July 2018 Frugal Chatter thread (2nd half of 2018 and summer!)

[sweet sparrow]

I received another notification from Revenue Canada today. I was so excited to think it was my 2018 assessment but it was just a CCB change beginning this month. I still have not seen the amount promised from the letter earlier this week, but I'm still hopeful to see it soon!

So, the next major costs are: dental, car, bathroom renovation, roof.

This weekend, my brother is hosting a party for my mom's and DD1's birthday. I'll be expected to chip in, so I'm not too sure how much that will wind up being.

I finally entered all the expenses for 2017. I am really unsettled by the amount DH spent on his work and was not returned.

[coupon girl]

granger -great to hear from you -glad you are all caught up -we just replaced a roof and it is a large expense but needed done ,we are confident that this was the last big house expense going forward for awhile

supper tonight just pasta -as I am trying to stay off my feet as much as possible

[Ciel]

For the Instant Pot fans: cookbooks for dishes made with Instant Pot-
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-ad...social_twitter

One of the many Twitter accounts with Instant Pot recipes: https://twitter.com/BestIPRecipes

I think I was mildly shocked when I saw that Fortinos charges $9.80 or $9.90 per kilogram for pork shoulder roasts that seemed to be about 2kg per package. That'd be some budget commitment to make pulled pork in a slow cooker for me. I have not bought much fresh meat in the past few years beyond ground meat or rare package of chicken thighs or parts.

Aside from long grain rice or pasta cooked in the early am, I will not be cooking this weekend. I have a tin of pizza sauce and a package of Tostitos rounds to use for a snacking meal plus lots of celery, radishes and carrots awaiting slicing for use with the remaining green leaf lettuce. Might finish today with more laundry to dry outdoors as tomorrow may be a wet day.

[Granger]

Sweet sparrow I feel your pain on spouse work mixing with personal finances. That is how we lost the money in a phishing scam. I don’t think DH has ever felt so bad.

We also had my parents give us an old vehicle, this helped us immensely and took care of another expense. The vehicle is in good condition because it was a “senior’s” car so to speak. Though I think they would prefer “freedom 55 car.” 😉 they’re still young in my opinion.

I keep saying to DH we get by because of the generosity of others and pay it forward when able.

[Frugalbigmama]

Should be a pretty frugal weekend. Working on house stuff tonight. Trip to the beach tomorrow. Sunday. Suppose to rain so a perfect day to start sorting the stuff in the garage for sale and posting it on the mom swaps. Stuff going out and money coming in sounds like a good plan.

[Angela273]

I just had a pickup for another $10. I’ve been keeping track of items sold this year. I’m well over $500 since January. It’ll be interesting to see how what the total will be when the year ends.

[greentires4me]

Oh my I am still sick I am not sure what my last post read saw doc yesterday he thinks it’s bronchitis and put me on antibiotics 2nd day taking them I slept from 11am to 3pm it’s now 3:40pm roughly.

Someone is swearing profanities out the window. Never a dull moment @ my apartment building.

It’s not to hot so the AC isn’t going, which is nice Saturday to Wednesday it’s expected to be 30-36C we’re not even talking what it feels like on top of those high temps, because those are baseline numbers.

I am involving myself in a katimavik house back east in Quebec. The closet to my house told me they didn’t want anything to do with me. Stating “want locals only...” apparently because I live on the mainland and they are on the island I am not a “local”. So I have been sending Quebec house stuff via amazon. This month when I get better might send them snail mail package others who were in katimavik with me maybe not the same year or rotation as alumni want to send stuff to. So we are going to gather stuff together and send it across the country. I said nothing fancy to them but they might pull out all the stops since katimavik is back this year.

Today in the mail I got stickers from Chapman’s with a lanyard and zebracoupons. I wanna show ya my zucchini they are huge.


