December 2020 Frugal Chatter thread (ring in the holidays)

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning!
I feel like I haven't been grocery shopping in weeks (really I haven't) so I am excited to go tonight.
Will write out my list to match the PC pts card to use and Price matching etc. I was sent a $75 GC for Loblaws stores from work so that was a wonderful surprise (to buy drinks and food for our virtual Christmas party) so have to decide if I will use this week or wait but thinking better to use ASAP.

As I mentioned I am not a baker but really in the mood to make a bunch of stuff so I need to pull out the baking supplies and see what I have before I buy more.

oh I went for a quick drive to Costco late last night ( My honey wanted to go get a new toilet for his man cave) (best time no one there) and ended up buying 2 of the 2pk PJ pants they have on sale this week for my boys. Something they both need and will appreciate! So into the Christmas bin they went. I hope to get wrapping this weekend.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

[Frugalbigmama]

Just checked my pc pts. On my main card for the 1st time I received 2 special offers

$1.29 for Wonder Bread-Limit 2
$1.99 for No Name Butter-Limit 2 ( I received this offer 3 weeks in a row on my #2 card)

I have so much butter in the freezer but will grab 2 more Can't beat that price.

[Frugalbigmama]

We are not permitted to use the kitchen when working in the office and I'm just to busy to pop out today.
Packed up all the things needed including the toaster to make a toasted Roast beef sandwich in my office
I made DS a roast beef sandwich for his lunch today too.

[crafter]

Good morning! I had a super productive evening last night. I did up 2 boxes of Christmas cards while listening to music and sipping on wine. This morning I dropped into our local Canada post and dropped off the box for DD, bought some US stamps and handed over my stack of cards. I chatted with the Canada Post clerk and apparently the coupons that came out in a insert for a discount off the pre-paid boxes are for the medium boxes. She said that they are back ordered on the medium boxes. I'm going to keep my eye out for the coupon in our inserts etc.
I then dropped into our local gas station and dropped off some empty wine bottles we had collecting dust. Our gas station is LCBO and beer store approved but I never would have expected them to take empties until I saw someone returning some a few weeks ago. I picked up my new fav wine Berringer Main&Vine for $10.95 reg price.
I then returned home and went to take a shower and the water pressure was down to almost zero. By the time I had a few buckets slowly filling with trickles of water, the water issue resolved and now we have a few buckets to use up when flushing toilets....oh well, they would've come in handy if the water was out for a long time lol.
I'm just strategizing a whirlwind shop at a few places this afternoon. I'm hoping to only use points for my purchases. I also need to return some poor quality Christmas lights to Independent Grocers. I'm a little leary tho as I earned 40,000 points last week on a promo. I'm hoping they can give me a credit instead of a full return so I don't lose my 40,000 points. If anyone knows how that works, I would appreciate some insight.

Have a wonderful day!

[coupon girl]

Morning i went to the mall right at 10.00 a.m not busy -wanted to change hubby's pants at old navy -nope they dont carry his size in store only , a little ticked as it was a good sale . I called old navy and they ordered a new pair in his size in black for my same deal -great service.

Then popped into lush and got a gift set for my daughter -treated myself to a lavender bath bomb.I have to comment lush on a great job as they get customers to wash their hands when they come in and the girl states please keep your mask over your nose .So that made my day .

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Was up early this morning which makes me happy, I jumped right into working. Wanted to get some stuff off my plate so I could take some breaks during the day to get up and move around. I feel like I am getting into a nice groove.

Feeling very anxiety today and not fully sure why.

Chatted with Mom about some plans for this weekend so we can tackle a few things around the house. Think the big goal for this weekend will be our freezers, our stand up freezer desperately needs to be defrosted after the door was left open a couple of months ago.

