2026-05 May Frugal Thread

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy Thursday!

Since it was a rainy day yesterday decided to get a free hotel room so we didn't have to drive back in the dark/rain.
Finally tried the new steakhouse and sadly I can't give good reviews. Nothing stood out. Steak- blah. Asparagus-blah. Mac and Cheese (I had a little taste) Nothing great- no wow flavour. Would have preferred the pub but you couldn't make a reservation so their was a line up to wait.
I'm sure DS will eat the leftovers. (you have to order sides as the steak comes on its own)

Now to decide where to fill up on the way home!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Time for a Deep Breathe LOL.

Yesterday I was in head office for a bunch of meetings. I finished my meetings great, I have time to run to Costco, grab what we need and get home before my last meeting. Went to ask Bro a question, he wasn't in but sis-in-law was there so we ended up chatting as yesterday she was officially 20 days out from Baby coming. By the time we finish chatting, I still had time to run to Costco but it needed to be quick. I was in and out in 15 minutes.

The one item I really wanted, glass containers were already sold out which was really the only reason I went in yesterday as everything else could have waited for next week but oh well.

Then on the way home Mom called to say we have no water, they turned if off hopefully it should be back on 2 to 3 hours. Good news was there was enough water in the kettle to make her tea (I had tea at work) and we had the jug of water we keep in the living room so Mom doesn't have to go to the kitchen to refill her bottle as there was no notice.

We got an email saying sorry for the late notice but we are shutting the water off. I get things happen but the thing that got to me was, I was expecting a leak a broken pipe. Nope it was planned maintenance but the people doing it just showed up and said we can do it now. A little bit of notice would have been nice so people could prepare.

It wasn't 2 to 3 hours it was 5 and 1/2 hours so I ended up going out to pick up dinner as we had no water, no plan and nothing defrosted and I use the cold water method to defrost as I hate defrosting meat in the microwave. When I went out to grab dinner I heard one of them on the phone saying the parts aren't in the box and it is leaking so I knew that wasn't a good sign.

Water came back on around 7:30, I was able to clean up after dinner and make Mom's nightly tea.

I got up early this morning to a knock a few things out so I could run out when the stores open to grab Ground Beef, good thing I did the woman in front of me bought every pack except the 3 I grabbed and one in the back. I didn't count but she had over 10 packs. When I was grabbed mushrooms I heard and saw the cashier page the meat department and they let her check out with them all.

I was thorn between 2 or 3 packs but went with 3. Figured I could turn one into Taco Meat, Cook one pack (love me a good Big Salad in the Summer) and turn one into Homemade Burger.

I picked up 3 x Ground Beef, 2 x Mushrooms, 1 x Kiwi.
I bought some Croissants at Costco (they are part of the executive coupons this week) I am going to make Chocolate Croissant (Think Croissant Filled with Chocolate and Dipped in a French Toast batter) and I am hoping to make a fruit salad to go with them so I was use the Kiwi in the Salad.

I also ran into No Frills and grabbed 1 x Milk, 2 x Drumsticks and 1 x Liquid Smoke
Drumstick are on sale plus have a points offer and the liquid smoke we just needed, we use it in our homemade BBQ Sauce.

When I pulled back in, I saw the plumbing truck is back so I ran around prepping incase we lose water again. I filled the kettle, all 3 water jugs and the bathtub. So far we still have water but I see them setting up all their equipment again so we shall see.

Happy Thursday Everyone

[Frugalbigmama]

@sassy Ashley- I grabbed one of the ground beef from the store out of town in case mine was sold out. Homemade burgers feel like a luxury now!
Gotta have a burger on the BBQ for the long weekend!

[coupon girl]

Afternoon i just got back from my heart test ,stopped at Under Armour outlet and got hubby a nice dress shirt with buttons 26.99 after 65% off.
Everyone out and about today had winter coats on i refused so i had my fleece black marks workwarehouse fall jacket on ,cant wait for the warm weather.

[Frugalbigmama]

@coupon girl- Yes it is freezing out!

I had to pop to the bank to make a deposit so stopped at the town and put my monthly payment on my Water & Sewer bill in cash.
Then went to the bank and the No Frills. Found bag of apples for $4.99 (the ones I bought last week were $7.99) with a 50% sticker on them. A few bruises but I will cut around them- perfect for topping my oatmeal! A deal for $2.50 when they are selling for $2.99LB.
Laughing cow cheese is $2.50 so great deal with the $2 coupon. Grabbed 3 of the herb and garlic- Need to ask DS if he wants to try the dill pickle one. I plan on stocking the fridge at that price!

