Steel cut oats, they’re my new {old} favorite thing and I can’t seem to stop eating them for breakfast everyday. They’re cheap, they fill me up and word on the street is that oats are good for you so it’s a win-win in my book.
I could totally be one of those people that could be dropped on a desert island and be given my choice of 5 things to eat for a year and not get bored with eating. Maybe I’m weird, or maybe you’re like that too.
Food is kind of like clothing to me… The fewer the options, the quicker I can get on with my day. Unless we’re talking about pastries… Then all bets are off.
Costco canned chicken with add-ins… I could eat it everyday.
Big salads are of course another one. Especially if it has a little bacon in it. And just in case you were wondering if I added chocolate to my salad… I didn’t.
I was multitasking apparently and whipping up some chocolate chip cookie dough using leftover chocolate {from our trip to Quebec City}.
I don’t think chocolate in salad would be a good combination… But what do I know?
Market Basket $16.49
I asked the HH to pick up a pound of rosemary ham, a few pears and a loaf of Dave’s bread… He came back with a pound and a half of ham, pears and 2 kinds of bread I would never buy in a million years.
“It’s filler bread” I told him… “It doesn’t taste like anything, it just fills you up”. He said it was a “good deal” $2.50 each.
I told him for the same price he could have bought a single loaf of Dave’s and anyways… It’s not a good deal if nobody wants to eat it.
He said he would eat all the filler bread.
Fine by me!
Big salads and grilled cheese and ham on Trader Joe’s sourdough bread I pulled from the freezer.
Trader Joe’s Kung Pao chicken.
Costco $20.27
We popped by Costco the other day and loaded up on more salad supplies and Dave’s bread!! 
The bread was $9.49 for 2 giant loaves.
Whenever we buy bread I put a few slices in a large zip baggie and freeze the rest. Do you do this? It takes us a while to go through a loaf of bread so this is how I keep it fresh.
The Hh wanted to get the wedge salad… We haven’t tried it yet {but will today}. Have you tried it? Did you like it? We seem to be on a salad kick this year {and I think that’s a good thing}.
Pickety bits.
Another big salad.
Breakfast in bed.
Hannaford $7.00
And last but not least… While I was spring cleaning I found a giant sack of coins. I told the HH I wanted to go to Hannaford because I knew they had a Coinstar machine and I figured I’d get an Amazon gift card or Hannaford store card with it.
Turns out… Neither was an option. The only gift card options were for a bunch of chain restaurants we don’t eat at or Lowe’s Hardware or the movie theater… No thanks.
If you wanted your coins converted to dollar bills there was a 13% service fee. I wasn’t interested in losing 13% either.
So I picked up a few things we needed {oats, bananas and potatoes} and used the self checkout {there wasn’t a line} and paid with my nickels, dimes and pennies.
The HH was so embarrassed that he ditched me and went out to the car.
“It’s MONEY!!! It all spends the same” I shouted, but he still pretended not to know me.
Moral of the story: Husbands are weird.
Who knows, maybe the bank has a coin counter… But what’s the fun in that? Who wants to roll coins and then wait until each little sleeve is filled up and then have to haul them to the bank?
Seriously, wouldn’t you pay with your coins too rather than be charged 13% to convert it to dollar bills at the Coinstar machine?
Who’s with me on this?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week: $43.76
January $229.38
February $260.86
March $433.46
April $43.76
Tea Scones and Jam Giveaway
A big thank you to everyone who entered the tea, scones and jam giveaway, it seems we all LOVE Spring!!
The question was: Tell me your favorite thing about spring. Here are the winners:
Pat M. – Spring is finally here! My favorite parts of spring are seeing everything come alive again in the yard and gardens and the happier smiles on people’s faces, after enduring another long, cold winter (I’m near Buffalo, NY). Can’t wait to get my hands into the dirt again especially since this will be my first year having raised beds for my veggies!
Mama Cook – My favorite thing about spring, besides Easter, is the renewed joy everyone seems to have as they venture outside again!
