October 2025 Frugal Chit Chat

[HermanH]

Recovered 5x 1/4-pound hamburgers from the Shell station for my neighbour.

[Frugalbigmama]

Hi all!

Back to work for 2 days and then the weekend . Started early this morning so I can get out this afternoon and enjoy the sunshine.

Banking- Went to do a deposit on Monday and both Atm's were out of order. Went back Tuesday morning and still out of order! Finally went last night and was able to do what I needed to do! Also- Had to set up all my bill payees for online banking - all were gone. So did a payment of $1 on all so I can make sure they were set up correctly before making larger payments.

Our garage is clean! DS is welding a table in there this weekend and then we can have it for parking. So glad that is done. Our garbage and recycling bins are full!

Tossing all the ingredients for pasta sauce in the crock pot this morning and will make pasta so it is all ready when for dinner to heat and eat. DS didn't have to go away this week and he was asking if I was making pasta last night so decided I would make it tonight (and it is easy when the beef cooked and ready in the freezer!)

Ok I should make a few eggs for breakfast.. I'm starving!

Have a wonderful day!

[harbie]

Good afternoon everyone. It feels like a lifetime since I’ve posted (I have briefly read some but not much).

So since our vacation in September life has been…..well…..crazy!

My dad’s cancer has returned and he started his treatments Oct 1st. Since my dad is my moms primary caregiver as she has macular degeneration and now glaucoma in one eye and obviously doesn’t drive or cook a whole lot, I’m taking that over and also helping him.

I'm trying take as much off his plate as possible without micromanaging. So I’m cleaning for them, making all plant based meals that are full of flavour and fibre as that’s what he needs with the meds. I also went with him to his dr for his first injection so I could ask questions and get answers. We have also booked a private CT scan as we have been waiting for 4.5 months with no end in sight.

So all of this while working ( have told my clients things might change). all while trying to fit in someone that has been waiting for me to have availability for close to a year! I was so hoping to slow down at this age but I just seem to get busier

I did a pretty nice grocery shop the other day. At NF I spent $130.29 and used $130 in points plus earned 18,600 back in points ! Not bad for 29c OOP.

We also had a meeting with our financial advisor and it went really well. We’re possibly going to be in the market for a second vehicle and we have a plan for it and it won’t dent our monthly cash flow which is nice. We plan to hold out until January… as they may be more hungry for a sale at that time of year. All the leg work is done now we just have to sit and wait.

So in a small nutshell that’s what’s going on.

I spent all morning making an amazing shepherds pie (if I do say so myself) that will be dinner for them and us and loaded with protein and fibre! I’ve also made split pea and lentil soup that has been frozen. I purchased some Souper Cubes and they are great, especially for mom and dad needing smaller portions and also for us for quick meals on busy weeks. Definitely an investment but so worth it I’m my opinion.

Hope everyone is having a good day and I’m going to try to be more regular here.

[coupon girl]

Harbie so nice you are there for your parents ,a true gem of a daughter
You only have one set of parents in life .I wish i had my dear mother to chat to or take care off .I do have a lovely daughter who i chatted last night with for an hour .

Today took down the curtains and net on our gazebo ,cold weather is around the corner .I raked a bit as hubby trimmed the plants ,washed 2 rugs and hung out to dry .Still am not driving til a see the surgeon Monday and i am sure when i do it wont be to look and gaze in stores as i am still sore when i stand too long and using the cane everyday .It will be get in get out attitude for awhile .

[SassyAshley]

@harbie , **HUGS** prayers for your Dad.


I got some of the souper cubes from Kitchen Stuff Plus and love them. They do not offer a 1/2 cup size but I see RCSS is now also selling them and have this size. As well Costco has a 5 pack I was eyeing, I don't need the Costco pack but doesn't mean it won't fall into my cart.

[HermanH]

Recovered 4x 1-litre cartons of choc milk from my Shell station on their last sale-date

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
Busy couple of days, and I think I jinxed myself.

I was just thinking to myself this morning, I cannot wait for the weekend, tomorrow is a work-from-home day, I can knock out all the things and then have the weekend for house stuff. Then when I went into the office I went to talk to the branch manager and said I can finally think again and realized we need to do the following in your branch, let's get it on the books.

Myself and the person I am working with, planned out our schedules for the next 3 to 4 weeks and than as I was leaving I got another notice to train. Not sure how we are going to squeeze this one as it is one of the hardest trains in the company it usually takes about 3 weeks. I have emailed the manager and am waiting to hear back.

