knit top with black horizontal stripes-sleeveless mockneck, long sleeve crew neck sweater, or 3/4 length sleeve? boatneck sweater (on display mannequin, the shoulders are pulled down as in cold shoulder style.

Collected my Food & Drink magazine and bought a cider. Had some time in Sobeys and bought a box of Walkers cookies plus a shopping bag (used for containers-the melted snow definitely revealed some hiding spots for bottles and cans).

The wind is picking up again. No need for more branches to fall-mostly thin ones but two larger diameter branches fell on this property and next door neighbour has bigger branches that broke.

Time to trim my bangs again as they are in my eyes often and when my hood is on, the hood presses down on the strands even more. Hands need a generous hand cream appllcation later.

[jasperandchar]

I do put all my check out 51, zweet etc into a Christmas account, this is the first year i am really tracking my savings seriously, just out of curiosity. I usually have an idea but I would like to know the exact numbers!!
I have some cauliflower to use up so I am making cauliflower pizza for supper, the no spending is going really well, hoping not to shop until after the weekend at least for milk and produce!!

I think it's a great visual of savings, can't wait to hear about your savings and Christmas shopping

[jasperandchar]

My savings help me keep a low food budget. I already save each month (RESP/RRSP/Vacation account etc) I don't put the "savings" aside because for the most part I wouldn't buy the item if it wasn't a good price in the 1st place I don't think.

I hear ya I'm the same for example Bear paws are $1.67 great price without a coupon but take off that $1 coupon and they are a steal. A dollar here a dollar there it all adds up, I think it's just a great visual & reward.

[Natalka]

Coupon savings for us just make groceries more affordable; they are a bonus that help out with the very tight budget.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

[Angela273]

I need to get my mind to relax. Everyone has been asleep for a while already and I'm the only one awake. Dh has a minor outpatient surgery in Regina on February 1st and I'm anxious about it. He's booked the necessary recovery time off work. I'll need to keep the kids away from him for the first few days, which will be difficult. He'll probably spend a lot of time alone in our bedroom. He has lifting limitations for the first two weeks before he is able to return to his work, since it is such a physical job. I know that he'll be ok, but I'm not looking forward to the first week. Since his procedure is booked so early in the day, we plan on taking all of the children with us because 6am childcare is hard to come by and also expensive. My birthday is February 5, we'll have to see how he is feeling. Birthdays aren't a big deal, but other years we have booked a babysitter and gone out for supper.

[lizzie bargain]

heading out to explore Montevideo, Uruguay this a.m.

[Natalka]

Good morning! Another crazy frigid day here, gah!

Have a great day, everyone! I've started making out the master shopping list for next week - looks like a fair bit of buying for next week, but that's okay since this week's was minimal.

[coupon girl]

well its mild here this morning 11 degrees rain but dropping,so when hubby comes in I am out the door return item ,go to pluto to see if I can make a bit of money before I donate -stop in value village as my purple top had tiny holes right around the waist -didn't noticed it in store but still within a week so I get 3.50 towards something else I hope (have to talk to manager)then pick up prescriptions for my hubby has a day test next week in hospital then home

-watched ashlyn yesterday and it was tiring she really missed me after 7 days always wanting to sit on my lap and cuddle -we painted and played playdoh-even took her out in her wagon for a half hour walk (gotta get out while we can -nice fresh air )
-supper last night -hubby had kraft dinner with ashlyn -I had raisin toast and tea when we got home at 7.00 p.m
-my daughter called she went to a mom and baby movie "la la land "she loved it and I guess Sebastian was pretty good -nice to see her getting out in the winter with the baby


-oh and jasper I don't set aside the money in a jar or separate account of the money I saved from programs ,coupons last year -but I still keep track still have the coil book from 1991(26 years -lol) that I keep my cpns,refunds and now caddle and checkout51 savings logged into it -I take this hobby so seriously as I love it and it has always been a hobby of mine til the day I am gone and I never tire of it
-I use to set the money aside and save it for something special ,but stopped doing it as we now have to pay for prescriptions ,dental since last year ,just the other day cashed 25 from checkout51 and gave to hubby for his wallet -saves withdrawing from bank

[Angela273]

Our twins decided to start their day at 4:30am. I'm hoping to get a decent nap while our son is at Pre-K this morning, and our twins hopefully take a nap at the same time.

We are under an extreme cold warning warning again today. Now we are having issues with usability due to the 50+km winds. Our friend posted on Facebook about his work postponing a job due to unsafe driving conditions. Dh doesn't start work until 10am, so we'll see what the roads are like at that time.

Tomorrow morning is the secobd Pre-K home visit. We are the teacher's very first home visit. They are supposed to update us on our son's progress. I plan on doing extra cleaning today as I do not know this woman and don't like feeling judged.

edit: Our twins just got back to sleep at 7am, I'm crawling back into bed for a nap. It is -44 with the wind chill this morning with reduced visibility. All rural bus routes for the public school division are cancelled, probably the same for the Catholic school division. We've decided to keep our son home from Pre-K for the day. I'll call the school later to notify them.