December 2023 Frugal Chatter

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
I am trying to find the balance of a slow morning vs getting stuff done because my house needs some attention. The last few days were a lot busier than expected.

Thursday the Admin Group were invited to attend one of the Production Plant's Christmas lunch (the admin team that work in the office share space with production). WOW, our Plant Manager did it up, it was a mini version of our old Company lunches we had before Covid. We set up an area with tables, chairs and linen, we had a Christmas tree and lunch was catered by a new company that moved in across the road, OH MY so good.

We also found out at our Admin Meeting this will be the last year of a 2-week shutdown moving forward we will only be taking a week, Honestly, this has been a huge topic of discussion for the last few years. Just means we now get more vacation days during the year vs at Shut Down.

Yesterday, I was in a different branch, the day became a little longer than expected but all good, just means I still have a few loose ends I need to tie up. I worked on some of it last night and wrote a list of everything I need to get done before we go back.

Thursday night I stopped at Dollarama to grab a few things we needed plus grabbed some supplies for some projects I plan to tackle over Shut Down.

Yesterday I did our grocery shopping, I was denied my Price Match on Pineapple as Walmart says Jumbo and Food Basics says Large whereas No Frills are just Pineapples. Also a little disappointed in Sobey's, Mom mentioned she misses Turkey and since they have them on sale I went in to see if I could find a small one, they had about 5 small ones and they were in the bunker with all the sale turkeys. I even read all the signs which included the branch and type but since these were Crown Turkey they were not included. So I am still on the hunt for a Turkey since it will just be Mom & I, I am looking for a small one, might just have to go with a Chicken.

Slowly working on cleaning up and tidying the house. I did enjoy my cup of tea and scrolled Instagram before I got started.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

[SassyAshley]

@coupon girl , have you tried the Tetley Bold, I had a co-worker who felt the same the Tetley wasn't strong enough but she loved the Bold.

Her family was a tea family and I remember her mentioning her Mom loved the Yorkshire teas, but I have never tried this brand.

[coupon girl]

Thanks sassy -yes i have tried tetley bold but it never goes on sale .The yorkshire tea yes thats the one i got on clearance at walmart nice and strong more so than tetley.Thanks for the tips.Have a great day.

[flemeth]

Celebrated my birthday this week with a free Grand Slam breakfast at Dennys. The waitress brought over a slice of cake that a customer had bought for me as he was paying his bill to leave. He overheard me asking about the promotion. What a pleasant surprise. I did not even have the chance to thank him or her for their kindness.

@HermanH Happy Belated Birthday. It’s good to know that there are still generous people out there. That was nice of the person to get you cake

[flemeth]

This week So yes has Kraft Salad dressing on sale for $2.22 . If you buy 5 there is a special going on until Jan 3 where $10 comes off instantly if you are a scene member it’s call the craft bundle. There is a list of all the Kraft product that are eligible.So it’s a good deal to take advantage of. Also this week cream cheese has a 100 scene points and that’s one of the eligible items

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Up early this morning, trying to stick to my routine even though we are on Shutdown because I am determined to get back to my morning routine.

I did not get as much done as I had planned yesterday. I cleaned up the kitchen, did the standard empty the dishwasher, reloaded the dishwasher, washed a couple of hand dishes and wiped down all the counters.

Dinner last night was Homemade Pizza, trying to get back on track with dinner last week we kept eating at off times plus I attended a couple of Christmas Lunches and was not hungry at dinner time.

Cleaned the kitchen after dinner so the kitchen would be ready to go this morning.

I need to get quite a bit done today but hoping if I stay focused it won't take too long to knock out.

Happy Sunday Everyone.

[Frugalbigmama]

Went to Costco for opening this morning Picked up paper towel for a friend (dropped it off on my way home)
And for us spent under $90. (3 bags of Hazelnut vanilla coffee beans, bacon crumble, 6 pk tea towels and a 2 pk of King size pillows)
Then hit that Walmart on the hunt for the Balderson Cheese deal ($4.97 less coupon Buy 2 save $4) 0 cheese on shelf. I did find 4pk of BLSL chicken for $7.84 so I picked 3 of the heaviest ones. All wrapped and in the freezer. ( I couldn't leave them!)

Went home and got some things done then went out late afternoon. No Frills- PM 2 of the Balderson Cheese.- Pistacios x 3 at $3.99 (Had 4 but they rang in the wrong price and when I mentioned SCOP she said no but she must have messed up and did it anyway so it worked out in the end!)
Walmart- 0 Cheese. But found Starbucks creamer x2 in the clearance for $3.78 (the plastic pour lids were broken but the twist lid is totally fine. Used $2 off coupon on each so $1.78 (for DS so he stops using my creamer lol)
RCSS- PM 4 Balderson cheese. Bought 2 Sour cream with end of Jan expiry date for future taco/nacho nights ($2.49 receive 500 PC pts on each)

I am doing up 2 Christmas boxes- Cheese/Wine/Chocolate/Nuts etc for a couple and one for my mom with also tea, jams etc.

Just have a few items left to pick up for them (cookies and crackers and more cheese

[coupon girl]

We had a fun evening last night at my brothers open house about 20 of us .I had a little to much indulgence in the drinks ,so i didnt get much done today except 2 loads of laundry .

Just called my daughter as sebastian is sick and she is not feeling that well.I think she is finding going into work 3 days a week a bit overwelming with a 7 year old child.When she was hired they told her they were flexible ,so sassy you are not alone .They are working together co-parenting so they dont have to put him in after care.I feel for her if she was around the corner from me i would be there to help her.

Going to bed early tonight ,have a few gift cards to get on monday .

