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

[walkonby]

we have some snow falling too, the sneaky kind, all delicate and such BUT accumulative! I don't wanna shovel!!

[harbie]

They’re calling for 10-15 cm conservatively and possibly more starting this evening and into Wednesday so I changed my work days and am headed in today.

I'm going to grab a few odds on the way home like coffee and some fresh veggies and then settle in.

Have a great day everyone.

[SassyAshley]

We had to move our cars for plowing this morning.

Well they were plowing I decided to run to get gas and decided to run into No Frills. The roads were not the best getting there, luckily I waited until it was clear to pull out of the gas station as I having some issue getting traction. When I came out of No Frills the plow had gone by.

I just need Mushrooms and Milk but No Frills was out of Mushrooms and I could not bring myself to pay $2.99 for a 227g pack or $4.69 for a 454 g package when the naturally imperfect are 680g for $4.50. So even though they are not my fav, I prefer white mushrooms I grabbed a pack of brown naturally imperfect for $4.50.

They were also out of the Trutaste Milk which is on sale but we needed Milk so regular Milk it was. Our store ALWAYS sells out when Milk is on sale but they do not seem to get extra when it goes on sale. It used to be when Milk was on sale it would be in a bunker somewhere full. Now it is just whatever is on the shelf. When I went in they had filled the shelf with Chocolate Milk.

Well I was there I price matched a pack of eggs for $4.88 to Freshco, I just feel like we are going through a lot of eggs lately. I should really check the price at Costco again, it might be the way to go.

I noticed last time I was at Costco that some prices do seem to be coming down on some items and I have seen people saying the same on Facebook so it might be time to double check prices there again.

Before I got on the roads I had considered going to Canadian Tire so bins but as soon as I got out on the roads decided nope, so hopefully before the sale ends I can get there and grab a few. My Mom collects depression Glass but since we do not have a wall unit anymore we do not have a place to display it and it is living in boxes that are falling apart. So I want to repack it into storage totes I can stack in the basement.

[Skippy]

Not much happening around here lately although yeah snow...quite manageable but those winds at times brrr...while acknowledging those here who are dealing with worse with the same cold temperature be it in celsius or fahrenheit !
You can count me in amongst those in the thread who have already shared their feelings about grocery prices and how after being hauled up on the carpet in parliament the big shots promised much but delivered little! I see lots of hoopla instore about what each store is now doing to "help out" the little guy which seems to be crowing about their generic offerings but they too have gone up in price!
Now more than ever one has to have their wits about them when shopping and although I have better things to do than look at all the online flyers but how else are you hoping to save money? Indeed it takes time and effort.
My latest money saving tip is not to eat out! Not that we do often but price shock even for fast food and the stuff I can make at home for that kind of money is quite healthier and tastier and often will last more than one meal.Blah blah blah blah blah
Stay safe and warm my friends!

[SassyAshley]

@Skippy , I kept seeing comments/meme on the internet that with the price of groceries it is cheaper to order out and assumed it must be in the US because take-out here is so expensive but I have seen Canadians saying the same, I do not get it.

We are the same we rarely have take-out anymore, we broke that habit during the first Covid Shutdown, but I do still have take-out when I am travelling for work and the cost is shocking. It is pretty much impossible to get dinner for less than $20/night that is just the meal, no drink, no extra. Maybe if you had fast food but even that. I had a Sub last time I went out of town and a 6" Sub with and a Pop and I think it was like $15 or $16.

If I do not pack food I usually go to the grocery store and grab like a Family Salad I can breakdown for lunch and some snacks I can eat but 98% of the time I show up with a cooler and food for the week. Yes, work covers it but I cannot handle a full week of take-out for all 3 meals, my gallbladderless cannot do it.

[coupon girl]

Well yesterday i came down with a fever,cough and sore throat .Sebastian was coughing the whole weekend when we were there .Not covid.

[flemeth]

@Skippy we do not buy take out much for the last 4 years and when covid hit we didn’t buy any take out for the 2 years . Last year I think we bought take out 2 times . This year We were on the road to the US and so take out was for lunch. Coming back home we had take out for dinner and it was very expensive. My family preferred home cooking . We will do take out only in an emergency.

