July 2024 Frugal Chatter

We’ve started to get a bit of the smoke here now :( . It made for a more colourful sunrise :redface:. Even though the rain is supposedly coming on Sunday/ Monday I went to water my garden at 6am so I’m done for the day.

I’m hitting the gym later this morning for a tread session and finalizing my grocery list for my meal plan. I found a girl on IG that makes 20 servings for $50-60 usd so I’m loosely using her plan minus the meat or dairy. I’m not too focused on the budget ( I mean I am a SMARTCANUCK so I kinda am :)) I’m just really looking for meals that won’t waste food and require multiple trips throughout the week because I ran out or I’m missing 1 or 2 things.

Also need to figure out what else can be planted in my garden as I removed the garlic that just didn’t grow and the radishes that were big green leaves but nothing underneath :mad:.

Have a great day everyone

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Originally Posted by harbie

We’ve started to get a bit of the smoke here now :( . It made for a more colourful sunrise :redface:. Even though the rain is supposedly coming on Sunday/ Monday I went to water my garden at 6am so I’m done for the day.

I’m hitting the gym later this morning for a tread session and finalizing my grocery list for my meal plan. I found a girl on IG that makes 20 servings for $50-60 usd so I’m loosely using her plan minus the meat or dairy. I’m not too focused on the budget ( I mean I am a SMARTCANUCK so I kinda am :)) I’m just really looking for meals that won’t waste food and require multiple trips throughout the week because I ran out or I’m missing 1 or 2 things.

Also need to figure out what else can be planted in my garden as I removed the garlic that just didn’t grow and the radishes that were big green leaves but nothing underneath :mad:.

Have a great day everyone

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@harbie what a fantastic plan! I've been there done that where I'm forced to change outa my pj's to get something at the grocery store for a recipe. This plan ahead meal prep is a preemptive strike. Plus you're recipes will be more frugal simply from the elimination of meat alone. Great job.
This weekend we're doing at least one steak dinner at Jack Astor after seeing Deadpool and Wolverine at the show!! More excited for the movie !!

My 2 tomato plants didnt harvest any tomatoes only2 tiny dots .So i took them out of the planters.I guess this summer was too hot too rainy too humid .Anyway my neighbour brought me over a bag of cherry tomatoes and 3 tomatoes.

Off to pick up my younger brother and take him to the fracture clinic at the hospital ,he may be there for a few hours.

Only had 4 hours sleep last night a side effect of the shot i had was insommnia.ugggg.

The French know now to put on an Opening Ceremony for the Summer Games. Watched the first 2.5h on Radio-Canada station as the Toronto station signal is not showing. Hope to see whole ceremony on repeat later.
Managed two small shops at Cdn Tire and Walmart and explored each. Finally got the silicone nose pads kit ($3.47 + taxes) at the Walmart optical store as it is not open on weekends. Glasses are now ready to wear after I did the switch myself. You can have a staffer do it if you want but I had the small screwdriver at home.

Good for you on switching your own nosepads @Ciel ...I find those tiny screws tough to work with. Great to hear you enjoyed the opening ceremony...DH had mixed feelings on it.

@harbie , congrats on your raise.

@coupon girl , that is great that the cortisone shot is helping. I have heard they work for some people and don't for others and they say there is no rime or reason.

I know a co-worker gets them and says the first 4 months after they get them in amazing.

They offered them to Mom but because it is her hip the doc cannot give them in their office it has to be in the hospital and ultrasound guided and then they are not covered unless you have insurance.

Good Evening Everyone,
The end of the week has been a busy one and I woke up with a headache today that just does not want to go away. It will start to dull and then comes back, around 3, I thought I was going to have to end my day but it dulled again enough that I could finish what I was working on and get it out for approval.

Wednesday I had to test someone then meet our regional manager for a meeting, lots going on, I have lots to work on, but also came up with great ideas to help me. I formed a little committee of people to help me with my training stuff, they won't write anything for me but will give me feedback and suggestions which is what I lack since I am department of me, myself and I.

Thursday I was in a different branch testing again but one was unable to do there test so I spent most of my morning today trying to rearrange my schedule for next week and still get Thursday & Friday off. If I could not finish the testing I would have to test on Thursday, with that being said my time off wasn't approved yet as I did request it last minute when I thought I was going to have testing done.

Yesterday after work I did our grocery shopping, this week Food Basics and Freshco for the win on the sales. Again it was mostly produce although Freshco had the body wash we use on sale and had a points offer so I had to take advantage of that as we are brand specific on Body Wash due to skin sensitivities and allergies.

My fridge is busting at the seams but I could not deal with that today as I had too much on my work plate, I had two meetings plus some updates to get out for approval.

In Between meetings I ended up running out to No Frills as I thought we still had 2 bags of milk in the fridge, nope we only had one. So I grabbed milk and a few other things so now the fridge is even fuller but again mainly produce. Plus I price matched some frozen brussel sprouts, really wish Costco carried these. Plus I could not find Halls for Mom yesterday I forgot at Freshco and Food Basics only carries Fisherman Friends which she does not like.

Now this weekend I need to deal with the fridge and all the things in it, I plan to make a Fruit Salad as I grabbed Blueberries, Clementines, Peaches, Kiwi and Limes, all on sale of course. But it looks like I am going to have some in branch days so need to make sure I have food to take and options for dinner those nights. So it will be a food filled weekend plus I have to get the basic cleaning done.