[HermanH]

Was noodling around RCSS and saw a clearout tag for Stouffers Steak and Cheddar 307g bowl $0.99 Oddly, it was in the pizza section and far away from the other bowls. I wondered if it was an accident or deliberate, so that only knowledgeable staff members could avail themselves of the offer. Sadly, they were all sold out.

So, I mosied over to the bowls section and saw Stouffers Chicken and Bacon, but there was no price anywhere to be seen (regular or sale.) On a lark, I grabbed on and checked. It was only $0.99, so I grabbed all 8x remaining boxes. $1.50/lb for food is not a bad deal.

Also got 2x Dole pineapples for $1.94 each. RCSS is getting sneaky/slimy. They used to place the Dole/sale items far from their larger (and more expensive) $6 Honeyglow pineapples. Now, they put them, literally, side-by-side. I think it is a deliberate attempt to get unsuspecting customers to mistakenly grab the more expensive ones in lieu of the sale items and then have them rung-through and missed by inattentive shoppers.

[SassyAshley]

Oh my gosh today was a busy one but I got a lot done, although I have to admit, I still feel like there are a million things to get done but I am done for today.

I made Banana Muffins to use up some past their prime Bananas.

Shopped my Pantry and restocked the kitchen, we needed: Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, Paprika, Smoked Paprika.

I cooked two of the packages of Ground Beef I bought, one package I cooked to have Cooked Ground Beef in the Freezer for Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Meals and the Secon was turned into Taco Meat.

Mom turned the third package into Burgers, which is what we had tonight plus 6 in the freezer.

There was a bin of odds and ends in the kitchen which we sorted through, a few things needed to go. Some White Chocolate Chips and Graham Cracker Crumbs, the rest of the stuff we found a home for in the Kitchen Pantry.

Garbage and Recycling were taken out.

Bathroom has been cleaned.

Then it was time for a shower and make dinner. We had Homemade Burgers with Oven Fries Poutine.

Now I am curled up on the couch editing some videos. I am determined to get back into my routines during shutdown so come the new year I have already started to establish the habit and hopefully it will all flow. What can I say a girl can dream, but I already know I have atleast one new Staff Member coming on January and there are a few other positions that may be posted so we shall see.

[SassyAshley]

I have to be honest, I am just not feeling Christmas this year. I think I am just mentally spent and could not handle taking on anything else.

But, I think I have figured out the last few gifts. A few are getting gift cards, I found some on sale.

For the remaining family members I think I might do some baking for them. Both of the households are watching what they eat but I know every now and then that sweet craving comes. So I was thinking of making a few things they could keep in their freezers.
Muffins
Cookie Dough to Bake off (nothing like a fresh cookie without the work)
Brownie Bites

This way they can have them in the freezer and just pull out a few when the craving hits.

[coupon girl]

Sassy -i feel the same way as you i am not feeling xmas this year either ,if it wasnt for my grandkids i am getting excited for them.I think we need a small dusting of snow to get us in the mood ,today maybe .

I am off to get 3 giftcards and prescription .

[Frugalbigmama]

Sassy -i feel the same way as you i am not feeling xmas this year either ,if it wasnt for my grandkids i am getting excited for them.I think we need a small dusting of snow to get us in the mood ,today maybe .

I am off to get 3 giftcards and prescription .

I feel the same. Maybe if we had snow?

Still haven't wrapped any gifts. Will get to it one day this week. Today is regular house stuff.
Made a list and will take a quick break every hour and get something done. Just washed the dishes in the sink and cleaned out one shelf of cupboard (gathered all DS's granola bars and put together in a container with a lid and wiped the shelf out.
Next- Clean out the fridge.

[lilo0003]

I am not taking anytime off this year and I know that's not helping my festive spirit.
I have a few more things to do but for the most part I am done, just hoping we all stay healthy so the grandparents can come because last year I had Covid over the holidays.
I had a really good weekends for sales and points but its so much work, I ended up in 4 stores to get the offers I wanted and I just can't imagine I can keep this up. I am currently waiting for 10000 PCO from and instore offer and if it does not come through the item is going back. They are usually really quick with adjustments but so far nothing. I also have a few Air Miles receipts under review as well because Sobeys does not list the name brand and that seems to be the store that always has my yogurt on sale.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Feeling bad for Mom, she had an appointment this and I could see looking at her she was not having a good day. Just as she was getting in the car they called and cancelled.

We still went out since she was dressed and ready and out of the house. We just went to Dollarama for two things I forgot last week but they did not have either. I needed a new stopper for our Kitchen Sink, the only ones that would fit a bathroom drain and we needed paper bags but they did not have any. Well we were there Mom found a few things for herself, she found some gold and silver markers and grabbed some pencil crayons to try, her new thing is colouring. Also grabbed some parchment squares since when I went to grab some yesterday for the burgers I discovered we were out.

Then I ran into Zehrs and found a smallish turkey on sale for $1.93, it cost me just over $18. Then I grabbed a bag of Frozen veggies which were on sale for $2.99 to get me over $20. Used PC Points to buy the Turkey.

Hoping maybe this week Sobey's has the same deal on Prime Rib they did last year but only time will tell.

I also ran to Shopper's to grab the last gift card I needed, I was going to buy it online but saw I had an offer for 5000 pts if I spent $50 or more so I grabbed a $50 giftcard.

Ran to Sobey's to try to get the Salad Dressing deal but the shelves have a lot of holes, mainly just have the calorie wise onces. I tried on Friday too. If I go out again I will try again but may just not be in cards since we really only buy ranch dressing.

Now I just need to plan my Christmas baking, all gifts have been bought and everything for Dinner has been bought. I think I know my main dessert and honestly, that might be the only things I take this year. So just need to plan the baked gifts I am giving.

Happy Monday Everyone.