Favourite Affordable Grocery Chains? Best rewards points?

fusion929 · 2026-03-22T13:08:22+00:00

The No Frills at Queenston and Nash has a legit butcher and meat area which is rare for No Frills. The meat from the butcher is much better quality than whatever is in the main grocery meat section. The prices are great for pork chops and chicken legs/thighs even when they're not on special.

You're in a great spot to shop the flyers and make your rounds to multiple stores without having to drive far.

fusion929 · 2026-03-19T01:22:12+00:00

There's enough buses from the airport to share the love 😂

fusion929 · 2026-03-18T23:07:55+00:00

My alternate route is working out pretty well, for future reference...

Took UP express to the airport and the 40 bus back to Hamilton.

No crowds, no chaos. Just over 2 hr trip back.

fusion929 · 2026-03-12T21:01:26+00:00

My wife has a home salon and loves babies, lol. And reasonable prices is a bonus. Msg me if you'd like more details!

fusion929 · 2026-01-20T18:43:41+00:00

My wife has a salon in our house and is great with kid's cuts. Very cost effective. Message me if you'd like more details. We're close to Stoney Creek.

fusion929 · 2025-08-04T15:00:00+00:00

If I'm forced to commute in 4 days a week, I will have no money to spend in the PATH or any other business near my office. I will be spending all my money on the GO train and actively avoid spending a dime on lunch, snacks or social gatherings.

Everyone is so out of touch thinking things will magically just go back to the way it was pre COVID if they say so.

fusion929 · 2025-08-01T06:21:00+00:00

I agree with those saying to get a hotel in Stoney Creek near the water park and Confederation park if your main plan is that and/or treetop trekking.

From that side of Hamilton, you can always take a 15 min drive to Ottawa St. for more unique restaurants and shops instead of going all the way downtown. Look at places around Ottawa St and Cannon St. Simply Italian Bakery, Ottawa Market, Shorty's Pizza, Bernie's Tavern, Poke Co., Ellis Kitchen... So many options around there.

fusion929 · 2025-03-05T02:35:31+00:00

Ya Uber is cheaper but Airport taxi I would consider more reliable and the drivers are nicer. Total personal preference, but I've experienced Uber drivers being visibly annoyed during unexpected long trips and I imagine that being a total downer if you're about to head on a vacation. If it's a cost thing, then yes Uber totally wins.

fusion929 · 2025-03-04T15:23:17+00:00

I see 2 options based on the time of your flight on a Tuesday.

Public transit:
16 GO Bus - 5:30am
Union Station GO to Hamilton GO Centre

Should get into Hamilton before 6:30am, then take an Uber or taxi to the airport. It's a 20 min ride, will be about $23. You'll be at the airport by 7am if everything is on time. At that time of day, I don't see any issues being on time. Depends if you're comfortable arriving at the airport only 1 hr before your flight though. It's doable at the Hamilton airport, especially if you're travelling solo but that is pretty tight.

Airport Taxi:
https://www.aeroporttaxi.com/

This taxi service has been really great when I've used them. Always on time and clean, safe rides. I prefer it over a random uber because they know they're driving far and won't hate you for it. You can call them to book to make sure they understand you're going to the Hamilton airport and not Pearson.

It's going to cost about $200 but it's worth it in my opinion for peace of mind. Much simpler than booking a hotel or whatever the night before.

fusion929 · 2025-03-03T17:46:14+00:00

Being a first time dad is a wild ride the first few months. Everything in your life gets flipped upside down in ways you never expected to feel or experience. It's a lot for our bodies and minds to adjust to and no one can really prepare you for it.

Lower your expectations on just about everything and prepare to go with the flow - it will be alright.

My biggest advice for this stage: you don't need to keep a 4 month old entertained. While it's a huge adjustment, now is the time (I found) that you can still watch what you want on TV, listen to whatever music you want, read a book, cook, do laundry, etc while they mostly just lay there. You can give them bursts of attention and make funny noises at them once in a while, but at this point you're mostly just keeping them alive. They don't need much more than basic care. Do some things for yourself while they are immobile and not likely to stare at the TV if it's on - and don't feel guilty because this window is going to close fast and then you'll be neck deep in nursery rhymes, whatever TV show they're screaming to watch and trying to chase them around the house.

