December 2020 Frugal Chatter thread (ring in the holidays)

[Ciel]

Congratulations @Angela_273 on your recent contest wins! Makes December more fun after all the hustle and bustle of the weekdays.

Still entering contests myself...keeping optimistic!

[lilo0003]

I braved RCSS for the last of the fresh veg for Christmas because I wanted a prime rib for the freezer but they were all out. Then DS1 needed something else so I popped to metro and found a fresh leg of lamb for an incredible price so that will be our New Years dinner. Now i am nestled in for the holidays. One more day of work and that’s it for me until 2020.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Beer Bread Mix is made and packaged, everything is packaged, now I just need to drop everything off.

Woke up to a message from Bro, your presents are on the step, dropped them off on my way to work. I will find out if he wants his gifts dropped at work or to his gf at home. Will leave Sister's at Dad's for her to pick up tomorrow with Christmas Dinner.

Now to reclaim my Kitchen and Dining Room, they are not dirty, stuff has been moved around to make room so now everything needs to go back to it's home.

I look forward to tomorrow when I can just relax. Thinking my new plan for Christmas Day is to veg on the couch and watch movies all day.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day

[Frugalbigmama]

Morning!! Ah still getting through the piles and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel



Put the roast in a baking dish and spiced it up for the oven. Wrapped it in tinfoil and put in fridge and will call DS with instructions to pop it in the oven later this afternoon.


Then I will go out later to pick up my mom's list and get her groceries and deliver them to her on my way home. Don't want to leave it till tomorrow.

[coupon girl]

Morning i was up early 5.30 a.m so did laundry and made my grocery list for sobeys was out the door at close to 7.00 a.m when they opened about 8 people were getting out of their cars when i pulled up .

I was in and out in about 40 minutes spent $175 and got 127 airmiles saved $7.75 in coupons and 2.00 on checkout51.I sure didnt want to wait til thursday thats for sure and i dont want to go back to online grocery shopping as it is soo much more expensive .

Gonna go for a walk now while its not doing anything out ,fresh air clears my mind .

[barbis9]

Dad's company sent by courier to all employees and retirees *or spouses* the annual ArcelorMittal Dofasco nutcracker. This year's edition is white with black buttons and has an actual back lever to open mouth of said nutcracker! Mom thought I had ordered something for her (no budget!) but upon feeling the box in the courier envelope, I knew what it was. I saw on Twitter that company employees got a box of locally made sauces, caramel corn, treats and a gift card for Indigo plus a company greeting card. I have the new nutcracker on the coffee table with the corporate Christmas card and the 2018 nutcracker (purple) by the clock on the old tv stand.

I was surprised to get two Christmas cards in the mail-one for me from a relative who was sent a card and one from my brother's friend-yesterday. Today, our family got a Christmas photo card from a relative with a young family. (And to those who have posted about friends or family not adhering to the one household rule, word has reached us of three households getting together recently and that is likely going to pose a health risk to the eldest in the clan--I mean, they should understand the one household rule except for single persons joining one household for support reasons. Contact tracing will be huge if anyone gets COVID-19-think 40+ people of contact if they'd think about it and a couple of those people are in healthcare...)

I am trying to shake off a light head cold (mostly in my nose and light cough stuck around my Adam's apple) by eating oranges, taking Vitamin C Halls candies, adding spices and crushed garlic to my pasta meals and more. I'd like to get my library books tomorrow as Thursday's weather is going to be a messy mix. Plus this is the last couple of days of computer access. Next week, no HPL library will allow computer access, just in-branch holds pickups via staff (we cannot touch books nor get our own holds-only staff can).

My two-year old flannel pj pants have a lovely diagonal tear on one leg that keeps growing. Fortunately I kept the matching flannel bag and I will cut a bias strip to mend the pants as they are cozy for now. I also put on a flannel bottom sheet on my bed, as I have been waking up cold often and think any warmth with assist in restful dozing or sleep. Right now, pain issues keep me rolling to each side or on back or curling up to keep warm. Got to fix all that movement because it keeps my brain droning on.

No success in getting Mom to whip out her credit card to buy groceries online today. I think my next order will be in early January.

For two days, I've been thinking of what items my GST credit will be used for: $27 for extra year of laptop warranty (it expires in late March), Jan. bank fee and then I'll see. At least the funds will be direct-deposited, so no need to feed the bank ATM. I'm letting my photo id card expire in two weeks and have to find out how much the carbon tax incentive credit will be next year. It's likely I will apply most towards next Feb. property tax installment but I'll need $80 to renew McAfee security in April. If I wanted the Microsoft 365 suite with Skype, that's another $79.99 and I cannot allocate that yet. Personally, I dislike having to set up accounts for each and every online service.

Yellow Pages phone directory tip for Hamilton area residents still waiting for the new issue-the distribution period is Dec 9-31 (news to me as I called last week to get an update). I'm to call YP back in January if I don't get the new directory but I'd rather receive it than go a second year without it. A friend in another part of town got hers on the weekend.

Santa, I still want a HP mobile printer with ink. I have the paper and USB B cord!

Check out Best Buy or Staples for Mcafee, it's a lot cheaper than renewing online. I picked up norton for 5 computers $29.99 at Staples on sale. Renewal online was much more, and I usually wait for the last day of the old renewal before I install the new version.

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening,
All presents have been dropped off, picked up all my gifts except from Bro & Sister-in-Law they will be dropping off tomorrow. Bro has admitted him and Sister-in-Law have already dipped into the treats I dropped off.

