July 2020 Frugal Chatter

[Giseledta]

love youtube, I taught myself to knit that way.

[SassyAshley]

I used Youtube to teach myself to Crochet.

I took a class to learn to Knit but it was a bit of a failure, the teacher focused on the students who either already knew how to knit and were flying through or those who picked it up quickly and were flying through. There were a few of us who were struggling and she just keep telling us to focus, we were not focused. Now when I try to knit instead of being relaxing I get tense.

love youtube, I taught myself to knit that way.

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Not a lot going on today, although I slept well, I woke up feeling super tired. I think it is just my body telling me it needs a break.

Doing everything in my power to get this Friday off, which is why I did do some work today, I finished the manual I thought I had already done, now I need to find someone to proof it for me. I was about to work on another project and then I had the idea, maybe my boss can pull this from the system and it won't have to be done manually so I sent that to him. Then I did a few things that were quick but did take some concentration. I already have my to do list for Monday but later today I am going to come up with a list of everything I need to have done so I can have Friday off.

I kept the house all closed up and actually was not too hot until I realized I needed to run the Dishwasher. I have run the dishwasher and now it is getting warm in here. I made a few comments about moving forward with getting AC but Mom was not having any of it, she is now choosing other things around the house she thinks we should spend the money on instead. I am feeling a little stressed now, just feeling like I need to find a way to bring in some more money for these projects so we can just get them done and it can just be done.

I am struggling with a Meal Plan for this week, I tried spending some time on Pinterest but it is a struggle when we cannot use our Oven or Stove. I find we just keep making the same things and now we are getting bored and again Take-Out is getting brought up which is just bugging me grrrrr. I have a take-out budget but I was thinking of using that money elsewhere. I see this as a challenge which drives me to get creative and make it happen where is it just annoys Mom and I swear it is a mental thing she just feels like we are going without which we are but we aren't, it isn't like we are skipping meals.

I have a meal I used to make in the over as a one pot meal, I am thinking about trying it in the Instant Pot. It has everything you need to use an Instant Pot, Liquid and so on and I have figured out how long to cook it. Might try this tonight, it is not Mom's favourite meal but it is something different.

Trying to decide if I am going to grocery shop this week, we do not need to shop, we still have food but something is telling me to just go this week and get it done. More than anything I just want some fresh produce, we have some frozen left but we will be out of fresh by the end of the week we will be out of peppers, mushrooms & tomatoes. Plus since I have next weekend off it would be nice to have the extra time to process the food we buy. Plus, I feel like if I go shopping this week I can grab some extra but still come in under budget. Something else to figure out.

Alright going to try to get some stuff done. Have a great afternoon everyone.

[lizzie bargain]

SA-would it save some aggravation for your Mum to have her own takeout budget from her money and that way she can order as she wishes and you can just cook yourself something.

[SassyAshley]

Lizzie, right my "issue" is she keeps offering to pay for the Take-Out which is great but instead of spending $40 on meal, I would prefer to spend $40 to $50 on meat at Costco and get 15+ meals.

Yesterday, she was going over a list of things she wants to get done which is great, I love me a plan but it all hinges on me finding the $$$ to pay for it. Where is again I am like well instead of take out let's take that money and put it towards a new faucet.

I guess I just look at as we do not have to have Take-Out, yes it it nice but it is not a need.

I am stuck in a mind frame right of like Take-Out is not contributing to the household because we do not need take-out but there are needs so if you have this "extra" money let's use it for a house expenses. I would probably feel differently if she was putting money into the household which is what I have been pushing for lately. I am not asking to split the household expenses 50/50 but I have thrown out a number that would be nice to have in our budget each month and take a little bit of pressure off me. Give us that little bit of breathing room in our budget.

[lilo0003]

So my SDM trip did not work out as I planned but that’s ok, I found loads of clearance candy and toys that I can use for my Christmas envelopes that I send North so I ended up qualifying for the 20xPCO and did not feel like doing a second trip to get the 10000PCO. We did a quick trip to see the in-laws. It’s close to 3 hours of driving for a 2 hour visit. I took advantage of gas being 8 cents cheaper there. Tomorrow is the start of th basement purge and like others you tube is going to be my friend as I teach myself to strip a piece of furniture. Then I plan to chalk paint it.

