April 2019 Frugal Chatter Thread (spring, is that you?)

[Ciel]

Getting a start on the month of April while the thoughts of tulips remain on my mind!

Make sure to use up any McDonald's meal deal offers soon. Toss out the March coupons too. If you are in Hamilton, the expired trash tags and 2018/19 calendar go into the trash bin-new collection year, new green bin rules!

[Giseledta]

good morning all.

tea is made, bills are paid. i am still waiting on 1 to go through then i will move the rest.
oldest starts a new job today, its her other job, but she has been called back fo r 10 months. so i am happy.

middle will be home sometime this month.
and youngeest goes for her g2 this month.

my plan for the week. i have a shelve and a half to declutter. big garbage week. clean off the side deck. i should hear from that family. i am a little concerned.. but i am ready just in case.


today, no money spent.

[flemeth]

Good morning all
Thanks @Ciel for starting this thread
Still need to do some Laundry tonight have to get all the couch blankets done and my Fur baby bbedding
Will be going to RCSS later today for the Chicken deal for $0.88 Lb with PM from T&T don’t have freezer space so will take it to the Food Bank. It should cost me little or no money after PCO Points.
@Giseledta hope you hear back from your potential day care family soon
Have an awesome day all

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy Monday!

I emptied the dishwasher this morning but the clean dishes drying on counter need to be put away.

The kayak I was looking at Costco on Saturday is on sale this week. I will have to tell my friend since we thinking of getting them. Anything to enjoy the great outdoors is a deal to me!

I will take out a roast tonight to thaw overnight and toss in the crockpot in the morning. Will serve with asparagus and something else we decide.

The boys made a good dent on the eggs this weekend. I will boil a bunch tonight for afternoon snacks this week. Wednesday night I will make eggs/peameal/hashbrowns and toast for dinner. That will use up some eggs and bread from the freezer. (and peameal as we have about 12!)

Didn't grocery shop at all on the weekend. Will probably take a peek at the flyers again tomorrow and see if there is anything I want to get but for the most part I think we are pretty good.

[greentires4me]

Yesterday I cooked up my roast for my friends downstairs I gave heck to those who kept taking more then what was there. I was concerned that not everyone would be able to have some...of course ran out of things I wasn’t satisfied I was rather pissed off. But those who were there enjoyed what I had cooked. The roast I didn’t let it rest for long enough usually I let it rest 15mins but staff kept hustling me. I felt like I was back in a kitchen working when they started to poke at me.
After everything was said and done. She wanted me to cook on Tuesday but I am never here on that days. I said baked Mac and cheese maybe next Sunday. She was like no Tuesday I said no Sunday. She pisses people off easily This staff person.

But anyway for the roast lots of minced garlic, thyme and black pepper. I was going to cover it in onion and whiskey bbq sauce but I decided not to. The oven had convection bake so I turned it on to 375 and cooked it for 75mins it came out perfect medium rare. I would have let it rest 15mins because it continues to cook but rudely interrupted by staff. I made mashed potatoes I added butter and lots of sour cream some pepper and salt.

My friend didn’t get any roast I made her a grilled cheese sandwich and found some cheese cake in my fridge and we had that. Then Last night I crashed I had gone to sleep from 3:30-6:30pm. I made dinner it was rice pilaf I used basmati this time within my rice cooker chicken broth I forgot the bay leaf but it was still good without it. I also cooked up some spanakopita in the oven from frozen. I put on the table sour cream and feta cheese. It would have been tzazaki but I didn’t have any cucumbers on hand.

Yesterday I installed my microwave the one I got for Christmas it was freaking heavy I almost dropped it on my toe. It’s a Panasonic 1100w microwave. It just fits on my shelf.

Today I have counselling appointment at 5pm instead of the usual 7pm.

I have to do some linen laundry. I just don’t want it get out of bed. To do it.

I was hoping mental health calls me back today. Since that supervisor called me last Tuesday. But putting ones hopes up is a disaster for being crushed is what I usually get from them.

GST comes Friday I got an email on last Friday about it. I was going too look for a way to make some cash by selling stuff on Facebook marketplace. But not sure what I would part with though...

Anyway have a good day.


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[Ciel]

Mother Nature played a fine snow joke on Southern Ontario overnight on Saturday and into Sunday morning. Happy April Fool's Day Day/Jour de poisson d'avril one day early...My, that wet snow was heavy and sticking to the icy rain on the sidewalks.

Since Mom cooked octopus on the stovetop on Friday afternoon, and had the pot boil over (even after scrubbing down the element and hardware, the aroma stuck around), the house smells of seafood for 4 days in a row. I've cooked Earl Grey tea and Lemon & Ginger tea yesterday and today, put two lemon wedges into a pot with 3 cups of water on to boil in attempts to remove the seafood smell. Well today I did put a beer cake into the toaster oven and after 25min, a smell of scorch came out. Seems said dough rose to twice its height (usually barely rises in an oil cake without baking powder and the electrical elements put the burn on at 350F. I should have reduced the temperature by 25 degrees, but the scorch seems to have overpowered the seafood aroma. That was interesting...

Cooked two packages of Kraft dinner this morning plus cooked some long grain rice with leftover frozen California mix veggies and garlic salt. Had some mini cans of pop too (I did donated 4 -6pks of pop with a box of tea to the food bank, to reduce my chances of drinking the remaining pop all in one week). Intend to make April a mostly vegetarian meal month for me to see if my skin clears up and also cuts back on some pain on my right side.

