January 2024 Frugal Chatter thread (it's a leap year!)

[Ciel21]

REsolutions for 2024:
started a notebook as a new address book.
Compiled a list of about 25 items I want to price compare with flyers online before committing to a shop. I spend too easily and wonder why most months I am broke by the 15th of the month.
Big fan of CT offers-worth checking weekly!

[coupon girl]

Harbie you have that starbucks ,you deserve it .

We all need sometimes a little pick me up ,harbie like you we dont smoke ,drink often (only had one glass at xmas and a few at my brothers )hubby quit smoking yrs ago when son was 2 so 37 yrs ago,mind you we do have 2 grown kids and that can be costly for sure and throw in 3 grandkids .lol We did go to the show before xmas as i had 2 free passes,but we are happy watching the streaming shows.

Well son picked up the girls at 3.15 we were doing a dance party when he came in .I took them to mcdonalds cost $15 as i had a free cpn for a big mac,so not bad.Now i am pretty tired but we wont have the girls til 23rd now as son is on straight days ,his work was impressed that he did this for them thanks to us and now he will get a few extra holidays this year .

Went to rexall just now to get my prescription ,so proud of myself didnt buy any chocolate just shampoo /conditioner.

[walkonby]

So I want to chime in on some stuff.

I am someone that likes Starbucks. I enjoy the chai oat lattes and a few others as a treat once in a while. I’m not only super strict with my Starbucks consumption but just coffee in general as it’s not a good thing when Mr. Anxiety is visiting . I am still going to “complain” about the high cost of living because I DON’T drink, smoke (of any kind ), gamble, have kids, no pets anymore , go to movies or other form of entertainment. We work hard, live a simple lifestyle , have zero debt, have investments and are saving for our future retirement, have 1 car that was purchased in 2011. Boy, I just realized how boring I sound . That being said I do enjoy a treat once in a while and for me that’s a Starbucks or my running shoes and whether I purchase those items occasionally or not I will still feel the ridiculously high cost of living. If you are spending all your disposable income on wants and fun stuff all the time then you still have the right to complain because it doesn’t change the fact that things are stupidly expensive and we have shrinkflation on top of it.

I’m almost off my soapbox .

As for kids being taught at home vs school, yes I agree it’s primarily the parents to teach these skills to their children BUT unfortunately not everyone has parents that are in that position. You can’t teach your kids to not drink alcohol if you’re an alcoholic. Same goes for being fiscally responsible. They can’t teach what they themselves don’t know whether that be because of their upbringing or whatever. Schools (high school)need to teach real life skills like cooking and not just French toast like they did I’m my day. Teach them to budget, plan, shop and cook for a family or themselves. Same for how to budget the reality of income nowadays vs the inflationary cost of living.

I'm stepping off my soapbox now

@harbie First of all I loved your soapbox rant. Valid, every bit of it.


Just today as DH and I tried to pick up a few fresh produce items I was aghast at the price of freaking raspberries!
I was eating these everyday in my Greek yogurt until maybe early October, but I also give our wee bird Frankie a single
berry sliced in half ( every morning ) along with 4-5 other tiny cuts of other fruit. Sorry Frankie, I refuse to pay $4.99 for a
shallow tray of them ( 170 gram? )

Then the cream? I was grabbing a few Metro products ( my weekly offers with AM offer attached ). Again bewildered at
what they were charging for a stinking litre of 10% cream. $4.99 Needless to say NF just down the road won that battle.
Theirs was $2.99

Much like you harbie, we don't spend willy nilly many " things " ( no smoking habits or $$ on live sports or theatre entertainment ).
However, when an item comes along ( DH's 71st b'day gift , seeing Chelsea Handler live ) we can usually work it into the budget.

I cringed at your back windshield busting! I would have screamed like a banshee. Then again I scream at the sudden appearance
of a spider, so??
No worries...... enjoy all your Starbucks treats, you've sure earned them.

[Skippy]

Good day fellow thread dwellers!!! I've been about but didn't realize I hadn't posted in this thread for quite some time.I'm happy to say that my tendon healed up in week six so I've been out and about rather than being locked up.For the most part walking is good except going up inclines but that too will come about in time.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years and that their days haven't been as "exciting"( for lack of a better word)as @harbie has been experiencing!
Really good discussion here on money matters and the young.I appreciated all the personal insights and experiences.Although there may be differences as to how it should be learned.We all seem to be in agreement as to how important it is to know such things and then apply that knowledge accordingly.
(Gotta go as hear DW vehicle in driveway so dinner for her!)

