2025-03 March Frugal Thread

[Frugalbigmama]

A great work day. I am ready for Friday!

Youngest DS just left for work. They have a big job at the hospital and sometimes they need to work at night so they can access certain areas with less people.
So I made the pasta this afternoon so he could eat before he left. I had some too so I can just have a snack later tonight. Now I can clean up quick and put the leftovers in the fridge for whoever would like them.

[lizzie bargain]

Costco also has a record of your receipts which I have used to price match before.

[coupon girl]

Just got in my son had a lovely supper for us .I did a load of laundry for him .Played with the girls and they loved the tops i got them $3.48 each .Ashlyn wasn't feeling great she had a headache so she sat on the couch and put her head on my chest -ahhhh

[Frugalbigmama]

It's Friday!!! And we have sunshine! But it is very windy so another day of bus cancelations and road closures.

I need to get out of the house but won't go to far.

Last night around 2am they were cutting back our snow banks. Dump trucks lined up to fill with the snow and take it away. I remember years ago sitting in the driveway during March break and the kids riding their bikes. Not this year!!

Should be a quiet work day so I can get my work done. Will be nice to have what I am working on done by the end of the day and then I can send it off via email before I shut down for the day and start Monday fresh!

Will give the kitchen a quick clean (few dishes to wash) and then clean out the fridge. There is one chicken breast that will be wrapped for the freezer and will be used to make chicken fried rice. I didn't take the chicken drumsticks out (DS is going away for the weekend) so will do that Monday with a bunch of sides.
I'm not going to be cooking big meals this weekend since everyone else is on the go on the weekend/working so will just fend for myself.

Ok I should get this day rolling...almost finished my yummy coffee! Decided even at double the price for the beans it is still worth it!

The one good thing about this crappy weather and being stuck at home...My car still has a mostly full tank of gas.

Have a wonderful Friday!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Surprise work from home day which might be a good thing. We still have strong winds here and some light snow. I heard a lot of people saying the drive home last night was horrible with the blowing snow and drifts on the roads.

I was supposed to grocery shop my way home last night which did not happen so I ran out quickly at 8 am this morning to grab a few things. Needed to grab Mushrooms plus some sale items. Also grabbed a few extras:
I have been craving Stew and we make ours with a base of Garden Cocktail so I grabbed a bottle (although to my surprise it was on sale but was the big bottle so I can now make it twice). Anyone know, can you freeze Garden Cocktail?
Grabbed some lemons, they are a $1/bag cheaper at Food Basics but it is a 15 minute drive so I paid the $1 (couldn't price match different place of origin and my No Frills checks)
Grabbed the tomatoes on the vine that were on sale, think I will cook some bacon on the weekend to make Breakfast Sandwiches or Clubhouse Sandwiches.

Last night we made dumplings, today I think will be leftovers, we have a ton of Homemade Chicken Fried Rice leftover and there is still potato soup so these are the lunch options and ideally which ever we don't have for lunch will be dinner.

Today would be a good stew day but we gotta use up these leftovers first.

I did end up working late last night as there were a bunch of things I had to do after close so was hoping to end early today but we will see lots going on but I would prefer to finish up today so I don't have to work on the weekend.

Happy Friday Everyone.

[Ciel21]

Hummus requires cooked chickpeas, not the tahini sauce made from sesame seeds. When my brother buys hummus, I only ever seem to like the one with red pepper. He is partial to one brand while I can manage to eat two brands' version of red pepper hummus. Otherwise chickpeas taste bland to me, except in seasoned falafels (purchased, not ones that I once made).

[Ciel21]

Love the party photos, @harbie ! Will share them with friend that loves horses as well. Glad your event reflected your heart and that you had fun too!

[Ciel21]

@SassyAshley Garden Cocktail is highly seasoned so if you could decant it into a freezer safe container or Ziploc container, all it will do is gain ice crystals. Just not sure if the bottle would stay intact due to the cold and the type of plastic used for liquids. Freezing should be fine if you pour the cocktail into another container!

Want to post for the Kraft Peanut Butter fans-Shoppers shows the 750g-1Kg jars on weekend special for $4.99. Think it was maybe twice last year that the chain last had that price for anyone wanting it without a PC Opt offer.$4.99 Kraft PB same jars also available at No Frills!


Also if you still have the PC Opt pt offer buy one NN eggs and one NN butter and get 1000 pts, offer ends TOMORROW! Was looking at my offers with friend checking them out, as she did not know about digital coupon links since she has been locked out of her PC account for months.

While I did get the $3.49 egg offer last week, I did not use it. I did get 3 PC Opt pts as an adjustment for being charged the non offer price on my second pop 6x710 purchase (offer was 3.99 any pop up to 4).

Will wait to see if there might be a 20% off coupon offer by text from Shoppers next week. See the Nexcare bandages or wound care products has a buy 2 get 2000 PC Opt pts offer in the upcoming flyer.

Longos has released its Spring magazine issue! https://www.calameo.com/longos/read/...233ca3da502816
I only see two Easter meal offers in the issue, with prices going up on March 17.

