Making Cents Of It All

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 ...

I hate food waste! I really do. It is one of my biggest issues. Farmers spend so much time and money to grow the food and then we just let it go in the garbage. I cannot control all of the wasted food that never even makes it to the store. That is a conversation for another day. I am talking about all of the food that gets wasted at my home, work and other places I eat. I was reading a study done by the USDA that the average American family wastes 1 pound of food a day or 290 pounds a year. The average American family was 3.14 persons in 2017. So my family of 4 (OD does not live here) is above average.  I try very hard to not let food go into the garbage. But I am not perfect so it does happen. I get upset every time it does. I feel like I am throwing money away, which is what I am doing. Here are some of the ways I try to prevent food waste: * We eat leftovers . There is rarely a day that goes by that we do not eat some type of leftovers. I deliberately make them to cut down o...

Meat was on sale this week at Stop & Shop. You could get 2 value packs of either chicken legs, thighs or combos. I got thighs. They were 69¢ a pound. Pork chops were on sale for 99¢ a pound.  The plastic wrap was marked down to 49¢. We don't use it often but for that price I will buy it.  The graham crackers were 57¢. We are still doing fire pits and making smores so I was happy to get them. I don't mind a damaged box.  My total for Stop & Shop was $10.53.  I also got this juice for free. It was supposed to be a 4 pack of small ones but they never got them in. The manager let me get this instead.  Staples sent me another voucher. I spent 3¢ A few days later Staples was at it again. YD came with me this time since we were going right to the mall after and it is close by. It cost me 28¢ after a $10 off $10 purchase. They must have a glitch in their system because every week we are getting one. They are d...

Hubby and I went on a date to a free home show. We try to go every year. We get to see what new items have come out and we get to talk to several vendors for similar projects. It is held at a college nearby and has free parking and free admission. We brought our reusable water bottles and apples in case we got hungry. We even got some freebies. It was a nice way to spend the morning.  I went back to the eye doctor. My eye is doing so much better. The top layer is totally healed. The second layer (there are apparently 5 layers) is not fully healed yet. I have a second kind of drop now and I go back in 2 weeks.  My ear was bothering me so I put some drops that are homemade in it. It is 1 part vinegar to 1 part alcohol. My ENT told me about this years ago when I would constantly get swimmers ear. I do it twice a day for 3 days when I start to feel something. Most times it goes away.  The garden is still going well. I made another batch of sauce. I canned...

The clearance racks at supermarkets have not be doing well all summer long. I have gotten an item here or there but not very much. This week changed that. There was a full section and then some additional carts full. The clearance items are only good if you will use them. There was a lot of cat stuff in one cart and we don't have a cat so that was easy to pass. Other items are marked down but I can do better with sales and coupons. You really have to know your prices when you shop clearance. I got lots of goodies at Stop & Shop.  The coconut chocolate milks were originally $2.99 but marked down to 74¢ each They are shelf stable and dated for 2020. I got 4. Blueberry Chex cereal was marked down to $1.04. I try to keep cereal under $1.50 so that was good.  Granola was marked down to 82¢ each. They were originally $3.29. I got 7. YD has been eating it a lot lately and this was very cheap. I hope she likes this kind. If not I will bring it to work...