Airmiles Armchair Chatter

[bababear_50]

Are you waiting for the 200 miles with the BMO bonus boom? Me too! DO we contact BMO or Air Miles on the 31st?

Hi Hon
Yes it is for the Bonus Boom
I am sorry I have no idea who to contact,,she just said they would be posting by March 31.

Hugs
Mel

 

[Donald - my hero]

Made a quick trip to Rexall, we have a running list of vitamins that need to be replenished and we wait for a sale. I had looked at both Metro and Shoppers last week but, DANG they were $$$$ at both stores -- like more than Rexall's regular price so i didn't even give it more than a quick glance and an under the breath mutter I was REALLY glad it wasn't the type of offer that hurts my head -- buy one get one free, buy $30 get 50 AM or worse, buy one get one 50% off buy $25 get 30 AM -- i need hubby to do those and he's confined to the car when we go out (he has a constant cough due to reflux and it looked like a scene from the exorcist last time he went out, one throat clear and every head spun around and glared!) I grabbed 4 bottles, 2 tubes of toothpaste (one up and one down bathrooms) and some blistex, not even sure what my total was but i know i got my 100 miles AND saved money.

Then we stopped in at the No Frills on the way past to see if i could grab more tuna and blueberries ...HOLY CRAP, people -- more than i have ever seen in that store. I couldn't even get down the row with that type of product (all the natural, gluten-free and healthy crap etc) I stood at one end and sighed heavily. The manager was walking past, asked what was wrong and when i told him he went down the row and asked people to please leave their baskets/carts where they were and create some space for me to check the shelf. Only 2 people swore at me as i walked past but sadly it was empty. Same for the blueberries. Our city declared a state of emergency at 11 last night immediately after it was released that we have an outbreak in our hospital, 4 employees from the same ward. I think that created a sort of mini-panic and I might be SOL for the tuna for a few days.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I’ve been holding back as much as possible, too. My bank account just doesn’t need the extra strain, and I would rather save up my pennies (or nickels!) for now.

Was it you who said that you’re down to only 3 tubes of toothpaste and normally you’d be stocking back up? I’m totally like that. It’s weird to not replace stocked toiletries, etc. I haven’t been to a drug store in 2 weeks, which is really unusual!

Yep that was me. Just to make myself nuts my activity for today was cleaning out my linen closet which is where I store the toiletries. My 3 tubes of toothpaste are now very neatly waiting. On the upside I found 4 half tubes of the 60ml sized ones that we use for travel. They are all now in line to be used next since no one will be taking any trips....unless a trip up the stairs counts? Yes, I tripped on my own feet today.

 

[bababear_50]

Here the thing about my airmiles habits which are hard to control right now......

For so long ....single parent...always looking for best buys..

1. I do stockpile because in the long run it saves me a ton of money especially on regularly used products
T.P.
Laundry soap
Dish soap
etc.......................................................................................

2. I also know what it feels like to go without so I regularly donate to the food bank.

3. I never want my kids to know that go without feeling,,but in hindsight it has helped me appreciate the value of a dollar and to always think of others in need.

Donation boxes are still collecting folks.

Hugs
Mel

 

[marchingstar]

Yep that was me. Just to make myself nuts my activity for today was cleaning out my linen closet which is where I store the toiletries. My 3 tubes of toothpaste are now very neatly waiting. On the upside I found 4 half tubes of the 60ml sized ones that we use for travel. They are all now in line to be used next since no one will be taking any trips....unless a trip up the stairs counts? Yes, I tripped on my own feet today.

That’s on my to-do list too! Trying to keep busy sure can take a lot of energy!

 

[Disney Addicted]

Universal Studios announced yesterday they are closed through April 19th. I fedexed my tickets back to Air Miles and they will be delivered today. Hoping all works out for a refund of those, along with our non-refundable hotel booking at Loew's Royal Pacific.

I received an e-mail from US about the closure through April 19th. I noted that for people who have passes they are going to extend the expiry date by the number of days they are closed. Not that this applies to you, I'm just mentioning it for others who may have passes. I'm sorry you had to cancel your plans. I imagine Loews will give a refund. At least I certainly hope they do!