[Ciel21]

Having another round of decision paralysis about a toy gift. Seems I can get one set on sale in stock locally but have to either travel to another community to get a second set or consider ordering a different set online only to get a break on the price. Have a talent for choosing sets that seem to be discontinued or close to being retired. Decisions...

Love Ms Sunshine beaming away on this chilly day. Really want to do some raking but fallen branches remain stuck in the icy receding snow that is not plowed or cleared. Feel like a genius for having spent that time shovelling around the house during snow days in Feb and March because Wednesday's melt off/rains did not cause any water issues indoors. Wish we had that snow fencing.
@Giseledta @Frugalbigmama Today is 30X Triangle Rewards day for CT credit card holders!! No other special offer applies for the the points cardholders except Sat&Sun 20X Party City on select products.

[coupon girl]

Popped over to a local thrift store to donate a box and a picture ,they charge no tax.

Then on to Zarkys a local shop-got their meatballs to have with pasta tonight,plus blueberries and one of their jam filled donuts $2.69 not cheap but shared with hubby -oh so good.

[barbis9]

Went to Canadian Tire and got 30X triangle rewards on pet food. Popped into Food Basics as their grapes are on sale and are so delicious. I also went to Shoppers and they had Olay face cream on clearance for $4 and Dove foamy body soap for $3. Costco had shoe grippers on clearance for $14.97 for two pairs which will be perfect for next winter.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Got a light dusting of snow overnight, I am not going anywhere, I really just want an at home day.

I did get to stop working around 3 pm yesterday but did end up having to answer a couple emails afterwards, our system was doing something weird last night, hopefully my boss restarted it last night.

I really need a slow start to the morning today so I am sitting here watching TV and drinking my tea.

Soon I will go and make a batch of bread, normally it last a week and I thought I had some for tonight's dinner but there are some mold spots so guess I am making a new loaf. This will go with the beef stew I am making for dinner tonight, I am so excited I have been craving it but kept forgetting to grab the Garden Cocktail to make it.

I started to write a meal plan last night but still needs some work, I was having issues coming up with ideas for dinners and breakfasts so will work on those today.

Set up March's budget templates, I am not sure how I went from I will close February early to being a week late setting it up but it is done now and so far any shopping I have done is well under budget so not worried. I feel like I am struggling a little bit with our needs category feels like these just keep going up and up and of course I am keeping a close eye on groceries. So far I feel like I am doing well and feeling confident but also feeling like the rug could be pulled out at any moment so I am doing my best to keep our pantry and freezers full incase we need to rely on them more than normal.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
I am having one of those weeks where the meal plan is just not flowing. I tried going on Pinterest, not that I was necessarily looking for new recipes but sometimes I see things and remember or think of other things, nope not today. Maybe it is that I feel I cannot top last week as I cannot think of any meals to prep and have ready. I must say Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were nice to have things ready to go. Oh well, I shall figure it out, hopefully by tomorrow when I go to prep.

Right after I posted this morning I put a batch of No-Knead dough in the microwave to rise. It was the perfect pairing with our Beef Stew which I must say was fabulous.

@Ciel21 , Thank you for the comments on the Garden Cocktail, I was thinking of freezing it in my Soup Cubes I just got.

During Family Day weekend Kitchen Stuff Plus had their version of Soup Cubes on sale and free shipping over $35. I have been eyeing these on Amazon but they seemed so expensive. I like the fact that I can measure what goes in them if we have random leftovers.

Got the Bathroom cleaned today, it was better than last night time but still some pressure by the time I was done. Did not get the floor done as I needed to stop for a bit and then Mom got up and was doing stuff in the bathroom, so maybe tomorrow.

Maybe I will head back to Pinterest and hope for some inspiration.

[cath007]

Good evening everyone.
Seems Canada Post still have delay with the recent strike.
We are changing the time this upcoming night.
My grocery shopping is still not done but we need little this week.
I reinstallated the app To Good To go.I tried last fall 1 place but was deceived by the food received compare to what I expected to receive,
I will retry some places this week.Seems more stores are now in my city,so that is a good thing.
7,99$ for 24$ of food is a really good deal I think.It is better than flash food 50% off
It is for food expiring soon.Now I see 2 gourmet grocery,1 ice cream chocolate store,1 public harvest prepared food. 1 store prepared kitchen meals, A fish store , a restaurant,few conveniances stores,metro and superc for the bakery,fish,meat and diary.It depends each time you looks the app.It goes fast.

[cath007]

I still thinks often about my dear cat Stella who passed away in August.
Eve,my other cat is very old.But she is still alive at least.
We got Eve in 2014.She was already 6 and a half year old.And maybe she was more older than 6 and a half year.I really dont know.
So she is at least 16 years old.She is at the end of her life sadly.
She have difficulties to walk,Joints pain arthrose.Maybe blind at 1 eyes because blood in her eye.She was already like that when we got her.Maybe it is by birth.Never it caused a problem.
She sleeps a lots.
She cannot reach the bed anymore.Like a baby now.But she still goes in her litter and eat properly.

I love my cat.But sometime it is difficults to see her like that.
I am not ready to let her go
We try to provide her much love.treats and good treatments.She still have a life quality.She is so adorable.
My fur baby friend....