Food prices forecast to increase in 2026, with meat leading the way

A video well worth watching.

Luckily for us, we don't eat meat every day.  Gone are the days when it was meat and two veg every night for our supper.

I swear it's one thing after another with everything increasing in price.

Have you changed your diet due to the increase in food prices?

Costco trip and a couple of deals........

 Went to Costco on Friday.  I haven't been in a couple of weeks, so had to get/spend more than I normally would.

The bill included a pack of 4 golf gloves for hubby, which do have to go back, so that would put my total at around $100 for the groceries.

The pack of muffins are a super buy at 2 packs for $10.99  The muffins are that big that I have to cut them in half.

I wrap them in cling wrap and freeze them, so we get 24 for the price of 12 and they are really nice.

Popped into Walmart and they had this bag of leeks on clearance.

I find leeks expensive over here, so rarely buy them.  After I cleaned them up, I had this lot left.  Popped them in my Tupperware Fridgesmart container and will use them up later in the week.  By the way The Fridgesmart sets are on sale at Tupperware at the moment.  I love mine.

Also saw this big bag of bananas on clearance.

I was surprised how good they were when I got them all out of the bag.

Good thing we like bananas!!

Did you get any good deals this week?

Always love a good deal.........

If you're in Canada and have a Sobey's grocery store nearby here is a great deal.  If you buy 5 Kraft products you can get $10 off in a Sobey's store.

This week Sobey's has Classico pasta sauce on for $3.27 each.  However when you buy 5 you will get the $10 off making them $1.27 each.  I find this pasta sauce very tasty and not as watery as some.  I will say we don't eat a lot of pasta. but wanted to try a variety of sauces.

I went shopping at Walmart on Friday and got a "top up shop," meaning, it's only a few things.  Funny thing looking at this lot, you know I must have the grandkids coming, with all the snacks.   My grandkids are always starving!!😂  They seem to have bottomless pits as stomachs!!  Or they know that Nana always has plenty of snacks on hand!!

That little lot cost me $60.

Did you get any good deals while grocery shopping this week.

All it cost out of pocket was $1.93

Like everyone I love a good deal  Puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day.  On Friday I popped to our local Zehrs grocery store.  I find grocery shopping a chore, as every week the prices just increase.  I had a deal where if I spent $75 I got back 7,500 points which is worth $7.50.  I thought I would take a look at the store and see if I could find some deals.  I struck the mother load of deals in my humble opinion!!

I ended up spending $81.93, but after I cashed in $80 worth of points, I paid $1.93 out of pocket.  There was a pile of meat reduced.  Got a chicken pot pie 50% off and some English muffins and hot dog buns also 50% off

I got 1,800 points when I spent a certain amount on margarine, so stocked up on Becel, which was on sale.

Eggs were on sale for $2.99 per dozen, best price I have seen in a while.

I like to have a couple of cans of tomato and mushroom soup in the pantry to add into recipes.  Had no rice, so bought a package which will last us a few months.

I ended up cashing in 80k in points, but received 10,100 points from shopping today.

Everything I bought was things we needed.

I ended up with 5 meals of sausages, 2 meals worth of ground beef.  One meal of chicken and two meals with the chicken pot pie.

Zehrs is an expensive store normally, but I did super good this shopping trip.  We'll be eating the chicken pie over the weekend, with salad and potato salad that needs using up.

Do you enjoy grocery shopping?

All out of sorts

Prior to me getting sick I had quite a routine going.  I knew what I was doing and when I was doing it.  These past couple of weeks my routine has been blown to bits.  Only now am I starting to get back to normal.

I am writing this on Thursday night for publication on Friday morning.  Today was the first time I have "made" a proper evening meal; cabbage roll casserole. I am making that as I had cabbage that needed using up.  For the past couple of weeks we have been eating, sandwiches, soup, bagels, things that are super simple, as hubby cannot cook. I have got lots of veggies to use up from this month's produce box. 

I need to get caught up with grocery shopping, as I have only been doing the very basics.  

In fact for the last two weeks, everything has been the bare basics.

I have started a new cross stitch project and will give you a little peek into it over the weekend.