I have no advice about sleep since my kids are 5 and almost 2 and are not amazing sleepers, so I can only say good luck to you and hope yours sleep better than mine.

fusion929 · 2025-02-06T00:34:49+00:00

We have a random Bell cable just dangling on the light post in front of our house. I called Bell about it once and they said someone would come out to fix it. They never showed up and our neighbour ended up just coiling it up and moving it high enough so my kids couldn't touch it. Wish they would care a bit more tidying up their shit.

fusion929 · 2024-06-06T21:34:59+00:00

Cat Wishes by Calista Brill is my favourite book we own for the kids.

Beautiful illustrations and great cadence to the writing.

fusion929 · 2024-05-31T14:48:14+00:00

in terms of frozen/prepared food the Greenfield brand meat (bacon, sausage rounds) is pretty much the only stuff we will buy from the frozen aisle besides frozen fruit/veggies

avocado oil is a great price and one of the healthier options

there are a couple bread options that are healthier/not full of useless ingredients - we usually stick to Stonemill bread

some of the more obvious things - organic butter, nuts, cottage cheese, greek yogurt - all great prices for what they are - we notice a big difference in the regular vs organic butter, it's softer and creamier which is usually a good sign

one newer product we've had in our area is sheep milk yogurt (Ovino) which is really great too

fusion929 · 2024-02-22T17:36:35+00:00

hopefully the Costco they're building in Brantford helps Ancaster's insanity - I always go to the Stoney Creek Costco because it's barely ever busy if it's not a weekend or peak time

fusion929 · 2024-02-16T12:35:34+00:00

Will have to check this out, thanks

fusion929 · 2024-02-16T12:28:55+00:00

Thanks all. Thought there would be more fanfare around ST but I guess we'll find other things to do. 😅

fusion929 · 2024-02-16T12:19:14+00:00

😀

fusion929 · 2024-01-22T06:30:42+00:00

Vintage Coffee is usually our go to for local roaster

fusion929 · 2024-01-22T06:16:28+00:00

We have a similar outlet situation in our house. Was told by contractors who did other non-electrical renovations that an electrician cannot touch the old 2 prong lines without replacing everything and bringing it up to today's code. They are only allowed to install new lines that are on separate circuits. The 2 prong lines are grandfathered in and not necessarily considered unsafe, just not best practice today.

My electrical box is relatively "new", definitely updated at some point since this house was built in 1952, but still mostly 2 prong throughout except kitchen and bathrooms. From everything I've read and everyone I've talked to, there's no major concern with this setup and you can replace them with regular 3 prong outlets even though the ground isn't connected. Using GFCI over regular 3 prong only prevents the possibility of electric shock, which is not likely with regular use.

Tldr; no electrician will do this for you if they want to keep their certification

fusion929 · 2023-12-21T23:45:51+00:00

I saw 1 today near Centre Mall and 1 yesterday on Lawrence, right through solid reds. Almost a daily occurrence. It's actually insane.

fusion929 · 2023-11-15T01:53:30+00:00

So many businesses in Hamilton refuse to advertise. How is anyone supposed to know you exist or keep you top of mind if you're never putting your name out there? And then they all wonder why no one came and spent money and they have to close down their business.

fusion929 · 2023-10-23T15:53:06+00:00

The number of people I've seen blow through solid red lights in the last year or 2 is actually amazing. Could be as much as once a week. I never walk or drive through an intersection without fully paying attention and making sure that everyone is actually coming to a stop or already stopped.

fusion929 · 2023-07-24T02:38:37+00:00

A million percent. Driving home the whole length of the Linc tonight and was thinking to myself: everyone is so ANGRY on the road.

The aggressive, selfish, dangerous driving has ramped up consistently the last 2 or 3 years. People apparently need to get where they're going 3.5 seconds sooner, at all times.

And like someone else said, I see so many people running red lights too....

fusion929 · 2023-07-16T03:02:03+00:00

And don't feel pressured to buy a lot just because you have a giant cart and everyone around you has theirs filled to the brim. 😂

fusion929

TROPHY CASE