The Saturday weekend review #24: Limes are our new money tree

he-Saturday-Weekend-Review

Looking Back Over The Past Week

New blog

When Saturday rolls around it has to be one of my favourite days for writing a blog post because it’s a time that I just let loose and tell you how great or miserable my week has been. I know that I’m teetering on very busy territory shortly as my new blog design and move to self-hosted is on the horizon. I hope you really do enjoy the new look that’s been created and that I continue to improve upon this site that has been built for you and for me.

I must admit that WordPress is one of the best free blogs I’ve ever used. It’s so easy to learn and navigate once you get used to it and support here has been absolutely wonderful to me. Moving to self-hosted has meant that I’ve had to find a hosting provider and I’ve decided to go with Bluehost which came highly recommended to me. You can read all you want online there will always be the good, the bad and the ugly so experimenting is what I plan to do. I’m sure I will do a small bluehost review once I’m settled in and have spent some time with them.

If you are a WordPress follower and if you still want to read my daily blog post once the blog sets up its new home you should probably subscribe via email from my home page as I’m pretty sure all you kind WordPress readers will be left behind at the free WordPress blog wondering why my posts are not showing in your blog reader.  Better yet, maybe subscribing now via email is the best way to go.

I know many of you have waited so long and believe me, so have I so I look forward to all the mess and magic I’m going to create at the new site. Please be patient with me as I make my way around behind the blog scenes to get everything sorted. You may notice some errors, blips or better yet nothing at all but the new blog design but we’ll work through all the kinks the best that we can and as efficiently as possible. It may take me some time so your patience and continued support is appreciated.

Gardening and Landscaping

The front gardens are as good as done. Now I need to focus on sealing the steps. I did manage to seal the drive this past week and it really makes a difference to the overall landscaping of the property. Our driveway seems to take a pounding each winter although it’s in perfect condition. We were going to replace it at a cost of over $12,000 but decided not to fix what’s not broken. I take my time and tape and measure so it’s perfect. How many driveway DIY sealing jobs have you seen where the black sealant is all over the place. Not at our house. A little planning and patience goes a long way.

I managed to get a new garage track and seal at Home Depot for a decent price so I figured I might as well get that replaced while I can. If I’m going to be landscaping the front and pouring money into it I might as well go the full yard and make it all new. I’ve also taken the caulking around the windows out as they were looking a bit discoloured and unsightly. I’ve re-caulked them and they look as good as new. Then I managed to pop off part of the trim and spray paint it white and it looks brand spanking new again.

I read a post on wise bread the other day about black spray paint is the new decorators weapon and I had a laugh because it’s so true. I can’t tell you how many cans of spray paint I’ve picked up but I have. I have sanded and spray painted anything in and around our house that I could. It all looks brand new and not worn at all, especially any light fixtures, tables, chairs, mail boxes, decorations, baskets. You name it and I’ve layered a black coat of spray paint on it. It makes a world of difference for the small price of a can of black spray paint $3.99 plus tax at Canadian Tire.

So, any time you see a bargain at a garage sale, online or free at the side of the road that needs some new life put into it, pick it up if you fancy it. All you need is some sand paper, a wire brush, black spray paint and good ole elbow grease. Do you remember that free roadside find, the barrel planter? If not take a look at the before and after photos. Stunning!

Price adjustment 

I ran out of driveway sealant and of course I paid a bit of money to get a good sealant from Canadian Tire but it was on sale the previous week that I bought it. I knew I had to go back and pick up another bucket so now I know the next time I seal the drive I need two. Unfortunately I had to pay full-price which happens as we can’t get everything in life on discount or with a coupon.

The best part is when I was reading the weekly flyers the driveway sealant is on sale again this week at Canadian Tire which means I can go back and get a $13.oo price adjustment. If you aren’t checking your receipts and flyers each week to get a product price adjustment, don’t miss the savings, start today. I can’t tell you how much money I’ve saved by reading the newspaper.

Limes

lime-tree-in-a-barrel

The limes, you know how much we love our fresh limes and lime juice dressings as there are so many lime health benefits it’s hard to say no to them. Limes are great for digestion, constipation, respiratory disorders, gout, to fight scurvy, excellent for skin care, eye care, gums, piles, weight loss, urinary disorders and other health benefits. I really enjoyed reading that article and makes me feel good that we enjoy limes the way we do.

We can’t get enough of that tangy flavour in our salad dressings, jelly, salads, rice and pasta dishes. We use lime every chance we get and if we see a deal on limes you can bet we will get in on it. While picking up some odds and ends at Home Depot while visiting friends last week we wandered back into the garden centre as I needed to pick up some bushes for the front yard.  Sometimes it pays to check in to big box stores that aren’t in your city because they all seem to carry bits that the other might not. Another couple of hundred dollars gone to landscaping but it looks beautiful.

While pushing the cart around if the wife doesn’t see a blinkin lime tree for $24.99 on the shelf. There were quite a few of them the last time we were there I just didn’t say anything to her. She was so excited and wanted one so she could grow it at home. I told her that she was responsible for learning how to grow a lime tree and that I had nothing to do with its life or death. She kills plants if you missed a previous post of mine.