I now need to get back into the routine of cleaning as well....BOO!!!!

Do you have a routine you like sticking too?

Teaspoon Fairy

Will get to the teaspoon fairy in a minute.

Been busy with trying to get the outside all "put too bed," for the winter this week.  Have to say I am nearly there.  The one major thing that still needs to be done is all the leaves raked up.  There is only one problem though, due to the weather being unseasonably warm, the leaves are still on the tree!

We finally got a little bit of frost on the ground the other morning, so they are starting to drop.  Had the sprinkler guys round yesterday for 20 minutes to blow out the sprinklers.  $113 later, but hubby's compressor isn't really big enough to blow them out in one fell swoop.  Also paid for next years feed and weed lawn service, $350 later.  They are supposed to be coming round with a Fall fertilizer application that I got for free when I pay up front for the next year.  Also got 10% discount for paying before the end of October.  Every little helps.

Now for the teaspoon fairy.  I was talking to my mother the other day and she had just come in from grocery shopping.  I was telling her I had just popped to the store to pick a couple of things up and had spent $40 and had only one bag of shopping to show for it.  Though one of the things I had bought were some teaspoons.  It turns out I am not the only one who has the teaspoon fairy visit their house and take a few teaspoons with her when she leaves.  My mother has the same one visit her.  

Teaspoons seem to disappear in a poof of smoke around here.  My mother was agreeing as she has the same problem.  When I was looking for an image to add to this post I came across this book:

I would have bought this book, but it's in Spanish and only on Kindle over at Amazon.  I neither understand Spanish, nor have a Kindle.  

Do you have a teaspoon fairy visit your house?  Or is it a knife, fork or other utensil fairy?

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!

Update on July goals, as it's the middle of the month.

1. Paint ceilings and walls in basement.  Biggish job, but doable.  I hope to get a good start on the trim, but that all depends on dh, as it's all to put up.  All the ceilings are painted.  Two of the rooms walls are painted and as soon as I feel better the rest will be done.
2. Knit 31 Hexagons for my beekeeper's quilt.  That's one per day and doable. NOT HAPPENING :0(
3. Reduce spending - NOT HAPPENING :0(
4. Have no MacDonald's coffee or muffins Monday through Friday.  It's getting an annoying habit popping out to WalMart to grab a coffee and muffin at MacDonald's.  We do have a gift card for there, so will use that if we go on a weekend. FAIL
5. Don't eat out more than twice this month.  To be fair, we don't actually eat out much at all.  We had our wedding anniversary last month and used a gift card we got at Christmas.  We still have one other gift card to use, but I was saving it for dh's birthday in September. FAIL
6. Try and keep a handle on the grocery spending......with the rising prices easier said that done. So far so good
7. NO buying magazines other than Pretty Patches at the end of the month......this is a hard one for me! So far so good.
8. No shopping online........even harder!! Fail, Land's End had a good sale...oops!

Bit of a mixed bag with a few fails it seems.  HOWEVER; we have finished purchasing all the light fixtures for the basement.  We have picked up the majority of the doors for the basement; which dh sourced and saved us a lot of money on them and on the trim when we pick that up.  I do see me getting all the walls painted and hopefully if dh has time to put them up, the doors as well.  That will leave only the rest of the trim.  Dh is coming up to a busy time of year work wise for him.

The Land's End online shopping is for a wedding we are going too in the new year.

We have ordered pizza a couple of times over the past two weeks.  It costs $11.50 with tax and we pick it up.  With me being sick and it being so hot it was something quick and easy.

How are you doing with your July goals?

So what's new?

Well our son and partner got engaged on the weekend in Boston.  He took her to see the Toronto Blue Jays play the Boston Red Soxs at Fenway Park as she is baseball mad.  She said yes and as they already live together it won't be a long engagement, and I think they will be getting married early 2017.  Her ring is gorgeous, a real "bobby dazzler."  If you haven't heard of that term before click on this link for an explanation.  Thankfully our daughter "helped" guide our son in the right direction regarding the right ring, as he likes the "bigger the better look," and our future daughter-in-law has very small hands.  The ring he got is perfect though.