Happy Friday Everyone.

Thank you harbie and sassy ,i heard it doesnt work for some either .I have rhemetoid arthris i have never been diagnosed but i have the nodes on my fingers and pain in my hands and knees .So this helped as i was using crutchs when i got out of bed in the morning during this flare up the past 2 months -now i dont need to .

My dear daughter is dealing with a ton of inflamation the past few months -she advocated for herself is now seeing a specialist in sept -she will be 42 next month so that is young.
Plus her work just told them they have to go in 4 days a week in sept -it is so hard sometimes for her and her ex to fit sebastian in time wise so they are putting him in aftercare camp after school 2 days a week til 6.00 p.m.

I am having my grandson come for 3 days sun night til wednesday night -we are planning a trip with my son and the girls to safari niagara on wednesday .I cant wait to spend the day with the grandkids and i am not in severe pain -ahh relief.

Good Morning Everyone,
The plan was to get up early and get all the things done. I got up early, I was up at 6:30 but it was a slow morning. I laid in bed reading for a bit and now it has just been a slow start to the day.

I need to deal with my fridge, it is still busting at the seams, I need to tidy up there is stuff everywhere that just needs to be put away (including my amazon prime days purchases are living on the living room floor), I need to do my cleaning but I have zero ambition today.

The good new is I did clean the kitchen yesterday, it was a bit of a disaster because the dishwasher did not get emptied after it was run so everything was piling up but I took care of that yesterday.

I have this deep want to be super productive and get all of the things done but my body is saying nope LOL.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

oh boy @SassyAshley you sure do have a list of things that need tending to. The fridge stuff will probably get done quicker than you think once you dig in. Good luck!
I have to drag our 16 year old cat Claudius to the vet for his blood work check up. Thankfully I can manage him alone as he weighs just 7.5 pounds now and is a rag doll when you pick him up.
Unlike Hamlet who's a couple years younger but weighs closer to 16 pounds and uses every ounce of it along with his claws to fend of being shoved into the cat carrier.
Then later this afternoon we're getting a new central A/C unit installed! The other one was installed 36 years ago so it owes us nothing. The screeching it has been doing since May was concerning, so one house call confirmed that the ( " insert part here " ) is shot. I never remember the details.
They no longer carry the parts for this old gal now, or at least :hahaha:that's their story and they're sticking to it.

I must admit I really enjoyed the Olympics Opening Ceremony and I normally kind of poo poo that stuff. Kelly Clarkson made me cry when Celine was singing her darn heart out and I could hear Kelly unable to speak because she was crying! Who among us doesn't feel Celine's pain right now after learning about that horrible condition she suffers from?

Good morning all.

The meal plan is going well and I’m super excited about it even though it was just one meal last night :cheesygrin:. So because I have staples like rice, couscous, quinoa, beans and some other things it only cost me $35 and change :excited:. Last nights white bean, kale and beyond Italian sausage was so yummy! Basically a Zappa toscanna but plant based and the beyond sausage had a $2 off coupon on it :top:.

Tonight even though Dh really wants more soup I’m making hidden veggie pasta with crispy kale crumbled on top. There was enough soup for us each to have 2 really solid portions each (4 servings) and I took another 2 portions of the leftovers to my parents as my mom is having vertigo and not up for standing let alone cooking.

I'm a bit sore from yesterday’s workout. It was supposed to be a 45 min walk with hill but the genius I am I chose to run it :shock::yikes:. I haven’t run hills like that in a long time and now I remember why :lol:. Just shy of 5km done so todays a rest day until later tonight for upper body strength training.

Just chilling here while finishing up laundry and checking the garden for more tomatoes and I really need to figure out what else I can plant in the empty space.

Enjoy the weekend

I forgot to add that I cashed in Airmiles yesterday for diesel. Got $60 FREE :shock: but still had to pay $31 OOP:( yup $91 to fill our Jetta!

41 airmiles for grocery shop, 10C caddle and 50c CO51, and 700 optimum points( woo hoo :rolleyes:)

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Originally Posted by SassyAshley

Good Morning Everyone,
The plan was to get up early and get all the things done. I got up early, I was up at 6:30 but it was a slow morning. I laid in bed reading for a bit and now it has just been a slow start to the day.

I need to deal with my fridge, it is still busting at the seams, I need to tidy up there is stuff everywhere that just needs to be put away (including my amazon prime days purchases are living on the living room floor), I need to do my cleaning but I have zero ambition today.

The good new is I did clean the kitchen yesterday, it was a bit of a disaster because the dishwasher did not get emptied after it was run so everything was piling up but I took care of that yesterday.

I have this deep want to be super productive and get all of the things done but my body is saying nope LOL.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

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Good morning everyone
@SassyAshley do what you can . Chores are never done in a house . I feel like it’s the same stuff we keep doing day in and day out. As for your fridge you will get that done quickly once you start. Remember you have to take care of you so do as much as you can and rest tomorrow is another day

Harbie-that is a crazy high price for diesel-no wonder folks on limited incomes struggle!
We had 6 overnight guests and somehow managed to cram them all in. Good thing we have 3 bathrooms!
They treated us to a meal at a South Indian restaurant which was delicious-better yet there are leftovers for tonight.