You would think that when using a cash register, mistakes are not possible, but they are, surprisingly.

I was at the grocery store the other day and I bought some Sabra hummus. A few months back some Sabra hummus I had purchased was subject to a recall, so the company mailed me 2 coupons for more hummus.

The coupon was good for up to $4.99, so after rummaging around in the refrigerated bin, I found the larger tubs of hummus that sold for $5.

At checkout, I expected to pay one penny, since there is no sales tax on groceries. The cashier insisted I pay her one penny and then she gave me $1. She was very firm this was correct, so I shrugged my shoulders and took the money. There was a line behind me, so I just left.

In other news...
I did my February expenses early and was really proud that my efforts to minimize expenses during under-employment paid off: I only spent $1,674 in February. (That includes nearly $500 in pro-rated property taxes, which I actually only pay twice a year. Minus that, my monthly expenses would only be $1,182!)

Amazingly, I wound up in the black this month with $1,467,but I'm worried about March and beyond.

I was helped out quite a bit this month with my $1234 IRS refund, plus I got another $1,040 for the final 2 unemployment checks.

I made far less in freelance income than I'd hoped for, at $645; there are gaps of 3 or 4 days between assignments, and they seem to operate at their own speed.

I netted $87 for a small art sale, sold the final mohair/roving of my mother's for $46 and made $88 in class action suits.

My monthly grocery spending was still stubbornly high at $244, even though I'm shopping every week at Aldi's, but supplementing elsewhere becus they don't have a lot of stuff.

In other news...

It was a great month for the stock market. My portfolio is up by over $15,000 and if we have another good month, it's possible I will exceed $900K in total investable assets. Unbelievable.

Importantly, with just another $734, I will exceed my "Countdown to Retirement" goal (see bottom of my profile at left) I wanted to reach in November of this year. Now all I have to do is hold onto it!