I thought about going for a few seconds and then the greater good won out. That and my son told me to forget about AM until this is over. I hate to miss a good deal during a drought but these are definitely are unique times.

Yeah. I've given up on Air Miles and PC Optimum at this time. Just so not worth the risk. I hate that I'm paying more for groceries right now as well but there's no way I'm going in and out of stores if I can help it. I went out the weekend school closures were announced. Then stayed in for a week and went out again this Tuesday past for groceries. I had one last $150 Sobeys gift card so I went to FreshCo and then Loblaws for things I couldn't find at FreshCo.

Then I came home and placed my very first online order with Loblaws for April 2nd. I was so happy to find out I could add items until the day before my order, only to discover last night Loblaws cut that off. I'm not impressed.

My best score: yeast! My store had clearly just gotten a couple cases, all fresh on the shelf, so I grabbed a couple jars. I love to bake, so it’s partly for food and partly for entertainment.

Awesome! I could not find yeast last Tuesday at the two stores I shopped at. We have yeast that has expired... I may try it out anyways in hope that it somewhat works.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Sobeys gift card offer now? But I know it’s not going to happen soon. One can wish!

I wish! I'm now officially out of grocery cards and Shell cards. Ah well.

gas is super low due to Saudi Arabia and Russia having a toddler tantrum about who should cut down on production...all the while our Canadian oil is only trading yesterday at 6.35 A BARREL For that price we are actually giving it away. It's going to be a huge climb out of this. I could go on,...but I don't want to get kicked off the boards here and cause any hurt feelings. But as a country...we should be using out OWN resources...and NOT importing oil.

Yes! I was floored when I discovered Canada exports so many resources and then turns around and repurchases them at a higher cost!!

I actually needed TP, we found out yesterday a bunch of ours got wrecked in an iced dam flood we had a few weeks back, so I headed to Rexall. No TP, of course. But I got Easter stuff, and a couple of treats for the kids for now, and got my $50, then went over to Shoppers across the street, where they actually had TP. We should not need to leave the house again for 10 days, I grabbed some extra milk too just to be sure. I was terrified the entire time I was out, I hate this.

Same here.

On Tuesday I ended up grabbing the kids each a bag of Cadbury mini eggs (those really large bags) at Loblaws for $15 each (ouch!), plus a Ferrero Rocher squirrel for both my husband & myself ($5). I would prefer not going shopping for a couple of weeks at this point and was afraid Easter stuff would be gone if I waited.

Plus our son's 16th birthday is on April 3rd. He asked for his very own coffee pods that he doesn't have to share so I found regular coffee and flavoured coffee pods (actually on sale) and bought 2 packs for him. Plus a family sized bar of chocolate and a bag of candy. My husband grabbed him a $50 steam gift card from Shell on his way home a few nights ago.

 

[Disney Addicted]

A week after the government closed the schools I was sure this was coming and yesterday I received an e-mail confirming it. I'm officially on a Declared Emergency Leave. Apparently that means my job is there to come back to when this is all over. That's more than I expected. I thought we would all be laid off and have to re-apply at some point. I just don't receive any pay. I know I do not qualify for EI. There's no way I worked enough hours.

I'm ok with this. I've been a SAHM for 15 years and only started working part-time again in September so this won't feel much different. There are so many people out there who will be struggling. I'm grateful I have a job to go back to and I'm so very happy we made the decision to put my entire pay toward paying off debt. Just a couple of weeks ago I finished paying off our two credit cards. At the beginning of September one card had a $3,212.27 balance and the other one was $3,078.59. I feel so good knowing that debt is gone. We just have the mortgage and car loan now. My husband is still working.

 

[ottawamom]

@Disney Addicted look into the new Gov't programs they have announced this past week. You may qualify for one of those. Also the gov't is trying to get employers to keep people on the payroll with a 75% subsidy of payroll. This may be a game changer for people.

My take on this one is the gov't realized there is no way they can realistically pay all the EI and other benefit claims they have coming there way. The only way to get it done is to have employers hire everyone back and pay them for the duration. The gov't can't even pay their own workers properly why would anyone expect that they can deal with such an influx of EI (and other) payments. (The gov't has the money to do it, they just don't have the infastructure to do so)

 

[dancin Disney style]

That’s on my to-do list too! Trying to keep busy sure can take a lot of energy!