Still waiting to see our new grand daughter; as she is still inside of her mother's tummy.  Dd doctor took ill and so her C-section was postponed until next week; as long as she doesn't go into labour in between hands.  She is now 39 weeks.  Pain in the butt for everyone as everything was planned out.  However as long as mum and baby are okay that's the main thing.  So we should have a baby this next week now.

Due to all that phaffing about didn't get much of anything done this week.......

Little shocked to see my foot this morning:

I curled my toes over for the photo so you weren't exposed to my nasty toe nails!!  It's still quite bruised and it's been a week and a half now.

Finally, you know how you win some, you lose some?  Well this week we got our next property tax bill in the mail.  Seems it has gone down; yes I said DOWN, by $2 a month!!! 

Then we got our year end report from the Condo board and our condo fees have gone up by $40 a month!  Personally that is a bit much and they have forecast that next year (July 2017) it will be up by another $55 a month.  By then it will have gone up $125 a month since we moved in in 2014.  We will have been in the house two years next week.  After that last increase it will then be only going up a couple of percent per year.  They need to get the reserve fund up to a certain point in a certain amount of time as per law.  I am not impressed!

Off now to try and get as many groceries as possible for as little money as possible.......getting to be a harder and harder challenge nowadays though.

I wonder who came up with this idea?

I guess it's one way of relaxing you if you have trouble going - just sniff the toilet paper.  I bought some as it was the same price and size of the regular toilet paper.

I went grocery shopping on Friday and spent $85.20, with savings of $10.00.  A couple of good deals for me were mushrooms at 99 cents per half pound container.  Remember when buying mushrooms, to transfer them into brown paper bags, as they keep longer.  I get mine at the dollar store.  I have started buying a little more at a Canadian store called Giant Tiger.  They always have one of two good deals on.  This week jam was on sale for $2 for a 500 ml jar, which is a fantastic price.  Also  got half and half for under $2.  Click on this link to see what half and half is...LOL

I saw this link on Facebook and thought it was really neat.  Dd made Our Little Munchkin a similar mobile for her bedroom.

Now I'm off to the bathroom to sniff some toilet paper!!

Haven't done a grocery shopping post in ages...

so took photos etc., of this week's for you.

First up Zehrs:

4 litres 1% milk: $3.97
3 x 2 litres icecream @ 99 cents each, a one day special
2 x Astro yogurt @ $1.99 each
Huge bag of frozen peas (can't remember size) $4.49

Total: $15.41

Then onto Giant Tiger:

2 x Parchment Paper @ $1.98 each
3 x 72 bags PG Tips Tea @ $2.00 each (SUPER PRICE!!)

Total after taxes etc: $10.45

Sobey's next:

Cereal: $3.00
Just over 2 pounds ground/minced beef:  $8.18
2 cauliflowers and 1 bunch broccoli 3 for $5.00 (actually charged $5.01) ANOTHER GREAT DEAL

Total: $16.19

Finally Wal-Mart

Highliner Salmon: $7.97 (price matched with No Frills)

1 lb Strawberries: $1.47 (price matched with No Frills)

Package coleslaw mix: $1.47

Bunch green/salad onions: 67 cents

1 x potato chips (crisps): 97 cents

1 x loaf bread: $2.28

1 x wholewheat baguette: $1.17

Total including 13 cents tax on potato chips: $16.13

Total spent: $58.20

As Canada does not have pennies in their currency we round up or down, so that's why when you add the four totals up it comes to $58.18, but I ended up paying $58.20.

So far this month I have spent $186.60, with only $3.25 in coupons used.  I don't count price matching as then it gets too complicated and too much work for me!!

As you can see there are no cleaning, paper or personal hygiene items in this week's shop.  I will probably pick up a couple of other items through the week, for example eggs, but otherwise that should be it.

I did discover a couple of things while out.  As the price of beef is high I see they have brought out a ground beef/pork mixture now.  Still pricey if you ask me.  Some bags of milk come in 3 litre bags instead of the 4 litre; very sneaky!!  I see big bars of cheese that used to be 500 grams is now down to 450 grams.

