February frugal chatter-all welcome!!!!

[Granger]

Avon-hehe-we did not have attendants at our wedding. We had an impromptu wedding( after 25 years together!) in our living room in front of our fireplace with a couple that are our very good friends as witnesses( they wore their dress clothes as we only gave them a few days notice), our 6 year old in a long yellow dress with little red roses as our flower girl and the minister. About 25 friends and family came over for dinner and we ordered in Chinese food and had Tiramasu for dessert. It was simple and great-this is what happens when you decide 6 days prior that you will get married-lol.

I love stories like this. Happy Anniversary.

***

Did SDM $85 redemption. $11 OOP. Mostly groceries.

Hosted MIL 60th bday. SIL found Groupon for bowling. We bowled and came back here for Chinese. I paid $20 for decorations and small card/gift. Drink I bought were free with SDM redemption. Owed SIL for bowling, group gift and Chinese, $40. So $60 for a family of five to fully celebrate mom and 60! So thankful for my savvy sis! I was expecting it to be much more!

Tonight is Baconfest for our Bible study group. Bacon treats to share after our study. Everyone is REALLY excited. It is pretty funny. Our bacon we are serving was FREE with our Costco cash reward.

[Ciel]

Afternoon everyone,

The forecast for today is 25 cms of snow. We already rec'd about 10cms already. They are forecasting another 15cms for tomorrow.

So I'm predicting it's a snow day tomorrow....which means a snowday which means another baking day with the boys....unfortunately we are out of butter. Dh will be picking up butter this week from metro.

I have a pork roast out for supper which I better get in the oven right this moment.

Have a great afternoon everyone.

Coconut oil or lard are alternate fats you can use to replace butter, if the pantry has either!
@coupon girl-you can use that coconut oil you received on toast or on pasta instead of butter-similar mouth feel but different taste. Also you can use instead of butter (swap the butter for coconut oil in the same measure) in baking recipes. Some SCers have used the oil for skin care moisturizing as many commercial products cause reactions for them. There are recipes using coconut oil for soups and desserts-alive.com is a good source of them.

[Ciel]

@avoncallingu -dear heart, I'm pleased you touched base with the SCers! You've been busy dealing with other family members, the transition without DH (and his shopping/cooking) and getting the dog back but you still need time to grieve as you need. The friends with the meals are true friends! Definitely a help for you to have something to heat up while you get your bearings and figure out the SC saving tips to get your needs met.
Agree with the advice @jasperandchar gave you about Optimum points-whenever you get an e-mail from Shoppers with a coupon offer, clicking on the link automatically takes you to your account without a password to load the coupon. You then can mouse over your icon in the top right corner and get the drop down menu for your account to show and you'll also see the points on your card inside that drop-down menu. There is an Optimum Millionaire game on for about two more weeks-you can load your coupons from Optimum first before playing. There are chances to win Optimum points instantly. I too have no cellphone/smartphone so I'm desktop connected to my program offers and have to load them prior to doing shops at the stores.

Since you mentioned cooking is something that you'll have to do, I'll link you to two recipes I spotted on Twitter from MS Living today-easy pot roast (for slow cooker) and cottage pie (the latter seems very much like shepherd's pie but with potato slices on top rather than mashed potatoes). Maybe you have some ale for the cottage pie (I don't like porter ale and would go with something more like regular beer or try Waterloo Dark).
http://www.marthastewart.com/332884/...=msl_806688494
http://www.marthastewart.com/331752/...=msl_805482776

Let us know your taste preferences for dishes you are willing to try and I'm sure we'll compile easy recipes to get you going on your culinary journey!
As you conduct weddings, I assume that some of your clients may gift you with wine or beverages in bottles as a thank you for your services?

[sweet sparrow]

Thank you everyone for the support.

oh hun, all I can say is that it does get better in time.

It's amazing how sleep depravation affects people, sleep while you can.

As for the cellphone and other reimbursements the company is not repaying, can you dh claim them as expenses on his taxes. I know it's not reimbursed at 100% but atleast he could get some of his business expenses back, hopefully.

Is it possible to claim the remainder as a business expense? I thought it had to be your own business before you could do that.

@jasperandchar. I have .75 off coupons for the Pronto Barilla pasta that expire Sept. 30, 2017. I found them on the RCSS coupon board a few weeks ago.

I really miss the coupons at RCSS. There's a sale on vitamins this week and I am wondering again if the baby vitamin D drops are on sale. I've been trying to give them while she is resting, only to have her shift her head at the last minute.

[Ciel]

Thank you everyone for the support.



Is it possible to claim the remainder as a business expense? I thought it had to be your own business before you could do that.



I really miss the coupons at RCSS. There's a sale on vitamins this week and I am wondering again if the baby vitamin D drops are on sale. I've been trying to give them while she is resting, only to have her shift her head at the last minute.