With the calendar page moved, it's time for clothing drives/textile recycling drives and also community garage sales. I'll post some April events for clothing and recycling soon. I am giving up three tops-one does not fit and two others are great fabric but have deep V-necks>time to let them spark joy for someone else. Will put my winter coat in the local textile drive bag for month's end rather than the garbage bin tomorrow.

Can walk yesterday-30 cents. Can walk today-70 cents. April is going to be a lean month financially, so I will focus on food and gardening gloves.

Did pick up Mohawk College's new continuing education guide on Friday while I was at the main campus for some Internet time. Course tuition fees are well over $250 for many of them! I had hoped that the federal tuition tax credit would not be a tax return one, but an actual credit we could use in the year towards a course fee. As in a credit in our accounts each Jan 1. Will get over that disappointment soon, as I don't regret applying my $154 climate change incentive credit towards the provincial debt.

Not likely to do the rest of the branch trimming-there's a layer of snow over most of the yard except near some tall trees where Ms. Sunshine put her warming rays yesterday and the grass is showing. But the grass is still under snow by the two trees I have business with--not too safe for the stepladders.

Did all the SCers driving cars in Ontario notice the gas price hike (carbon tax) today? 4.4 cents per litre of gas. I guess everyone that enjoys Kellogg's cereals will be striving to get those $5 prepaid gas cards to help offset gas for the car or mower or motorcycle.

[wendymac]

@Ciel wrote: "Did all the SCers driving cars in Ontario notice the gas price hike (carbon tax) today? 4.4 cents per litre of gas. I guess everyone that enjoys Kellogg's cereals will be striving to get those $5 prepaid gas cards to help offset gas for the car or mower or motorcycle."

Is THAT what happened?! I had to look it up...guess my head has been in a hole in the ground on this one. "Federal Carbon Charge. As part of the federal government's carbon pricing program, a new carbon charge applies to fossil fuels sold in Ontario, including natural gas starting Apr. 1, 2019. The federal carbon charge for natural gas will be 3.91 cents per cubic meter (m³), increasing annually each April."

[Frugalbigmama]

@Ciel wrote: "Did all the SCers driving cars in Ontario notice the gas price hike (carbon tax) today? 4.4 cents per litre of gas. I guess everyone that enjoys Kellogg's cereals will be striving to get those $5 prepaid gas cards to help offset gas for the car or mower or motorcycle."

Is THAT what happened?! I had to look it up...guess my head has been in a hole in the ground on this one. "Federal Carbon Charge. As part of the federal government's carbon pricing program, a new carbon charge applies to fossil fuels sold in Ontario, including natural gas starting Apr. 1, 2019. The federal carbon charge for natural gas will be 3.91 cents per cubic meter (m³), increasing annually each April."

Thinking this is the summer to bike to work!

[barbis9]

Yes gas has gone up in Ontario.....1.22 is the average. Went to McDonald's ordered a bacon and egg mcmuffin, got sausage and egg instead.....my day is not going well, had to take out my super warm coat over the weekend, brrr. For McDonald's coffee lovers - the stores have a free egg mcmuffin with purchase on most McDonald's coffee in grocery stores....need to stock up and get my freebie.

[wendymac]

@barbis9 Have a better day, Barbis9. There's still time to fit one into your busy schedule.

[Giseledta]

good morning. this weather is kicking my tush . my ear is killing me . sigh.
going to take it wasy today.
yougest has her appoointment in town today.

i am hoping the snow melts off the side deck... tomorrow is garbage day, and it is a mess. really should not take to long to take care of.

[coupon girl]

Morning -I have a busy day gonna go visit my older brothers wife ,if she wishes to go see my brother he is still in the hospital I will take her ,but the last few days he has been heavily sedated .If she doesn't I will take her for a few groceries and just chat with her ,I may bring her laundry back and do it for her as she deals with health problems and the appt decided to lock the washroom door in the basement laundry room as someone was stealing paper towels and toilet paper ,sad .
I have a time line thou as son called last night and needs us to pick up Ashlyn at the bus at 3.10 ,so I will be watching my time today ,wish it was a bit warmer still chilly to me

[Frugalbigmama]

Good morning!

I have porkchops in a baking dish in the fridge ready to pop in the oven. I will have DS do so before I leave work. I was going to do a roast but didn't feel like dragging crockpot out etc lol.

Laundry is still on the go. I put another load of towels on last night. I need to was another duvet tonight and let it hang to dry. Tons of empty detergent containers in my laundry sink that need to go out to recycling. Tonight is the night!

I need to buy some feta so I can make a nice pasta Greek salad. Been craving that for awhile and I think DS would like it.

[flemeth]

Good morning all.
Have some laundry that needs to put away.
Floors need to be mop and then I will be heading to mail a trade.
My kitchen is cleaned and my dog is walked so just having a cup of tea before I get started
Enjoy your Tuesday all

[Frugalbigmama]

Any deals you are after today?

I have personal PC PT offer for Stayfree pads and they are still $1.94 at my RCSS and I have $2 coupons. I noticed the shelf was stocked full on the weekend but my coupons were in the car. I think I will go today and take a peek and hopefully get them. I will price match milk and use $1 coupon and then if I get a cashier that puts in the full $2 coupon it will go towards the milk and not be a negative total.