I was out an hour and a half in total.  I did a round trip visiting all those stores.  I could have tried price matching everything at Wal-Mart but I find they pull items off the shelves that are on sale at other stores at much cheaper prices.

I had a bunch of broccoli left over from last week, so I baked a broccoli and cheese quiche in the toaster oven.  We had half of it with garden salad and french bread for supper:

I was talking to a friend and she told me about a yummy sounding broccoli and cauliflower salad that I may have to try.

Any good deals this week where you live?

Oh and I finally got around to cleaning out my coupon wallet, I really need to knuckle down using coupons.

Anonymous said:

"You felt uncomfortable. Just be glad you weren't the one in pain. Pain makes people snappy. Sometimes you can't control even if you try. I'm sure she would have loved to have gone home I'm sure but probably couldn't afford to. It is not your place to tell her what to do. You said she tried to make small talk - perhaps in an effort to make amends- but you weren't interested. How rude are you? Everybody is having a hard time these days. Its only the grocery queue for heaven's sake. Not sure how life is in Canada these days but if that's all you've got to be upset about then I think I might join you and emigrate ;-)."

You are totally right, if that is all I have to complain about I should shut up.  You are right pain does make people snappy and I totally understand back pain being in pain with my back also for the last 10+ years.  You are right she probably couldn't afford to take a day off and maybe I shouldn't have told her she should go home.

BUT, saying that, all I asked her to do was turn a switch on her belt to move it so I could get the rest of my grocery shopping on it, so that if a customer came behind me, they too could get their groceries on it.  I wasn't asking for the earth, moon and stars.  All I wanted her to do was use a finger to press a switch.  I didn't deserve her reaction.

Also when she tried to make small talk, I did answer granted one word answers, but I did answer.  I didn't want to set her off again.

Could I have handled the situation better probably, but I didn't start this and I didn't think I was being totally unreasonable with my initial request.

I love how people post these critical comments under the ANONYMOUS banner and never put their names!

Anyhow, onwards and upwards onto better and more important things in life.  I have a dentist appointment to look forward to this morning....YEAH!!

I was not happy......

Let me explain.

On Sunday morning I went to do my grocery shopping early to miss the crowds.  It was 9 am when I got to the check out.  In front of me were two guys each had a grocery cart full of bottled water; so there was nothing on the belt where you put your groceries.

I started to unpack my groceries, but quickly filled the end up, so I asked the cashier if she could please make the belt move so I could unpack the rest of the groceries.  Not unreasonable, right?

Her response was something along these lines:

"I was going to do it after I finished serving this man (the man in front of me)."  Remember he wasn't using the belt as he had cases of bottled water.

She said it in such a way that both the man in front of me and myself looked at one another and raised our eyebrows.

I wondered what on earth I had done/said as she was really snarky.  So I said, "I am sorry I didn't mean to offend you."

She then turned around and said she had a bad back and had been on "duty" 42 hours (?)

Now I should have left well enough alone, but I said, "I know how it feels as I have a bad back myself, you should go home then?"

Well that set her off again.  By this time the other guy had gone and it was just me.  I was so uncomfortable and was in two minds about unpacking anymore of my groceries on the belt, as it was only at this point she moved the belt up so I could put more of my groceries on it.

Then just to add to it all not only did I have coupons I was price matching.  I am one of these shoppers where I am organized.  I always put everything I am price matching along with the competitors flyer on the belt first.  Quite often I will circle what I am price matching and highlight the date etc; I hadn't this time.  It makes the cashiers job easier and I get out of the store faster.

So the first things up are the price matching items, all from one store and all on the same page of the flyer.  There was a sigh of course from her, and she proceeded to put through the tea, tin foil and cling film.  I had a coupon for the cling film/wrap that I handed over, and again with a sign she processed it.  There were two tubs of yogurt I was price matching  from the same flyer, but she decided that no she would process them later as she wanted to put something that wasn't cold in the bag with the other items?  

At this point I just shut up and let her get on with it, other than giving the other coupons.  She tried to make small talk, but I was so past this whole shopping trip I wanted to get the heck out.  However I didn't want to let her get away with how she had made me feel, as I was shaking.

