# What are you not Buying?



## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Weird how there's no Frugality posts in the past 2 weeks of economic devastation...

Me, i am not buying my fancy organic butter anymore @ $12/lb... 😨 Things are quite bleak.

I am also not buying a house right now either! We were house shopping recently, even put an offer on a place back in early February. Luckily, we couldn't make a deal. We were being particularly aggressive on price, and the seller was being particularly stubborn on moving down from his too-high asking price. If I went back to buy that same house again, I'd expect to pay 5-10% less than in February.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Not buying expensive vacation packages nor are we doing any major renos requiring contractors to be in the house. A great way to keep cash flow spending down, except still might buy a car though if some significant factory incentives show up in the next few months.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

AltaRed said:


> Not buying expensive vacation packages nor are we doing any major renos requiring contractors to be in the house. A great way to keep cash flow spending down, except still might buy a car though if some significant factory incentives show up in the next few months.


I bet car incentives will be big in Q3/Q4 this year once people are allowed to move freely again.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

$12 butter? Better be fancy organic grass-fed european cultured butter at that price!


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Our cashflow situation has fortunately not really changed so financials haven't forced us to modify our spending habits but rather more the business closures/limited hours. 
We usually try to go on an overseas trip in the spring but with all the travel uncertainty we're going to maybe combine for a larger trip in the fall depending on how things play out.
I thought we'd be spending a chunk on takeout but we've gone out to grab take-out twice in the last 2 weeks. Kind of want to increase the spend here a bit to support our favorite places to eat.

I'm curious as heck as to what, if any, sales incentives there'll be to get people spending again when things stabilize: Home sales, car sales, travel, restaurants, etc.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Consumers want to consume. Those habits will come back quickly although people will/should be a lot more careful on how they contract their travel plans. Hopefully, less willing to take those cheap travel packages from 3rd party providers, and more taking travel insurance. Was truly surprised how many Canadians were out of country, and why they were slow to return. Another learning I think.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

My big sacrifice has been not buying gas (haven't filled up in 3 weeks), not going out, not buying lunch at work. I'm not skimping on food.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

AltaRed said:


> Consumers want to consume. Those habits will come back quickly although people will/should be a lot more careful on how they contract their travel plans. Hopefully, less willing to take those cheap travel packages from 3rd party providers, and more taking travel insurance. Was truly surprised how many Canadians were out of country, and why they were slow to return. Another learning I think.


A lot of people are going to be racking up debt due to ongoing bills and no income. For sure, some of the consumption that would have happened now will be pent up and come back when people are feeling less scared.


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

Almost everything...need to increase the cash reserve.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

peterk said:


> Weird how there's no Frugality posts in the past 2 weeks of economic devastation...
> 
> Me, i am not buying my fancy organic butter anymore @ $12/lb... 😨 Things are quite bleak.
> 
> I am also not buying a house right now either! We were house shopping recently, even put an offer on a place back in early February. Luckily, we couldn't make a deal. We were being particularly aggressive on price, and the seller was being particularly stubborn on moving down from his too-high asking price. If I went back to buy that same house again, I'd expect to pay 5-10% less than in February.


Well to put a fine point on it, what we are not buying as a result of the virus isn't really about frugality is it.

I'm not buying anything travel related right now which I might have been doing under normal circumstances but not buying that has nothing to do with frugality. Maybe your decision not to buy the butter was based on frugality but most things in the comments above are not.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I am very financially solvent at the moment and still gainfully employed. I sympathize with those not in that situation (more the latter than the former--anyone can live below their means). Looking to increase my equity holdings once it is clear the bottom is in the market (likely when indices are back above 200 day MA).


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## gardner (Feb 13, 2014)

andrewf said:


> My big sacrifice has been not buying gas (haven't filled up in 3 weeks).


