February Frugal Chatter

[lizzie bargain]

Got lucky at No Frills this morning-they were handing out free large Kitkat bars to the first 100 customers so hubby and I each got one( we had a grocery order for my Mum too) and I noticed bananas were .47 per lb and they charged me the regular price so I got the bunch for free. Saved 5.87 on the bars and the bananas and got $10 off for points. Now to deliver my Mum's groceries and help her make some soup-she has trouble chopping since breaking her arm 2 years ago.

[Angela273]

I also went to NF first thing this morning. I used a $2 coupon, SCOPed a large package or Royale tp which I’m counting at $9.99, free large KitKat, and redeemed $10 in points. I have only had about 8 points offers each week since Christmas. I only earned 200pts from fresh mushrooms today...nothing else had points offers.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good day! My honey made us breakfast. Then I popped into SDM for 2 x eggs. We have 5 cartons which I like to keep us stocked up on.

Now I am cooking up a batch of rice and cooking a package of chicken legs I paid under $3 for and will make chicken fried rice for DS since he loves it.

Once done in the kitchen I am going to tidy up the dining room and organize my work space. I am setting up a work station since I guess this is going on for awhile longer.

Have a great day!

[Angela273]

I called out public library and confirmed that the 3 free take and make program kits are ready for pick up. I signed our kids up for three different programs. Chocolate dipped pretzels, make your own bird feeder, and a heart shaped sun catcher.

It’s currently -35, -42 with the windchill. I forgot to stop by the library when I was out shopping this morning. I’ll go tomorrow, it’s supposed to be slightly warmer tomorrow.

[barbis9]

Thanks for the price hike confirmation at Dollar Tree, @Frugalbigmama ! I was thinking I should visit my local store for another package of the microfibre cords as I have run out of brights and pastels. This morning, I had replaced two loops on one of Mom's masks as each loop was half-snapped. Also I miss browsing but dislike the idea of long lineups in the cramped aisle by the checkouts. I think SmartCupboards ought to be the next untapped kitchen market area- a digital display on cupboard fronts with listing of contents and when they entered the cupboards. I run across some old items from time to time-a few of my own shopping trips and often with other family members' purchases.

Glad that the overnight snow was small and powdery flaky stuff. I was able to push off most of it with my two favourite lightweight shovels. Downspouts in two locations have frozen ice blocking their openings. Ms. Sunshine was beaming so heartily today even during the lovely curling am snow in late morning, I hoped she'd have thawed that ice but no! I could not risk attempting a trip to city as the snowfall and feeling floppy like old celery in a crisper are not a great combination. Will see if trip is possible another morning when snow is not an issue, as I have a limit of how long I can stand at a bus stop before I tire out. In town, our sidewalks get cleared within a day or two but in Hamilton, reliance is on property owners to clear their own areas of sidewalks within 24h of a snowfall.

Realized I do not have a last bottle of dish detergent, just about a tablespoon left in the Palmolive bottle and about 3 tablespoons' worth of the Dawn. Missed chance to have Mom buy some today when she got Ozonol on her way home but I did not want to add to her list of things to do while out. It was bliss to be home alone!

Roasted Mom's sweet potatoes in the usual manner and added some chili flakes to one end of pan to make the veggies disappear today. Cooked the bag of Japanese mix veggies to make more freezer space as well. Must have had about 5 servings of veggies in the afternoon alone (yay, vitamins).

Tomorrow's plan is to take my weekly library trip. Have to keep that routine so I know there is something to look forward to. And perhaps get a few grocery items on walk home, so there will be dish detergent and more at home. Must see what is in the Giant Tiger flyer for this coming week, as I have missed the Pop Tarts deal.

I have not seen anything on the Ontario Energy Board site today about yet another hydro rate extension with low rates, so think Time of Use and Rates begins again TOMORROW. Have a super evening!

I switched to flat rate for the first 1,000 kWh. I rarely go over 600 a month and just got tired of watching the clock for the best rate.

[barbis9]

Mail today-my CRA income tax package came (woohoo!) and a fistful of ad mail, including a Taco Bell coupon booklet (score!).

Mom got her new CAA magazine-I was looking at the stores where one can save on clothing and only RW&Co allows instore/online discount. Rest are online only and mostly offer % of CAA dollars. BTW, Deux par Deux is a Quebec retailer of children's apparel (about 2x the cost of Carter's Osh Kosh but nicer mix of prints and fabrics. Check out the Milano dresses!). I've pinned some of the apparel to my Pinterest board to get the shopping bug out of my system.

Toaster oven pans arrived today and I'll get them next week. Oh happy snow day! Yes, I did another round of light shovelling today-perfect day for reading books!

Just opened a store e-mail and these socks scream Galentine's gift or current mood: https://lordsshoes.ca/products/go-aw...fe370060f225e6

The book Melania & Me was such a pageturner, I stayed up into the early hours overnight to get it almost finished. Try reading the first 50 pages and see if you can walk away from the book. Twitterverse indicated that the US Dept of Justice has dropped the lawsuit against the book's author regarding the inauguration funds that led to her ouster from the First Lady's office.

Bro got Mandarin takeout and the complimentary treat was a box of 4 treasure dumplings to mark Year of the Ox -Happy Lunar New Year!

I too found Melania & Me interesting. That poor lady got taken for a ride.

