This is what I bought and why..........

Do you ever wonder why people buy what they have in their grocery carts when you're in the grocery store?  I do, so I thought I'd do a post of what I bought and why when I popped into Zehrs yesterday morning.

When shopping at Zehrs we get points and they are called PC Optimum points.  Those points you can use to pay your groceries among many things.  My goal when going to the store was the pick up the frozen fruit and the crackers, but then I got a deal emailed to me and I could earn another 3,000 points by spending $30.  With the price of groceries I knew that wasn't going to be difficult.  I have lost my receipt but ended up spending just under $32 and earned I think 4,200 points which is worth $4.20.  Below is what I bought (all prices in Canadian Dollars):

 I bought the potatoes as I find it super simple to give either a baked potato or potato wedges to dh with the salad and main we have on a night.  They were on sale for $2.99 for 10lbs.  The Ranch flavoured croutons were $2.79, I like a handful of those on top of my salad sometimes.  The rice krispie squares were on clearance for under $1 per packet and thought I could add one to dh's lunch everyday for a change.  I generally make one quiche per week, and prefer to use a pre made pie shell.  This package of two was $2.99.  The ground turkey in the photo above was on for $3.00  with the 50% off and the Greek flavoured pork loin was on for $4.50 with the 50% off.  Both went into the freezer for future meals.  We eat very little meat, but I thought the pork loin would go well with salad and potatoes and the turkey would make a veggie shepherd's pie with a root vegetable mash on top of it.

 These are the items I wanted in the first place.  I got four packages of rice crackers at $1 per package and the large package of frozen blueberries for $9.99.  I will say I wanted the mixed fruit blend as I like that the best, but there wasn't any.  I like the no name brand the best for frozen fruit and they are normally $11.99 a package, so saved a couple of dollars there.  I use it on my overnight oats.

Everyday for lunch I have half a package of rice crackers, with the small tub of hummus.  I buy the hummus at Wal-Mart and you get 12 small packages for $6.  Dh also takes half a package of crackers and hummus for part of his lunch as well.  I have worked out the difference of buying regular containers of hummus and the smaller ones, and this is a better deal.  I am not a fan of making my own hummus, it never tastes as good.

While I was checking out, I saw another lady buy some Christmas bags and they were only 54 cents each.  That is a good price, so I decided to go and pick some up.  I bought three of the large bear bags and one large llama bag (there were no more larger bags left).

 I bought a 12 pack of Christmas crackers for $4.14 and two each of the medium bags.

All in all 12 git bags and the box of Christmas crackers came to exactly $12.  Very happy with that deal.  I am now sorted for wrapping paper, gift bags and Christmas cards for next year.

So there you are, why I bought what I did!

Last day of November already and a good deal.......

I can't be the only one who thinks this year has just flown by, am I?  Not sure if it's because I am getting older but I am finding time just flying by.  One minute it's the beginning of 2009, now we are on the countdown to 2010.


As most of you know we adopted Molly from the Toronto Humane Society back in August.  Unfortunately the Toronto Humane Society has been in the news this past couple of weeks, and not for the right reasons.  Please read this story (warning if you click on the photos on that page they are very graphic) and this one to let me know what you think.  Thankfully for what we can gather Molly was only in there for a few days.  It breaks your heart though knowing that some of these animals have been suffering.


I had a couple of good shopping days this weekend, as Shopper's Drug Mart was having a bonus redemption weekend.  I cashed in my points and was able to get $500 worth of product free. All I did was pay the taxes which came to less than $65.  So I was able to get some more Christmas presents, and stock up on a few items.  I now have only 8,500 points left, so I will continue to built those up over the next few months.  I think I have got either $700 or $900 worth of free stuff from Shopper's Drug Mart points this year!!


Now for the good deal, there is a coupon for $5 off no minimum purchase from Chapters from November 29th to December 1st, see here  I have to go out on Monday reasonably close to a Chapters, so I will be stocking up on a number of items.  By the way on that page there is a photo of a throw they are selling.   I bought one of those on the weekend for us, and it is just gorgeous and so soft, and well worth the money.


I finally have my appointment at the Allergists on Monday afternoon, so it will be interesting to see what he has to say.

Happy New Year, should I die quietly or go out with a bang.......

I am sick, I have a terrible cold. Its one of those colds where you have to sit with your mouth open as you can't breathe through your nose............you know the one where you wake up in a morning and your throat and mouth feel like sandpaper, that sort of cold. Now I am beginning to look like Rudolph as I have to keep blowing my nose, and it is so red and sore. Oh and as I can't breathe thorough my nose, dh is telling me I am snoring like mad in bed.....personally I think he is exagerating, me snore, I don't think so!!!

So a Happy New Year to you all. We had a quiet New Years Eve, as I am sick. We normally go out for a meal, but I am just not up to that. This cold has really thrown me for a loop, I am so tired. So I said to dh we would wait until I was feeling better. Of course I was in bed early as I am so tired, but that's no change, as I can't remember when we did see the New Year in.

I have to say 2008 wasn't a bad year, it was full of ups and downs, but overall it wasn't bad. Lets hope 2009 is a happy, healthy and positive year for all of us.

Also don't forget to put your first 25 cents into your savings pot, if you are particpating in the Daily Savings Club.

Plans for 2009...........

I class myself as one of those organized people, who plans ahead. And one of those things I do is make plans for what we are going to do in the year ahead. However this year I have drawn a blank, and I have no idea why?

It maybe have something to do with the fact we may put the house up for sale in the Spring. We took it off the market at the beginning of December, as things were pretty dead. We may start looking again in February.

I normally have a plan of action of what jobs need to be done around the house for the coming year. This year nothing?

A couple of things I need to do this coming year is loose some weight, mind you I say that every year and basically get no where with it.

Save money, that's an on going thing. I would like to keep our grocery budget down to $300 a month. I shouldn't be buying groceries for the rest of this month, and my totals for 2008, are an average of $321.39 spent on groceries per month, and an average of $196.24 savings per month. All which is better than I hoped for. I set myself a goal of $350 per month on groceries and $150 per month in savings back at the beginning of the year.

Other than that, I have nothing else planned. I would like to put at least another couple of months money into our emergency savings account.

I suppose until we decide whether or not we are going to move things will be up in the air for a while.

Have you got anything planned for 2009?