Making Cents Of It All

April is gone. My allergies have been bad but not horrible. I have been busy doing yard work on every nice day. So much to do. It has rained a lot this month. Glad it wasn't snow. Let us see how I did.  Financial - Put 15% into retirement. Thank you 401K plan.   -  Grocery Budget  of $500 average for the year.  I think I went a little over with all the marked down meat. I have a few receipts that I need to enter still.  - List 20 new items on eBay and Craigslist.  I listed 25 items - Go over our budget with Hubby   Did it! - Go over the kid's budgets with each of them.   We do this every month.   - YD apply for scholarships. She applied for a few. They are mostly done except for a few. They will pick up again in June.  - Deposit tax refund into college account Done. Family - Celebrate Easter with OD early We had a great time. She was finding eggs for over a week.  - Celebrate Easter with extended fam...

Hubby asked if I could maybe get some kalamata olives from Meat Farms when I went. He loves them and I haven't gotten them in a while. I went today to get some fruits and vegetables. The olives that were by the deli were $5.99 a pound. I can get a really nice steak for that price. Hubby would not want me to spend that kind of money on olives.  I did my shopping getting the strawberries that were on sale 2 packs for $3. I got some lettuce since mine is still very small. I got 1 green pepper for 43¢ for fresh eating. I got apples that were on sale for 99¢ a pound. I then went into the condiment aisle to see if they had olives in a jar.  They did. The same kind of olives in a 16.9 oz jar were $2.49. I got more then a pound for less then half the price. Hubby is happy he got them and I can live with the price.  Look at this. I always check the meat rack. When did skirt steaks get so out of control? $18.99 a pound is crazy. It isn't from the local farm...

Saturday morning youngest daughter, Hubby and I went to  Old Westbury Gardens  for the day. I had reserved the pass from the library back in February so it cost us nothing. I packed a picnic lunch and we were set.  I have been trying to get here with the kids the last few years but something has always come up so we haven't gotten there. This year we finally made it.  It was a beautiful sunny day. The wind was a little much at times but otherwise it was perfect.  YD wants my husband to build her a cottage like this for her. It was so cute.  I haven't been her since I was a kid and there was so much more then I remembered. It is about 40 minutes from our house but it was a great day trip. YD asked if we could come back this summer when the roses are all in bloom.  There were hidden jems all over the property. The flowers were beautiful but I love the architecture.  If you stood in the right spo...

Youngest daughter had a long Easter break this year thanks to not having snow days. She has 10 days off. We went to see Shazam for free. One of my old managers gave me passes. We also went to see Captain Marvel for free. She had to work when Hubby and I went so I went with her. The same manager gave me the tickets both days. It was great to see several of my old coworkers that I had not seen since I left. We brought our own waters and snacks.  I downloaded a coupon from Stop & Shop for free dog food.  Oreo will happily eat it.  My son brought home lots of goodies from work. I shared it with my family on Easter.  My oldest sister had everyone for Easter. The kids had a great time doing the egg hunt that my other sister does. You are never to old for an egg hunt. . I was sent home with  some leftover ham, blue cheese and dressing.  My mom gave YD a small vacuum that she had gotten free for her dorm room...

I am going to be so sad when my Stop & Shop is done being remodeled. I went several times this week because they just keep marking items down. I am taking full advantage of the deals while I can get them. On my first trip, I scored organic ground beef. Usually it is so out of my price range but this week it was $1.87 a pound. I see lots of chili and tacos in our future. I also grabbed mozzarella that was on sale for $1.99 each limit 4.  The 20 packs of Cascade were marked $1.74. That is less then 9¢ a piece.  8 packs of dog food were $1.12.  That is 14¢ each. Oreo isn't picky and will love these. These are great for traveling.  YD and I went on the way to the movies. It was POURING rain. There had been racks of makeup marked down. She bought a bunch of stuff. Her most expensive item was $3 and it was originally $15. She did really well. She even got a few items for some friend's upcoming birthdays.  I grabbed ...