Cindy R. – My favorite part of spring is seeing the flowers starting to come up, I.e., tulips and daffodils. Watching for the buds on the trees to start opening. Being able to talk a walk after dinner.
Stay tuned, more fun giveaways are on the way!
Have a great day.
Jess says
I save all my change and roll it and it goes into a small side savings account at the credit union where I go pay my car loan…. Its just a mental game I have with myself.. But I ABSOLUTELY would have paid for my small groceries with a pile of coins in that situation vs. a 13% fee! I have actually heard some banks will not take rolled coin or they also charge a fee.. insane if you ask me!
Ann says
Good morning! I’m glad you decided to call Hannaford by their name. They employ lots of Maine people and donate lots to many local organizations. It always bothered me when you used the other name. I tried to find the reason for the reference, maybe it’s justified, but I couldn’t find anything.
Brianna says
I do the same thing with coins! I do not have a brick and mortar bank, so when I get too many coins I just do a self checkout and the machines always take them and accurately count them. My kids love to stand there and put all of the coins in the machine too. Money is money. My purse is lighter afterwards and I actually feel a sense of accomplishment. I don’t care what others think either.
I stopped buying Dave’s killer bread last year. I went through a period of buying various loafs at different stores and it seemed I would get a green covered moldy unexpired loaf often. For the price and the loss it wasn’t worth it to me. I did return many of those unopened loaves back to the stores I bought them from and got a refund. The Costco return lady and the food lion clerk both told me they were getting a lot of returns on it. Maybe they had an issue with manufacturing during that time, but I will probably not go back to buying their products again. We go through 2-3 loafs of bread a week, so it doesn’t last long in our house.
Sue says
Our nearest Coinstar offers the Amazon card option, which is my go-to. In your case, I would have picked the Lowe’s card, for gardening needs or lumber for more buoys and a garden stand. ;^) :^)
eliz says
Steel cut oats are great! About to cook some up in the instant pot.
Are you still drinking many cups of decaf earl grey everyday or do you have a new favorite tea?
Mavis Butterfield says
I am down to 1 large mug of Bigelow decaf Earl grey tea in the morning and 1 big cup of either Harney and Sons London Fog or Fortnum & Mason Victoria Grey in the afternoon. I like my tea with sugar and milk… And was “drinking” too much sugar {got to save it for the pastries} so I’ve cut back on my tea consumption considerably.
eliz says
Good going!
I love sencha green tea, but am off caffeine right now, besides cocoa.
Interesting that you do decaf in the morning and caffeinated in the afternoon.
When I drink caffeine, I always reserve it for the morning hours so there is less chance it negatively affects my sleep.
Jennifer says
Trust me, the store didn’t mind the change. It’ll be used in other registers in the store and save them from buying it from the bank.
Stephanie says
Yes, this! I am a store owner, and we don’t mind a bit when people pay with change.
Becky-TN says
Mavis,
Hubby and Daughter #3 are traveling across the pond in the fall. I tried to find your recent (I think it was recent) post on avoiding (reducing) jet lag. Might you be able to post the link?
Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
I don’t think I have one… But I’ve got a lot of ideas. I’ll do a post soon.
Becky-TN says
Thanks!!
Mavis Butterfield says
I found it!!
Here you go: https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/7-tips-for-surviving-a-red-eye-flight/
Patti Vanderbloemen says
Oddly, my bank WILL NOT accept rolled coins anymore! It seems they were ripped off too much in the past (was apparently several huge rip offs…perhaps Canadian/Pesos instead of US? no idea and did not ask). And my bank is not the only one in my area to have this rule.
So, I save whatever coins I receive and give them to my great nephews….they love it!
Andrea says
I totally would pay with coins to avoid 13% fee!
Ashley Bananas says
Good for you for getting the most out of the coins. Who would give away 13% of their on hand cash? Crazy!!!
Tammy says
I love steel cut oats. I get the long cooking ones at Aldi and cook up six servings at a time, then microwave it for breakfast every day.
