December 2021 Frugal Chatter thread-Opportunity knocks...

[coupon girl]

lizzie -thanks .loved call the midwife series .

For a pickmeup ordered swiss chalet to be delivered for hubby and i tonight (this is our small celebration meal for the 2 of us )lol
I even used the 5.00 off couponwhen you spend $35 or more.

No delivery fee as it is close to us but i did leave the driver a tip.

Supper 5.20 p.m ahh its the little things in life that excite me .

[coupon girl]

More online shopping -i just treated myself to a nice small philosopy gift set (i love their grace perfume) from sephora.
Hubby and i have not bought each other a xmas gift since our kids were little (now in their 30"s) and i will just buy what i would like year round .

Today i would love to try this xmas philosophy gift set also 5% raketan back ,plus it was 5.00 cheaper than the bay (i checked)lol

[flemeth]

@coupon girl (((HUGS))) I am so sorry that you have to cancelled Christmas with you kids. You can always do a celebration when everyone is cleared to do so maybe the Family day weekend would be good.

[coupon girl]

flemeth-thanks yes i just talked to my daughter now and it will be when everyone is okay and in the clear.My dear daughter lives in toronto and she said mom i am noticing people walking with masks on outside now as the sidewalks could be narrow and if you pass someone .

I am in a happy place now ,just showered cant wait for my new philosophy set that is coming on the 31 of dec .I may read a book or start a puzzle or watch netflicks.

[barbis9]

@coupon girl hugs to you and everyone else on this forum who has had a difficult holiday due to Covid.

More restrictions.... Hoping my Y pool class continues as that keeps me sane these days. Tons of leftovers - Chinese from Christmas eve, Lamb from Christmas day and a friend dropped off a turkey dinner. Though I didn't spend a lot this year, I did manage to get things that everyone asked for and was useful.

Trying really hard not to spend on Boxing day online. I slept in till noon today and am being a slug today.

[lilo0003]

@coupongirl I am so sorry to hear plans were cancelled but if someone in the group was exposed then best to stay away from them. My mom was going to sty until Monday but there was freezing rain predicted for her area and my aunt was exposed on Christmas day. Since I had some rapid tests she wanted to get home so they can test as it could mean 4 people in my moms place have a known exposure. I told her to put them in a box and kick them to my aunts front door, they are neighbors. I did send some baking home so if she needs to isolate she has some treats.
I went to Michael's today to stock up for next years Christmas envelopes for the North and was pretty please at the deals, I may try SDM on Monday. If I can buy stuff now at 70% off I can do more when we start shipping the stuff so now I am sorting and packing in totes for next year.

[coupon girl]

Thanks lilo -yes we are following everything to the tea (we didnt go anywhere but will have zoom meetings again if the grown kids want to ).

[cath007]

hope everyone have a great evening and night

[Ciel21]

Bro and I have worked our way through a box of Jamaican spicy patties this weekend. Very good and I hope the spices give our immune systems some kick too. Noticed that my stevia packets expired in March of this year so I am keen to use them up in my teas (not in green tea though).

Just watched a couple of CBC Marketplace videos on broken appliances and how hard they are to repair if new or under 5 yrs of use. Sometimes, one cannot even get a new compressor for a 3yr old fridge! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwfIbm_JrPI
Since Kenmore is the top of the worst 5 brands on the list, I think I need to get our Kenmore fridge out this week and give it a good vacuum. Seems that drain tube issues are the main reason fridge owners get puddles in their fridges or on floors but I don't understand how dirt and dust can get into drain tubes (aren't they sealed?) in the first place. Our fridge has a thin cardboard backing under the back grill covering most of the appliance. The cardboard has a few small openings near the bottom. About 8 yrs of fridge so far...
Kind of surprised to see the tie for 4th worst brand is between Frigidaire and Maytag (our washer is Maytag, 3 yr old (been squealing its ball bearings for over a year at the start of a spin cycle when I just want to spin out handwashed laundry) and due for new water hoses at the 5 yr mark in 2023, because that is a new twists to parts-you have to buy hoses separately from the machine and replace said hoses every 5 yrs).

For those of you on the forum with new appliances, have you recycled your old appliance manuals and schematic diagrams (keep them only if using the old appliances for parts and needing diagrams to know how much stuff you might need to remove to get the one bit you might need)? I know that only one of two laundry appliances has its warranty card filled out(there was a contest motivating me to get the card in because $1000 gc sounded like an incentive). Not sure the washer ever got registered with manufacturer but appliance vendor has record of purchase. Ditto the furnace of last year-not sure it got registered either. And I have posted how Bro dealt with a stove control panel issue-he found it cheaper to purchase it through US rather than at Cdn appliances parts place for that brand and replaced the unit himself.
The two appliance repair persons in the other CBC Marketplace video state that if a manufacturer gets 1000 repairs that come in with the same repair code (under warranty), it usually is a signal that engineers have a problem to fix (design issue or whatever).

