Explore Your Community

Yesterday it was an overcast day. My husband took a day off work for a Fam Jam day and we wanted to have an experience of some sort.  I put a post on Facebook asking what people suggest for the day. I suggest doing this as I got  lot of ideas! A friend who has a child the same age as my oldest suggested the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.  This seemed like the perfect mix of inside and outside and it triggered a deal. 
I have blogged before about the library, and here I go again. Each branch of our library has 2 family day passes to the Fisheries Museum.  Just show your library card and they give you a pass on a blue laynard that has to be returned same day, after hours in the drop off box is fine.  After I got it I sent our friend up and she was told that there are online ones and they were signed out.  I sent another friend up this morning and they told her the same thing. If you plan to go in, ask for the hard copy that you could wear around your neck.  My buddy texted me from the parking lot and I described it and she went back in and borrowed it.  This saved our family over $30 well worth it. 
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Is It Empty???

I have a secret...I love body lotion. I have it by my bed with a pump for my feet before I go to sleep at night. I also carry small ones in my purse for my hands when they get dry in the winter. I used to throw them away when the lotion stopped coming out the pump.  Then one day I was curious how much I was throwing away.   The answer was a surprise to this cheap girl... a whole bunch.
Here is what you need to do:
1) Get 1 plastic container to store the lotion
2) Scissors
3) Popsicle stick (I'm a teacher and have crafty kids I'm sure a butter knife would also work)
4)Lotion container
I first take the pump out and shake it into the container. Then I cut it near the top as lots of lotion gathers up here. Then I scrape it with the popsicle stick.  Pretty easy!  This one large Vaseline bottle and 2 small trail size (from previous hotel stays) equaled TWO of these containers from the Dollarama.  That was a lot of waste averted.  
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Yard Sale Part Two

As I posted in my last entry I love Yard Sales. I also love second hand shops such as Frenchies and Value Village. I buy most of the items for our girls and for us at these types of places. When we are done with items I try to resell them (see previous blog entries). I first try to sell on Facebook Groups, then Kijiji, then will try to sell in my own Yard Sale and then donate the items to Value Village.
When I see items cheap at these places that I think I can resell I often purchase them.  I only take the risk if it is an item that I feel I will use, or someone I know will use if it doesn't sell, or is cheap enough that I don't mind taking the hit if I end up donating it to Value Village. 
If an item is under a certain price point I leave it on my doorstep for people to pick up and put the money in the jar. My husband works from home, and often I am in the house.  When we come home or hear a car leave, we go to the doorstep and pick up the money.
To some, this may seem like a lot of work but to me and my family it has become second nature and helps generate extra cash flow to help pay of the house faster.
Does anyone try this? comment below how you create extra cash flow, I'd love to hear from you.
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Yard Sales

The yard sale season is starting to wind down already....big sigh.
I am a yard sale junkie.  I go every Saturday and furnish and decorate our home with yard sale finds. Many times I find things that are new in the package, and will slip it aside for Christmas gifts.
There are some key tricks to the Yard Sale Day.
Have some buddies.  I go faithfully with one of my girlfriends for the past two years and we have a blast. Also I have another friend that goes with his mom and we text each other where we find sales, it helps.
Here are my yard sale day tips
1) look in the local paper and Kijiji and Facebook groups for locations
2) Drive by key intersections and look for posters (this is when a buddy helps as they peer for signs as the other drives)
3) clear your car of all stuff before you go as some days it will be full.  It is amazing what we fit in our sedans!
4) Bring coffee and treats (it can be 2 hours of being out and it is early a person gets hungry!)
5) Leave early
6) Have small change and bills (I have a separate yard sale wallet always ready to go)
7) I don't ticker with people, well almost never. I am out early and I figure that if I want it someone else will later. I also know I have yard sales to save money for certain items and assume others are too, so most of the time I pay the price.
8) if you see something hold on to it, it will not be there if you think about it
9) ALWAYS PUT A QUARTER IN THE KID'S LEMONADE STAND I love seeing the kids saving up
10) if you are really looking for something special tell your yard sale buddies, and it doesn't hurt to ask. 2 years ago I was at a yard sale and they had a tonne of toys and a few Ninja Turtle items, my daughter was a huge fan at this stage. I asked if they happened to have any more Ninja Turtle toys, she said yes some big items that I have on kijiji right now they are in the house, and I said I"ll take them, you just never know
11)be open to any finds you never know what you will find
12)wash items when you get home, Resolve, Lysol spray and Green Works Wipes are my Saturday morning best friends
13) HAVE FUN!!!!!
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ROAD TRIP!!!!!