[SassyAshley]

@Ciel Low Hydro rates have been extended until the 22nd when York, Peel, Toronto & North Bay will come out of the Stay-At-Home Order and move to Grey - Lockdown.

[HermanH]

Update- Cupboard is clean. Tossed so much food. What a waste. Oh well lesson learned. My shopping habits have already changed (this stuff was dated 2017!) I stock up but make sure to use stuff up too.

@Frugalbigmama that happened to us a few years ago, we changed our eating habits and when we cleaned out our stockpile room there were quite a few long expired items that needed to go. It was sad to see it go but was happy to have the room for stuff we eat now.

I run across some old items from time to time-a few of my own shopping trips and often with other family members' purchases.

I really struggled with focus this afternoon so I took a break and made a Triple Berry Ricotta cake to use up some Ricotta I had in the fridge that is close to it's expiry. Turns out there was more left than I thought and I still have about 1/2 Cup left to use.

I get the impression that most folks on this board are pretty strigent in their adherence to the Best Before time stamps. I am curious if this is the case or not. How strict are you with regards to the Best Before dates on your food?

I cleaned my mother's pantry and have found (and eaten) cans that were up to 15 years old, with no problem. I only tossed one that hissed from escaping gas when opened. (I am pretty sure I could have boiled it for 10 mins and eaten it safely, too. )

I can't be the only person who still remembers a time when there were no Expiration dates on packaging and we had to exercise our own good judgment. One food blog reminded me that, "Best Before" does not mean "Bad After".

I am just finishing up a basket of apples I picked in September and kept in the fridge.
So, what's your story with expiration tags?

[SassyAshley]

@HermanH for me it all depends on the product and that includes both Pantry and Refrigerated items.

We have a number of cereals that are past their expiry as we need them we open them, if they are still fine we eat them, there have been a box or two that were stale. Same with crackers, although I find with some crackers it is like the oil in them goes rancid and you can smell they have gone bad.

95% sure the Ricotta I used for the cake was past it's expiry but did not smell off and had no mold so I used it. Expiry dates are sell by dates for stores to use, i am aware of the due dates on products in our fridge but I would never just throw away something because it expired it yesterday without checking it.

For me I am more worried about expiry dates when I am making a purchase vs when the product is in my home. Unless I am getting it for a discounted price I will not buy something that will expiry that week to me that does not make sense but it also comes down to what your household consumes. I know on average we use 1 tub of Yogurt a week so I am not going to buy 4 tubs that expire within a few days. But, if I have a tub at home that expired last week I will open it up, check it over and I would say 98% of the time it is fine and we still eat the yogurt.

[Frugalbigmama]

Chicken fried rice done! In self serve heat and eat containers for the fridge.
Kitchen clean.
DS tidied the family room.
Laundry on the go. Had DS bring up the clean stuff. I just have to put away a folded basket and hang a few things up.
All garbage and recycling out to the garage.
I think I will wait and set up my work space tomorrow. I want to get all the laundry put away and keep at it.
Should go for a walk while it is bright out.

[Giseledta]

good afternoon all.


i decided to do a click and collect at Micheals. .. with the daycare ... i need certain items. however, i have not been to micheals since before first lockdown... the lady double bagged the kenetic sand i purcheased....lol.
we also did click ad collect at pet smart for my dogs glucosime treats.

yep.. it was a click and collect kinda day.

i should go spend a bit of time on the taxes. sigh make a dent in those.

[GoodBoy]

We sat down and did our budget for 2021. We normally do it about this time of year to prepare for our meeting in March with our Financial Planner. We were under budget last year by a significant amount. Since we want to indulge ourselves this year (Apple AirPods Pro, Apple Watch, etc.) we are increasing our budget for 2021 but since we are not travelling again until 2022 at the earliest this will not be a problem and the investments are doing very well this year to-date (all subject to change of course), but regardless of investments we will be fine I am sure. Glad to have that done and look forward to some toys once things calm down late summer.

[lilo0003]

CRA has finally updated the 2020 TFSA and RRSP contribution room. I almost put myself in over contribution when I made a second deposit forgetting I had already made a deposit. I blame it on Covid brain. But now I can finally top of the TSFA for both of us. We have some RRSP room for DH so will do a final deposit before the deadline. Younger sons RESP paperwork shows that despite a slow start a d a few years of not contributing to the max he will be just fine. His final total is about 3000.00 more than his brother which is good as he is moving for his program. But like his brother he is deferring a year and I am OK with that. I only ventured out to do a curb side library picked up and stops SDM for the butter and egg offer that DH received. I have never received one of these SDM offers and yet my card is the one that sees the most action. Happy long weekend for those lucky enough to get it.

[GoodBoy]

What we do is at the beginning of every month we deposit into our TFSAs. In that way it is automatic and by the end of the year we have done the maximum. This is all handled for us. So a no brainer that helps us in the long term

[lilo0003]

What we do is at the beginning of every month we deposit into our TFSAs. In that way it is automatic and by the end of the year we have done the maximum. This is all handled for us. So a no brainer that helps us in the long term

We were late to start, busy with raising kids and saving for their education. Now I just do 1 lump sum of whatever the allowable limit is that year, last year I forgot I had already made the deposit when I did it a second time. The fact I still had about 6300.00 left save me, so I just wanted to see my CRA to confirm the odd number as it was a completely random amount.