Picked up my Christmas Eve Dinner from Stepmom, now to decide what side dishes I am going to make to go with it.

I tidied up the Kitchen and Dining Room, there are just a few dishes from packaging the gifts to be washed by hand which I will do tomorrow.

I made my first batch of Homemade Cleaner, so far I am liking it although I put a splash of Rubbing Alcohol in and feel like now that is all I can smell. So far I have only used it on the counters and stove but the stove came out all nice and shiny which makes me happy. Sometimes I find keeping the glass top stove looking clean is a real battle, I swear even when we do not use out Kitchen it gets stuff on it.

I really feel like crocheting so I think I will dig out a project I need to finish and see if I can get that done tonight.

Have a great night everyone

[Frugalbigmama]

Good evening.
Helped oldest wrap his gifts. Then went to get my mom's groceries and grabbed the last few things i needed for Christmas brunch ( whipped cream, fresh raspberries and maple syrup!)

Packed up the Christmas wrap bin. And had DS put it away under spareroom bed.
Cleaned kitchen, diningroom, main floor washroom, put clean laundry away and a load in the washer. Need to go down now and hang it all to dry.
Started cleaning family room. Will finish tomorrow afternoon after work since i am off early.
Now im pooped! Time to relax a bit.

[Angela273]

I picked up the yoga prize package today. It’s valued at $148. Pretty nice.

[barbis9]

I picked up the yoga prize package today. It’s valued at $148. Pretty nice.

Congrats!

[Ciel]

@barbis9 I noticed that Norton has something called Lifelock on sale for so many devices. I'd consider the McAfee through Staples option if I won't need a CD drive to install it. McAfee has almost daily been popping up ads to secure up to 10 devices. I just need 1 and maybe a second later if the printer materializes. Yes, getting computer security is a priority and I sure would love to save some $$ on the cost.

Bro had option to stay at home yesterday and still get paid, so last night, three of us were at odds what to watch after the Saturday Night Live Christmas Special (Mom was highly offended by most of the sketches we did see and I kept returning to Victorian Bakers during commercial breaks or really dicey sketches; there were a few sketches that made me laugh). After 15min of checking out streaming options, Bro picked Noelle on Disney+. I say it's aimed at the 14+ crowd, not kids, or anyone older who wants to experience a bit of zing about Christmas they may have lost. For me, the scenes in Phoenix gave Shirley Maclaine's character many non-speaking moments of costume changes and chances to enjoy being associated with a Kringle. Count how many times the word "iPad" is said along with "Genius Bar," as we did not watch the credits but I feel that Apple must have sponsored part of the movie.

The rain and later heavy rain started after 8pm as well. Glad I had reminded Mom to get some groceries yesterday on her errand to drop off something at a friend's place. Mom got groceries and fresh fruit.

I had printed off so many pages that I left 5cents on my library card. Today will be the last day that one can print at an HPL library branch but I will not go out in this wet weather. Plan is to visit for book pickup weekly as good weather permits.

Have some laundry drying this morning that someone washed last night. Had a light breakfast and will have tea soon to warm up and brighten the morning. Phone book is still MIA but random delivery vehicles come and go on the street.

Christmas light displays will look wonderful in the gray gloom (and later snow) today. Give yourself extra time if you are out at the stores or businesses. CHCH will air a Chicago Magnificent Mile Christmas program tonight at 6pm for the viewers wanting a change of scenery or from news in the evening!

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
It was nice to wake up and not have a to do list I had to get done. Don't get me wrong there are things that need to be done around the house but there was not rush to get it done. I could just sit down with a cup of tea and catch up on my PVR (I was a little behind on a few shows).

Although I did get an email from work something needed to be taken care of today so that is done, only took me 5 minutes no big deal.

Slowly I am getting some stuff done around the house, dishwasher has been uploaded & reloaded (really should have emptied yesterday but since we went out, it did not happen). We are just having some lunch now and then we will clean out the fridge and I will take the garbage out before the bad weather comes.

This morning I also took apart the light part of our ceiling fan. Two bulbs had burnt out but the new energy saving light bulbs do not fit but I am out of the old style bulbs. I took the glass covers off and was able to fit in the energy saving bulbs in which was good as I really wanted to avoid going out today if possible. We will get more bulbs in the New Year, although I need to figure out why we have so many 60 W bulbs when I do not think any fixtures take 60 watt bulbs. In looking for 40 W bulbs I found 3 packages of 60 W bulbs and 1 package of 100 W bulbs that I do not think we have a use for.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day

[Frugalbigmama]

Finishing the cleaning before i have a shower and enjoy the evening eating too much and maybe too much wine.
I have youngest DS on helper duty. I write out a detailed list and he follows it checking it off as he goes. He is vacuuming the house now. All hardwood floors but i find it works better then sweeping. His last chore is to empty the dishwasher.
He is all motivated to help with a smile since i just gave him a cheque from his grandmother for $100 for being on honour roll last year that he just received a certificate for.

I put on a load of laundry so i can hang all the hoodies up to dry.

Have a wonderful Christmas eve everyone.

[GoodBoy]

Just a quick peek in to wish everyone one here a wonderful XMAS eve and Merry XMAS - may you enjoy the time in any manner you choose to celebrate or not! All the best in 2021 also! It has to be better than 2020 ... it has to ... right? right? right!!

[coupon girl]

Morning -i just wanted to wish everyone a merry xmas and all the best for 2021.