Interesting. When the floor fell out of gas prices I went out and filled up my truck. I usually run it between 1/2 and 1/4 tank since it helps to not carry all that gas around. But when gas goes on sale, I have room for 70L - 100L. I bought 80L at ~0.75 -- it went below 0.50 here. When I have a chance I will fill up the gas cans for the generator and lawnmower and so forth.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I don't worry about timing gas purchases. That can drive you crazy. I price shop when I need to fill and fill up. I may fill up soon anyway because at this rate a tank is going to last me another 3 weeks. Unless I start driving out of boredom.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

Not buying beer or wine. In isolation, and they don't deliver 
Not buying golf balls - haven't lost any lately.
Not buying restaurant meals. Can't go out.
Not buying gas or diesel. Theoretically, shouldn't leave our driveway.
Probably saving a little on those minor expenses, but major ones like hydro and taxes and food continue. 
Being retired, can't be laid off, but feel for those who have.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

Not going to movies
Not buying restaurant meals
Buying less fast food (I dislike drive-thrus)
No more impulse buys due to not going into stores often (I didn't make a lot of impulse buys before, but now its zero)
Haven't bought gas in 11 days and still have more than 1/4 tank left (using less gas due to not visiting friends, in addition to not driving for the above reasons)


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

peterk said:


> Me, i am not buying my fancy organic butter anymore @ $12/lb... 😨 Things are quite bleak.



When member 'peterk' posted this about his organic butter sacrifice last week I remember thinking that I had never heard of organic butter, and it all sounded pretty dumb to me. I let it go as another thing like 'avocado toast' that I'll never try.

Today was my once every two week grocery shopping foray into enemy territory. I shop at Farm Boy and they have started early hours that I decided to take advantage of to satisfy my next two week stock up of food. 

I got everything on my list, but unfortunately the only butter was $11 organic butter by 'Organic Meadow' that claimed to be crafted using fresh organic cream and sea salt from small family farms.

I needed butter and this isn't a time to worry about a few dollars, so I took the prize.

I'm thinking now that I'm a cool guy just like respected member peterk.

ltr


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

like_to_retire said:


> I'm thinking now that I'm a cool guy just like respected member peterk.


I'd waiting for the taste test results ...


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

Any kind of butter will clog your arteries!


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

Oh my goodness, that's so not true.

Please tell us you're not actually using margarine?

ltr


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

agent99 said:


> Any kind of butter will clog your arteries!


Lies!



Butter is by most accounts healthier than margarine. Saturated fat is not longer something that most nutrition guidelines suggest needs to be avoided. I would much rather eat butter than canola oil or other high Omega-6 oil.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

andrewf said:


> Lies!
> 
> 
> 
> Butter is by most accounts healthier than margarine. Saturated fat is not longer something that most nutrition guidelines suggest needs to be avoided. I would much rather eat butter than canola oil or other high Omega-6 oil.


I respectfully Disagree. i Think there is still equal support for either.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

Money172375 said:


> I respectfully Disagree. i Think there is still equal support for either.


Oh my goodness, margarine has long been debunked as junk that you shouldn't consume along with the thinking that all saturated fats are bad. It just ain't so.​ltr​


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

You guys must be reading those studies that were sponsored by dairy marketing boards 

I see people who use butter (82% fat) yet buy 1% milk. What is the sense in that?

Personally, I don't use butter or margarine, but I am sure DW uses it a bit for cooking.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

agent99 said:


> I see people who use butter (82% fat) yet buy 1% milk. What is the sense in that?


People use butter when they understand the horror show that margarine offers. 

Milk? It's for babies - haven't drank it in sixty years, so I can't really comment.

ltr


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

I decided to go back and search the literature. Starting in the late 1880s:

*1855* Americans should useoil instead of butter—becausebutter may be obsolete. In fact, butter is purely "respiratory," a food that, like "sugar, starch, and alcohol, goes merely to form fat." But wait: Maybe butter's okay if it's, um, fermented? Storing your butter in a "strong brine" could help it to keep for up to a year.

*1884* Margarine can cause yourteeth to loosen, your skin to crack, and your hair to fall out. Also, the adulteration of butter (by adding other fat solids) is a damn shame, and because it's being tampered with, nobody wants to eat it anymore.

*1886* Margarine is manufactured under no restrictions; it's bad for dairymen, and bad for your health.

*1901* There's a lot of bacteria in butter; salted varieties keep better, so you should eat those instead of unsalted varieties.

*1913* Butter's so bad for you that it getsbanned from Vassar College(along with cotton mattresses).Also, butter could carry disease. You should eat margarine.

*1928* Americans eating margarine instead of butter (and also eating "five times more" potatoes) will reduce the U.S. mortality rate.

