2026-04 April Frugal Thread

[Frugalbigmama]

I popped out to RCSS. 2 x turkey breast sandwich meat for .44 each (expires April 15th) and I bought a bag of the fresh baked sliced bread for $1.50 for the sandwiches for the guys- Felt a little guilty that there hasn't been much bread in the house the past while.
Scop'd a large bag of pistachios for DS's birthday bag (sign said $10 rang in $14. best part is not paying tax )))

It is absolutely beautiful out. I am going for a walk downtown after I am finished work. I will bring a hat on and gloves in case it is cool by the water.

[lilo0003]

I went out for lunch today at IKEA, they have most meals half price on Thursday and I had a gift card that I have carried in my wallet for about a year. I paid for my bff as well and my 10.00 gift card covered us both. Lunch for 2 for 10.00 is pretty amazing.

[Frugalbigmama]

Morning! Looking out my office window looks like a snow day in January! Trees are pretty with the snow- and it is still coming down.
The good thing is we know it won't stay long

Last night I cooked the BLSL chicken breasts and made a pot of rice. So that is dinner tonight. I will make veggies etc to go with it.
Now I don't have to worry about dinner and get some things done around the house. I was hoping to really clean the bedroom and take the bedding to a new laundromat that opened in town. My bedding is so big that it is rough on my washer so I don't put it in there anymore. Wanted to open the window for the day to air it out but maybe I will have to wait till tomorrow.

Sticking close to home this weekend hoping to get lots done around the house. Maybe DS will want to switch out my winter tires? Will see how the weather is. (he is our little backyard mechanic in the family)
Monday I meet my sister at a hotel resort for the night. We have a spa afternoon and dinner and play a little blackjack planned.

Ok - need to get stuff done! Think I will tidy up a bit and then have my portable table clear so I can sort and fold the laundry in the dryer and then go from there!

Have a wonderful day!

[harbie]

Morning all SC dwellers. The sun is out again today (yesterday hit 20) but sadly the rain will return on the weekend. Great. That’s when I’d planned to start planting. Murphys law I guess.

I went to an eye glass store yesterday with my mom and asked them to readjust my glasses but they ended up scratching them! I asked her a couple of times to clean them as they looked greasy and I saw a line in them but she still left them greasy and what appeared to be a “loogie”. I assumed she just couldn’t clean it properly since she seemed a bit “put out” while adjusting them. Anywho, I get home and c,Ean them properly only to find out they’re scratched on the inside!. Of course I went back and they denied any damage and I don’t have any proof except I’d tried on glasses while I was waiting for my mom so I would have noticed if they were damaged before the adjustment. So now I’m needing New glasses sooner than I’d planned. At least Dh has coverage.

Off to work now so have a great Friday everyone

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
What a week it has been but that seems to be the norm these days.

I slept in this morning, I think it is weather but I woke up with a massive headache and fell back asleep, oops. But it really was an oops because I woke up to my phone blowing up, one of our servers was not working so 90% of our staff could not log in.

I didn't get a chance to go to the store yesterday, so I really should go today. Only thing we need for the weekend is Milk but I really do not want to go out in the pouring rain.

I need to figure out what to do with Mom's car, some lights are on, on her dash but I feel like if I am taking it in for that I should also get the AC fixed. Ideally I would like to take it to the local shop but they do not have a shuttle so I would be stuck there (and they are kind of in the middle of no where) well they work on the car. Or I could take it to the dealership which is right down the road from head office and a has a shuttle that can take me back and forth but I feel like they charge more and always find "extras" they say need to be done. Adulting LOL.

Looks like the rain should stop around Noon so we will see, but for now I am going to catch up on work stuff since I was in a branch yesterday and helped a lot but didn't get a lot of my own work done.

Happy Friday Everyone.

[Frugalbigmama]

Started a pile for oldest DS (clothing etc) I will box up and he can take and decide if he wants or not.

Garbage bag set up and I cleaned off my tall dresser (so much junk....why) Cleaned the top drawer. Next is the other drawers (which hold summer/vacation clothing) One drawer is painting/cleaning clothing (old crap clothing) Tossing what I can! The closet is a week job since I would want to move everything out and start fresh and I can't be doing that now.

Just had my breakfast/lunch- Will wash up those dishes and then the kitchen is clean. Dinner will be one pot to steam veggies and heat and eat the rest.

I have moved garbage and recycling out to the bins- feels good to get stuff out of the house!

[walkonby]

ouch @harbie Honestly, what a crappy thing for them to do scratching your eyeglasses. Having the coverage sure helps to replace them.
sympathetic ouch @SassyAshley as vehicle maintenance and repairs always seem to cost MORE at the Dealerships.
The irony in me paying for the " Peace Of Mind Inspection " is such a joke as they always " find something " wrong.
I'm celebrating another forced frugal day here as I still cannot ( not comfortable ) to drive. All shopping has to wait till DH is off work Saturday.

[coupon girl]

Walkonby ,hope you are feeling better soon .

I went and got gas 168,incase it goes up on the weekend i only had to fill half a tank.Then popped into Indigo and bought myself a lovely candle for 10.00 reduced .Homesense next door i got black peppercorns reduced 4.00 a bottle.Then home as my knee can only do so much .