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
Dinner was a success, it worked in the Instant Pot although the rice was a bit soft, not mushy but soft. Not sure if it was because I had a "moment" before I turned it on so I added a bit more water to be safe and cooked it an extra minute. Next time I will try it the way I had originally planned and see how it goes.

Mom got sent home from work, her knee went out on her and they sent her home. She has been to the doc but they said they said her knee is wrecked but they won't consider surgery for another 10 to 15 years. Their advice find a different job, easier said than done.

I think I have decided we will shop this week, but I am aiming for a smaller shop. It is going to be mostly produce and some dairy although I do want to grab some cheaper Roasts that I can throw in the Slow-Cooker or Instant Pot. We have a few Roasts in the freezer but they are nicer ones that are great to eat as a Roast or for Sandwiches where is I want some I can add a ton of flavour for and my plan is for them to fall apart as they cook, more like a Pot Roast.

Shopping this week may work in my favour as I think it will be a smaller shop, plus I would like to move when we shop to better work with my budget, right now we shop and than I pay it off as the month goes on. I would prefer to have the money sitting there and covers the shop. I know it is all a mindset thing but the second option makes me feel better, I hate seeing a minus on my budget even if I know by the end of the month there will be an overage.

Okay, time to plan my shop and see if I can come in under budget this month. I would really like to build up some overage just in case.

Have a great night everyone.

[Angela273]

Yesterday we took our kids to a different park and spray pad in town.

I spent $100 at Sobeys. I was unhappy that Air Miles was having issues so I was unable to redeem. I used $4 in coupons, $2 CO51, $0.10 Caddle, and earned 108AM. 103AM was from some good personal Air Miles offers that I loaded.
I did the Rice Krispies deal again 2x $2.99 - $1 coup on box - $1 CO51 = $0.99 box of spring coloured Rice Krispies. I’ve bought 6 boxes with this deal so far. They have a big display of them in the store, so I pick 2 up each time there is a new CO51 offer on them.

I bought marshmallows so that we could make Rice Krispie squares some day.
Some of my kids also eat Rice Krispies with vanilla yogurt or as cereal with milk.

Someone did a hit and run on my van while I was shopping at Sobeys today. I have literally lost track of the number of times this has happened to my van...not including our other vehicles. The damage is to my front passenger side bumper. Scratches, paint transfer from the black vehicle, and a small gouge. Fortunately it didn’t crumple the bumper and we can buff some of the marks out.

We cut ds and twin boy’s hair this afternoon. I cut Dh’s hair. I think Dh and I will continue to do haircuts in between professional ones. Hairdresser for school pictures, Christmas concert, etc. Dh has opposed it in the past. He had bad haircuts as a kid when his mom cut his hair. Covid gave him the push and the excuse to start. It’s turned out pretty good. This was their second hair cut at home since COVID. I am keeping track. I’ll wrote down the savings amount when they get their next hair cut...since I’m not sure if the prices have changed.

Dh is currently building new model rockets with ds. It is one of the activities that we have on our list. We have no plans on travelling, so we are doing things locally and keeping our group small.

[coupon girl]

I spent yesterday with the family ,we went to my son's at 1.00 i bought an ice crema cake log at dairy queen .In the morning daughter was working ,infact she had a live radio talk interview on her article from B.C so we left the house and sat in the garage and listened to her ,she did great as it was her first ,then another interview that was taped an hour later .See sassy she worked half a day on sunday ,so life and work is intertwining sometimes.

We let the kids go into my son's blow up pool for a bit but it was so hot out we limited our time .The kids then ordered" burger priest " and wouldnt let us pay for our part .Hubby got a new water bottle and home depot gift cards form the kids (son and daughter got the same gift card (funny)plus a scratch card .

