April 2023 Frugal Chat

[Skippy]

Good day my friends! Happy Palm Sunday! The sun is shining,the birds are singing and I got my walk in already,for all of that I give thanks! @harbie kudos for taking your 80 year old Mom to the gym! At that age I hope to still be breathing and do what I can! @coupongirl We bought our turkeys also at Sobey's as I believe there will not be a lower price.However we bought the Naturally Inspired Butterball the taste of which we prefer over the regular Butterball.
In light of harbie's Mom gym experience I will keep my aches and pain to myself this time but must be going so as not to break that promise.
Whatever you're up to this weekend enjoy my friends!

[cath007]

It is sunny and grocery is done

[walkonby]

Good day my friends! Happy Palm Sunday! However we bought the Naturally Inspired Butterball the taste of which we prefer over the regular Butterball.

o.k. Spill kangaroo boy...lol @Skippy what is the main flavour difference in the Naturally Inspired Butterball and their regular Butterballs? Don't think I've ever noticed one called naturally Inspired. Inquiring Minds need to know!

Oh yes, and tyvm @lilo0003 for getting us all going on our April Frugal-ness.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning!

Got up early today, made coffee and took the pup for a walk. It was raining out and cold but we did it! Almost fell on my A** lol. The walkway from our street to the park was icy. Thank gosh I caught myself and didn't fall. (Would like to see the video footage lol)

Today's plan. Work. Put a load of laundry in washer and then hang to dry. Get tax stuff ready for pick up tomorrow.
Make burger patties. (I bought a package of lean beef yesterday and took out 2 packages of ground pork from the freezer (had $7+ and $6+ prices on them but I paid $1 each for them on Flashfood awhile ago) I bought nice hamburg buns on Thursday so thinking it will be a burger night The rest I will put in the freezer for future meals.
Give the entrance a once over. I want to keep it clean so will make sure to keep on top of it. Be on people when they drop their stuff in the entrance!
I had to toss the mat that was there but picked one up at Home Depot yesterday. It was on a rack that said 50% off the clearance price. And it rang in even cheaper then it was marked. I think I will pop back in there and grab a back up one and one for the back patio door since I like the size of it.
They also had nice outside front door mats. I think I will get one of those too since ours is pretty old/faded.

Have a wonderful day!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning,
Up early in case, there were any issues with Go Live I did not notice during testing. *Fingers-crossed* so far no issues but I now know who did not do testing.

Just having some breakfast, one of my goals for April is to eat more fruits and vegetables. I eat them but I noticed is I do not eat nearly as many as I did back when I worked in the office. I used to take containers of fruits and veg and just left them sitting on my desk and would snack on them all day. Now working from home, I do not really snack, heck if anything I miss meals. For Breakfast, I am having a Blueberry Muffin, Yogurt with Raspberries and Blackberries and a Clementine.

I did not get my prep done yesterday so I need to work that into today. Not a lot to get done, but a few things I need to get done.

Also need to figure out dinner. Last night I kept it simple with a Baked Chicken Breast, Baked Potato, and Roasted Asparagus with a side Salad. This has become one of my favourite go-to meals. Now to figure out dinner for tonight, thinking maybe some sort of Pasta but we will see.

Happy Monday

[Frugalbigmama]

@sassy - I am the same working from home. I will wonder at 3pm why I am starving and then remember I didn't have lunch.
I am starting to be really good about it. Make a good breakfast and then stop for lunch. Funny after how many years of working at home I am finally using it for the good it is. If I was in the office and didn't bring lunch it was usually something bad I would grab because it was quick. Being able to eat leftovers or whip up a salad or something is really great. The other thing is I haven't touched my "spending money" in a long time. (I would take cash each pay and put in my wallet for random spending) The money has sat in my wallet for a long time and I stopped taking money out when I hit $400. Now I just transfer the $ to vacation fund or whatever else I want that pay.

[Skippy]

o.k. Spill kangaroo boy...lol @Skippy what is the main flavour difference in the Naturally Inspired Butterball and their regular Butterballs? Don't think I've ever noticed one called naturally Inspired. Inquiring Minds need to know!

Oh yes, and tyvm @lilo0003 for getting us all going on our April Frugal-ness.

kangaroo boy says:
@walkonby DW and I discovered them at Sobey's previously and tried one out and loved it better than the regular one and bonus:same price!
They're moist and quite tasty as they are infused with virgin olive oil,sage,thyme and rosemary.They are also grain fed and not given antibiotics.
I would like to think they lived happier lives because of the TLC they were given before they met their timely death.

[walkonby]

wonderful info @Skippy ..... thanks very much. I no longer ( or rarely ) visit Sobeys anymore but on that recommendation I will make a visit on Thanksgiving.
( which will be our next turkey time ). I hope to hear comments from the dinner guests and I won't share the secret turkey swap news until after!!

Maybe I won't even tell DH! I'm getting way too excited about this subterfuge and it's only April....geesh.

@SassyAshley & @Frugalbigmama with you 2 working from home it's interesting how meals can be forgotten when your food options are so much handier than they would be at the office. Must take some discipline to break off working and get a meal in when you're at home.