Can't wait to get cozy and watch a movie....It feels like a chilly Fall day!

[SassyAshley]

It is chilly outside but I also refuse to wear my winter coat so just a thicker top for me. Although I swear it was warmer when I went to the store vs an hour ago when I took some garbage out.

But when I was the store I saw a woman wearing her parka.

Hard to believe it is this chilly now and I believe Saturday is supposed to be 24.

[Frugalbigmama]

I officially start vacation tomorrow afternoon ( we always closed work down early on the Friday of a long weekend)

Still had reports to send off and for the life of me I couldn't balance something. I'm sure others are like me and have to step away from the numbers and look at it fresh.....I was thinking that was tomorrow morning but I just gave it one more look and figured it out!!! One of the reports was dated April 02------ So was missing April 01 numbers! Mystery solved and reports sent off! So happy I don't have to look at that in the morning and can tidy my desk and finish off my little pile

[Frugalbigmama]

It is chilly outside but I also refuse to wear my winter coat so just a thicker top for me. Although I swear it was warmer when I went to the store vs an hour ago when I took some garbage out.

But when I was the store I saw a woman wearing her parka.

Hard to believe it is this chilly now and I believe Saturday is supposed to be 24.

Oh that is good news SassyAshley! I am scared to look at the weather app for the next while so have been avoiding it so I wasn't disappointed!

[lilo0003]

Can you believe that yet again I need to do a missing point request with scene. Its the 3rd week in a row and it’s always my personal offers.
I debated taking advantage of the shout offer at superstore but decided it lasts forever and I had a personal offer so I earned 8700 PCO and then 6.00 from checkout 51. I bought 4 bottles at 4.99 each because I did not want to risk it being rounded down.
I also decided to give Flashfood another chance. Produce box was meh but the bread prices were superb. I bought garlic bread for 70 cents and hamburger and hot dog buns for 65 cents. All will go into the freezer.

[HermanH]

Salvaged 6x sandwiches and 4x danish from my Shell station.

[walkonby]

I had THE best frugal ( and quite pathetic ) experience today at the Hospital. My consultation interview
was at 9:45 a.m. After all was finished the head Dr. asked if I would like to start the first treatment today?
Well I was there, so why not?
Issue was I had only brought my health Card and $5.00 bill with me. They had said I needed to go eat ( I ate
nada before coming in ) . The reason is they need my blood sugar # to be on the higher side as the treatment
tends to lower the blood sugar.

Trouble is what could I find to eat for $5.00? Scouring the shelves of SDM I found a box with a 50% sticker on it of these!!
OOP just $1.40 .



That left me $3.60 A savior was found at the Subway Sandwich place! He listened to my predicament and made me a delicious
hearty sandwich ( lean turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo ) and accepted the $3.60 as payment. It was a full size sammy too!
After treatment I went home feeling so grateful to have run into that understanding, compassionate person.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning! We have sunshine

Pretty sure it will be a very quiet work day....it always is the Friday before a long weekend. Which is great for me to finish up the few things and then be available to check email if anything comes up.

Hope to tackle most of my list this morning!
Clean office. Move portable table out (it is just collecting things) and move shelf against wall for selling stuff. Bin of clothing DS has ignored is gone...I guess he isn't missing anything so will donate it later today.
In the kitchen- Clean out the fridge. Make burger patties. Make fried rice. Make banana oat muffins.
Wash the dishes. Put away clean laundry.

After work I would like to give my vehicle a good clean. Wipe everything down inside. Scrub headlights. Vacuum. Wash.

Dinner- We should really have chicken tonight since we have been eating so much red meat this week (steak 2 nights in a row!) The burgers may just be an easy meal but hopefully we can save for tomorrow night.

Ok off to get things done! Have a wonderful and safe long weekend everyone!

[Frugalbigmama]

Very productive morning! Just had my breakfast (Oatmeal topped with almonds/apples and 2 large scoops of Greek yogurt.

I didn't want to go to the stores today but now I decided I want a salad kit to go with dinner. Looks like best deal is PC brand at $4.99 and receive 1500 PC pts back...so that is the plan.

I also see exterior paint is on this week at Rona. Seeing who I can rally and get the painting done hopefully this weekend? 2 doors/ frame and garage
I painted our front door last Fall but hate the colour (and the paint from Home Hardware) so it wasn't finished.