*1948* Butter and margarine are equally healthy (or equally unhealthy).

*1979* Butter is probably better for you than margarine, because butter hasn't been "chemically tampered with."

*1984* Cholesterol is BAD and butter is the cause.

*1990* Butter is worse for men's cholesterol levels than vegetable oils. Also, margarine is a better choice than butter, so long as its fat levels are under 30 percent trans. Butter is the MOST DANGEROUS fat.

*1993* Whether it's butter or margarine, solid and semi-solid fats are worse for you than are natural oils.

*1998* Low-trans-fat margarineis totally better for you than butter.Actually, no. Butter is better, because it's a fresh, real food. Gah—what to believe!? Margarine apparently improves your "blood lipid profiles" better than butter. Well, that's something, we guess.

*2000* Butter can actually protect you against pretty much every ill, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and osteoporosis; butter—or actually the vitamins it contains—is _essential_ for your health.

*2002* If you're overweight (and a rat), eating butter will make you fatter. If you're thin (and a rat), it'll make you skinnier.

*2004* Eating butter most likelywon't increase your chances for getting breast cancer—but it may increase your ovarian cancer risk.

*2006* Butter's a little bit unhealthy (saturated fats), but so is margarine (trans fats). You should probablyjust use olive oil instead.

*2007* To raise your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol, replace carbohydrates with fat. But this only works with unsaturated fat—so limit that butter.

*2008* Artificial butter is harmful to your lungs—if inhaled.

*2009* Eating butter may reduce your risk of heart attack.

*2010* Margarine is a smarter choice than butter, but butter is a better choice than olive and canola oils, which raise the fats in your blood stream significantly more after eating.

*2011* Butter (and cod liver oil) can help halt and reverse tooth decay.

*2012* The saturated fat in butter can slow down your cognitive ability.

*2013* The removal of saturated fat—that'd be butter—from our diet hasmade cardiovascular diseasemore prevalent. Although!People who eat more vegetable fats than animal fats have higher death rates.

*2014* Butter—and other full-fat foods—may help us lose weight. In other good news, a new study says there is definitely no link between the saturated fat in butter and heart disease. But wait: Some big flaws with that study prove that there may be a thread of connection between butter and disease after all. No. Wait again. Butter really is okay. Just in moderation, and as a part of a balanced diet.

_So what's the deal: Is butter good for us or bad? It looks like the jury's still out. If you are on a low sodium diet, avoid salted butter. If you are worried about Cholesterol, avoid all fats. (2020)_


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

You forgot one - 

*2020* Going out to the store for butter or margarine may kill you.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Most people (who don't have heart disease) also don't need to worry about salt.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

I don’t have an opinion either Way. Just that the first two articles I found say something different.









Butter vs. margarine: Which is better for my heart?


Margarine usually tops butter for heart health. But not all margarines are created equal.




www.mayoclinic.org













Butter vs. margarine: Which is most healthful?


Many people wonder whether butter or margarine is better for their health. Butter is a dairy product containing saturated fats, while margarine consists of plant-based oils and often contains trans fats. Learn more about them here.




www.medicalnewstoday.com





I’m a believer that most anything is fine in moderation. We do our best to avoid pre-packaged foods and cook from scratch.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

like_to_retire said:


> People use butter when they understand the horror show that margarine offers.


I always used butter even when I was unaware of the reality of margarine because it tastes better.



> Milk? It's for babies - haven't drank it in sixty years, so I can't really comment.


I don't drink milk either and can't think of a good reason why I should. I do use half and half in my coffee, though but that's for the taste.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

like_to_retire said:


> When member 'peterk' posted this about his organic butter sacrifice last week I remember thinking that I had never heard of organic butter, and it all sounded pretty dumb to me. I let it go as another thing like 'avocado toast' that I'll never try.
> 
> Today was my once every two week grocery shopping foray into enemy territory. I shop at Farm Boy and they have started early hours that I decided to take advantage of to satisfy my next two week stock up of food.
> 
> ...


So close - would've been cool 3 years ago. 

Today, Organic Meadow has separated their grass-fed butter from their "regular" organic butter, and sell it separately in smaller 1/2lb sizes with a new fancy package. This is exorbitantly priced at about $10/ half lb.