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[coupon girl]

greentires4me -hope the meds kick in soon for you -sucks to be sick in summer

well my legs are starting to feel better 3 days later(cause I went no where today -iced them and lounged around aside from hanging one load -ahhh not fun being in your late 50's and not being able to do certain things in your own home

yeah daughter is coming in with her hubby and Sebastian on sat around 1.30 -she needs to work from home thou on her laptop so we will entertain Sebastian for a few hours -maybe take him to see his cousins(Ashlyn and cara )then they sleep over

[lilo0003]

@greentires4me hopefully the meds help. Being sick in the summer sucks @Angela273 I keep track of my sales to and it keeps me motivated to sell.
I spent the day with mom my aunt 2 aunts in Paris (Ontario) it was quite lovely and I have spent suggested to the boys it would make for a nice day trip.

[coupon girl]

lilo -how nice -i once took my dear mom to paris -i think it was we went to mary maxim and had a nice lunch togehter -even thou i got lost -lol

[Granger]

Paris, ON is where we summer vacation. There is a private camp ground for members of our church (Canadawide, not just our specific congregation). Members of our church own a cottage there. They have permitted us a free stay the past two years. Remember how I said generosity of others brought us to the other side? We go back this year mid August. I love the little town, feels like home. Plus they have a gluten free market for my DD with Celiac.

[Ciel]

Some of yesterday's evening laundry made it to the clothesline this morning. There was a good rain just before midnight. I had a few drops of rain on my walk home yesterday under a darkening sky that slid over to Dundas when I got back to Ancaster.

The 2L bottle of pop from Metro (the last Crush Orange, as Dr. Pepper was sold out and I did not want Schweppes or Mountain Dew) was mostly consumed on the walk home (so much for having it for the weekend!) and then being tired of carrying the pop, I watered the ground near a tree before recycling the bottle.

There was an extended walk this morning to do a can walk, then queued up at the beer store (Sat am is popular for multibox returns of cans/bottles), before arriving at the library.

The Pepsi Stuff code cap found yesterday was duly entered today and no instant win. I was surprised to have found 3 codes this week--the caps and cups are very hard to find!

Breakfast was two packages of instant oatmeal, followed by some leftover meatballs in sauce, some Tostitos and an ice cream cone of non-dairy Fiasco mango pineapple sorbet. That sorbet will figure prominently into snacks this weekend! I also made up two packages of Cup A Soup (chicken noodle) this morning and left it on the stove should a parent want a change from cooked eggs.

The Maytag washer has been in the house for 5 weeks and I still love the Start/Pause button to shorten cycles by cancelling them. Sometimes I can let the cycles run their course and other times, I want the loads done under 30min so I get going with tasks outside of the house.

Since our lawn does not get watered, a good portion of it still looks like medium-done toast. Will wait and see how much rain comes along later today and tomorrow, otherwise I may wait several days before cutting the grass.

[Ciel]

Paris, ON is where we summer vacation. There is a private camp ground for members of our church (Canadawide, not just our specific congregation). Members of our church own a cottage there. They have permitted us a free stay the past two years. Remember how I said generosity of others brought us to the other side? We go back this year mid August. I love the little town, feels like home. Plus they have a gluten free market for my DD with Celiac.

I was only in Paris a few years ago and must say that the fabric/decor shop John Hall is a stop worthy for sewists and crafters because of the fabric dept plus there are many textile goods that could make great gifts (conversational print aprons and such) and I recall bath towels from Cambridge Towels being sold too. Loved that stretch of "downtown" for walking and browsing.

The Grand River did smell strong in summer, however.

[Ciel]

@sweet sparrow May you have time to spend alone with your mother at the party and that DH will assist in keeping the kids occupies so you can visit with other guests too.
@greentires4me - bronchitis is so not fun! You would not happen to be downwind of any forest fires in your part of BC?
@lilo0003 -at some point, see if your mother and aunts comment on the absence of men in their social circle after widowhood. I have seen it with some of Mom's widowed friends who are homeowners, especially if they don't have sons or nephews to lean on for heavy lifting or tasks that used to be done by their spouses.

[Ciel]

The breezy wind outside and blue/gray clouds have me thinking of afternoon tea and something baked and sweet. Not sure what baking could be done with this heat. Must see if there is a reduced price treat at Fortinos that could fill the spot.

Health matters have been on my mind. Dad is not doing anything to improve and my own lump seems to be quite insistent on twinging whenever. I feel like I have a vise developing on my chest.