We let the grandkids blow out the candle on the ice cream cake ,they love it .
Sebastian has no underwear packed so i will borrow a few from ashlyn ,not the bikini ones .lol
Angela my daughter cut sebastian's hair for the first time with a buzzer ,left it a little long on top as "he wants to look nice for junior kindergarden in the fall"she did a pretty good job .


Off to get sebastian up at we need to be at son's at 7.00 a.m to babysit for the day .Everyone stay cool .

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy Monday! Going to be a hot hot day here today.

Busy work week but totally do-able! Hope to get at some house stuff but for sure on the weekend. Tuesday night I will start posting stuff for sale again. I deleted all my ads so I can start fresh.

Off to clean up the budget since payday is this week.

Stay cool my friends!

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Busy day but that is good, it is keeping me on track and getting through some projects I have been putting off because they take a lot of focus and a lot of time so really double whammy. These are the projects that I tend to put off and then one day I just dive into it head first. Will be happy to get some of these off my plate.

I also have a small list of simple things to do around the house today. Most of it is in the Kitchen, since I have to go into the branch a couple times this week I made myself some breakfasts to go. Last week I had great plans to get up have some tea, eat Breakfast and get a few things done before I went in but a chat came in and I missed Breakfast. Then there are just a few things I want to get done before we shop to make more room in the fridge.

Mom wanted to shop today but I think it is too hot plus they are calling for possible pop up thunderstorms this afternoon and I do not want to get caught in one. Tomorrow looks like a much better say to shop, just hoping my meeting doesn't run too late.

Alright back to the to do list, I am determined to see just how much I can get checked off today.

Have a great day everyone and stay cool if you can for those in Ontario who are under this heat dome.

[Frugalbigmama]

Coupon for free Tuna posted on the home page. I dislike Tuna but my guy likes it. Will pick him up a snack one to leave in his glove compartment for when he needs a quick snack!

[SassyAshley]

Well shortly after I posted I got an email from one of the branches I was going to go into this week asking me to hold off so my schedule for the week has changed. Plus my priorities for work have changed now that I won't be in this branch for the time being.

I spent some time this afternoon working on a long term to do list. In my job a lot of things come up that need to be addressed but not necessarily right away. I have been loving my daily to do list that I decided to come up with my master to do list so I can reference this list and work these into my to my day to day to do lists.

I thought about trying to get a few things done in the Kitchen but think I will hold off, it is pretty hot in here so think I will just stay in front of the fan.

[Granger]

My "baby" turns 5 tomorrow. I pulled out a couple of things to pass on to my sister and my new nephew from her closet. Got sentimental with one of the blankets. I would rather see it used than have it sit in the closet, but it brought back memories of wrapping her. It is a soft muslin cotton with little pandas on it.

We have schedule birthday visits with family members one family at a time tomorrow. We will distance the best we can with the kids. I want them to have fun with their cousins. Outdoors on our playground and trampoline should help. We will be doing happy birthday in a Facebook "room." Haven't done that before so hope it works.

I spent the day in the garden (having people over is motivating). I have started watching House of Cards on Netflix.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning! Nice sunny day here today. Heard the long weekend weather will be nice too!

Our town office is still closed. I have misplaced my final tax invoice and the website doesn't show the proper due dates so I had to leave a message yesterday for a call back. Received the call this morning so now I have the info needed!

We went to Costco last night. I bought some nice grass fed burgers and had one last night. Really good!!! Paid $13.99 for 12 patties (on sale) DS's should like them.

House cleaning- So much to do! Will get at it tonight while both boys are at work. Will get laundry all sorted and down to the basement and started and then hit the bathrooms for cleaning. The grass needs to be cut too but youngest DS can do that tomorrow before work. That is his job this summer.

I plan on taking meat out of the freezer tonight and using the slow cooker tomorrow. I have potatoes and carrots to add to it. I will chop them up tonight and spice up etc so I just have to dump it in the crock pot in the morning. Thinking pork chops since we have so many from my great stock up a little while ago and DS likes them. Then I can make up a bunch of meal containers and he can have them the next few days.

Have a great day everyone!