People think because we are on a budget and cheap we don't do anything fun.  NOT TRUE! We just find creative ways to make it work.
3.5 hours from our house is a water park.  Gasp, it is even in another province.  We knew that it would be a fun activity for the kids, and being how we aren't doing a traditional summer vacation thought it would be fun.
The night before I packed up snacks and a lunch. I actually packed way too much food to eat during the day.  We had pineapple, pears, peaches, carrots, celery, crackers, 6 water bottles, bananas, turkey sandwiches, granola bars, applesauce to eat inside the park. I was either planning on making lots of friends or spending the day stuffing my face.  We did a bit of both:)
The night before we went to Shell and filled up the car with gas, paying with our Sobeys gift card (this deal better come back this week I am on my last gc) got airmiles, and a free large cappuccino with fill up.
Yesterday was road trip day. We woke up early, put portable dvd player screens in the car for the girls to watch a movie (yard sale find $20 2 screens!) brewed coffee to go for us, and drove away. We spent the drive up counting trailers, listening to Dave Ramsey, the girls watched a movie near the end, and we listened to the best of Hip Hop on free Google Play.  We stopped along the way and got a Mc Cafe for free with our filled coffee stamp card. It was a great drive. 
As soon as we entered New Brunswick we went to the Tourist Bureau and asked if any coupons to Magic Mountain. There was a $10 off a family of 4!  This took less then 3 minutes from off the highway to back on the highway, well worth it.
We spent 4 hours at the water park. When we were done we went to Costco and ordered a large pizza, pop (free refills) and a water for $13.49 great supper price. 
I made a side trip to Value Village and bought New Balance sneakers for the girls $2.49! They have been washed up and look new, SCORE.
On the way home we popped in Shell again to top off the tank, but we are pretty sure we would have made it home on the original tank of gas. We love our Toyota.  Got another free cappuccino and shared it on the drive home.  My hubby listened to the Jays game on the radio, I read a book, and the girls fell asleep watching a movie.  Great affordable day.  Lots of driving yes, 7 hours in a day is a lot. However, we skipped the price of a hotel room and that savings essentially paid for our whole day.

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PRODUCE

Oh my gosh, I am not sure what's going on with the price of produce!!! The past few months I am finding produce is going up in price.  I like to stock up on items when I see a sale and freeze items whenever possible.
Last week we went strawberry picking.  We picked 24 boxes as the picking was good.  The cost was $1.50 a box well worth it compared to the $2.99 if you buy them after someone else picked.  The berries were tasty and fast, easy picking. To prepare them all we had to hull them fast.  A bottle of wine helped this process go a lot smoother (Home Brew of course).
We took most of the berries and froze them into sandwich bags for future use.  Most bags have 2 cups in them.  The rest of the berries we made 25 jars of freezer jam.  We will use some of the jars of jam for gifts throughout the year, such as hostess gifts and token Christmas gifts.
Yesterday I went to the grocery store and noticed a bag of green peppers for half off.  I bought them, it was $2.31 for 4 large green peppers.  When I got home I cut out a few spots but for the most part they were fine.  I chopped the peppers into small pieces to freeze.  I had enough peppers for the kids to have some with their lunch and to freeze 7 sandwich bags with half a cup of peppers.  To many buying half price produce isn't appealing, but it is worth it for the most part.  I also bought bananas close to the end, and peeled them and froze them for smoothies.

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Cheap Snack/Meal Side Dish

Tonight I made Corn Chowder for a yummy and also very cheap meal. 
When I peel potatoes I always save the peelings in a container in the fridge with water. I use them to make Potato Skins.
I microwave the skins for about 5 minutes.
While they are in the microwave, in a frying pan heat up olive oil.
After the 5 minutes, break the peels into small pieces and put in the frying pan.
While they are frying, grate cheese.
While the skins are frying, add pepper, and Italian season to flavor.
When the skins look fried (browned), add the grated cheese.
Turn off the stove top burner, and place a pizza pan on top, cheese will melt.
Serve with sour cream, ketchup. 
***At times I put bacon bits on top, yummy and cheap!