It has been sunny and very warm here today. I am hoping that most of the ice will disappear from around our home. I would love to be able to get around a bit before the snow comes back the middle of next week. Quite a bit is forecast to fall so we will be back to seeing a white covering over everything.
I have not gone out today as I have once again been trying to get things done around the house and online. There were a couple of contracts I needed to renew if I wanted the early discount. Still even though I renewed my costs will be higher for the next two years, but lower than if I had not went into a contract. Canada has the highest internet and wireless costs in the world. I so wish our phones only cost $60.00 a month for the two of them, or that our internet was half the cost like so many. Oh well we do what we have to do.
Bob wants outside, and there is no way we can allow him out. He is not very happy with us at this point in time. I am going to see if I can find all of Shania and Eiko's toys and see if I can get his mind off of "outside". Hopefully tire him out a little bit as well.
With costs rising I am going to be going over our budget and see where costs can be cut. Of course there are lots of costs not coming in as of yet, which means I won't have a good idea of totals for a bit yet. The things I can begin to control right now are groceries, cleaning supplies, water costs, electrical costs, and heating costs. Days as sunny as today are wonderful as the drapes are open and I am taking advantage of the solar heat through our south facing windows. No furnace cutting in as of yet.
Water wise I will need to see if there are ways of saving on that as well.
Working on having more no spend days in the month as well. The longer I stay out of stores the better for our chequing account, I also want to cut down on the number of cheques we write as the cost of those is eyewatering.
Right now I feel that the main way to save on rising costs is groceries. Isn't that the usual way us frugal people try first. We shop the sales, look for markdowns, and begin to purchase store brand items. However some store brand items just do not taste very good at all.
We have all become great at stretching meals out from very little and making our own breads as well as growing what veggies we can to add to our menus.
This year because we are going away in the middle of the summer, Harvey says he is not going to plant as big a garden. I do believe there will be potatoes, carrots, corn, some pumpkins, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. I am not too sure if there will be any peppers and probably no eggplant this year. We will make do with whatever we can harvest and grow.
What ways are you going to use or have been using to keep your costs down?
Everybody have a wonderful evening.
God bless.
I am amazed that in this day and age you are still writing cheques! Here in the UK most people do not use them anymore. Most people use contactless payment in shops and direct bank transfer for utility bills etc. Here we don't have any snow but it has rained here in the county of Devon every day this year! Different countries, different problems.
ReplyDeletewe're close to digital currency as well in the US. I mean, we use CC's and they are basically digital currency anyway. Saying that, I write a couple of checks per month too though, lol
DeleteJust using my pantry and freezer for now - no shopping. Using up things and finding new ways to use things. It is kind of fun.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, Bob's a booger. Lol. It can be challenging to watch someone's cat or even dog, for that matter; much easier to go to their homes if at all possible. We feed and spend time with our grand-cats, Ed and Harry but they're only about 5 miles from us. I think both of them would be a problem, with my cat and dog.
ReplyDeleteI'm paying $99 a month for WiFi/ internet. We don't have cable. I pay about $75 for our two cell phones (unlimited) I use our AARP discount. I do try to utilize every discount I can find. That means both or military and my senior discount. Every little bit helps.
I was on the phone with my cellular carrier today too, Jackie. What a frustrating experience, but I suppose it turned out as well as one can expect. I’m looking closely at spending these days too and, yes, groceries seems one of the first things to look at that we have a measure of control over. Everything has gotten so expensive.
ReplyDeleteWatching groceries here too. No longer does anything just be allowed in the cart, though I didn't think I overly did that anyway. I've cut consumption of anything that isn't really meal food considerably such as soda and chips- very much bonus items now. Temporarily, my son and I are sharing my car to keep insurance low. It's worked fine but won't come spring when both he's got a more frequent job he needs to get to and I'll be out and about more. Plus, hoping he finds a house by summer so that would no longer work anyway, but for several months, it's a good savings.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm trying to cut costs with regard to groceries to keep within budget and trying to only buy essential items otherwise, but I do have the odd small lapse here and there.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else I'm trying to keep the grocery spending low, but prices seem to be increasing and the pack sizes are getting smaller. Some things I won't cut back on such as teabags and wash capsules and the cat will only eat one food, which of course is the most expensive. Xx
ReplyDeleteWe just renewed our internet contract and managed to get a reasonable price but I'll wait to see the bill before I confirm. Cellphone costs are ridiculous, including the purchase price.
ReplyDeleteI've learned that grocery prices down here in Yuma, with the exception of fresh vegetables and eggs (for some reason) are actually higher than at home.
We are down to 1 vehicle which is fine. I don't go out running around to craft stores and buying impulse items because I'm out and about. These days it more intentional spending for function. I'm creating more with crochet and the yarn/thread I have on hand. Overall very Intentional. Not impulse. And I also still write checks it is a paper trail, old school. It still works.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about your snow. Seems the warmer it gets in winter, the more snow falls.
ReplyDeleteThat last comment was from Patsy in case it shows up as anonymous. Lol
ReplyDeleteI just stay out of the stores, but my menu this last 2 weeks was not healthy at all, I need to do something about that.
ReplyDelete99% of what I buy at the grocery store is a BOGO. I get my meat at Aldi or Fresh Market ON SALE and just stock up what I can, but I am going to have a no grocery buy for the month of March. I need to use up some of what I have bought. lol.
ReplyDeleteI find staying away from stores, including grocery stores, is a good way to cut costs because it stops impulse buying. I've never been a shopper anyway so it's not really a hardship. We cook from scratch and can't remember the last time we bought any 'extras' like chips or pop. We do indulge in Keirig coffe though but justify it by saying it's far cheaper than going to the coffee shop. It also works out cheaper in the long run (at least for us) because if we relied on making a pot of coffee I would drink far more.
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