[lilo0003]

@harbie we all need to have our splurge or treat and we don’t have to apologize for it, I don’t love Starbucks coffee but let me admit my dirty little secret in our frugal thread. You guys, I am one of those women with nails that cost me 60.00 a month😂. And I am not sorry. I alway say they are cheaper than therapy and since I am a therapist I know, but my nails make me happy, other beautiful nails make me happy and when someone notices my nails it makes my day. There I admitted it.
and I am also on the appliance watch. We have a microwave on its last leg and a stove that works great but it is so old it could give up at any moment.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
The first week back to work is done and it ended on a hectic note but next week is a new week.

Thursday I ran out to grab Milk and a few other things. I did find some good instore sales that lined up with offers so I spent a little more than planned but now we are stocked up. I got:
1 x Milk
1 x Bananas + 100 pts (100pts/$)
2 x Green Onions $0.88
2 x Mangos $1 + 200 pts (100pts/$)
1 x Naturally Imperfect Mini Cucumbers 1.5 lbs $4 + 1200 pts (100pts/$ + 200pts/$)
1 x Naturally Imperfect Peppers 2.5 lbs $6
3 x Tetley Chia Tea 48 count $6.88 + 1500 points (Spend $15 get 1500 pts)
1 x Peameal $2.83/lb
1 x Apples 4lbs $2.88
2 x No Name Peanut Butter $3.99 + 4000 pts (2000pts/Jar)
2 x Raspberry Jam $4.29
2 x Pretzels $2
1 x Cinnamon Buns $6 - 50% = $3

Thursday night we had dinner with Bro and since we had to drive right by Metro I ran in and grabbed some good produce deals they had:
2 x Romaine 3-pack $2.99
1 x Kiwi 600g $2.99
1 x Clemtines 2lbs $2.99

Yesterday was a bit of a day for me, I was not feeling my best, just really tired and not feeling it. But I had a meeting to discuss a program issue we have been having and then I had to deal with a "new" product launch that did not go as planned. Details were sparse, date was not given but all of a sudden when we came back it was like boom change has been made without details being sent.

Today I need to tackle the kitchen, we took everything needed to make Homemade Pizza to Bro which left our kitchen a disaster and I did not get to it yesterday. Also need to work on the Dining Room, it has stalled but I got it.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

[SassyAshley]

Ok, not bad, it is 9 am and the kitchen is clean.

I emptied the dishwasher yesterday but did not get it reloaded so I got it reloaded.

Washed all of the hand dishes.

Cleaned the counters.

I even vacuumed and washed the floors.

So happy to have the kitchen clean, when my kitchen is a disaster I feel like my world is out of wack. Not to mention I think a big reason I did not want to cook last night (we just had nachos) was because the kitchen was a disaster and going to be impossible to work in.

Now to keep the momentium going think I will clean the bathroom and go from there.

[walkonby]

lol!! you are doing better than me @SassyAshley It is after 10 a.m. and i haven't even lifted the cover off Frankie's cage yet! I am trying to avoid
his reaction when he sees there are no raspberries on his fruit tray....ha ha
Nice deals you snagged.

[barbis9]

Walmart had their Great Value 300g Xmas cookie flavours (Cinnamon, Candy Cane, Oatmeal Spice) marked down to $1.25 each over the weekend. I thought about getting some for the good price. However, today (or yesterday), they raised the price back up to $2/package. They seemed to sell well. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to why they would increase the price of a product they definitely want to clear?

@HermanH they may have reduced it too low and saw it was selling fast?

[coupon girl]

lilo -my son bought us a panasonic microware a few xmas back and it is great ,it is large so i have it on the curve of my counter.

Today laundry day and see if i feel like moving much .I feel i may have a chronic health problem so i may call my doctor end of this month ,i only wish for 2024 to bring me better health .I need to get walking that is for sure.

After 4 days of watching the girls i am just gonna chill today.

[barbis9]

So I want to chime in on some stuff.

