February Frugal Chatter 2022

[harbie]

Worked yesterday so that meant $$$$ in and not out, except for trying the lime jalapeño beyond burger from a&w. It was totally worth it. Spicy!

Today since it’s dreary here and probably going to rain I’m just going to change the bedding, finish the few pieces of laundry up , and do the usual vacuum/ dust and finish up with a ride, core and possibly lower body workout if I have the energy. Planning to me Dh at Costco later but not sure if that’s a smart choice. We will see.

Have a great weekend/ family day everyone

[SassyAshley]

I was about to come on here and say I should have gone and done my running around, after that little bit of snow this morning it was bright, it was sunny, no wind.

I just went out to do some shovelling, it was beautiful out, no wind, not that cold so I decided, let's go do the cars. A few flakes started falling, a little bit of wind but still not bad. Just as I started to clean my car off the snow really started to come down, I did not finish my car because the snow was coming down so hard I was covered in snow. The stairs I just did need to shovelled again.

But on that note good thing I decided not to go out today, I would not want to be travelling in this.

Dishwasher has been emptied, hand dishes are done, Banana Muffins made, shovelling done but will need to be done again.

[Angela273]

I went to NF this morning. Picked up 4 boneless pork sirloin for $1.99/lb. I picked up a few fresh produce items. Redeemed $80 in points and got a free package of chocolate chip cookies for being an early customer. $0.25 Eclipsa.

I spent $7.50 at our local Salvation Army. They are having a 50% off all winter clothes sale. I bought an excellent condition pair of mittens that fit our twins. I also bought a winter coat for twin girl to grow into.

[HermanH]

Walked 10km to my nearest NoFrills to try and get some ground lean chicked $2/lb only to learn that they don't have any. The stockboy told me their shipment did not arrive, even when it was advertised in the flyer. Of course, I tried to call beforehand to confirm, but there is no phone reception. So, no way to know anything except show up.

Nuts to that. This isn't the first time this situation has arisen, but it will be the last time I try to give them my business. In the future, I will only use them for price-match requests at other stores.

[lizzie bargain]

Angela-we got the free cookies too-but I can't see us eating them so will need to pass them onto somebody with kids who will. We are stocked up on groceries too-currently 9 out but temps will plunge and expecting up to 20 cm of snow-oh joy.

[cath007]

Finally we have another person interested in alpine skis and accessories we posted on les pac and kijiji...hope it will work as i need the 125$ money will be welcomed.2 others persons where interessed since the beggining but the other person found some more near and the other person it was too long skis...fingers crossed as I want those gone!

[cath007]

Hi all!!! Maybe this could be posted or have been posted as a question and feedback so if it is the case i am sorry..
And maybe it remain in the finance thread i am not sure but I think I will get more answers in here
How much money 2 persons in a week should spend in grocery?(we are good meats eater and not so many veggies atm if that could help)
I dont go to Costco but my aunt have the membership ..
I go to maxi and pm what I can
And do you do your spending by each categories
as
Meat
Veggies
Fruits
Cheeses
Bread and etc
Dairy
And other things

or just a total $$$ spend

Thank you very much for your input and have a good evening and night.Sure 1 thing I know...I need to buy less prepared food because it is expensive and taxables

And anyone is willing to share their basis not to complicated menu planning..I have no idea those time and we are not eating so variated things ...mostly the same sausages,meatloaf,pizza ,hamburgers,tacos,shephards pie and would like some change to my routine

And I am tired of patatoes...lol..what are yours side dishes appart of that...any inspiration is welcome..
And salad is so expensive...cannot wait until the summer to have more reasonnable local price!!!|

[coupon girl]

cath -i have spent $380 so far this month for 2 of us from walmart online ,freshco ,shoppers and once at sobeys . We dont always have a lot of meat ,pasta once a week ,soup /salad one night etc.I do buy a lot of fruit .

Tonight i cooked a ham and 2 chicken breasts as my son came over with the 2 granddaughters (mind you they are so little eaters).There is leftover chicken ,one piece of ham ,corn enought for leftovers for one night.

I did cook chocolate chip cookies for today for the girls .

My dear sweet ashlyn is sleeping over tonight ,she is a joy,so easy .

[Giseledta]

did the groceries today. .. interesting times.
We watched the new kingsmen movie tonight.. it was really good. we enjoyed it.

tomorow... plan is housework... making a few cookies get the laundry done. i need to do a good vacume as well.