I know it probably sounds a little overboard but I want to come up with an official inventory list for our freezer to get a better handle on what we have and what we need. In the past we have never kept this much meat on hand so I am still adjusting my buying habits. For certain meats in the past if they were on sale I always grabbed some, it was just a question of how much we needed, but now I think we are a little over run on certain meats so I think an inventory list will get us back on track.

Hope everyone is having a great day

[coupon girl]

Finally an awesome customer on kijiji messages me then gets back if i will hold til friday as she has a little one that just went to sleep down.
Hopefully $10.00 for my daughter-in-law on friday.My son is giving us ashlyn and cara's cream beige recliner that they both had in their bedrooms now cara is going into a big girl bed .So nice of him to give it to us ,its a little stained in a few spots maybe i can get it out .

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
Not as productive this afternoon as I would have liked. Since I started work so early my plan had been to take a break in the afternoon to vacuum the front hall mat, Mom swept and I moped but the mat needs a quick vacuum. Then if I had time I was going to wash our bathroom ceiling. But I go a phone call and one of the girls needed to leave so I had to stay at my laptop to help with calls. For some reason they will not come to my cell so I have to use an app to take calls when I am helping out.

I did get the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded (just dishes from this morning). I took our Slovaki for dinner and make bowl with Rice from the freezer, Stir Fry Veggies and Garlic Garlic Sauce I made on the weekend. Quick easy dinner.

Until today I have really been into cooking this week, I am finding it relaxing but now I am struggling to come up with Meal Prep for the weekend. Hopefully something comes to me today or tomorrow, although I know I want to make some cookies. Let's hope I find some more inspiration.

Hope everyone has a great night

[Ciel]

Did the early morning dash by buses to two bakeries (treats for a person retiring soon) and made it home before the designated delivery hour for the grocery order. Got a call about 10min prior to 11am that truck was on way. Two trucks-one driver is training the new driver. Had a good chat and got bags placed into the sanitized bins I had on the walk. Mom liked the clementines so that was one good thing. The soursop juice is actually a blend of pulp with apple juice, with a nectar texture (if you ever drank apricot nectar, that fuzzy/cloudy beverage). 27g of sugars per 250ml serving-wow. Kind of a lemony not quite ripe pineapple flavour. Might make it my new juice blend. Probably with mineral water. The Mandalorian cookie box is about the size of a cake mix box but shorter.

I used one bus fare for travels but my transfer would have run out prior to last bus needed to get home. Decided to huff and puff home to keep warm (Mr. Wind had a bite today) and realized my max. capacity for carrying a light load in 20kph winds is about 1h walking time. Took a rest. Then out the door in early afternoon to get a card and tote for the treats. Felt really winded (found a dime on the road and also three empty containers for deposit) but took a detour to Value Village (the movie I wanted was sold) around the racks. New Dollarama store two doors away has an Opening Soon sign but store is not yet stocked. Still think the current Dollarama in older shopping area is going to move into the new location. TBD.

Tried to rest from 3pm onwards. Mom knocked on door two different times. She's not realizing I need to be left alone to rest as my body is not recovering as fast as it used to. Told her she's stressing me out (and can she leave me alone???)and we argued. If Hamilton goes into lockdown by Monday, I will have to make a routine to get out of the house for fresh air and distance or I will be a basket case. Mom did not get her shopping done despite last night's advice to make a list and shop today. I can anticipate her complaining that she is out of a couple of personal needs and I don't know how I'll ask her to be responsible for her choices (SHE slept in really late today).

Plan to head out in the morning for errands, despite the snow forecast. Need to see my library people and store acquaintances!

OK, time for an evening round of camomile tea (Twinings is on sale for $3.99 at Fortinos, in case anyone needs incentive to stock their tea selection) and something light for supper! Keep cozy and curious, everyone!

[Frugalbigmama]

Good evening!
Whipped up a quick dinner using leftover roast beef and made a nice little pasta dish. Washed all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.
Completely cleaned out the fridge.
Went to get groceries. Got a large Greek salad for 30% off.
When i got home i packed my lunch for tomorrow (Greek Salad) and made DS a ceaser salad using the lettuce from the salad. We have tons of salad left that will be part of tomorrow nights dinner.

