$21 Challenge - Week two

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Well, I am happy to say that we survived the first week of the $21 challenge. Usually you would only do this for one week but I have so much excess stuff to use up that I have decided on a second week...to pocket a little more cash for the boys to spend on clothes.

Week One Recap

The biggest hit of the week was the home made pizza. The bread flour from my 'bonus box' that had just expired was perfect for the base, together with the bbq sauce bottles that were almost empty. I just added a chicken fillet which I fried in the pan and sliced, some kale, ham, cheese, bacon and pineapple. I had a slice for breakfast and lunch the next day.

I could not figure out the wall socket timer so my crock pot honey and lemon chicken was cooked in the pan and served with mash. The boys ate leftover sausage casserole.

My favourite was the salmon patties which used up the open bag of panko breadcrumbs and was served with fresh salad from my garden. I was surprised that the boys liked them too so I will definitely include this on my budget-week menu in the future.

This was my total shop for the week...just over $15. Mainly drinks for the kids and milk. The cream was for potato bake last night, and the boys like cheese on everything! The pineapple was $2 from the local service station....the best pineapples ever. Confession...my husband did bring home some meat but I put most of it in the freezer to use after the challenge so I can still stick to my original menu plan.

This is just a selection of items in the bonus box which I would like to use up this week. So, here is my menu this week!

SATURDAY

Roast lamb and vegies in the slow cooker. I had never done a roast in it before and it was very tender. I do prefer roast vegies in the oven though! I used some of the cranberry sauce as a glaze to try and get rid of it and it was very tasty.

SUNDAY

Corned Beef and Potato Bake. This was gobbled up before I could take a photo.

MONDAY

Pasta bolognese using up the open packet of penne pasta

TUESDAY

Chicken tacos to use up the taco shells which although opened are still fresh

WEDNESDAY

Shepherds Pie using the packet mix which is about to expire

THURSDAY

Chicken (breast) pesto pasta using the brown spaghetti and open jar of pesto

FRIDAY

Slow-cooked chicken curry using the curry paste, and the indian vegie packet thingy I have never been game to open. I will use a pack of chicken pieces I have in the freezer.

It feels a little weird going to the fridge and being able to see what is in there, but it's a feeling I can get used to. We had too much stuff hiding and wasting...despite my resolve to live more simply and utilise everything... which I thought I was good at. So, I would thoroughly recommend a clearing out every now and then, and it's actually fun making compromises and devising recipes without buying extra ingredients. I made some home-made yoghurt yesterday which will be used in a few dishes and only cost $1.50, and I plan to make lemon cordial tonight to stretch out the drinks (and use up the lemons)...it's these habits that will help keep the dollars in my pockets, and healthy food on the table.

So, what's for dinner at your place tonight?

$21 Challenge - Week One

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As I mentioned last week, this week I am attempting the $21 challenge. I have done a huge clear-out of my pantry, fridge and freezer, and have made a list of items which need to be used up. I will use those items this week to create all of my evening meals, together with what else I have available. My goal this week is to only shop for staples...if I don't have something on hand for a recipe then I will improvise. I started the challenge on Saturday, so when I finish my two weeks it will be my usual shopping day, Friday.

In my post above I showed you the two boxes of produce I sorted from my pantry. The chooks have been enjoying the fruits of the expired items this week. My 'bonus items' that need to be used include the following: panko breadcrumbs, honey soy and garlic packet sauce, 2 x nearly empty bbq sauce bottles, packet of potato mix, 2 x open pasta packets, just expired bread mix, polenta, rice paper wrappers, sushi rice and nori, couscous...and at least another dozen random items.

This weekend I delved into the fridge and followed the same process. Most of the items in my door had expired.

And the above photograph was taken before I sorted out the shelves.

These are my bonus items from the fridge. Sour cream, massaman curry paste, three open jars of home made tomato relish, jaboticaba jam, lemon squeeze, basil pesto, home made mango chutney, some cherry tomatoes and a bag of kale and spinach. There are also my vegies in the crisper to use through the week, and some pumpkin and salad from the garden.

And the amount of produce that I had to discard was once again an eye opener. 

My freezer is fully stocked for work lunches. These were put away on my last holidays and I take them to work when there are no leftovers from dinner.

This is my outdoor freezer which I also did an inventory of. I was pleased to see there are still backup items for school holiday lunches such as pies etc. I am aiming to provide leftovers from dinner for the boys to eat for lunch each day...and make some homemade snacks. So....here is my weekly menu plan.

SATURDAY - SLOW COOKED SAUSAGE AND PASTA BAKE

I started the $21 challenge by sorting out everything in my bonus box, and working out some recipes for the week. I had about fifteen sausages in the fridge that needed to be used so I decided to do a slow cooked sausage casserole (in the crock pot) for dinner on Saturday night.

The boys absolutely loved it and there was plenty left over for breakfast on toast on Sunday, and for the boys lunches. I just used a french onion base, some frozen peas, gravox and pasta.

SUNDAY - CHICKEN CASSEROLE AND LASAGNE

Last night I used up the three part-jars of tomato relish, together with some pesto, the cherry tomatoes and a tin of tomatoes. I just mixed them together and added them to some chicken legs in the slow cooker. Six hours later we had an easy chicken casserole for Paul and I. As it was my daughter's birthday, I made her favourite lasagne and potato bake which she and the boys had. There are tons on leftovers so tomorrow night's dinner is also sorted.

MONDAY - SUNDAY'S LEFTOVERS

Leftover chicken casserole and lasagne.

TUESDAY - CHICKEN BARBECUE PIZZA

The just expired bread flour will be used to make home-made chicken barbecue pizzas for dinner. Paul and I will have a thinner base and loads of fresh kale and spinach from the garden, plus I will probably use up some of the pesto.

