July 2023 Frugal Chatter Thread

[Ciel21]

Happy Canada Day to all Smart Canucks.

Your mileage may vary as to seeing fireworks in your regions. Ontario's 36 regions are under a restriction due to wildfires.

https://twitter.com/ONforestfires/st...33171845013505

[harbie]

Hello everyone.

Not much planned except another ride and maybe a run but first off to Starbucks for my FREE BD drink. Venti here I come

[SassyAshley]

Happy Saturday Everyone.

Not sure if it was the wildfires or one of my neighbours but tried to open my windows last night and oh my gosh. I am thinking it was a neighbour because I did not see any smoke or haze. So windows stayed closed last night.

Not sure if it is the wildfire smoke or just my allergies but I have taken an allergy pill this morning but am still a mess. My eyes are itchy and watering, I look like I am a complete mess. I am so congested, my sinuses are not happy which means my face is killing me, so much pressure.

It is a slow morning here, having a cup of tea and catching up on some of my shows.

I am not where close to closing off June's budget, June was an expensive month but looking at the numbers it should all balance out. I was a little torn on how to process some things in my budget. I have an emergency fund, and I budget for home renos and I have a fund for things like new appliances. But I would prefer not to touch those $$$ for the hot water tank if possible, I am thinking I will some of my overages in other areas to cover the cost.

Budgeting for me in some ways is so easy because I have always been a saver so I just don't spend the money. But I now feel more comfortable because I have a budget and have $$$ for me, for house stuff. But it is still hard because I never learned budgeting growing up. My mom lived paycheck to paycheck and My dad always told us we had to cover our expenses and save but we were always taught you don't talk about money. So things like how much you should be saving or any of that was not discussed as we do not discuss specifics. For any of us in our teens who choose to work outside the company like we never discussed how much we were making and putting away X, it was just are you putting some in savings? So for me I just saved as much as I could.

Happy Saturday Everyone and Happy Canada Day

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy Canada Day!

Making coffee in to go cups and heading out for a bit. The plan is no plan.

[SassyAshley]

Just recorded my Grocery Hauls for this week, I had not planned the second shop but I have found RCSS has the best price for Buns and since I was just down the road at the BBQ yesterday I ran in.

At No Frills, I got:
10 x Pasta $0.99
2 x Knorr Onion Soup Mix 4-pack $2.99 (Personal PC Offer)
1 x Strawberries $1.84 (PM Wal-Mart)
2 x Romaine 3-pack $2.99
4 x Mushrooms 227g $0.99 = 400 pts (100/$)
1 x Mini Cucumbers 15-pack $4.99
1 x Cantaloupe $1.88 (PM Foods Basics)
1 x Cauliflower $1.88 (PM Food Basics)
1 x Hot Dog Buns $1.94
3 x No Name Tortillas Whole Wheat $1.44 WUB 2 or More
1 x No Name Blueberry Bagels $1.44 WUB 2 or More
1 x No Name Cinnamon Raisin Bagels $1.44 WUB 2 or More
1 x Pepperoni $10.79

I was going to get 2 packs of stawberries but they did not look the best. Not sure if anyone is noticing this in their area but in our area produce has not been the best lately. I have seen numerous Facebook posts and everyone seems to agree no matter where you shop this year it has been very hit and miss at the stores.

Pepperoni has gone up, used to be $10 but not complaining we really like this Pepperoni and one pack lasts us 4 to 6 months, we break it down and freeze it.

I have only been buying the Mini Cucumbers as the last few times I have bought English Cucumbers they have been so bitter. I snack on cucumbers I will literally sit here and eat them like chips but when I bought the English Cucumbers I could not snack on them they were so bitter. I tried them from 3 different store and all were bitter.

I have to be honest, my shop did not feel this big when I was in No Frills nor when I brought it home but it wasn't until I laid it out to film it I realized just how much I got. But for just under $60 I am happy with what I got.