So I paid for my groceries and walked over to another employee and asked her who was the supervisor in a quiet voice.  She told me she would get her for me, but unbeknownst to me, there was the unhappy cashier right behind me.

She said," are you complaining about me?"

I said yes and she then went on and on, she did say sorry, but believe me she did not mean it.  By then the supervisor walked up, and the cashier intercepted her and told her I was complaining about her, and went onto her about me.

I turned around at this point and said,

"Listen sweetie if your back is that bad you should go home."  As that was what she was griping about.

I talked to the supervisor and told her what had gone on, and the gist of it was she had, had complaints about this woman before???  She would talk to her.  My parting words to her was:

"She needs to go home if she is in that much pain."

I would not be a cashier if you paid me a million dollars.  In this country they are on their feet for the whole shift, they are not allowed to sit down, like they do in Britain.  They deal with some horrible people and are paid probably minimum wage.  That being said, if you have a problem whether it be physical, mental or what ever  don't take it out on the customers.  

I am not sure if the store opened at 7 or 8 am.  If she was already in a lot of pain by 9 am imagine what she was going to be like by the end of the shift.  She said her back pain made her grumpy; again yes I know as I have a bad back.

She was older than me and there are a few other older ladies that work there and they always seem to be there, as one of them told me the other week:

"the younger ones party on a weekend then call in sick or just don't turn up, so it's up to them to cover for them!"

She also said: "the managers know what they are up to as they go on Facebook to see what they have been up too."

Suffice to say, I will not stop shopping at this grocery store as it's the closest to where we live and has the best prices.  I will just avoid this woman.  I just hope this supervisor did do something.

What are your thoughts?

If you're in Ontario you may have seen this ad on tv.........

I think that is such a funny advert, don't you?

I seem to have good expensive taste.  I really, really like this light fixture:

I need three though for my front hall, they are from here.  The price over $500 each.  Not sure what I will do about it.  I will have to think on this for a while.

Did my grocery shopping on Friday and ended up spending $91.10 with savings/coupons of $8.50.  I have updated my grocery total in the left hand column.   My best deal of the week is this packet of Bombay Mix.

I bought twelve packages in total and paid 25 cents per package and that included taxes.  What a deal.  Dh likes them and they have an expiry date in 2016; I doubt they will last that long though.

Knitting update:  Got around 9 rows knitted and discovered I had picked up an extra stitch.  So pulled a couple of rows out and then got totally confused.  So pulled the whole lot out and then cast on again {{SIGH}}  However this is a learning period and the more I do it the more I will learn.  So all is not lost.

Groceries and Swagbucks......

Another not too bad week for my grocery shopping, below is what I got:

4 litre milk - $3.97
1x hair elastics $4.99 (I am growing my hair out and it is in the in between stage and driving me crazy )
1 x Raspberry Jam - $3.49
2 x Heinz Baked Beans @ 99 cents each
1 x Pasta Sauce - 99cents
1 x Rotini Veggie Pasta 95 cents
1 x 1 litre Olive Oil - $6.99
6 pack energy drink - $2.00 (for dh lunch)
1 x Chunky Soup $1.67
2 x Soup @ 75 cents each
1 x Cookies $1.99
1 x lrg tub yogurt $2.49
8 pack vanilla yogurt $2.99
1/2 lb mushrooms $2.00
10 lb Russet potatoes $2.50
3 pack Romaine Lettuce Hearts $2.50
6 pack pork chops $3.97
12 pack garlic bread $2.09
2 x Whole Wheat Bread @ $2.00 each
1 x Downy Fabric Softener $5.99

Coupons/Rebates/Reductions: $12.09

Total: $49.96

I also got this on another trip out:

1 dozen eggs - $2.64
6 Lemon Muffins (reduced) - $2.98
1 litre half and half - $2.97 we use half and half in coffee ( http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glossa ... d-Half.htm )
just under 4 lbs ground beef (mince) - $15.25

Total spent today: $23.84
Total saved today: $1.01

Monthly Total Spent: $115.10
Monthly Savings: $75.59

Best deal was the Downy Fabric Softener, as I ended up getting it for free; due to SCOP.