More importantly, the Organic Meadow butter is rather plain. It's very pale in colour and not very flavourful. It stays firm and put together at room temperature - no good - The best butters will barely be able to hold on to their rectangle shape when left out at room temperature, and when you put your knife into it you should be confused as to whether you're actually touching it or not because it is so soft.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Just buy some raw milk and shake it to get your butter if you don't own a churn and your own cow. We often did this on the farm when fruit prices dropped too much. Real butter is white and very soft. Bonus is the butter milk for your pancakes.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Eder said:


> Just buy some raw milk and shake it to get your butter if you don't own a churn and your own cow. We often did this on the farm when fruit prices dropped too much. Real butter is white and very soft. Bonus is the butter milk for your pancakes.


This is the best way to do it. It doesn't have to be raw milk, but at least 35% cream. You can shake it really hard, but it takes a while or put it through a mixer and over beat it. 

I would say making butter this way rivals the top restaurants whipped butter.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Well now you guys got me thinking!

If only I had hours and hours stuck at home with nothing to do...


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

Seem to have killed the butter debate. 

Seeing this is a Money forum, maybe we should move on to bread? 

We are running short of bread in our portfolio.


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

Why not go straight to yeast? I hear it's a money printing... I mean bread making machine. But what do I know. Only hearsay that it's hard to find these days.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Yeast is the new toilet paper. It actually makes more sense to have more yeast than toilet paper. You can bake all sort of things to eat u like just wiping your butt. It was the last thing on my list last week I had checked out many stores, and nothing. I ended up finding a local baker and buying from her directly. I also made a deal with baker if I run of fl Ur I can buy some from her too. 

My bread portfolio is ready to be investing in. I a, dusting off the bread machine this weekend. I am going to make a whole bunch pizza dough and freeze them, along with different doughs for rolls and bread. I like using my machine to do the kneading and the first rise but I don’t like the results of the final bake, the paddle always leave big holes in the bread. My hack is after the first Rise, I shape dough in to the form I want and either rise for the frozen, thaw out the night before, and turn on the oven when I wake up. It does a slow rise so the results are a little different. 

Now if I only had that whipping cream to make butter. Yum.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I imagine bulk barn might be a good place to go for things that are out of stock in grocery stores. Maybe with bulk barn you tend to get more intentional buyers and less hoarders.


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

Plugging Along said:


> Yeast is the new toilet paper. It actually makes more sense to have more yeast than toilet paper.


Not by volume nor mass, hopefully  Thankfully I still have about a 4-6 month supply in my freezer so I should be ok. Nothing like home pizza dough indeed. And homemade bread in general.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

My understanding is that to create a starter from scratch without yeast requires some time for the favourable yeasts/microbes to outcompete any nasties. So the bread you make for the first week or two with the starter might not be very good/successful.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

andrewf said:


> I imagine bulk barn might be a good place to go for things that are out of stock in grocery stores. Maybe with bulk barn you tend to get more intentional buyers and less hoarders.


I called our bulk barns, even they were sold out. The problem with Bulk barn is there is a higher chance of contamination as people are opening the plastic bins and using the scoops to get the product. All of our grocery stores have stopped all bulk bin purchases. Some stores are 'packaging' their bulk items which I am okay with, but I don't know if bulk barn is doing that now. 



off.by.10 said:


> Not by volume nor mass, hopefully  Thankfully I still have about a 4-6 month supply in my freezer so I should be ok. Nothing like home pizza dough indeed. And homemade bread in general.


Definitely not by mass, but it's getting there. I checked amazon before my little adventure, and if it wasn't sold out, it was $20+ for a small jar. It may actually be more than the cost of toilet paper by mass. 




Ag Driver said:


> Roughly 5 days or so. It's really not rocket science, but there is certainly a technique in stretching and folding down the road.. That being said, it is all about mass and percentages, so I recommend using scale for best results.


I did start my starter just in case, it was slow and 'funky' at best. Our lack of humidity doesn't do well, and am not a good enough baker to tell when 'funky' is really bad. My starter did have some of the qualities that was listed to throw out. . I didn't want to waste any more flour as that is becoming a scarcity too.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Back to what am I not buying....