[lilo0003]

Spent a few hours paddling on one of the rivers that feed in Lake Ontario. It was pretty busy on the water today. We are supposed to get a storm but it’s not happening so I am going to water the garden. I bought more plants yesterday. I have no clue where to plant them, maybe in poles but for 69 cents for a tomato plant you can’t go wrong. I need to pull the lettuce and so I posted on my neighbourhood group and gave away lettuce kale and oregano.
DH and I have met with the NS real estate agent and have already found a perfect house. But I am now sure I am ready yet, my brother drove buy and said it’s really a lot of what we want but I thought we would have time, it just went on the market Friday so we will see. 1st we need to sort out finances.

[lilo0003]

Happy Birthday Harbie. 🎂

[flemeth]

Happy Birthday @harbie

[SassyAshley]

@harbie , Happy birthday, Hope you have a wonderful day.

[coupon girl]

Harbie happy birthday .

Today i went to london ,ontario with my younger brother /his wife to see my older brother .Such a nice visit they ordered pizza for us as we chatted away .Got in at 8.00 p.m

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Yesterday was a bit of a blah day, spent most of it on the couch catching up on my June Budget. Note to self never let a whole month pile up again. I think if I focus on it for an hour today I will be able to close June and then I have to set up July's budget.

Turns out I did a lot more grocery shopping in June than I realized but still came in under budget so I am happy. I knew I overspent on my stock-up budget but because June had 3 pay periods I was only over by $30 which I took out of my Take-Out budget. I decided instead of taking the $$$ out of my Emergency Fund or House Fund for the Hot Water, I used the overage I had in Wants Budget to cover the cost.

Today, I need to get some prep done. I have found this is key for me to stay on track with my eating during the week. Especially when things happen and I get called into a branch on a day I am expecting to work from home. One thing I need to focus on is making sure we have a lunch option in the fridge, normally I rely on leftovers but for those times we do not have leftovers on hand lunches get tricky.

Happy Sunday

[lilo0003]

No paddling today as it’s raining. We have dinner guests tonight so I will spend some time doing housework and pick up a few groceries. First it’s coffee on the deck, our gazebo protects me from the rain.
I had 4 books on the go so me weekend goal was to finish at least one and I did that last night. I think I will get an audiobook done while walking today.

[Purdee]

My girls and I went to two thrift stores today; spent almost $20 for 10 items of girl's clothing. Then we redeemed some prizes at circle K (from playing their games) and got a taquito, a hot dog, and a small bottle of coke. Redeemed my tim's points for a free XL french vanilla. Stopped at SDM for a dozen of eggs $2.99 (personal offer). Then we went home. It has been windy, cool, smoky and it's going to rain at any time so it was time to head home.

[Angela273]

Yesterday while I was watering my vegetable garden I found my first two ripening cherry tomatoes. Most of the plants in my garden look pretty healthy, despite the heat. Tiny baby cucumbers are growing on my vining cucumber plants beside the deck. I bought them started and they appear to be pickling cucumbers even though I was led to believe they were long English cucumber plants. Still waiting for flowers on the pea plants. The potatoes and yellow string beans are already flowering.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Did not want to get up this morning, good thing it is a Holiday. My bed seemed so comfortable that I did not want to leave it.

Yesterday was one of those days. I got a lot done but it felt like for everything I got done, I saw two more things I needed to tackle. But, I am happy with what I got done.

I finally finished June's Budget last night, now I need to set up July's. I do have to say I am quite impressed even when I added in the extra expenses, some planned, some not we still did really well in June. I did place an order at the end of June I could have put it against June or July but decided to add it to June.

I am a little disappointed, I ordered some containers that I have been eyeing for months and they are on the more expensive side, I got them and opened the box and I am missing one bottom container. I got 5 lids and only 4 containers, I contacted customer service who told me it is a manufacturer issue and I have to go through the manufacturer so I have contacted them as well. Kind of feel like I should have just requested a return but then they probably would have thought I took a bottom out and returned the rest. UGH.

Also got a little sound machine I have been eyeing, it was $10 off so I got it for $19.99. I have noticed the nights I sleep with my AC on which is louder than my fan I get a better night's sleep. I think when I just use the fan, I still hear some noises and they wake me up. When did I become such a sensitive sleeper? I now need background noise and complete darkness. I will try it and see how it does, if it is not for me, I know Mom will use it.

Happy Monday Everyone