Making Cents Of It All

Hubby got offered some last minute tickets from the vendor that gave us the  Billy Joel  tickets. The vendor sent out an email that there still were tickets available last week. Hubby answered and said he would love them but didn't hear back until Tuesday afternoon that he could have them. The concert was Wednesday. I had plans with friends, but I explained and they all said to go to the concert. It is not every day that you get to go see the Eagles. The concert was AMAZING! We were dancing the whole night. My legs were killing me the next day. We were in a suite again so food and drinks were included. I had a big salad with a chicken sandwich with fresh mozzarella and pesto. They had quesadilla, hot dogs, chicken fingers, and pasta. There was also cookies, cupcakes, candy, chips and popcorn.  Drinks were beer, wine, soda and water. I don't drink so I stuck to water. Hubby did enjoy some wine with his dinner. When we were leaving the bartender offered...

I am not old by any means but I sure do miss the good old days. When a kid could go outside and use their imagination. When homework took 20 minutes and then you were free to play with your friends until dinner. When it was the summer, we would eat breakfast, do our chores and then be gone until dinnertime. When you didn't have to check in constantly via text because there were no cell phones. I remember my sisters and me walking or riding our bikes everywhere in the summer. As long as we stayed together we could go anywhere we wanted. I was the youngest so I was about 5 or 6 when it started. We would go to the park, stores or even show up at my cousin's house. When my oldest sister got her licence, that was freedom. We drove everywhere. I think that was the first time my parents started putting boundaries on us. We live on Long Island so we were told not to go over a bridge or go through a tunnel without telling them first.  That still left plenty for us to explore. Hubby ...

I went to Stop & Shop. My cart was full and I rarely do that. I had a bunch of great coupons that matched up with items that were on sale or on Ibotta. The pasta was on sale for 88¢ each, I got 20.  Barilla is Hubby's favorite so when it is under a dollar I buy it. When I can get other pasta cheap, I but that too. He eats whatever I put in front of him, he just prefers Barilla. The guacamole was free with a coupon I got in the mail. The devil dogs were on sale for 2 for $5. Ibotta has $1 rebate on each so they worked out to 2 for $3. The rice cakes were 50% off so I got them for $1 each. The stove cleaner was $3.99 and I had a store coupon for $1 off $3 for any cleaner. The Poptarts were $1.99 each. The chicken thighs and whole chickens were on sale again for 69¢ a pound limit 2 of each. The juices were on sale $1.99 each. I had a catalina coupon for $1.50 off 2 shelf stable juices. The Q-tips were on sale for $3.79. I had a $1.50 manufactures coupon off of them. T...

*I am going to vent a little so please skip to the bottom if you don't want to hear me complain. Thank you.  It has been a looooong day! Actually it has been a long few days. I don't know what is going on with people lately but everywhere I look, people are super grumpy and complaining. I work at a movie theater and I am a secretary and I work at Guest Services. I answer phones all day long and try to help out the customers in any way I can. I like my job. I really do most days. Yesterday was a school holiday and it rained. Today was our bargain day. It must be a full moon out.  Here is some of my advice. If you are at a movie theater to watch a movie, you should be HAPPY! You are not about to have your taxes audited. You are not at the oral surgeon getting your teeth pulled. You are not at a divorce lawyers office. I understand if you are grumpy then. You are not. You are going with your family and friends, your young children and screaming and cursing at people because t...

I started out the week not feeling well still. I ended up calling out from work one day. I don't get paid if I don't work since I am part time. That is OK since I really needed the rest. I am doing much better, thank goodness. I did have the eye doctor again and he said my eye is all better. Thanks to my insurance and already meeting my deductible the visit is covered. I did get some things done this week even with not feeling great.  We made a big batch of chili with tomatoes and peppers from my garden. We changed the recipe some, like omitting the cayenne pepper since I had plenty of hot peppers in my garden. I always add extra beans to the recipe too and no one ever complains. The chili came out great. Hubby was calling it 5 alarm chili all night. It came out a little hotter then we are used too. That's what happens when you use fresh peppers I guess. We put it on rice for dinner. I put a container in the fridge for the next few days lunch. 3 big containers went...

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...

Sorry this is late. I had to work all day and make dinner and do laundry and then clean up dinner. I'm still not at 100% so I just passed out after that. Some days are like that. Even with not feeling good all week I got some freebies. Lets get to it.  A friend's FIL downsized about a year ago. He moved into a one bedroom condo from a big house. Everything he didn't take ended up in my friend's basement. He has been in his new home just over a year. My friend told him to take what he wants because she wants her basement back. She then invited family and friends to take what they want. The rest she is donating. Hubby and I went over to look. She had several table clothes and some fabric that I took.   I see myself making some Christmas presents with this fabric.  I also took this basket and trivet. I liked them both. We also took some items for our friend that recently became single and moved out on her own. There were some dishes, trays, and ...