January 2021 - Frugal Chatter (New Year, New Goals?)

[coupon girl]

morning-i just put an order in on well.ca ,they sent me a 10% off code and if i spend 60.00 or more on my visa i get a 10.00 credit on my credit card statement .

So got some nuts,perfume for me etc and eucerin for my behind my ear as i have phorisis and this winter is driving me nuts (i should maybe see a dermatologist) but dont wish to go to my doctors during covid -i will wait .

[lizzie bargain]

Most docs are doing phone apts these days-perhaps you could get one and send him a pic of your ear.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Another slow start, I am feeling a lot of anxiety today, I think it is because we go back to work tomorrow. I am kind of torn on my feelings on returning to work. It did not feel like we were on shut down this year so I do not feel like I had 2 weeks off and I do not feel refreshed and ready to go back. That aside part of me is excited to get back into a routine as I am someone who just works better with routine but I am also afraid of what chaos might come once we go back.

I did the production report last night so I would not have to do it today, sound like a good idea but yeah. Our production manager emailed me this morning that we have had some staffing changes so I had to tweak and re do the production schedule, oh well only took me about half an hour.

Now I need to get moving, I want to get some meal prep done today and find my ambition.

Have a great day everyone

[crafter]

Good morning. Even with a bit of snow to shovel it was beautiful outside this morning.

I seemed to have timed my grocery shopping trip well and it wasn't busy at all. I carefully planned a list this week to not overspend but I actually came in way under my weekly budget so that was great and then I did a $20 redemption as well. I'm going to carry my surplus over for large stock ups in the future. Most of the items on my list were on sale with the exception of milk but as I walked through the store, I noticed that quite a few "regular prices" seemed to have increased, eg Tide, mixed grains even canned kidney and black beans. Since we have the instant pot now I've decided to start buying dried beans. Oddly, I couldn't find dried black beans...so I'll have to hunt for those in another store next shopping trip.
This morning, it's time to catch up on finances and get our stock contributions done for our TFSAs. I'm also considering ordering some more microgreen seeds since I rec'd the hemp mats via Amazon last week. I'm just doing small containers.

After a Purolator delivery, I think we'll take our dog for a nice walk on the park pathways (I had no clue that they clear these so it's much safer than walking on our rustic trail).

Have a great day!

[Frugalbigmama]

Good morning. Even with a bit of snow to shovel it was beautiful outside this morning.

I seemed to have timed my grocery shopping trip well and it wasn't busy at all. I carefully planned a list this week to not overspend but I actually came in way under my weekly budget so that was great and then I did a $20 redemption as well. I'm going to carry my surplus over for large stock ups in the future. Most of the items on my list were on sale with the exception of milk but as I walked through the store, I noticed that quite a few "regular prices" seemed to have increased, eg Tide, mixed grains even canned kidney and black beans. Since we have the instant pot now I've decided to start buying dried beans. Oddly, I couldn't find dried black beans...so I'll have to hunt for those in another store next shopping trip.
This morning, it's time to catch up on finances and get our stock contributions done for our TFSAs. I'm also considering ordering some more microgreen seeds since I rec'd the hemp mats via Amazon last week. I'm just doing small containers.

After a Purolator delivery, I think we'll take our dog for a nice walk on the park pathways (I had no clue that they clear these so it's much safer than walking on our rustic trail).

Have a great day!

Even more reason to only buy on sale ( canned beans etc) I see the regular prices going up everywhere I shop too but the sales/deals are still there. Plan our meals around the fresh produce on sale and use frozen veggies and fruit the weeks the sales stink.
We are Smartcanucks. We got this!

[SassyAshley]

@crafter , I noticed last time I was in the grocery store that yes a number of prices have gone up. I did not noticed cans of beans because we have an Instant Pot so we have started cooking them from dry but I also noticed Dry Beans have gone up. A bag of Chickpeas I used to buy for $1.99 is now $3.49, still cheaper than buying than buying the cans.

Has anyone else noticed when looking at flyers the number of items in the flyer are just the store's everyday price or the sale price really isn't a sale price?

[Frugalbigmama]

@crafter, I noticed last time I was in the grocery store that yes a number of prices have gone up. I did not noticed cans of beans because we have an Instant Pot so we have started cooking them from dry but I also noticed Dry Beans have gone up. A bag of Chickpeas I used to buy for $1.99 is now $3.49, still cheaper than buying than buying the cans.

Has anyone else noticed when looking at flyers the number of items in the flyer are just the store's everyday price or the sale price really isn't a sale price?

Sometimes I find the sale flyers stink but for the most part I still see good prices. Food Basics has some good sales this week but I am trying to not shop so I'm trying not to look or go to the store

[SassyAshley]

I have not looked this week as we are not shopping and I do not want to tempt myself LOL.

Especially with my anxiety acting up I would totally talk myself into going shopping to get out of the house.