Yesterday after work I ran to Costco because I ran out of Cranberry Pills, don't know if I missed a sale or they haven't gone on sale but when I looked at the price locally, Holy Cow, it was $10 less than Costco for a quarter the pills. Decided it was worth the trip to Costco. I didn't grab much just some chips (on sale), Nachos for a quick dinner, mini cucumbers (on sale), parmesan and my pills. Quick in and out.

After work today I went to do the local shopping, Food Basics was the place for produce today, all on sale I got: Lemons, Limes, 4 x Broccoli, 2 x Blueberries, 1 x Cherry Tomatoes (large pack), 2 x 3 lbs Apples (1 for eating, 1 for cooking).

Then off to Sobeys, again all on sale 3 x Salad Kits (buy 3 get 300 pts = $3), 4 x Chapman Ice Cream, 2 x Pasta Sauce.
Originally I was just going to grab 1 Ice Cream, a vanilla as we have been enjoying putting a couple of cookie balls from the freezer in a ramekin, baking them off and topping with a scope of Ice Cream, it is a nice little dessert. But Sobeys had all these flavours Zehrs didn't have so I grabbed a Cheesecake and Peach Melba to try, I am sucker for anything peach flavoured.

Happy to have a fridge full of produce and tomorrow I will start my prep plan for the weekend and a meal plan for next week.

Happy Thursday Everyone.

[lilo0003]

Fall has arrived and the rain, which is still welcome but too late for the crops. I spent several days making soup and preparing meals for the freezer so when we fly back in December we will have much of what we need on hand. I did take advantage of the PC flatbread sale today and had a PCO offer which paid out at the regular price not the PCO promo price, odd but a nice bonus.

[walkonby]

@harbie your plate is full. I will pm you.
No outing today, which took some self control as a few sales in the flyers interested me.
The thing is we really do not NEED anything, so making do with the stuff here.
Tonight I a made an " everything but the kitchen sink " soup, blended it all, added a can
of coconut cream to thicken it and make is so yummy!

[Frugalbigmama]

TGIF! Wet gray day here.

Yesterday I finally moved stuff off my desk that I wasn't using to a closet ( Brand new never used monitor/keyboard etc) and what a difference! Moved a nice shelf to my office that my BIL gave me months ago. Already noticing my office feels cleaner/more organized and the goal is to have it 100% done by the end of the day.

I bought the TP at Foodland yesterday. Hated spending the money (on TP!) but now I feel we are stocked up for at least a year +! Figured it was a good deal to buy the 2 and get 800 Scene points. And now I don't have to buy any TP for a long while.


Have a nice weekend!

[Frugalbigmama]

@harbie - Sending good vibes to you and yours. Sounds like your parents are in good hands.

[harbie]

Thanks everyone .
@SassyAshley I see the website for soupercubes has 1/2 cup ones but unfortunately they don’t ship to Canada. I wish my local dealer had more options. It was less expensive to purchase there than on Amazon but they only had 2 sizes. I’m keeping my eyes peeled at Costco for sure! Thanks for the heads up.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
A much needed work from home day today. Lots to get done and I will try my best, I know I won't get it ALL done today but we will see how far I can get.

My schedule has changed again, my trainee for next week has been cancelled, so now I am reaching out to other staff to see if I can move things around to accommodate the other new hire.

Since it is a work from home day, I decided to wash the bedding today. Mine is going now. Will see if Mom wants her washed once she gets up.

Well I was waiting for a report to load this morning, I was thinking about my meal plan and thought, "Oh, I can make broccoli cheddar soup one night," then I remember I don't have carrots, so I may need to run out for those today. The idea of broccoli cheddar soup with a nice homemade loaf of bread sounds really good.

I also have a few things we need to use up so will see how I can work those into the meal plan. Although mentally I have been feeling better, dinner has been an issue this week as I keep finding myself overthinking everything. Even last night I made pasta but was thinking, should I made pasta because we have that zucchini and I plan to make Zucchini rolls ups, should I make pasta? That has been my week, but we will go into next week with a plan.

Happy Friday Everyone.

[Frugalbigmama]

My office is clean . I even hand washed the floor! There is one shelf that I will be able to clean off more but need to wait till next week so that the recycling bin is empty so I can fill it I kept one rubbermaid bin in here with clean clothes that DS needs to go through and tell me if I can donate it all or if he wants any of it. Keeping it in my way so we have to deal with it ASAP.

So happy to have that done! It looks beautiful lol

[walkonby]

Everyone sounds very productive today! Good on all of you! I am in relax mode now.
I did a very quick in and out to grab supplements, some produce and items for the guys.
Two times I had picked up an item at NF, then noticed " product of USA " and immediately
put them back.
I can live without strawberries and honey dew melon.
It's a bleak, rainy day here too.....and chilly!