reduce my cost of living

Of course I’m finding that I’m quite capable of living within my new salary quite comfortably, and actually saving money. I still find that I waste the most money through buying lunch but this isn’t likely to change, and if I really wanted to do something about it I would.

large takeaway chai latte – approx. 3 times per week = $12 weekly
takeaway food – approx 2 times per week = $40 weekly
going over my phone cap = approx $30 month

That, alone adds up to $2856 a year!

Then, there are the extra groceries I buy, just so I can make a particular dish, even if it means I don’t use the ones we already have and eventually have to throw them out because they go bad. LACK OF PLANNING!

Then, there are the more expensive brands I buy, just because I’ve become used to them, but I know very well I don’t need to pay double just so my garbage bags are scented, or just so the laundry liquid smells like a Hawaiian holiday.

Some solutions here are:

• Mindfulness of frivolous/fruitless spending. Do I really need to buy a chai latte every day, when I can make a delcious chai brew at home?

• Meal planning. Each week, before grocery shopping, I sit down with my YummySoup.html and plan meals for the week, then write a grocery list (taking into account my house-mate’s grocery needs) that I stick to!

*

I’ve just cancelled my online DVD membership and will save $30 a month. I feel good about this for a couple of reasons:
1) I get to save $30 a month!
2) This frees up more time for reading. I haven’t been reading as much as I would have liked and that’s probably because I’ve been watching more movies but I realise I miss books.

If you plan meals it turns out that it’s certainly possible to to live within a meagre grocery budget as I outlined in my last entry – but only if you have a fairly well stocked pantry to start with.

I’m back at work this week and I thought my biggest challenge would be bringing my lunch to work. It hasn’t been so far (day 2!) I organised what I’m having the night before which is probably the most challenging part. Hopefully this will continue. It’s certainly motivating not spending so much money each day so I’m hoping it will.

I have identified several things that need to change in our lives in the next year, and many are tied to the cost of living…here is my first brainstorm:

1. Bring my lunch to work: I lose at least $30 to $40 per week on lunches. If I can regularly bring meals to lunch, especially left-overs, I will save between $120 and $160 per month just on me alone! That’s about $1,900 per year!

Ways I can do this are to work on my bento goal, to eat more fresh produce, and to cook enough from dinner to provide lunch for the next day. I also need to prep the night before so lunch is all ready to go in the morning.

2. Cook all meals at home: this is a huge one. I need to get my family eating healthier, and stop eating out!! I would estimate we eat out as a family at least 2-3 x per week, and sometimes more. If you figure the cost of going to McDonalds for 3, that is about $17×3 per week and that adds up. That means I am spending $200 per month likely at places like McDonalds, and $2,400 per year!!! Imagine if we cut that down???

Things I need to do to make this happen:

Freezer cooking: for the nights when I am wiped out, stuff prepared ahead of time will be very important

Meal planning: I’m tired of the “what should we have for dinner” routine, which usually ends in a trip to McDonalds. Meal planning is something I need to work VERY hard on!

Shopping local: by focusing on quality not quantity food, shopping organic and at the farmer’s market will help aid in keeping us away from McDonalds, and make mealtime more flavorful and enjoyable! I like to get a produce box from the local organic delivery or local farms to make sure I am forced to eat lots of the good stuff….stuff I would not otherwise buy

Crockpot cooking: by making use of my crockpot and preparing the night before, being a full-time working mom becomes a little easier

Dinner pre-prep: By browning ground beef ahead of time the night before, slicing onions, grating cheese, etc. and making sure I have an ample list of ingredients gathered together, last minute digging for the sage will not sap my energy when I am already exhausted

Trying 43 Recipes: as one of my goals suggest, it will help me become faster in the kitchen and give my family more variety in meals

Smart shopping: Right now hubby does a lot of the grocery shopping, and THAT IS A PROBLEM! He does well with comparison shopping, and will proudly save $ on some items, but coming home with bags full of candy, cookies, potato chips and Doritos, and beer is not healthy! I must regain some control, in order to make my menu plan work. I tried sending a list with him of things for my menus, but he would continuously leave out key ingredients (“Cream of Tartar? You don’t need that! Besides, it wasn’t on sale!”) that has contributed to repeated failure in my life as a blossoming “chef.”

Freezing of in-season produce: Things that go on sale and in season can be frozen for when they aren’t….like grapes (for salads), berries, peaches, zucchini, squash, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, cauliflower, just to name a few

Canning: making my own jams and jellies might save some $$ and be tasty too!

Pantry planning and rotation: discovering what I use most of can help me keep the pantry stocked AND moving as I try all my recipes!!

Making my own snacks and bake my own goodies: By baking once a week, I can make my own bread, and make my own muffins, cookies and other items that might prevent hubby from bringing it all home with him. Discovering new “snacks” and keeping them stocked in a visual area might encourage healthier eating (sliced veggies and dip in the fridge, chex mix, nuts, or pumpkin seeds to snack on, fresh fruits, etc.)

Grow my own food: I will be attempting to grow some of my own produce over the coming year to help supplement grocery shopping of fresh goods

One of my goals for 2009 is to pay off my floating mortgage quickly. I’ve never been very good with money – well, when I earn a decent salary that is. When I was a student or when I was living in London and all my money went on travel I was fantastic with money. It seems the more I earn, the more I waste.

My salary is dropping (I know…how many people take a salary drop for a job in this economic climate. The job is worth it though!) so now’s the time to start really looking at where my money goes.

One of the major big cost drains for me is food especially lunches because I buy my lunch every day. The main reason for this is because I’m too disorganised in the mornings to make lunch, and also because I just don’t make very nice food. I don’t know why but it never tastes as nice as it does in shops, cafes and restaurants. The other thing I do is waste a lot of food especially fresh produce.

I’ve been reading a lot about cutting costs lately and found out about this challenge which I thought I’d try out. This is in $NZ so you could try it yourselves by converting it into your equivalent currency (I think they use the same amount in Australia).

The basic idea is that you should make the most of the existing things you have in your cupboards, then plan your week’s meals around that and only buy the things you really need to turn those existing ingredients into meals. Impulse buys aren’t allowed. It does assume that you have fairly well stocked cupboards and I’m interested to know what happens when these start to deplete. Actually mine aren’t too bad but they are full of weird things. For example I have several packets of dessicated coconut, and four different kinds of porridge. I can’t explain it.

Anyway it should be an interesting experiment!

I’ve just terminated my account and gone onto prepay so this will save me a whopping $30 a month. Of course they charged me a massive termination fee but I will start making savings in only a few months time.

1) I cancelled my heath insurance.

11/13/06 Met with Health Insurance salesman
11/20/06 Signed application for new Health Insurance
11/22/06 Review bundling phone, long distance, internet access, and cell phone with Qwest.