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
I took today off work.

I decided to go out and just wander, I never go out and just wander any or window shop anymore I always god because we need something and with a list (not saying I don't pick up other things but there is always a plan).

Of course I was wide awake at 5 am this morning so I had my tea and breakfast and then headed out to a WalMart I don't usually shop at and since they open at 7 am. I found new toothbrushes, we were using the Arm & Hammer Spin Brush ones but we cannot get the replacement heads anymore (they used to be $10 or $12 for a 2-pack now they are on amazon for $90+, we tried buying an off brand but they didn't work). Mom needed Acetone for her craft glue (no idea, I just buy the stuff), we needed Blistex and I found a Glass Dish for our Butter for $2.97. I also found new PJs, Winter ones on Clearance for $10 and Summer ones for $12.

I was going to go to Dollarama but the one by WalMart but they didn't open till 9 am (our where I live open at 8 am), Home Scene was also closed so I went into Farm Boy, I have never been to a Farm Boy, I was expecting it to be expensive but honestly I was underwhelmed. Everyone said what cool stuff you will find, I didn't find anything that impressive. I did get some Grapes and Carrots on clearance for $3 each.

Next I went to Canadian Tire to look for a new cutting board, I don't want plastic but I am not sold on wood, haven't found one I like but did find new Oven Mitts, one of ours has a hole and the other got a little toasty when I was taking a pan out of the oven last night, they were $4.99 which I thought was a good price.

Then over to Sobeys to grab Lemon and Limes they were on sale 4/$4 plus 100 points when you buy 4.

Then over to Kitchen Stuff plus to return my leaking Mug. All I ended up getting was my replacement mugs and some new Microfibre cloths. Nothing else really jumped out that I was willing to pay that price or that we needed.

Lastly to the Business Centre, it is so weird to pull up to a Costco and just be able to park not have to look for a spot. I went in just to wander go aisle by aisle and see what they had. Found a lot I would like to buy but just got Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels, Sandwich Meat, Chicken Breast there three were on sale as well I grabbed some sucker bags to try, bacon bits and peppers.

I found a mini fridge I am considering for the living room, since Mom can't really carry anything from the kitchen to the living room when I am not around she relies on shelf stable things that can live in the living room. I am thinking the mini fridge would give her move options, plus extra Fridge space is never bad.

Also found a garbage can I might for back for, our is horribly rusted.

As well I found some packaging things I might pick up for gifts or when I take baked goods in.

Lastly I found a few items regular Costco doesn't stock like Dempster Bagels, Sundried Tomatoes, Tortilla I will pick up when we need them.

Came home, had lunch put everything away and took it easy until it was time to make dinner. I made a Chicken Ramen Stir Fry which I used to clean out the fridge. I used Carrots, Celery, Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Broccoli. I also tried cooking the Ramen in the pan making it a one-pot meal, I will make again.

Kitchen is clean and now it is time to relax. Watching Deadpool.

Happy Friday Everyone.

[walkonby]

Good Evening Everyone,
I took today off work. Decided to go out and just wander. Headed out to a WalMart I don't usually shop at and since they open at 7 am. Went into Farm Boy, I was underwhelmed.
Not that impressive. I did get some Grapes and Carrots on clearance for $3 each. Next to Canadian Tire I did find new Oven Mitts.
Sobeys to grab Lemon and Limes they were on sale 4/$4 plus 100 points when you buy 4. To Kitchen Stuff plus, got replacement mugs and some new Microfibre cloths.
At Costco was able to park, not have to look for a spot. Wandered aisle by aisle, just got Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels, Sandwich Meat, Chicken Breast.
Considering a mini fridge for the living room for Mom. More options and extra Fridge space is never bad. Found a garbage can I might for back for, our is horribly rusted,
as well as some packaging things I might pick up for gifts or when I take baked goods in.
Came home, had lunch put everything away and took it easy until it was time to make dinner, a Chicken Ramen Stir Fry which I used to clean out the fridge. Used Carrots,
Celery, Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Broccoli. I also tried cooking the Ramen in the pan making it a one-pot meal, I will make again.
Kitchen is clean and now it is time to relax. Watching Deadpool.

Happy Friday Everyone.

BEST Retail Therapy Day ever @SassyAshley !! You really benefited from taking a day off work. I see it as a necessary thing to do.


Sorry I condensed the highlights of all of your adventures BUT they were quite impressive as you avoided the obvious traps of wants
over needs and exposing sale prices that aren't really a sale....lol.