We didnt watch the girls this week ,my dear son has strep throat so told him get better ,he is on meds after seeing the doctor today .I said we will take the girls on Sunday to give them both a break ,my daughter-in-law missed tuesday off work she wasnt feeling well.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
I did not make it to the grocery store yesterday between the pouring rain, work, a meeting it just didn't happen. When I woke up this morning and it was 6:30ish and the sun was already coming up I decided to just go today and get it done.

Before I left I checked the Costco hidden sales because there is a set of Pots & Pans I have been eyeing and if they go on sale, they are mine, but no such luck this weekend.

Off I went, first stop was Sobeys where I got 2x Salad Kits ($3.99 + 200 pts if buy 2), 4 x Lemons ($4 + 100 pts wub 4), 1 x Hot Dog Buns ($2), 4 x Apples ($0.99/lb.) and 1 x Butter ($5). I have butter in the freezer but Mom wants to bake and I only have unsalted in the fridge so I just grabbed one since $4.98 seems to be new sale price.

Then off to Zehrs where I got 2 x Raspberries ($2) 1 x Mandarins 2lbs ($3), 2 x Bagels (2/$6). I was a little disappointed in their flyer they had VH Sauces 2/$4 and last time they were on sale at No Frills they did not have Butter Chicken so I thought this was my chance to stock up, nope, when I got there, there was a correct they should have been 2/$8, so I did not buy any.

Last stop was Walmart because they had Milk on sale so I got Milk ($5.98), 2 x Rolaids ($5.17), 1 x Bleach ($2.97), 1 x Eucerin Cream for Eczema ($14.97). Mom mentioned the other day she is almost out of Rolaids and they were on Rollback. Somehow I am out of bleach, I need to check the price at Dollarama but I did not feel like going today so I grabbed one at Walmart. I discovered the patches on my back are Eczema, my hands are doing good but I find I still get itchy so hoping this will help.

Now I am home to tackle all of the things but first I need tea and breakfast. Although I must say I am proud of myself for going shopping before I ate and not coming home with any bakery extras, I was tempted but also shopping at 7 or 8 am they are just putting stuff out.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

[lizzie bargain]

The local Italian deli food I ordered is quite delicious. I figure it costs $7.50 per meal for a treat-which is cheaper than eating out or fast food. We have company coming this week so will try the lasagna.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good late morning!

This morning I started my day by washing my bedroom window...then did the walls. Made my coffee. Drove downtown and went for a 35 min walk. Walked through No Frills and then a Liquidation store. Then headed home and put a load of laundry in the washer and prepped the chicken for dinner (marinating in garlic/red onions and the juice of a lemon.) Then started on bedroom again and moved the nightstands then the bed.
Cleaned the floors/wall.
Bed is stripped and bedding in my vehicle. Will head to the laundromat soon to get it cleaned! Then home to make a fresh bed

Boiling 3 eggs now for my 1st meal of the day and will heat up the last chicken breast in the fridge. That is my lunch. I am so hungry it will be perfect!

I will go for a walk for the 30 mins while the bedding is washing so that will get my 1 hour walk in today.

Had a few gift cards sitting on the window ledge....for a long long time. I just wanted to check balance before I tossed them (they are all old- 1 over 10 years old) They all have the full balance on them!!! 2 for Indigo ($15 and $25) and one for Wayspa for $50! Now to see where I can use them!

Hope to keep my productive day going!

[walkonby]

Today is grocery shopping day! I just have to wait till DH wakes up later this afternoon. Last night I surprised the guys with an array of homemade tempura nibbles! I made the best batter of my life! ( egg, ice cold carbonated lime water and flour ). Coated all the veg and seafood pieces in cornstarch before dipping them in the batter.
Added both sesame and canola oil to my wok and kept the thermometer in the entire time to make sure the temp stayed at 350. That took some juggling.
In the end I put out a full cookie sheet of tempura Brussel sprouts, carrot coins, onion rings, mushrooms, tiger shrimp and Cod. Sure it was a bit messy to clean up but very worth it to enjoy the delicate crispy morsels. We all agreed I made it better than the restaurants! ( tooting my own horn,...lol )

[SassyAshley]

@lizzie bargain , amazing deal. No Take-Out if not cheap, we do not get take-out often anymore but the few times I have grabbed it or look at it lately the prices, OH MY.

I am looking forward to next time I am working in the Plant getting Shawarma, it is our treat and is still a great deal for what you get.

@walkonby , enjoy your grocery shopping.

Don't you love it when you make something at home and it is better than what you were trying to recreate.

[coupon girl]

I went out to food basics i found their prices pretty good this week
mini cucumbers 2.88 a bag
pears and apples were .98 lb
hot dog bun 2.29
snack packs 1.99 pudding (girls are coming for the day on sun day )
nano banana /strawberry yogurt 3.49-1.00 cpn=2.49 treat for the girls
plus a few other items got 290 moi points .

[harbie]

Walkonby ,hope you are feeling better soon .

I went and got gas 168,incase it goes up on the weekend

That’s a steal! Yesterday the gas was 2.09 here and diesel dropped to 266.9 from 287.9 ( it was as high as 287.9 for diesel