Also got two loaves of bread and a jar of raspberry jam and paid $3.49 for all three (look for the coupon in store; I found one on the Smuckers Jam this week)

I am astonished at the price of lean ground beef (mince) $3.99 per pound.  It has doubled in price.  Asked the butcher if he had any beef or calves liver, and he is having trouble finding either.  Luckily I don't eat a lot of red meat.

I have mentioned before I am a member of Swagbucks.  Its a way of earning things for free.  In my case I cash my Swagbucks in for Amazon.ca e-Cards.  This is available to a number of countries now, including Britain and Australia.  If you want to look into it more please click on this link  This is my referral link and I will earn some more Swagbucks if you do sign up.  I generally "earn" between $200 and $300 worth of Amazon e-Cards per year, for doing very little.  You can earn more if you do more surveys, play more games, or participate in other things.  If you have any questions or want more info just let me know.  Personally I am all for getting things for free.  I plan on saving mine up to be cashed in nearer Christmas.

Back again this time for good!!!

Well it took over three months before I got fed up of that online game; gosh they are addictive, but I was really good at it....LOL

Now to get back to blogging and saving money.  The saving money though is my main priority as we had an unexpected trip back to Britain a couple of weeks ago.  Dh's younger brother passed away at the end of December, so we went for the funeral and to see family.  It was a very fast week and VERY expensive.  How people manage to make ends meet in Britain is beyond me but they do it.

So back to the basics for me.  I have signed up again over at Frugaldom's Forums, to keep me on the straight and narrow and to make me accountable for what I spend etc.  I am going to post my grocery totals every week, so I watch what I spend.  I do need to do a pantry and freezer inventory; in fact I have been talking about it for a week or more and still haven't done it yet.  Menu planning which I HATE to do for some reason, is something I do need to tackle.  Eating out which I LOVE to do is something we shouldn't do anymore.

All the utility bills are under control, but there is always room for improvement.  I will be going through those over the next month.  We are currently with Bell Canada, for TV, Internet, home phone and my mobile phone.  Got a deal through the mail with Rogers for six months free service.  That could potentially save us $900+; so need to research that this coming week.

The new house is great and we have been in it now for nearly 8 months now.  Done some bits and bobs so need to catch you all up with that.  Our next job is to complete the basement.  I will take you through that in another post.  Need to save the money up for that job, but some things we can do a bit at a time.  

The grandchildren are all growing like weeds.  The eldest and the youngest are in India at the moment and will be there until the end of March.  Our little guy is coming up 5 months old.  Our Princess is now 25 months old and our little Munchkin is coming up 15 months old.

Here is a photo of her with her new tutu and her gold glitter Peppa Pig wellies on:

As isn't that what every fashionable 15 month old is wearing nowadays?  Yes she is growing and into everything.  She is very tall for her age and wearing 18 month old pants, but is right on age for the size of her body.  She is forever sick due to starting daycare, but that's normal.  Though she can now blow her own nose; sort of!!  Not talking much at all, but makes up for it verbally; and yes she can have a hissy fit when she wants.  Of course she is the apple of her Nana's and Granddad's eye.

Here is what I spent and saved this week grocery shopping:

Grocery shopping February 1st 2015 Exchange rate $1.80 CDN per 1 British Pound

Zehrs:
12 double rolls toilet paper: $3.99
Raspberry Jam: $3.49
3 x Granola Bars @ $1.99 each
1 x Quaker Chocolate & Banana Cookies: $2.49
1 x Lysol Wipes: $1.88
1 x Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner: $1.88
1 x package veggie rotini pasta: 99 cents
1 x canned tomatoes: 79 cents
1 x package crisps: $1.25
1 x Mini Wheats cereal: $2.88
1 x Peanut Butter cookies: $1.99
1 x 4 litre milk: $3.97
2 x Pizza @ $2.88 each: $5.76
1 x Jumbo Bag frozen French fries: $3.99
1 x breaded chicken fingers $3.88
1 x Breaded chicken burgers: $4.88
2 x loaf whole wheat bread @ $2.00 each: $4.00
2 x Old Spice Deodorant for dh @ $1.99 each: $3.98
1 x Gillette Shaving Gel for dh: $1.99
2 x Hairspray for me @ $1.99 each: $3.98

Coupons used $12.49
13% tax on certain items: $3.24

Total: $54.78

$50 worth of points cashed in.

