ONE PRICE DOES NOT FIT ALL: DOLLAR STORE ITEMS ARE GOING UP IN PRICE It’s easier for consumers to justify spending a dollar on a product but what happens when that same products is now double or triple the price? The everything for a dollar store is now dead and has been for a while but now prices are slated to go up again at Dollarama. Low-income earners are not the only customers that frequent dollar stores to stock up on a variety of products for less. Just about every wallet and bank account finds something they need at the dollar store. Why spend more money than you have to if you can find it cheaper? That’s the way the wife and I have thought over the years as customers to many dollar stores. Almost every store you go into today has some sort of dollar section where they try to compete with dollar stores around Canada. It makes sense because if they can fool all of us into one-stop shopping then they have control over the market which can be bleak at times. There isn’t any money to spend for consumers so less is best yet we all […]
The Dollar Store Should Be Called The Dollars Store : The Saturday Weekend Review #166
Backyard to your kitchen: Tips for growing a Fall garden
Don’t Fall Behind With Your Fall Garden As the summer progresses and our gardens flourish, it’s time to starting planning what to plant if you would like a Fall garden. Many plants such as lettuce, carrots and onions can be grown in a spring garden but truly thrive as cool weather crops, particularly in the flavour department. Preparing for your Fall garden is much the same as what you would do in the spring, with a few other things to consider. Planting time A Fall garden typically planted in July and August. In the spring when we plant our gardens we are worried about planting to early and losing our precious plants to the last frost. With a Fall garden you need to make sure you do not plant too late. You now need to factor in when you can expect the first killer frost. Across various regions in Canada, the average first killer frost is anywhere from mid-August to early November. This date is important when you are deciding when you should be planting your fall gardens. The number of days until maturity (ready to harvest) is on the back of most seed packs and plant identification […]
Spending less: Kids’ birthday parties on a budget
A Birthday That Won’t Break The Budget Spending less for a kids’ birthday party while still having fun is easier than most people think. You don’t have to spend like the “Party Mamas” (yes the Slice TV program) and have the event catered in with the entire circus, Justin Bieber and custom-made attire for your child to make memories that last a life-time. Budgeting for your kids’ birthday party is something you can easily plan into your monthly budget so you don’t have to dig into your emergency savings or put the birthday party on a credit card. We recently celebrated my daughters’ 3rd birthday this past weekend and to save money I planned a private party well in advance. We had friends and family over for the afternoon to enjoy a backyard barbecue and no birthday is complete without cake and ice-cream. I had planned some outdoor activities for the kids but unfortunately there was thunder and the threat of rain all day which put a hold on any outdoor fun. I still grilled burgers and hot dogs but we ate inside. The kids ended up playing on the new scooter my daughter received for a gift. They took turns going from […]
Starting Our Frugal Garden From Seed
Gardening for some is a passion and for others just another chore. For me, enjoyment of watching something grow, mature and flower is fascinating. Plants don’t all have to be about huge flowers, they can be the focus or the backdrop or just plain useful. Every year we grow our own food in the garden, though I’ll be the first to admit we couldn’t live off the land we have, it’s more of a novelty thing. There are advantages other than cost to growing your own, the flavours are far superior and the knowledge that you didn’t spray everything in sight with chemicals. I can remember when I was growing up in England that quite a lot of people had apple trees in their back gardens the obligatory rhubarb patch as well as a sprinkling of gooseberry bushes, damson trees and in rough open space you could find blackberries by the thousand. Coming home from school at a young age we would often scoff free damsons off some old ladies tree. I do believe it was called “scrumping”, though that term is more synonymous with stealing apples off a tree. I’m sure growing up in an area that was dominated by old Victorian houses helped as it provided […]