If DH has a written employment contract that states he needs the cellphone for work purposes, I'm sure there is a CRA rule that would allow a work expense claim. Let me see:
CRA has a narrow allowance with conditions for long-distance telephone calls made for earning employment but does not allow the monthly cost of the phone to be claimed-darn.

You can deduct expenses you paid for long-distance telephone calls, as long as you paid them to earn employment income. However, you cannot deduct the monthly basic rate for a telephone.
Computers, cell phones, and other equipment - You can deduct the part of the airtime expenses for a cell phone that reasonably relates to earning your employment income. However, you cannot deduct amounts you paid to connect or license the cell phone or the cost of fees for Internet service.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/t...sppls-eng.html
If DH's work boss is only issuing verbal requirements without paperwork (as seems to be the case about work expenses DH is carrying for years), then your household budget is stuck unless miraculously DH has alternate employment and options (not the one he was considering prior to your DD2's arrival).

[Ciel]

*double post fairy erases...*

[Frugalbigmama]

Grocery shopping done. Pretty happy with my haul and spent less then $50 received 8800 PC pts and bought some items that will last a long while (olive oil, 10 packages of the fancy floss picks ( on for $1 and I received 600 PC pts each!) Fruit 4lbs of apples for $2.99 4lbs of clementines $3.97 (received 800 PC pts) bananas .57 lb and received 200 PC pts and 2 bags of frozen strawberries at $2.99 each for smoothies. Also started Father's Day shopping. Found a small box of toffee chocolates for $1.24 (expire Oct!). I bought bread and hamburger buns on clearance- both expire the 18th so both fresh. Have beef thawing to make burgers for Tuesday nights dinner with salad.

It it has been snowing all day here too. My man is out snowblowing the driveway.
i have pick ups scheduled for tonight and tomorrow night and happy to say I met my goal of selling $110 worth by end of weekend. Will tally up once all pick ups are complete. My man works late tomorrow so I plan on going through 2 new bins and posting stuff for sale cheap!

[Ciel]

Was thinking about a couple of things relating to one's payroll record at work:

-good idea to go to whoever is doing the payroll and see that your record only has one provincial jurisdiction for tax checked off. If two jurisdictions are checked off, the software will likely not be taking off income taxes, so CRA will be contacting you to catch up on the tax year.

-updating your TD1 form, that paper that you use to indicate which personal tax credits you will be claiming for 2017. I know most places are supposed to give you this form or fill it in with you when you start but I get the impression a basic record is set up based on birth date and residence. In tax classes, we were told to update the form when a marriage or divorce occurred or a child entered the family life. @Sweet sparrow, your return to work will be in early Dec. If you know what your EI income will be plus any Dec work income will be-if it's under $9500, DH can note on his TD1 form an amount to claim for you (line 6). http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/td1on/td1on-17e.pdf

All the TD1 forms for Canada (pick your jurisdiction) are here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/formspubs/frms/td1-eng.html

The TD1 claim amounts affect the provincial/territorial deductions made from your income.

[Ciel]

Brain caught up with me-those TD1 forms still show a category for tuition and education amounts. So are the federal tax credits only being phased out for tuition and education or are both federal and provincial credits history? I was thinking both sets of credits have been eaten by the tax shark.

Ooh, there's a possibility of using carried forward credits from prior tax years (before 2017) in tax year 2017 and beyond! WOOHOO>

Budget 2016 proposes to eliminate the federal education and textbook tax credits effective January 1, 2017. This measure does not eliminate the tuition tax credit. Unused education and textbook credit amounts carried forward from years prior to 2017 will remain available to be claimed in 2017 and subsequent years.
Changes will be made to ensure that other income tax provisions – such as the tax exemption for scholarship, fellowship and bursary income – that currently rely on eligibility for the education tax credit or use terms defined for the purposes of the education tax credit will be unaffected by its elimination.

Yes. The number of months of full-time and part-time enrolment may still be needed to calculate provincial/territorial tax credits.As well, full-time and part-time enrolment in a particular program affects the eligibility for the exemption for scholarship, fellowship, and bursary income received for that program.
For these purposes, you will still need to obtain a tax certificate issued by the educational institution and report the number of months in full-time and part-time enrolment to the CRA.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2016/qa07-eng.html

OK-tuition credits remain; the education and textbook credits (federal) are shark bait.

[Ciel]

I had to remove the bathtub safety strips last night-they'd only been in a week and I had no issue. Screaming father on other hand does not care about safety. A store loyalty card was enough to pry a strip up (had to look for tiny gaps which did not get pressed down) each time. At least the store gift card was a prize so I did not lose money on the strips but still thought they made a great alternative to a tub mat for which there is no room to hang it to dry.