Of course due to all the shut downs we aren't spending money on the outings that we normally do like everyone else.
Not doing are renovations we had planned for this summer. Want to keep the cash reserves and there is just too much change going on.
-Not going on any of the three major family trips we had planned. We will go some where good when this all settles
For commercial things

My expensive tea. I usually get it on sale as a treat, but right now I have to order $50 at a time to get free shipping and none of it's on sale. My poor kids think they are sacrificing because they have to use grocery store tea bags.
Take out/delivery of chains: We love eating out so this is the part is one of the most difficult. I don't want the risks. - However, we have decided that when we start with take out we will only do our local places (no chains) and do curbside (no skip the dish or 3rd party)
Any clothing, make up, what ever one might wear, as we aren't going out. My daughter put on a full outfit and makeup just to take the garbage out because she was feelling frumpy.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

andrewf said:


> My understanding is that to create a starter from scratch without yeast requires some time for the favourable yeasts/microbes to outcompete any nasties. So the bread you make for the first week or two with the starter might not be very good/successful.



Start 3 or 4 cultures at the same time...it will soon be apparent which one you should keep...add a couple grapes (any color) when starting...trust me.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Plugging Along said:


> I called our bulk barns, even they were sold out. The problem with Bulk barn is there is a higher chance of contamination as people are opening the plastic bins and using the scoops to get the product.


Bulk Barn won't let you use any bins etc...tell them what you want they will go get the item for you...they won't take cash.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Ag Driver said:


> Roughly 5 days or so. It's really not rocket science, but there is certainly a technique in stretching and folding down the road.. That being said, it is all about mass and percentages, so I recommend using scale for best results.


With flour sold out everywhere the problem is now feeding the sourdough starter everyday. I stocked up on things I normally consume but with time to bake bread I'll be out of flour soon. Thinking about grinding my own wheat berries but if it's that simple I imagine the stores will be able to restock soon..

I have a $10 kitchen scale for weighing espresso shots that does the job. You can easily wing it but the scale helps to be consistent. Once I've taken the time to learn this I can't see myself buying bread again.. I wonder how many things like this will change consumer spending permanently



Plugging Along said:


> My expensive tea. I usually get it on sale as a treat, but right now I have to order $50 at a time to get free shipping and none of it's on sale. My poor kids think they are sacrificing because they have to use grocery store tea bags.


I just ordered another 1lb loose leaf organic black tea on amazon. There's a few reputable brands still available at least on amazon usa. I normally buy local roasted coffee beans in 1lb bags but I've stocked up on 5lbs. That probably isn't enough to outlast this crisis though..

I'm buying less gas and cancelled a trip home to Canada. Not much change in consumer spending yet I can think of.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Eder said:


> Bulk Barn won't let you use any bins etc...tell them what you want they will go get the item for you...they won't take cash.


That's good to know. I had completely a large shop there about 3 weeks ago, so don't really need anything, but I am glad to hear they have found ways to stay open and safe.



m3s said:


> I just ordered another 1lb loose leaf organic black tea on amazon. There's a few reputable brands still available at least on amazon usa. I normally buy local roasted coffee beans in 1lb bags but I've stocked up on 5lbs. That probably isn't enough to outlast this crisis though..
> 
> I'm buying less gas and cancelled a trip home to Canada. Not much change in consumer spending yet I can think of.


One thing I had not anticipated with all of us home is how much more coffee and tea we go through. I had a large enough stash that would normally last us 6 months, but it's looking more like a month or two. Especially since I am not grabbing coffee or tea at work or through drive thrus right now.


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## GGuy (Mar 21, 2018)

Staying home and not buying anything. Not even stocks (yet).

I don't understand why couples still go together for groceries? Is that essential? And what the hell are folks still lining up at Costco for? Lines snaking around the building.. Shut that place down already..

Rant over. Pissed off. Hope to get the result of my covid test tomorrow.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

One good thing is that it seems coffee & tea was largely immune to the hoarding impulse at stores over the past few weeks.

On Costco and other stores with massive lines outside, I almost feel like you should 'check in' from home and be allowed to enter when your number is called. I drove past costco on my way to the grocery store this evening, there were hundreds in line, almost half way around the building.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

Thanks for the switch from yeast to coffee and tea. I can actually brew those.