Strangely a new twist for our eldest DS. After working from home since March of 2020 the Company finally started lobbying/asking/pursuing the employees to come into the office for maybe 2-3 days a week. I am sure all the staff muttered " how dare they?! ". It was not popular when votes were tallied, so the Company insisted. DS has become quite used to wearing track pants or pj's with slippers on his feet while at home, but for the last 3 weeks he's set an alarm, showered and dressed properly to REALLY go to work in the office. I can bet that was some adjustment.

[SassyAshley]

It is funny, I always thought people working from home had it easy when it came to eating, you are at home, and you can make whatever you want. I will admit when I started working from home I thought my food was going to go next level, I would be home I could make anything, but nope, instead, I lose track of time and skip meals. I do not do it on purpose buts without others around you taking lunch I will be working away and look down and it is 2 or 3 and too late for lunch.

In March I made the decision to focus more on my meals and make sure to take the time to eat. I figured with how insane life was in March if I could make this work in March there was no excuse. Was it perfect, no, but was it better yes. I have discovered even though I am working from home it is like working in the office I have to make sure there are options. We do not buy sandwich meat often and if we do not have leftovers the lunch options are minimal so now each weekend I make something to have on hand and I pay more attention to the time.

To take it one step further, I do pay attention to the time and if it is 1 and I have not had lunch, I stop and have lunch. But I also listen to my body. If I am hungry at 11 am, I will have lunch, I used to make myself wait for "lunchtime" but in doing so I know I ignore what my body is telling me.

This morning, I took two quick breaks, on the first break, I made a Cucumber, Red Pepper, Tomato, and Bocconcini Salad with Balsamic Dressing.

Then went I went to make my lunch which was some of my Salad above, I made spreadables and a cheesy garlic naan to go with my Salad.

Now to figure out dinner, it is still a mystery.

[Frugalbigmama]

@SassyAshley - Were you looking into steam mops? Costco has on on sale. Shark Steam and Scrub mop $139.99 (reg $179.99)

[cath007]

Good afternoon.Not the one I expected.We had a big fire at school.We where all evacuated in time.No people injuried.I did go out with just my coat and purse,thanks god for bringing my purse with me ...All my school things are there...Hope they are okaie.So we will have e-mail when we could return to school....that was scary!No worries I am safe and at home now.

[Ciel21]

Happy April Fool!!! Is that something still accurate that people plays and joke about???

I thought that about the weather on March 31 and into April 1! I don't recall any specific mention of the day as I did not watch the news on April 1. Was there a lot of Poisson D'avril fun mentioned on TV in QC?

[Ciel21]

Good afternoon.Not the one I expected.We had a big fire at school.We where all evacuated in time.No people injuried.I did go out with just my coat and purse,thanks god for bringing my purse with me ...All my school things are there...Hope they are okaie.So we will have e-mail when we could return to school....that was scary!No worries I am safe and at home now.

Oh my, that had to be an adrenaline rush making sure to get out safely and meeting outside! It'll probably take some time to adjust to any smoke smells in school-hope that administrators have some smoke absorbing products placed to help with the air quality.

I read your March post about the grocery rebate of $234-I hope it comes in the spring, not in July AND that the federal gov't follows through to prevent territories and provinces from clawing back any of it for people on social assistance. I have read on TWitter how any rebates might cause clawbacks for those on social assistance if the amount is past $200 in the month in Ontario. I have read of someone in BC not seeing all these rebates and such because the govt is taking the money to cover some past housing fire issue.

I also read about the meeting you had at school last week. Sounds like the plan was to move you to a grants (set money that does not have to be paid back) and loans financial plan for school. Glad that you are being given another chance to stay on on payment program.

[Ciel21]

I did a shop yesterday after busing to another part of Hamilton (since Sat was a washout due to rain). I did not get charged that 3 cents per non-alcoholic beverage tax on my 2L of Dr Pepper Zero Sugar (surprise find at my local Shoppers; no cans of it but I did see one case of Pepsi Throwback) or my San Pellegrino flavoured water with juice! Either the chain has not put the tax in effect or ..? Missed the Mark's Friends and Family sale on Sat so paid full price for underwear that is really needed.
Denningers was not busy-treated self to new issue of Burda Style (now $17.95, a touch better than the $20 something price printed on the cover for Cda!). Styles are mostly 60s and 70s. Did see a muffin recipe using an icing with egg liqueur! Not often that the English issues get recipes (they used to be standard in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s). Lots of Easter table craft projects too! BOught new socks at Millers Shoes and looked at some spring slides/sandals. Fun trip.

Blew my budget as usual. Going to pare down April spree plans!

[Ciel21]

Those of you with Lowes gift cards--the change over to Rona branding as Lowes leaves Canada means your gift cards will still be honoured.https://www.lowes.ca/services/lowes-rona-conversion

I had missed reading the full page ad in last week's weekly paper but when I did a second read-through on the weekend, I realized that Lowes stores are really going to take on Rona's names.