Salvaged some pepper strips from the fridge container-most strips had started to soften or turn but the good ones went into my pasta lunch with the oil, spices and raspberry leaf tea.
Noticed several leftovers missed by parents both of whom cooked a few new things but did not eat up the leftovers. I had wiped down one shelf and one in-door shelf due to marks left by dairy products.
Think I will walk over to Shoppers to get a few deals-I'm out of butter and eggs.

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
It seems like the snow has tapered off a little bit. I have been out and shoveled the steps and tried to clean my car off but did not have it in me to dig it out. They have not come to plow yet hopefully that will make it easier to get my car out.

Pretty productive day here, I made oatmeal cups, brown sugar muffins and a batch of potato soup. All of the muffins and oatmeal cups have been individually wrapped to make easy to grab and go for work.

Wrote a grocery list, if we do not get more snow over night Mom will go out shopping tomorrow after she has coffee with a friend. I have asked her to go to the Chinese market to pick up a few things for me. I am not a fan of Chicken Noodle Soup but I found an Asian Chicken Noddle soup I want to try. I need Chinese Noddles for the soup as well I have asked her pick up a few different varieties and types as I find they are quite inexpensive and it brings variety to our dinning options.

We really do not need a lot this week, just the basics really. Will get some Butter & Almond Milk from Metro, then we need Milk and I believe yogurt. Will talk to Mom tonight and see what she thinks and if there is anything we need.

Better get some work done we have quite a few large projects on the go and a HUGE project we seem to have no answers on but if it happens it is going to be a do it now we have no time project. So I trying to stay ahead of the game.

Have a wonderful night everyone

[Angela273]

Yesterday's massage made my migraine worse for the rest of the day. My migraine is still there again today. I washed two loads of laundry yesterday, one load is still waiting to be folded and put away.

Yesterday's shopping highlights. I bought a package of Valentines from Dollarama for $1.25, robot ones and there will be leftovers. I also bought a new living room clock for $4, so I was able to return the other new one to Wal-Mary for $22. I bought egg creations with an FPC and then received $1 from CO51. I uredeemed a 2/$5 rain check at Sobeys for eggs. I had a bonus 5AM offer and submitted the receipt to Zweet for an additional 25c. I bought my 4 50% off Sobeys Air Miles items and redeemed another rain check that had bonus Air Miles, and two additional Air Miles mail out coupons. I spent $47, $36 on gc and $11oop, I earned 90AM. I SCOPedsomething at Wal-Mary and got the other one for the sales price, so saved $13.50. I redeemed an FPC for the Whiskas wet cat food and then submitted the receipt to CO51, so I was paid $1.07 to take home two small packs of wet cat food. I was able to work out a trade with someone on SC for $3 dry Whiskas coupons and 50c Activia coupons, so I'm happy about that.

Only one baby was up last night, but she was easy to get back to sleep and didn't start her day until nearly 7am. We went to church, and then out for lunch as a family.Dh and I had a nice afternoon date. We took the kids to DH's co-worker's house. Her girls looked after the kids and we paid them appropriately. They'll have extra spending money for the family holiday in Hawaii next week. The twins fell to sleep on the way home, so they are now having their first nap for the day, we'll wake them up. I have a load of laundry on now. Supper tonight is cheap pizza from the freezer, maybe a toasted salad to go with it. Tomorrow's supper plan is steak (free from dad), sweet potato fries (97c/lb), fresh mushrooms, cooked frozen veggies. I'll have to figure out other meals for the week.

[Frugalbigmama]

Dinner tonight is leftovers from dinner Friday night, pork, chicken and beef grilled on skewers, potato skins, garlic bread with a salad. Not eating till about 8 tonight.

I really cleaned the kitchen this morning including scrubbing the sink. Happy to have a simple dinner and easy clean up tonight.

[jasperandchar]

[QUOTE=Ciel;6744604]
Agree with the advice @jasperandchar gave you about Optimum points-whenever you get an e-mail from Shoppers with a coupon offer, clicking on the link automatically takes you to your account without a password to load the coupon. You then can mouse over your icon in the top right corner and get the drop down menu for your account to show and you'll also see the points on your card inside that drop-down menu. There is an Optimum Millionaire game on for about two more weeks-you can load your coupons from Optimum first before playing. There are chances to win Optimum points instantly. I too have no cellphone/smartphone so I'm desktop connected to my program offers and have to load them prior to doing shops at the stores.

QUOTE]

I think it was @lizzie bargain that gave advice about sdm not me.

[jasperandchar]

Dh is going to Independent grocers tomorrow after work for paczki, I have my collage ready 8x Simply orange juice, I have coupons, I will pop some in the freezer for later use. Also getting 8x 24 bottles of water for $1.49 which is cheap and we like the water.

Kitchen is all clean, I went on Pinterest for some potential dessert recipes should it be a snow day. I also think you can substitute applesauce for butter, has anyone done this?

Wishing everyone a great evening