Total paid: $4.78

Wal-Mart (same as Asda)

10 lb potatoes (Yukon Gold yellow flesh) $3.67
3 pk Romaine Lettuce Hearts: $4.97
English Cucumber: $1.67
1 red pepper: $1.47
3 Roma Tomatoes: 97 cents
Lysol wipes: $1.97
Dove Deodorant for me: $2.97
Frozen Garlic Bread slices: $2.97
4 x Lipton Side Kicks rice @ 94 cents each: $3.76
VH Pineapple sauce (for sweet and sour chicken or pork) $2.00
24 pack cheese triangles: $7.47 (for dh's lunches)
1 dozen eggs: $1.99

13 % tax on some items: 64 cents

Total: $36.52

Total spent to date: $41.30 (approx. 22.94 British Pounds)
Savings to date: $62.49 (approx. 34.72 British Pounds)
Best deal this week: two loaves of bread and a jar of jam after $4 and $1 coupon = $2.49 for all three.

Pleased with this weeks purchases, as I got a bit of everything including cleaning products, personal hygiene items, and all food groups.

It always amazes me how much money can flow through my fingers in a short time

On Wednesday I decided to run some errands in town.  I try and bunch a number of things together so not to waste gas and time. 

The first order of business was the bank; had a cheque to deposit and get the cash out for the week.  Next popped into the corner store to pick up dh's Lotto Max ticket for him.  He gets one every week and this past week won a huge, whopping $2, so that "only" cost me $4.

Next went to the Post Office, as I wanted them to hold our mail while we are on vacation.  That cost me $22.50 (or there abouts) plus I decided to buy a 6 pack of international stamps, which came to around $12.50.  So, so far I have spent $39.

I call in at the gas station and fill up the 25 litre gas tank for the lawn tractor and put gas in my car.  Got gas at $1.263 a litre and spent $50 there.  Now up to $89.

Call into the grocery store to pick up a couple of things, including ice cream, as dh loves his ice cream.  Ended up spending $35 there???

On the way home I called into the coffee shop as I needed something sweet and picked up an orange cruller (click link for recipe) so that cost $1.

So all in all in less than an hour I ended up spending $125 just like that and have very little to show for it (SIGH)

By the time I give dh some money for the week and put my money in the jars, I am left with $65 to last me until a week on Friday ((SIGH))  Guess I am going to have to try and be thrifty this week!!

All about groceries, deals and food prices.......

Had to go into town and run some errands, plus go to my quilt club.

Called into a couple of places on my travels and picked up some grocery items.  I signed up on the Gay Lea website for their newsletter and I got a $2 off coupon for sour cream and a free product coupon for their squirty cream, so sign up as you may get one also.

I called into Sobeys as they had mushrooms on sale for 99 cents per 8oz package.  The sour cream was on sale for $1.99 a tub, so with the $2 coupon it was free.  Not sure if you can see on the package of cereal but there is a mail in offer for a $5 gas car, and that was on sale for $3.97.  Local new potatoes were on for $2.99 for 10 lbs.  The lunch meat was on for $1.99 for 500 grams.

All in all paid $10.92 for that; had $2 in coupon savings and earned 12 Sobey's points.

When I was in Cookstown I called in at Foodland to pick up a couple of things.  I had the free product coupon for the squirty cream so saved $3.99 there.  The Kraft Romano grated cheese was $6.99, but I had a $1 off coupon for that as well.  The liver was $2.36 and I plan on making liver casserole, that's why I bought the mushrooms.  I am a HUGE fan of black licorice and that was $2.49.  Foodland has a great deal on at the moment.  If you print out this coupon when you spend $10 at Foodland you can get a package of kabobs up to $8 for free.  I spent a total of $11.16, and had coupon savings of $11.86.

This is an interesting article:

Canadian consumers cope with dramatic increase in food prices.

"Inside an east-end No Frills around dinner time, customers are lining up with coupons and grocery carts full of discounted items.