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## GGuy (Mar 21, 2018)

andrewf said:


> One good thing is that it seems coffee & tea was largely immune to the hoarding impulse at stores over the past few weeks.
> 
> On Costco and other stores with massive lines outside, I almost feel like you should 'check in' from home and be allowed to enter when your number is called. I drove past costco on my way to the grocery store this evening, there were hundreds in line, almost half way around the building.


I like the check-in idea so you don't have hoards showing up all at the same time. Costco has the secret formula that hooks people and keeps them coming back - even now. Guess those 5 gallon jars of pickles are necessities. 

My wife goes to Safeway early in the morning once every 10 days or so and gets in and out very quickly with few others in the store and never a line-up. I guess the hoards lining up at Costco keeps Safeway the true "safe way" to shop now. She said they have a great system - disinfected cart passed to you at the door, plexi shield in front of cashier, bag your own groceries if you want to. But no 5 gallon jars of pickles!


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## northernguy (Oct 19, 2013)

GGuy said:


> I don't understand why couples still go together for groceries? Is that essential? And what the hell are folks still lining up at Costco for? Lines snaking around the building.. Shut that place down already..


Costco is great in this type of situation IMO. We were able this week to stock up on many things that we used up over the past three weeks and can probably now go another 3-4 weeks with just one or two quick trips to the local Freshco for fruit/vegetables/milk in between. 

I also observed that the size of Costco and the approach they are taking to Covid is far more rigorous here than the other grocery stories. Just my opinion, but I think they're also keeping some pressure off the local grocery stores which seem to be struggling to keep their shelves stocked.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

GGuy said:


> Staying home and not buying anything. Not even stocks (yet).
> 
> I don't understand why couples still go together for groceries? Is that essential? And what the hell are folks still lining up at Costco for? Lines snaking around the building.. Shut that place down already..
> 
> Rant over. Pissed off. Hope to get the result of my covid test tomorrow.


Agreed, the sizes available at costco does allow for less frequent shopping. i too notice that Costco is the most strict with allowing shoppers in. They are the only ones in our area controlling the number of entrants based on the number of people exiting. All the other grocers are not controlling the number of shoppers.


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## newfoundlander61 (Feb 6, 2011)

I will wait until their is some solid COVID-19 news before buying anything. Stocks in general haven fallen so much that their is a long ways to go yet for any market stability. Mind you if Russia and Saudia Arabia can reach a agreement then that will help for sure.


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## Fisherman30 (Dec 5, 2018)

Not spending money at restaurants
Not spending money on entertainment other than internet/streaming subscriptions
Making my own beer/wine at home
Not really spending anything on gas
Phoned insurance company today to negotiate a better deal on home insurance. Only managed to save $12/month, but it's still something.
Not buying all the extra treats I used to buy while out (used to always buy pepperoni sticks, jerky, samosas etc. while I was at my local butcher shop).
Cooking in bulk. Making big pots of chili, pasta, etc.
Reduced my cell phone bill by about 58% by switching my Wife and I to lucky mobile
Changed our vehicle coverage to "pleasure use", since neither of us are driving to work, and I am driving to work so little, that it still falls under "pleasure use"...Saved us about $40/month
No cable. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus only....I would like to cut Disney, but my Wife likes it.
Negotiated cheaper rate for internet (saving about 50%)
No home phone

As lousy as this whole situation is, I'm just taking the time to be as happy as possible spending more time at home with my family, enjoying making breakfast every morning, just those small simple pleasures....I'm an airline pilot, still flying for now (however, not nearly as much as normal, and for reduced salary). The downturn has all but decimated my industry (as well as many others), but I'm just trying to take this time to reset, enjoy the extra sleep, time at home and everything else that's not normally part of being an airline pilot, and just be well rested and raring to go for when things do pick back up again.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Money172375 said:


> Agreed, the sizes available at costco does allow for less frequent shopping. i too notice that Costco is the most strict with allowing shoppers in. They are the only ones in our area controlling the number of entrants based on the number of people exiting. All the other grocers are not controlling the number of shoppers.


Costco here is controlling how many people can enter. They also limit how many people can enter the produce room at one time. The dairy room is small so no one is allowed to enter...an employee will get what you need.

No Frills and Superstore are also limiting the number of people in the store. I haven't been to Superstore lately but have been to No Frills. They are well stocked and still have weekly sales.