[Giseledta]

grocery plans sorted but Low, med and high costs per week. it is US numbers . our costs tend to be higher. both are interesting articles.

https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites...2LowModLib.pdf


https://wellkeptwallet.com/average-grocery-bill-for-2/

[lilo0003]

I also received the free cookies, I would not have thought I was early enough and the cashier gave me a package for each order which was very sweet of her. I was already buying the same cookies so she said she could tell we would use them, apparently lots of people say no. But I would just out something I did not want in the food bank bin, but I guess all the no’s worked to my advantage.
I paid for groceries using PCO points so it makes it a little less painful. But honestly nothing much went into the freezer or even in to the stock pile other than the canned tomatoes and the extra cookies of course. I did find some clearance boneless skinless chicken thighs so picked that up because I find by the time I debone I am better off buying it ready to go. DH has a shawarma recipes that he prepped in advance and then we freeze it so he did a batch of that and its an easy meal to pull out at the last minute.

[HermanH]

or just a total $$$ spend

Thank you very much for your input and have a good evening and night.Sure 1 thing I know...I need to buy less prepared food because it is expensive and taxables

And anyone is willing to share their basis not to complicated menu planning..I have no idea those time and we are not eating so variated things ...mostly the same sausages,meatloaf,pizza ,hamburgers,tacos,shephards pie and would like some change to my routine

It is very astute of you to notice that prepared food adds tax. That extra 15% / year can be significant!

I buy according to ingredients and do not pay much mind to recipes. In my opinion, it is my job to re-arrange the ingredients in a palatable manner. I just make sure to buy the cheapest ingredients possible.

As a general rule of thumb, I will not purchase fruit or vegetables over $1/pound. I aim for $0.25-0.33/pound and usually get an average of about $0.50/pound.

I will not buy meat for more than $3/pound and can often find deals around $2.10. i.e. This week, NoFrills has chicken legs for $1/pound. So, if I can find a 30% discount banner and get the chicken for $0.70/pound, my freezer will be filled to the top.

Milk is a maximum of $1/litre. Giant Tiger has the best promo deals at $0.88/litre. I freeze extras to cover the periods of no promo sales. Also, if milk is unavailable, there are often sales for Black Diamond cheese slices $1.88 / 22 slices (410g). 6 slices is total equivalent to your daily milk needs for an adult.

Bread is $0.50/pound.

I find all these products in Edmonton and means I can live on about $3-3.50/day. These are not starvation rations. If push comes to shove, I can survive on far less.

[lizzie bargain]

Cath-So far this year I have spent 750 on groceries. We have enough to last until the end of the month. We buy few processed foods, plenty of fresh fruit and veg, a little meat* usually bought on markdown) and stock up on sale. I do not include takeout or restaurants in this-just groceries. Household cleaners, toilet paper etc go in a separate category. Food tends to be more expensive in the West than in Central Canada. I mainly shop at No Frills, Costco and the fruit and veg wholesaler.

[Giseledta]

I am totally enjoying this weekend... 3 day weekends are ... needed....

on track for today... i may hit dollerama ... get new stuff for pantry storage... going to hunt around and see what i already have to use. ... but the upstairs pantry is a mess.

also.. cookies... .. making pizza dough. .
with a bit of nicer weather ... i may open a window or 2 today...
i would love to spend a good hour on my family room.. get things cleaner. i just find no love in that room. does not feel cosy and welcoming...

[cath007]

Good morning everyone !!! Happy Sunday!!! -18 degres for now and sunny,hopefully it will heat up.
Ok today the plan is work with life project,make a grocery shopping list,make meals plans,and laundry.
It is the last week of life project before the spring break...I need spring break but wont enjoying at his best..all my time is already planned..and i will miss some time..hahaha that is such life

Thanks all for your comments about my posts I appreciate all of your imputs.

As for grocery I always have like maybe 4 bills because the grocery as maxi and iga are 5 minutes away so we buy grocery what we need and return for milk and so regularly...so not much food wasting at least

But for now on,I will kept my bills to make my average and see what I buy on regular basis..that will helps
And I realize I need to do a deep cleaning of my freezer and see what we use and go with that.It is so stocked but we eat mostly from the fridge.

Alright have a good day and enjoy it !!!

QOTD: What spices are you buying the most and what is yours recepies with those? I never bought spice in my life...big error lol