Making Cents Of It All

It has been a wonderful crazy week. Youngest daughter graduated from high school. We are so proud of her. She was 14th in her class of over 500 kids. She received several medals at the ceremony. She worked very hard and it really showed.  She had prom the night before graduation and had a wonderful time. We got a great deal on her dress months ago. It was less then a $100. She wore shoes that she had. My girlfriend did her hair for free(she refused to take money) as YD's gift. She did her own make up and nails. She looked stunning. I did splurge and get her a corsage. She loved it. We went to a pre-prom party at her friend's house to take photos. The parents had food for all of us which I thought was really nice of them. She brought home one of the centerpieces. It was a light up lantern with lots of balloons attached. She then went to a different friend's house after and went swimming and slept over. We were all very tired.  ] During all of this, Ruby, OD

I sold another fridge that I picked up on college move out day. Several people texted me and then don't get back to me. I had several no shows. This gentlemen texted me, asked a few questions and came over that night. I wish all buyers were this good.  The garden is doing good. The peas and kale are loving all of this rain. I wish I could say the same about the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.  I have been picking about a pound a day of peas. We have been snacking on them raw, they are so yummy.  I have also sauted them with oil and pepper a few times.  Last weeks freebie from Stop & Shop was oat milk. We have never had it before. I will let you know what we think of it when we open it. I will use it in baking if we don't like it.  Another friend gave me her coupon for free Coconut bars. Hubby should have no problem getting through the summer with all of them.  I went to lunch with a friend and used a bonus card from Pane

My pantry is one of my happy places. I know that no matter what happens, I can feed my family. I try to buy items at the least expensive price. I shop sales, clearance, I use coupons and rebates. Doing all of these together insures that I pay the lowest prices on our groceries. We like to eat well. We cook most meals at home.  Here are some of the ways I added to my pantry the past 2 weeks.  Aldi had ground turkey for $3.49 a pack just over a pound. The $2 off coupons made them each $1.49.  My neighbor gave me 2 more packs of american cheese. These are great for grilled cheese sandwiches, omelettes, quesadillas, and mac n cheese. They both went into the freezer.  Granola was marked down to $1.37 each. These are great for YD as they are GF. She takes them to work with her. I have been picking lots of Kale from the garden. I clean it, dry it and then freeze it. It is great in smoothies. I am loving the dehydrator that I got for my birthday.

My sister offered us these chairs for our front porch. They are from her house that she is selling. There are 4 of them but only 3 fit. They are much nicer then the ones we had. When I went to pick them up I picked a bunch of flowers from her gardens.  YD and I went to Tropical Smoothie for a free smoothie. They do it every year on National flip flop day. You just have to wear flip flops. My son was working so I kept mine for him.  I got a few freebies in the mail. I used a $2 off a you pick 2 and part of the bonus gift card to get lunch one day at Panera.  I have been getting lots of parsley, peas and kale from the garden. The kale gets put in the freezer for smoothies.  I dried some parsley one day when I was making apple chips and didn't have enough to fill the dehydrator. Might as well start drying some herbs.  My huge aloe plant had a baby so I transplanted it into a smaller pot. YD wants to take it to colleg

Financial - Put 15% into retirement. Thank you 401K -  Grocery Budget  of $500 average for the year. I was under thanks to the gift cards I won. I did stock up a lot this month for YD Graduation party. Usually I set $100 extra aside for a party but now I won't have to. I spent $397.17 out of pocket.   - List 20 new items on eBay and Craigslist.  I listed 28 items. I sold only 2 but I did make $80 from the 2 items.  - Go over our budget with Hubby   We do it every month. It is how we stay accountable.  - Go over the kid's budgets with each of them.   Did it. They are doing great. I wish I knew everything I know now at their ages.  - YD apply for scholarships. She did a few Family - Go see OD when she visits my sister. Unfortunately OD had to cancel her trip because Ruby got hurt.   - Celebrate Mother's Day. My kids and Hubby took very good care of me.  - Celebrate my 45th birthday. I was spoiled lots! - Go on a date with Hubby We went out to lunch us

Happy National Donut Day. Today I will be going to my local Duck Donuts for a free cinnamon donut. They were kind enough to send me an email to remind me. There is no coupon needed. I know lots of other places are doing some kind of deal today, some of them you need to make a purchase to get the free donut so just check out the details.  Here are the freebies that I have gotten this week. I have been using up my free birthday coupons.  My son and I went to IHOP one morning that he wasn't working. I used my free stack of pancakes coupon and drank water. I did pay for my son's meal though.  I went to Panera and and got a cinnamon bun as my free pastry. They are so good. Since my son works there, I am allowed a free drink. I snacked on this while I ran lots of errands.  My son and I hit up Dunkin Donuts on our way home from Lowes one afternoon. He helped me pick up mulch. We shared  a large caramel frozen coffee.  I had a $5 off coupon to A