Also cooking at home can be very costly if you don’t shop for deals. I am very frugal and is always looking for deals

[Frugalbigmama]

I prepped 4 lunches/dinner (depending when I want them)
Shrimp/rice/green beans. Cost $1.75 each. (Bag of shrimp $5 (deal awhile ago) rice and green beans $2 (cost less but say $2.)
Not bad if I don't say so myself!

Kitchen is clean. Laundry sorted for washing tomorrow. I had a long/busy work day so it is relaxing time. I wanted to go to the gym but its not worth going out in this cold I did give the driveway a shovel today.

[SassyAshley]

oh no @coupon girl , hope you feel better soon.

[SassyAshley]

I do not know why but all of a sudden I felt like it was much later in the week than it was. I saw something on Facebook and went but it isn't Tuesday, what day is it so I looked it is Tuesday, oops, LOL.

I made Dutch Oven Chicken and Vegetables over Mashed Potatoes. It is Chicken with Carrots and Mushroom in a sort of creamy sauce, it reminds me of a dish my Grandpa used to make but he made it with Pork Chops and Cream of Mushroom Soup. It felt like a nice warm comforting meal to have on this chilly night.

I am officially obsessed with Ceasar Salad with Pita Chips, I had it for lunch today with some of the Mozzarella Bites I made on Sunday. I cooked the Mozzarella Bites in the Air Fryer, it is so nice that we can now get to all of our Kitchen Gadgets, they are all lined up on the shelves in the Dining Room.

I really need to start working on the Dining Room again, I am hoping getting the bins from Canadian Tire gives me that boost I need. I am trying to figure out how to store all of the glass jars, the depression glass is wrapped so I can stack it in a bin but I don't want to wrap all the Glass Jars.

Not going to think about it tonight, going to finish cleaning the kitchen, the Dutch Oven is soaking and then it is time to relax, tomorrow is another day.

[HermanH]

I kept seeing comments/meme on the internet that with the price of groceries it is cheaper to order out and assumed it must be in the US because take-out here is so expensive but I have seen Canadians saying the same, I do not get it.

I've seen the same claim, that the rate of inflation for groceries was faster than the rate for take-out. However, that is just bad mathematics. The rate may be different, but there is a big gap for anything that must be prepared for you. They must cover their rent, gas, taxes, wages, supplies, delivery, and try to make a profit. There is simply no way anyone who says that they eat out to save money on groceries knows about what they speak. Restaurants can get a slight break in the volume of groceries they purchase, but it will never, ever be able to cover all the other costs that come with a restaurant meal. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, listen politely and then quietly back away and make your escape, before they start doing your astrological chart.

[HermanH]

Rescued a 3-pound ham from the compost trail.

Here's this week's episode of, "What will he eat?"

I'm cleaning out my mother's pantry and kitchen. I come across things like frogs' legs, lamb, pork liver, pork loin, scallops, prime rib bones, chicken bones, yellow soy beans, black soy beans, black-eyed beans, red beans, mung beans, sheets of bean curd, black fungus, white fungus, figs, and other such things. Waste not want not, so everything goes into the pot.

There was one can of lotus bean paste, of unknown date. I could see it was bubbled and gas escaped, when I opened it. Oh, oh. A sure sign of botulism. I have consulted with dieticians and been told that it can be made safe to eat, as long as I bring it to a roiling boil for at least 10 minutes. It's not like the lotus paste is expensive or special, but I have to have the courage of my convictions. The pot has been boiling for hours. I'll let you know if I start to suffer symptoms.

[harbie]

Yuck. Feel better @coupon girl

[flemeth]

Good morning everyone

I do t usually shop at Loblaws but since I will be 5 min away from 1 today I want to go get some of the No mane eggs with the 2000 points flash offer and the PC orange juice for $2.49 and the 1000 points that was loadable. Keeping my fingers crossed that there is some left.

[flemeth]

Well yesterday i came down with a fever,cough and sore throat .Sebastian was coughing the whole weekend when we were there .Not covid.

@coupongirl hope you feel better soon