So the lime plant is sitting pretty in a mini plastic whiskey barrel that I will drill holes into for her so she can baby her lime tree all she wants. I’m happy she’s happy and since she doesn’t often spend money on herself I thought it was a great to see her so excited about something she wanted.

I’ll keep you updated on the life of the lime tree. The lime tree is our new money tree so if we actually start growing limes it may save us a buck or two. Either way, it’s a great conversation piece when you have guests over and smells beautiful.

Weekly blog post review

If you are a regular reader you would have already received these awesome posts  in your email but just in case you missed reading one I’ve put them all together here just for you.

Garage Sale finds

For the summer I will feature garage sale finds from Jen and the fans. Since Jen has started budgeting and saving money she tends to find her best deals at garage sales. Join in the fun! I’ll pick one fan each week along with Jen’s finds if you send in your photo and write-up no later than noon on Saturdays. If I don’t get any submissions I’ll just skip the post for that week.

Jen’s garage sale finds

Jen sent me a quick email to let me know that she is taking this Saturday off from garage sales but should be back in action soon. If you would like your garage sale finds featured simply send me an email with the products you purchased, the prices you paid and a photo of your garage sale bargains.

Making a difference

Starting a blog is not an easy task and for those who leave the corporate world to start their own online business it is serious stuff to them. You can find many blogs for free around but I hope you take the time to check-in and read the blogs that I recommend for you here each week.

Today a shout out to my mate Sean who is ready to share with you why he’s making a difference to his fans from all over the world.  If you run a blog or a website and you want to share your blog with the CanadianBudgetBinder.com fans why you are making a difference, email me today.

OneSmartDollar-making-a-difference

Hi my name is Sean. Some of you might know me from OneSmartDollar.com however in 2006 I started the couponing and deals blog FreeSnatcher.com.  I had only been out of college for a couple of years and I quickly realized how expensive it was to buy groceries when I saw my two bags add up to over $50. That is when I began to learn the in’s and out’s of using coupons.

It was then that I became passionate about showing other how much money they could save. I wanted to help as many people as I could cut their grocery bill so their family could use that savings to pay for the fun things life has to offer.

As a former banker I decided to get back to my roots in 2011 when I launched OneSmartDollar.com. This new blog helped me hit a completely different side of personal finance. It allowed me to take my education and work experience to help others better their financial situations. Financial literacy is the backbone to making our society a better place.

My goal for the years to come is to continue to reach new people and help them towards financial happiness. That could be by helping someone improve their credit score in order to get the best rate on a mortgage or showing someone the importance of saving for retirement at an early age.

Blog share 

I really appreciate when other blogs take time to recognize my hard work here at CanadianBudgetBinder.com and blog share it with their fans. My way of saying thanks is blog sharing your page with my fans so a big round of applause for some amazing blogs and websites that shared us with their community of fans. Thank-You! Don’t forget to subscribe to these blogs and tell them Mr.CBB sent you.

Carnival glory

Some fans have asked me just what a blog carnival is so a little explanation is due here for anyone reading for the first time or for my long-time fans. A blog carnival is where a blog or website hosts what we call a carnival of blog posts from around the web. Most carnivals have a theme and certain rules for submitting which must be followed.

Each week I dedicate about 3o minutes to submit my best blog posts from the past week to blog carnivals. You can too. Blog Carnival HQ , BloggerCarnivals.com and Blog Carnival are just a few carnival pages I visit each week to submit my posts so they get shared around the web.

A big thanks to these pages for accepting my posts and sharing them in the following carnivals

web search terms

Google keyword search terms

Keywords for search engines help me to understand what people are looking for at CanadianBudgetBinder.com. Any typos below are simply how the person who searched Google and typed it in search incorrectly, or me ;-) Although I get thousands each week I pick out a few that caught my eye. It’s great what you get to see behind the scenes so I want to share some laughs with all of you.

  • Canadian Is Me Budget Binder: Not sure what to make of this one. you?
  • Love Letter About Money: I love you but money is important you know……..
  • Woman Only Want Money: What about us men?
  • Dash For Cash Jamaica Supermarket Game Show- Nope, no Jamaica here man!! I’d be interested to check that game show out though lol. Only have the grocery game challenge I’m afraid.
  • 25, Single, Homeowner: Ha, no dating site here, this one was great.
  • Pot in fence: Well, if you’re growing pot it’s a good sign your neighbour can tell what it is. Look… pot in fence.

That’s all for this weeks Saturday weekend review, please join me again next Saturday for more happening in and around the blog and at the CBB home.

Money-quote

  • Are you NEW to Canadian Budget Binder?
  • Follow Me on Social Media:  Twitter, Facebook , Pinterest , StumbleUpon, Reddit and Google+
  • Plus! Don’t forget to Subscribe to the blog so you get my daily email!!
  • If you need to get in touch with me the best way is on Facebook!
Related articles

 

Share to...

Similar Posts

Reach Financial Peace Without Fear Of Failure : The Saturday Weekend Review #305

Reach Financial Peace Without Fear Of Failure : The Saturday Weekend Review #305

If You Can Dream Financial Peace You Can Live It Covid-19 sure put a dent in our financial world emotionally and mentally it’s time we create financial peace of mind. Stress from uncertainty when it comes to money management especially when creditors are calling can be debilitating. Then we dream of a life where having…