I have a to-do list. I've been doing one task per day and I'm already half way through the list. What I really want to do is start painting my main floor. I certainly have the time right now but I don't think I should spend the money.

 

[hdrolfe]

I normally only buy things if they are on sale. I never pay full price for meat and such, so with limited stock on things that are on sale, this is very hard on my budget. I am critical services at work so I have a job, and am getting paid (thank god) but with groceries costing more, and me only wanting to get things once a week, it is proving a challenge for sure! Any way. We will survive even if kiddo got mad I bought two packs of fuzzy peaches for him instead of two different kinds of candy.

@Disney Addicted apply for the CERB when it goes live on April 6th. Make sure you have a My Account. It will give you $2k a month (taxable). It should help.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Not sure I am in planning.mode yet... mostly surviving while trapped inside with my family LOL

 

[marchingstar]

Not sure I am in planning.mode yet... mostly surviving while trapped inside with my family LOL

survival mode here too!!

 

[bababear_50]

survival mode here too!!

Nah we are all Kicking butt today!!!
Hugs
Mel

 

[ottawamom]

@Disney Addicted apply for the CERB when it goes live on April 6th. Make sure you have a My Account. It will give you $2k a month (taxable). It should help.

Unfortunately it's taking 10+ days to get a "My Account" set up. You have to wait for confirmation to come in the mail to finalize the whole thing. DS applied Mar 12 and he's still waiting for the mail to finish it up.

 

[hdrolfe]

Unfortunately it's taking 10+ days to get a "My Account" set up. You have to wait for confirmation to come in the mail to finalize the whole thing. DS applied Mar 12 and he's still waiting for the mail to finish it up.

Oh agreed, but without one you will be attempting to apply through the automated IVR systems, getting through the phones may be difficult based on how many people are expected to apply. Plus all the toll free numbers across the country have been experiencing issues with high volumes. It's been causing problems for all services. It is an automated service though so should be open 24 hours to apply. Someone still has to mail the codes. It really isn't the best system but unfortunately any plans to improve it are on hold for now.

At least the application is supposed to be pretty simple, and if they have direct deposit set up it should be straight forward to receive. The payments for this will be sent the same way GSTC and CCTB or IT refunds are so at least better than our pay cheques And it seems to be a set amount, so no calculations. But of course it's also taxable so I think they are taking 10% off the payments, not sure about that part but hopefully it will be clear so people don't have to call and ask.

 

[bababear_50]

Sobeys/Foodland email...directed to here to get updates
https://corporate.sobeys.com/coronavirus/

Rexall email update
http://view.e.rexall.ca/?qs=858b5ba...38a6d0275cc59ed3b9016a8aefdcce6fb5c8351116c27

Hugs
Mel

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

@ottawamom, my nephew got his code for his account on Friday in the mail (Halifax), so it should be there soon!

 

[mort1331]

We got the wifes in the mail aftet a week. BUT we havent followed up yet. Waiting to see what the employernis doing with the new announcement of paying 75% of wages instead.
Lots of programs fast which is good but can be confusing.

 

[dancin Disney style]

trapped inside with my family

That sums it up REALLY well. I looked a them over dinner last night and realized this is far too much togetherness.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

As long as you made at least

A week after the government closed the schools I was sure this was coming and yesterday I received an e-mail confirming it. I'm officially on a Declared Emergency Leave. Apparently that means my job is there to come back to when this is all over. That's more than I expected. I thought we would all be laid off and have to re-apply at some point. I just don't receive any pay. I know I do not qualify for EI. There's no way I worked enough hours.

I'm ok with this. I've been a SAHM for 15 years and only started working part-time again in September so this won't feel much different. There are so many people out there who will be struggling. I'm grateful I have a job to go back to and I'm so very happy we made the decision to put my entire pay toward paying off debt. Just a couple of weeks ago I finished paying off our two credit cards. At the beginning of September one card had a $3,212.27 balance and the other one was $3,078.59. I feel so good knowing that debt is gone. We just have the mortgage and car loan now. My husband is still working.

As long as you made at least $5,000 since you started working in September, you will qualify for the Emergency Response Benefit. Applications should be up and running sometime early April.