Have laundry on the go.

Have a great night!

[coupon girl]

Yes sold my puzzles on kijiji 3 of them(she will pick up after work) -i use to sell when i had 8-15 puzzles done but i was only making .88 cents a puzzle on them ,even thou i bought them from value village.So today i am breaking even in what i paid for them 3 for 9.00.I am so tired of all the people wanting and arm and a leg for the used puzzles on kijiji 10-30.00 each as i would by a few .I will keep looking thou .

I drove past value village yesterday but they dont open til 11.00 a.m and there was a huge lineup as it was seniors day -nope not waiting outside in the cold , I still have about 6 more puzzles to do will keep me busy past xmas .

[crafter]

We've been waiting for our hydro to switch over to tiered and after fiddling around our account online, we saw that it has switched so I'm so looking forward to doing laundry this morning
I did several errands yesterday, things are getting busy in our little town so I'll be scaling back my outings this month. I dropped off donations to a thrift store and returned some expensive poor quality lights to Independent. I was super worried about losing points with my return (I did the spend $100 get 40,000 promo last week). Luckily, I didn't get dinged when I rec'd my refund.
We have a Christmas zoom party this afternoon. I picked up a nice xmas pj set that I think I'll wear for fun. We've been doing a lot of zoom and messenger video chats with family and friends. It's certainly not as good as seeing people in person but we're having some fun with friends whom we wouldn't otherwise see.
Have a wonderful day!

[Frugalbigmama]

Yes sold my puzzles on kijiji 3 of them(she will pick up after work) -i use to sell when i had 8-15 puzzles done but i was only making .88 cents a puzzle on them ,even thou i bought them from value village.So today i am breaking even in what i paid for them 3 for 9.00.I am so tired of all the people wanting and arm and a leg for the used puzzles on kijiji 10-30.00 each as i would by a few .I will keep looking thou .

I drove past value village yesterday but they dont open til 11.00 a.m and there was a huge lineup as it was seniors day -nope not waiting outside in the cold , I still have about 6 more puzzles to do will keep me busy past xmas .

I notice a lady selling puzzles on the Market place near me- Used and for $15 each! I would love to pick up some for my mom. I usually always find great deals on new ones. I will keep looking!

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning and TFIF!!!! It means something to me since this was my week to work in the office.

I put away all the clean dishes this morning before leaving home (tons drying on the counter and I ran the dishwasher) Now the kitchen is clean and dishwasher empty so easy clean up after ourselves when we are all in and out. I think I will make taco meat tonight or tomorrow so the boys can have tacos this weekend since we have everything else on hand (including expensive lettuce!!!!)
I thawed chicken breasts over night and put in a baking dish this morning with spices and put in the fridge. DS can toss in the oven when he gets home from school and can make wraps or chicken ceaser salad for dinner.

5lbs clementines are $3.47 at Walmart this week. I was all ready to PM but my local No Frills had it for the same price which was nice. I will be sure to buy another case on Wednesday before the sale ends since I don't think they will be any cheaper.

Enjoy the day!

[coupon girl]

Well up early at 6.00 a.m cleaned the toilets and the sinks ,put dishes away in dishwasher .
Did a load of laundry as my tiered started dec2/20-so nice to do it whenever.

I just put up my table tree with little lighted tips all over it (it was my dear moms).Not doing the old bigger tree this year (which was my moms also).I noticed on kijiji someone was giving away a tree for free ,but i missed out .

Not going out at all today as the 2 pickups are coming from kijiji ,plus i dont want to go out as much with numbers rising.



Just sold the 2 items made 10.00 for my son/daughter-in-law .The lovely young lady told me in messaging she couldnt find a 12-18 month snowsuit anywhere ,so she was pretty pleased .