Electronics-the repair persons state you would not put a computer on a hot stove, yet stoves are built with front-panel electronics...(water can get into the seam around a panel). I am particularly attentive to wipe off food splatters off that panel, esp. if tomato-based. Had to clean the stovetop last night(Mom cooked and well, she did not clean up and we had this argument recently-cleaned the worst side first, then put water on to boil while I was cleaning the other side. Saved me some anger and I made tea.

[HermanH]

(our washer is Maytag, 3 yr old (been squealing its ball bearings for over a year at the start of a spin cycle when I just want to spin out handwashed laundry) and due for new water hoses at the 5 yr mark in 2023, because that is a new twists to parts-you have to buy hoses separately from the machine and replace said hoses every 5 yrs).

Have you tried to disassemble and look at the bearing?

Our furnace fan was starting to squeak and I looked at it to find that the bearing had a grease piton. Once I started adding grease on a monthly basis, the squeaking stopped. Hopefully, we will get a few more years out of it. I have not taken apart a washer to see if this is possible, but I suggest an examination. You have nothing to lose.

New appliances may be not be designed for repairs, but there is plenty of preventative maintenance that can performed voluntarily.

[Ciel21]

@HermanH I will leave it to my Bro to do any checking. I'm no longer fit to pry off even the front of the new washer, my strength is so awful now. Bro was complaining yesterday when the squealing happened. Also, when the oven door hinges needed white lithium, my Bro took months to get around to fixing the issue to stop the squealing there. He's off for the week, but it remains to be seen if he does a lot of little things he's put off or just generally acts like nothing needs doing.

I reminded him to get going on paper shredding as our weekly collection day is one day later this week.

Weather tomorrow may be tricky for anyone in Southern Ontario heading out for work/shopping/errands, so give yourselves time. Snow/ice expected.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Up early this morning, woke up just before 5 am and was wide awake so got up and started my day. It was a nice slow start to the day, enjoyed a cup of tea well watching some TV.

Need to figure out something for Breakfast, I was thinking Baked Oatmeal but as I looked at some of saved recipes nothing was jumping out at me.

I spent some time last night looking at new recipes, I need to get dinners back on track. We have not turned to take out but there are a lot of night at 4 pm we still do not know what we are having so we need to pick something quick and easy. I really feel like the end of 2021 kicked my b***. Time to get back on track as I feel like the start of 2022 is going to be a bit bumpy.

Still need to figure out tonight's dinner, I was thinking maybe Enchiladas or Chicken Fajitas but on the flip side I am craving some potatoes. Will see what Mom feels like when she gets up.

We were supposed to be having dinner with Bro tonight but that has been postponed.

Happy Monday Everyone

[coupon girl]

Morning i slept 7 and a half hours last night,that is great .I feel a lot better today with more sleep.

I am going into a not going out mode only for a walk maybe ,as i want to be together with my kids and grandkids eventually to ceclebrate our xmas at a later time .I can tell you one thing i really dont want this omicron ,so i am pretty sure i will do pickup groceries ,i mean i cant use my coupons or get many sale items .I figure this is okay for me .

I didnt use many coupons this year anyway ,but i know for sure i utilized my points programs .

Supper was so nice from swiss chalet last night even with 2 quarter chicken meals i have a tiny bit of chciken left over will add it in my field green salad today .Mind you i feel their small dinner rolls are getting a bit chewy these days and the slice of lemon pie was so tiny (enought complaining from me i still saved $5.00).

[crafter]

Good morning. Well Christmas definitely flew by even though we spent most of it by ourselves. We had a wonderful family zoom which we ran via laptop from my parents place.

This is the time where I always promise myself that I'm going to "make my gifts next year". I'm not making that promise this year but what DH and I have decided to do next year is to focus more and earlier on the simple enjoyment of prepping for Christmas. Whether it's making decorations, baking/cooking Christmas items, hosting small get togethers, virtually watching shows with family or even spending more time wrapping gifts. We realized that the magic of Christmas for us, includes in a large part the preparation for it and embracing traditions.

With that theme, we're going to try to bake/cook more together throughout the year. This weeks challenge is a turkey pot pie with a homemade crust ... we've never made one before so wish us luck!

Have a wonderful day and best of luck finding boxing week deals!

[lizzie bargain]

Well the party is only just starting here. DD flew in late last night and only an hr late-not too bad given the extreme cold. This aft she is taking her US visiting teen cousins shopping. then dinner guests tonight, lunch guests tomorrow, taking my Mum out for lunch on Wed and DD flies out Thursday evening. Also have some friends unexpectedly in town so I think they may pop by for a quick visit too. We are still keeping our numbers below the health guidelines. DH and I just hit the grocery store and it will soon be time for me to get prepping supper-ham, potatoes romanoff, ham dip and fresh bread, veggies etc. Baked goods and chocolates for dessert.