But, these days, discount shopping isn’t necessarily enough to keep grocery bills low.
The price of food in Canada is steadily on the rise. The cost of basic staples such as bread, meat and eggs is increasing at a relatively rapid rate.

A recently-released report by Statistics Canada which looked at Canadian food prices between 2007-2012, found prices rose nearly twice the rate of the Consumer Price Index.

“The report showed that prices have increased at a cumulative rate of 19% over the last five years,” said Mark Brown, from the federal agency’s economic analysis division."

The rest of the article is here.  No wonder we are all struggling.

And the first clue was?

I had a few things planned on Friday so had to get organized and get going first thing.  So I printed and sorted out what coupons I needed then got in the car to drive where I was going.

As I was driving along the car was making a funny sound as though one of the windows were open.  So I checked all windows and then pulled over in case it was the truck.........I know I have a sensor that indicates if the truck is open.  Set off again, there was a clatter up and it was as though a stone was flying around the wheel hub area.  All of a sudden there was a noise and the next thing I know the sensor for low pressure in my tire came on.  I pulled over and sure enough I had a flat tire.  I have NEVER EVER changed a tire in my life......

After calling road side assistance and being told that it doesn't cover changing a flat tire and being told that the charge was $50 I called our local towing company and asked them to come out.  I decided to at least take the spare tire out of the car in preparation for them coming.  I was actually proud of myself actually doing that. 

I then decided to get out the manual to see if there were instructions on how to change a tire and was surprised to find there were instructions:

So I stood by the car reading the manual and a young girl pulled up and asked me if I needed help.  I asked her what was her first clue that I had no idea what I was doing and she pointed to the manual!!!  I told her I about the tow truck and she left.  Not long after a gentleman stopped and he told me to cancel the tow truck and save myself some money and he would change the tire.  So I cancelled the tow truck and he changed my tire and wouldn't take any money or even let me buy him a Tim Hortons coffee.  What a lovely man he was.

I then drove to the Ford garage in Alliston and they looked at it and had to order me a tire.  To cut a long story short the tire arrived Friday afternoon and I got the new tire installed.  I have insurance on my tires.........turns out I bought it when I bought the car?  It covers replacement tires, so it cost me nothing.

I honestly think after watching the guy put my spare tire on, I think I would be able to do it along with reading the instructions on the manual.

Now the bummer in all of this was I was only allowed to drive 80 kmph/50 mph when I had the spare tire on.  Do you know very few people drive that slow, including me.  

I called into a new to me store in Alliston called A Novel Idea I am going to take some books there and get a store credit for baby books for our home library.

There are some good deals on at Sobey's this week.  Buy Lou's  Sliced Pork Loin (same as peameal bacon) you get a free package of breakfast sausage and a free package of hash browns.  The pork loin is $5.99.  The Europes Best fruit is on sale for $2.99, I had $1 off coupons so got five packages.  Also the Natrel Fine Filtered Milk is $3.97 is on sale for the 4 litre bag.

Grocery Shopping and other things....

Had to go into town on Tuesday for gas for the car and lawn tractor, paid $1.29 per litre.  So I called into the grocery store to pick up a few things.  Spent $15.84 and had $10.90 in savings.  The granola bars were free, the yogurt was only 99 cents a container, all the bread was half price, the pizza was half price and the cheese was only $3.33, again a super deal.

I think we all know that Will and Kate had a baby boy.  Did you see the photos of the family?  Well when he brought out the baby in his car seat, we had something in common with them.  That is the same car seat as dd and hubby have got for their little girl, she also has the stroller to go with it.  You can see the stroller here and the car seat here.  We were able to take advantage of a promotion in June and got the car seat for free when we bought the stroller, which saved us a couple hundred dollars.

I posted another book review here.

When we were out the other day saw that the Hallmark stores were advertising their Christmas decorations.  It's July for goodness sakes!!! Saying that I ordered the winter wood yesterday, it's coming some time next week.  Paying $290 a bush cord and I am ordering my usual three bush cords.  Must think up an excuse to invite the kids up for lunch!!!

Finally a couple of photos I took with my camera of out back:

Both photos were taken on Tuesday evening.