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

Same here for Costco. 50 min waiting line outside, on a rainy day. The experience once inside is much better than usual though. The employees also appear more relaxed. Plenty of TP. Not buying any as we had bought a package before this mess started. Other stuff we're not buying:

Daycare
Snacks for the kids' lunch box.
Haircuts


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

GF misses her café mochas from Tim Horton's so I made one for her last week and she loved it and has been having them every day since. Even when this is over she'll stick with the homemade ones rather than buy from Tim's.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

We're not buying cheese strings for kids snacks. Less gas obviously. No hair cuts, but that's not a big expense. No massages/chiro, but that's a work covered expense.
I'd say we've reduced food waste a wee bit since we plan out meals for the next week+ and buy those specific things rather than "I want to make salmon so get some, but I forgot we have X, Y, and Z going on this week so now won't be able to make the salmon til Friday, at which point it will be 4 days old and is it really worth it?"
Making a lot of muffins, loafs and cookies, but not a substantial amount more than usual. Not making bread - we go through a lot and the kids like their particular bread. Our preferred light rye bread was on for 94c a loaf last week, so we bought a 4 loaves. Will probably last a week.

No kids activities, so money saved there. No childcare. It all makes up for the 25% temp pay cut I was given.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

A twist on "what am I not buying"...this is "what I've been selling". I've taken advantage of the gym closures to sell some excess gym equipment and also people stocking up on food to get rid of a chest freezer and a fridge. In every case I practiced cleanliness and proper distancing. This is what I've sold in the last couple weeks:


280 pounds of weight plates, 4 spinlock dumbbells, and a dumbbell rack. Pre-virus worth about $350, sold for $700
4 - 45lb York Olympic weight plates. Pre-virus $120 or so, sold for $260
Weider cable machine. Pre-virus $300 - $400. Sold for $800
10-year old 5 cubic ft chest freezer. Pre-virus <$100. Sold for $200
15-year old "basement" fridge. Pre-virus $200. Sold for $400


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


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## Max9943 (Apr 22, 2020)

peterk said:


> Weird how there's no Frugality posts in the past 2 weeks of economic devastation...
> 
> Me, i am not buying my fancy organic butter anymore @ $12/lb... 😨 Things are quite bleak.
> 
> I am also not buying a house right now either! We were house shopping recently, even put an offer on a place back in early February. Luckily, we couldn't make a deal. We were being particularly aggressive on price, and the seller was being particularly stubborn on moving down from his too-high asking price. If I went back to buy that same house again, I'd expect to pay 5-10% less than in February.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

peterk said:


> Weird how there's no Frugality posts in the past 2 weeks of economic devastation...
> 
> Me, i am not buying my fancy organic butter anymore @ $12/lb... 😨 Things are quite bleak.
> 
> I am also not buying a house right now either! We were house shopping recently, even put an offer on a place back in early February. Luckily, we couldn't make a deal. We were being particularly aggressive on price, and the seller was being particularly stubborn on moving down from his too-high asking price. If I went back to buy that same house again, I'd expect to pay 5-10% less than in February.


Was just thinking of you Peterk. I just made my own whipped butter, it is quite fantastic, but a little messy because I tried to cheat and use my mixed instead of shaking by hand, so it was harder to strain the butter milk out.

I made about 1/2 cup using just over a cup of cream. It is quite fantastic. I made it for the bread that I am baking for dinner, but my kids keep getting into you. I think I cost me just over $1 for this amount. Well worth it even though it's not organic.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Plugging Along said:


> Was just thinking of you Peterk. I just made my own whipped butter, it is quite fantastic, but a little messy because I tried to cheat and use my mixed instead of shaking by hand, so it was harder to strain the butter milk out.
> 
> I made about 1/2 cup using just over a cup of cream. It is quite fantastic. I made it for the bread that I am baking for dinner, but my kids keep getting into you. I think I cost me just over $1 for this amount. Well worth it even though it's not organic.


Did you rinse the milk out of it? That seems like the annoying part of making butter. After you get it to clump you have to squeeze and rinse the milk out of the butter so that it keeps, otherwise it can spoil more quickly.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Thats what cheese cloth is for, dont really need to rinse? Adding salt prevents spoiling longer.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

andrewf said:


> Did you rinse the milk out of it? That seems like the annoying part of making butter. After you get it to clump you have to squeeze and rinse the milk out of the butter so that it keeps, otherwise it can spoil more quickly.