Sometimes I find the sale flyers stink but for the most part I still see good prices. Food Basics has some good sales this week but I am trying to not shop so I'm trying not to look or go to the store

[coupon girl]

afternoon -i notice a lot of prices going up ,romaine ,canned goods etc

I grocery shopped just now at sobeys and it wasnt that busy i spent $145 and got 152 airmiles saved 3.00 in coupons plus their bags of apples were on sale buy 1 get 1 free so for .2.75 i have a bag and will give one to my son .

I tallied up my savings last year $2002.77 not bad for 2 people ,saved $455.00 from p.c points redemptions ,$50.01 in scop etc

[Ciel]

@crafter Voila by Sobeys has a small package of dried black beans (their Compliments brand) on their website. Have any GTA friends that could add that to their next order on your behalf? I never seem to find such beans in Fortinos and I once bought the pricey Eden canned black beans on Well.ca and well, they are pricey. I know I have to cook my dried beans this week, as I need some for a recipe (the things I cut out when I go higher than planned for an online grocery order).

Got my Voila order today and liked the Zevia hibiscus passionfruit canned tea (it helped that item was on sale-never had the tea but have had the pop-it's very hit and miss). Tried the Herdez green salsa-very vinegary green tomato condiment with heat from serrano peppers. I added some takeout plum sauce to my little dish of salsa to make it spicy plum sauce in order to finish it. I'll see if Bro (who loves hot sauce) will endeavour to finish the jar of salsa. This buy was my way of trying out a different product. Over it! BTW, the Star Wars cookie kit was restocked and there's a limit of one per order. Happy that I thought to add a salad mix box to the order as its been several weeks since I had lettuce with anything, there are green onions to use up and I have plenty of dressing on hand.

The plug and play philosophy worked when I used my brother's printer USB to try to print off some invoices (from my laptop), since I cannot make files for printing online via the library portal. After several seconds, my laptop recognized the Pixma printer and I was ready to print my online order receipts-yay!

I'd like the first two weeks of January to be a place for everything project (my stuff is in flux, in position or always in transit). Then try something new. Right now, our household is on different sleep cycles and that adds some chaos to when dishes get washed (or who seems stuck with most of them) or household cleaning gets done. Glad that this month, any power use (hydro) is 8.5 cents/kwh for 28 days in Ontario. Laundry will almost always get done as a result of not having to watch time of use rates! Bonus win this month would be a scaling down of the number of cooking pots (name a decade, and I can name some pots that entered here) in the house, with view to replacing a couple of well-worn favourites and letting any cast-iron numbers out (too heavy). Some shelf space would be freed and that would be a colossal win.

The Greek Isles Odyssey on TVO remains a weekend travel favourite. No, I am not missing walking up rocky paths but the scenery is something as are the stories told about the people and events of those places. Plus lots of random cats!

[Ciel]

Forgot to post that I found a badly damaged cellphone on one part of my walk on Friday and a car key fob with keys on another part of my walk. Have to figure out how to get the fob to the relevant dealership and the phone to police station later in the week. Phone display does not work and I have been unable to turn down the volume except for occasional face-downs of the phone or the genius idea of adding headphones to ward off the sound of every single notification (except it does not work when the phone rings). Yes, I found the relevant manual and spent some time reading about the cool things it could do if it was in fine form.

The ironic situation: I find other peoples' cellphones but cannot afford my own. The Universe is having some fun with me.

[crafter]

@coupongirl fyi 3 pack of Andyboy Romaine is on sale this week @ Metro for $3.99 if you still need some. Great savings for last year!

afternoon -i notice a lot of prices going up ,romaine ,canned goods etc

I grocery shopped just now at sobeys and it wasnt that busy i spent $145 and got 152 airmiles saved 3.00 in coupons plus their bags of apples were on sale buy 1 get 1 free so for .2.75 i have a bag and will give one to my son .

I tallied up my savings last year $2002.77 not bad for 2 people ,saved $455.00 from p.c points redemptions ,$50.01 in scop etc

[coupon girl]

thanks crafter -i did buy about 10 days ago romaine on sale at shoppers for 3.99-seniors discount i paid 3.19 for 3

[crafter]

@Ciel Thanks for the black bean tip. Our DD lives in GTA and could get some if needed but they are staying close to home as are we. If you found them, then I suspect our local bulk barn may have them. I love a good challenge that doesn't involve coupons lol. Those people are lucky you found their phone and key fobs. Hopefully you find one of the owners.
@coupongirl . Very cool that you can get SDM SR discounts on fresh produce..envious. Once this virus thing is done, I think I'll venture out to the store in Belleville that carries fresh produce.

[crafter]

lol Frugalbigmama, I love your expression, "when the flyers stink"...that moment when you decide to use stuff from your freezer for the week. We don't have a Food Basics in town but I can price match them at Frescho..they have some great deals in addition to their app offers.
@SassyAshley , yes I noticed the same thing with some "reg" prices, I fear they are effectively "re-setting them as a sale price from there". Hope you lucked out on some white sales for your linens.

Sometimes I find the sale flyers stink but for the most part I still see good prices. Food Basics has some good sales this week but I am trying to not shop so I'm trying not to look or go to the store