Lindsey says
I, too, have a husband who pretends he does not know me when I try to pay for things with fistfuls of coins. But I am impervious to his attempts to disown any knowledge of who I am, and I just keep on counting out the exact purchase price with pennies, nickels and dimes.
Cindy Brick says
Our credit union takes change — IF their machine is working. It wasn’t, the last time I stopped by. (It’s a 4 1/2 hour trip now to get there.)
We are THIS close to switching credit unions.
And don’t feel weird about the paying-with-change bit. Every cent counts. My girls got mad at me because I was arguing about 50 cents discount I should have had on a grocery item… “Mommmmm, you’re holding up the line.” But I got it.
Husband can sit in the car and listen to political radio. That’s what my DH does. I would have done exactly the same thing — in fact, I will need to, if the credit union’s change machine keeps breaking down. Maybe I’ll open the new account with… my change!
KC says
… can it be a wedge salad without being a wedge? That is fascinating; I’ve only seen literal wedges of lettuce being called wedge salads; you could definitely get similar flavor profiles, but the texture and variation would be different in a tossed-type salad vs. wedge, wouldn’t it?
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s what I thought but he’s been talking about getting it so we finally did. Had it today for lunch, flavor profile the same as a regular wedge salad… Just no wedge.
Auntiali says
Steel cut oats are my comfort food, especial quick cooking steel cut oats that I can get at Aldi or Trader Joes.
My sister in law was moving and emptied out her huge change jar and went to Walmart to get a couple of things and paid for it all with her change. Same thing with the Coin Star. I have the time to roll our coins and hubby will take them to the bank.
Debbie says
Try a grilled cheese sandwich sliced fresh pear and havarti cheese its delish!
Carolyn Rust says
The adventures with the coins made me laugh. The local Wells Fargo banks do not have coin counters and reluctantly took rolled coin from the company I work for – often charging a fee to do so. Irked me to no end, so I would take the loose coins to my credit union that had a coin machine and convert to paper money that I would then put in the company petty cash box.
But I know the Coin Star people make their money by the 13% surcharge on cash or the discounted price they purchase the gift cards for.
Patti M says
I would definitely not lose 13 o/o trading in coin. It might take awhile but I’d use them up on purchases.
Rosaleen says
1) I agree that steel cut oats are yummy!
2) My hubby is good for going off-list and buying things that I would never buy.
3) My hubby was embarrassed (and angry) enough to walk away from me when I used a lot of saved-up coins to pay for part of my BJ’s purchase. There are MANY registers, it was not a very busy time, and coins are still legal tender. BTW, the bank is not nearby, but once I did see a coin counting machine in a larger branch. It might still be there.
Lisa says
I just can’t pay 13% (or any amount) for someone to accept my money. As long as there was more than one register open, I would definitely pay for my groceries in coins. How much would the coins for a dozen eggs weigh?
Sue S. says
Our bank has a coin counting machine. Dump the over sized Mason jar into the slot thingy and it spits out a ticker tape when finished. You just deposit or ask for cash at the teller window. I love old fashioned rolled oats from Bob’s red mill. I get it at Job Lot. It’s cheap and always in great supply. And have you tried Trader Joe’s tempura vegetable baskets. So, so good.
wendy j says
In Canada we have $1 and $2 coins so paying with a bunch of coins is a normal thing lol.
Tiffany F says
The CoinStar machines near me charge ridiculous fees also. Unfortunately, our credit union has a coin machine and also started charging fees, and they won’t accept rolled coins. After nearly 40 years with them we have recently changed banks.
Mama Cook says
This weirdo is thrilled for a new spring project…making jam and scones! Honestly, scones are a favorite around here!!! (Though I’m not sure any jam will ever surpass your Cherry Almond Jam! ) And ALL of us drink tea!!! Thank you!
I would totally spend coins before I would EVER pay 13%!!!!!!
Michelle says
We recently donated all our coins. I’m not sure if you have a nearby charity that would take them off your hands.