I did but dont think I got it all out. I rinsed it and then put it in a cheese cloth. No salt though, I don’t like my butter salted. I did put cold water on as a DIY butter bell.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Prairie Guy said:


> A twist on "what am I not buying"...this is "what I've been selling". I've taken advantage of the gym closures to sell some excess gym equipment and also people stocking up on food to get rid of a chest freezer and a fridge. In every case I practiced cleanliness and proper distancing. This is what I've sold in the last couple weeks:
> 
> 
> 280 pounds of weight plates, 4 spinlock dumbbells, and a dumbbell rack. Pre-virus worth about $350, sold for $700
> ...


In anyone surprised that Prairie Guy would take advantage of the current situation to rip people off by selling his unwanted stuff at double the price.

No sign of a, 'here you will use it and I'm not so take it and stay safe. No, you don't have to pay me'. 

This example is not what Prairie Guy would do. He'd double the price on his goods.








Central Fresh Market commended for helping hungry shoplifter


A post on social media pointed a spotlight on the store's kindness




www.kitchenertoday.com


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

How is it ripping people off? These are mutually beneficial transactions. It's not like he's "scalping" gym equipment by buying up all the used supply and asking for exorbitant prices.

Your example is inviting someone to grab it and resell.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Plugging Along said:


> I did but dont think I got it all out. I rinsed it and then put it in a cheese cloth. No salt though, I don’t like my butter salted. I did put cold water on as a DIY butter bell.


Should be able to freeze any part you are worried about spoiling before you can use it. Not that you made a tonne. But if you are making butter maybe it makes sense to make a lot and freeze some.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Longtimeago said:


> In anyone surprised that Prairie Guy would take advantage of the current situation to rip people off by selling his unwanted stuff at double the price.


Ya...so pathetic...same crap as the cheap bastards that won't sell me their gold bars for the $1450/ounce it cost them.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Eder said:


> Ya...so pathetic...same crap as the cheap bastards that won't sell me their gold bars for the $1450/ounce it cost them.


😂


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@andrewf I am just making enough quantities for a week or so, and just for my fresh baked bread, so I shouldn't have a need to freeze it. I don't even like putting it in the fridge as it looses that nice creamy smooth spread-ability. Also, I have been 'manually' churning it by shaking a mason jar vigorously. It's too difficult for large quantities.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

andrewf said:


> How is it ripping people off? These are mutually beneficial transactions. It's not like he's "scalping" gym equipment by buying up all the used supply and asking for exorbitant prices.
> 
> Your example is inviting someone to grab it and resell.


Thanks Andrew. Weights are a luxury item suddenly in demand. I've been meaning to get rid of that stuff for years, why not now when the demand is high.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@Prairie Guy Smart on you. My friend picked up an elliptical for $50 about a week before all of this started getting crazy. I looked last week, and could find anything for under $200 and they were in worst shape. Though I am giving some of my stuff away, I see nothing wrong if people sell the item for a fair price. They could still order on line if they don't like your price.


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## alexincash (May 27, 2020)

Prairie Guy said:


> Thanks Andrew. Weights are a luxury item suddenly in demand. I've been meaning to get rid of that stuff for years, why not now when the demand is high.


Yup I never understood the too-high-priced argument either, consumer demand is not tied to ethics. If you want to be completely ethical go all in and donate 100%


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

nothing specific pops up as not bought; however year end show with way less restaurant, higher grocery with all 4 of us eating 100% at home, no theatre or movie or day outings, no vacation, and general make do with what we have general household expenses were about $50k this year, and prior 5 year ave was closer to $65k


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## fireseeker (Jul 24, 2017)

Ponderling said:


> nothing specific pops up as not bought;


Nothing was not bought.
That is something to ponder!


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

I used to get up and out the door for 8am opening of drug store to buy hard copy of the Saturday Globe and Mail. It was getting pretty dear at $6 per issue, but since no cafe stop in covid to do the first read of said paper, while socializing with pals, we kept at it and read it heavily while stuck at home. 

Then about 3 weeks ago a deal was offered for full digital access for $100 for the full year. So now I sleep in on some Saturdays.


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