I am someone that likes Starbucks. I enjoy the chai oat lattes and a few others as a treat once in a while. I’m not only super strict with my Starbucks consumption but just coffee in general as it’s not a good thing when Mr. Anxiety is visiting . I am still going to “complain” about the high cost of living because I DON’T drink, smoke (of any kind ), gamble, have kids, no pets anymore , go to movies or other form of entertainment. We work hard, live a simple lifestyle , have zero debt, have investments and are saving for our future retirement, have 1 car that was purchased in 2011. Boy, I just realized how boring I sound . That being said I do enjoy a treat once in a while and for me that’s a Starbucks or my running shoes and whether I purchase those items occasionally or not I will still feel the ridiculously high cost of living. If you are spending all your disposable income on wants and fun stuff all the time then you still have the right to complain because it doesn’t change the fact that things are stupidly expensive and we have shrinkflation on top of it.

I’m almost off my soapbox .

As for kids being taught at home vs school, yes I agree it’s primarily the parents to teach these skills to their children BUT unfortunately not everyone has parents that are in that position. You can’t teach your kids to not drink alcohol if you’re an alcoholic. Same goes for being fiscally responsible. They can’t teach what they themselves don’t know whether that be because of their upbringing or whatever. Schools (high school)need to teach real life skills like cooking and not just French toast like they did I’m my day. Teach them to budget, plan, shop and cook for a family or themselves. Same for how to budget the reality of income nowadays vs the inflationary cost of living.

I'm stepping off my soapbox now

@harbie there is nothing wrong with liking Starbucks! When I meet my friends for coffee, they prefer Starbucks, whereas I really like their teas and will treat myself to a specialty tea for $4.15 (with tax) and I will take the teabags home and make myself a 2nd tea. Like you, I don't drink, smoke, gamble, get takeout, don't have cable tv, rarely drive, etc. Life is getting way to expensive, it seems like everything is increasing - property tax, hydro, water, home heating, gas, etc.

[barbis9]

Speaking of complaining .

Yesterday I was on my way to work on the hwy when BANG! My passenger rear window smashed. Fortunately I think the window tint we had on it kept it together. It appears to be a rouge rock made its way to my window but from the inside it looks like it could be a small gunshot hole. I nearly peed my pants! So I lost work yesterday and today I have to drop it off to get replaced and I’ll walk home after dropping it off (hoping the rain holds off). So far 2024 is NOT my friend. Deductible of $300 plus whatever the tinting will cost as insurance only pays $60 for that . On the plus side I haven’t gone shopping of any kind this year except for diesel.

Just goes to show the importance of saving money for no fault situations like this. It can only get better right????

Have a great day everyone. I might just grab a Starbucks too

Attachment 381736

@harbie that's unfortunate and I'm glad you are ok. Terrible way to start the new year. I have a major leak that needs to be repaired on my truck in Feb, so its not a great start for me either.

[barbis9]

lol!! you are doing better than me @SassyAshley It is after 10 a.m. and i haven't even lifted the cover off Frankie's cage yet! I am trying to avoid
his reaction when he sees there are no raspberries on his fruit tray....ha ha
Nice deals you snagged.

@walkonby do you have a Costco close by? I buy my raspberries there (double pack for $6.99), they are fresher and I find they last longer than the ones you buy at the grocery store.

[SassyAshley]

Feeling ready for a nap but happy with what I have gotten done so far.

As mentioned Kitchen is clean. Then I cleaned the bathroom but I still need to do the floors, Mom was asleep so I did not want to run the vacuum your bedroom and the bathroom share a wall. I took a shower. Then I spent about half an hour in the Dining Room moving some stuff around.

We have filled half of the shelves so still lots of room left. THis is the part were I start to stall out because the stuff I knew I wanted on the shelves is there and is organized but now I question whatelse do we put on the shelves, can we leave some space open? Something about extra space always makes me happy.

I have also done up our meal plan, I have decided to focus on 5 days a week leaving two for leftover or quick fixes. I am hoping this approach takes some of the stress off. As much as I love cooking, some days I do really truly feel like Dinner again, seriously, did I not just make dinner last night???? But I feel I always have to have a "proper meal" because depending on Mom's pain I know sometimes dinner is the only "proper meal" she gets if I am in the office.

Now to figure out lunch.

[lilo0003]

Christmas is away for another year. I did not go out for groceries today, instead I spent the day cleaning and purging. I have a large amount of stuff to pack for NS so that is tomorrow’s plan. I also sorted through some clothes and got rid of quite a few pieces so Monday I will do a trip for donation.
Dinner tonight is random things found in the freezer. All the Christmas food has been used up so I will give the fridge a wipe down tonight.
I will pop out for the few things we need Sunday and likely a dreaded trip to Costco as I have some returns.