Saturday 3 January 2009

A slip or two on Day One!

Yesterday was a really nice day. Weather-wise, it started out at about -41C or so, and didn't climb higher than -37C and there was really heavy ice-fog for most of the day.

I met a friend at her new place for breakfast (a small German breakfast: lots of bread, butter, cheese, pate, Nutella..yum!) and we spent most of the day shopping (window & otherwise) and getting caught up. December is one of those months where you're either a total recluse or you've got social activities out the ying-yang. For my friend and I it was the former, so it was great to have the time to get catch up.

Our first stop was the recycling centre. It was closed because of the cold weather (this is standard if the temperatures fall below -40C) but the bins were open, so we were able to get our recyclabes sorted. It didn't take long with two of us, but even the few minutes we were there was enough to seriously chill my fingers! We next stopped at The Brick. I'm looking for a hide-a-bed for the living room in the new place. There's absolutely no rush, but I just wanted to get an idea of what's out there. Whitehorse isn't the kind of place you can just wander around or "show up" and find exactly what you want. You can spend weeks or months searching but still might not find what you you're looking for. There aren't really any "great" deals because there simply isn't enough competition. We went across the street to a store that's going out of business and while there were no hide-a-beds left, there were some lovely area rugs. I'm looking for a couple of these for my living room in the new apartment. The prices were "OK", not fantastic, but I think I can find room in my budget for a new rug.

I then returned an item and we went to the hardware store. I was looking for a rice steamer, a crock pot and an extra long plug in cord. It turns out that a lot of other people were looking for one of those as well, as there were NONE to be found!

My spend:

Crockpot: $24.99 (for a 5-quart!! Best buy by far)
Steamer/rice cooker: $34.99

Spent: $62.98
Return: $41.68
Total: $21.30

I had budgeted $50 for the crockpot, so I got a really good deal! We stopped at Starbucks and I had a steamed eggnog: $3.83.

I also took back my snowshoes. I felt a bit guilty, particularly as the kid who sold them to me intially was on cash, but I felt I overdid it a bit on Boxing Day. The skis are plenty and I have no regrets about the return today, so it was obviously the right thing to do.

I've already broken two of my goals: none of my spends were cash only and I bought books! I will be returning one because after starting it, it's not quite what I was hoping for. The other book I bought is to go along with the new crockpot: "The Healthy Slowcooker." But I swear that's it!

9 comments:

Money Minder said...

Crockpots rock!!! especially when you find one at such a good price.

dinah34 said...

i love my crockpots. yes that's right i have 2. they are awesome.

keep plugging away.

Canadian Saver said...

I'm going to try to use my crockpot more this year... if you make some stuff in yours that turns out great, let us know!!

I'd be more coordinated with snowshoes that I'd be with skis!! Probably a wise choice to just get 1 though... see how you use them then get the snowshoes next year?!

Sharon S said...

Hi there-well done on the purchases and the returns! the crockpot book was definitely worth getting!!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the purchases are going to be well worth it (although the rice steemer seems a bit expensive). But both the crockpot and rice steemer in my book are necessary expenses. ;)

Well, done.

Northern Living Allowance said...

Thanks all! I'm looking forward to trying out the new crockpot. I have a very small one, but wanted a large one to make extra. I will share recipes, for sure!

Still can't get over the price! :P

@MoneyFunk - the steamer is actually a veggie steamer plus a 5-cup rice cooker. I was looking at just a rice cooker for $17, but this seemed a better deal. But regardless, as you say, necessary!

Anonymous said...

I love my crockpot, but I don't use it enough! Maybe once a month, if that.

You should post some recipes out of that book of yours!!

Anonymous said...

ooh a slow cooker sounds about perfect right now. I hope you get many years of healthy, joyous meals out of it!

Boy does it sound cold where you are!

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