WEDNESDAY - SLOW COOKED LEMON CHICKEN BREASTS WITH COUSCOUS

My slow cooker tends to be a little over-zealous so I have bought a timer and will put this on before I leave work to commence cooking at midday. Should be perfect by 6pm. I am going to put in chicken fillets, utilise the stiry fry honey soy and garlic mixes which I was not keen on the flavour of, and add some lemon juice, garlic and a jar of mango chutney I had left over from the Biggest Morning Tea. I will probably serve this with the couscous, using another bonus item.

THURSDAY - SALMON PATTIES AND SALAD

This packet of mashed potato is close to it's use by date and always makes good patties so I will add it to a jar of salmon, use the leftover spring onions and a couple of my eggs to make patties. I will then crumb them in the panko crumbs which I have way too many of, and bake them in the oven. A quick and easy dinner. I aim to prepare the salmon patties the night before and use salad vegies from the garden.

FRIDAY - MARINATED T-BONE STEAK AND VEGIES

I think the boys will be screaming out for red meat by now, so I plan to marinate some t-bone steak that we have in the freezer with the leftover sauces in my bonus box - a little hoisin, soy, honey and garlic.We will then serve them with sweet potato, mashed potato and peas.

So, wish me luck with the challenge! My shopping list this week will be milk, bottled water, bread and cheese which should come in under the $21 budget....hopefully anyway. I am already thinking about next week's meals. I think that bonus box will keep me going for a while.

What are you having for dinner this week?

Join Me For The $21 Challenge

Simple Savings $21 Challenge

The school holidays are starting here next week and I could really do with a little more cash. My pantry, freezer and fridge are reasonably well stocked at the moment so I thought it would be the perfect time to have a look at doing this challenge. My good friend Nanna Chel from Going Grey and Slightly Green mentioned that Simple Savings had a special on the $21 challenge book and that was enough to motivate me to give it a go...that, and the extra cash!

Many people have asked me this week what the challenge is and the following is an excerpt from the $21 challenge section of the Simple Savings website:

What exactly IS the $21 Challenge?

In a nutshell, it is a one-week grocery slashing marathon where you can save a big pile of money, declutter your pantry and learn new skills all at the same time!

How does it work?

Simple! For one week you try as hard as you possibly can to stay out of the shops.  Instead of going out and doing your usual supermarket shop you have to stretch the food you already have in your cupboard, pantry, garden and freezer to stay within your $21 budget.

My first thought was...how on earth could a family of four live off $21? You are not expected to do that, and if you want to raise the budget you can, it's up to you. You are actually living off food you might otherwise waste, and because I tend to have an overstocked pantry...I do waste things if I don't keep on top of it.

My $21 Challenge book arrived in a couple of days and I have read it from cover to cover...so many creative recipes. When I bought my book I also signed up to the website (approx $30) and have downloaded heaps and heaps of useful information. There are forums you can join and ask questions or share recipes, which I really like. I must mention right now, that this is not a sponsored post, I just want to share a system that is simple, makes sense and obviously works for many people. Let's see if it works for me.

If you have not visited the Simple Savings site before then I suggest you have a look if you want to save money. They cover every topic you can possibly think of and I recommended them back in April when I covered "B=Budget" for the A-Z Challenge. If you want to see if the book is worth buying then the first two chapters and some sample pages are available to download here.

So, without going into too much detail, the first step is to declutter. I started with my crazy pantry above and followed the guidelines to sort my food into three piles, the main one being a pile of bonus items...those things due to expire soon, or that I have not used because I do not know what to do with them, or they were for a one-off recipe. I filled a whole large box:

The box on the right is my compost pile...out of date items. I am pretty disgusted with myself at how much was lurking in my pantry that was no longer usable. My only consolation is that 90% of these items will go to my chooks and they are loving me every morning. A big lesson I have learned is to take better control of my pantry. There were at least six packets of biscuits the kids had opened that weren't stored in containers...a total waste of money. That's what this challenge is also designed to do...to make you a better shopper and storer of your food. I can see that will certainly work.

I have already decided that my main goal is to reduce my inventory. I still need to keep a stockpile and I love being able to have all the ingredients on hand to cook any recipe....but I need to learn to substitute and utilise what I already have, which will also make me more creative. My friend Nanna Chel said her daughter did this challenge and her husband loved the variety of meals cooked, so I am looking forward to what I will create from my 'bonus' items.

You can probably see where this is going. I still have the fridge and pantry to go, and will then plan my weekly menus for the next few weeks using my 'bonus' items.  If you look on the website under the tools tab you will find sheets you can print to record your bonus and regular items. I had way too many regular items to record but have used the list of bonus items to google recipes for next week.

So...I am going to be off and running on Monday, and have decided I can do this challenge for two weeks, due to my over-stocking (the program is designed to just do the $21 challenge one week at a time). I also have the benefit of my vegie garden and the chooks laying, so together with the recipes I have already come up with, I may even be able to stretch to three weeks! This could realistically save me at least $300 - $400 and I will keep you posted each Monday. The great thing is, I will continue with the menu-planning which I have become a little slack with...ensuring future savings.

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you may remember my post last year on Saving Money on Groceries. Since that post I have succesfully reduced my grocery budget from $200-$250 week to just $150 - $170 week. Now my daughter has left home I am hoping I can maintain that and save a little more every now and then.

So....what do you think? Do you want to join the challenge or just join me and see how I go? Any suggestions of menu items when I share my list of 'bonus' items will be greatly appreciated!

A-Z Simple Living: B = Budget

I chose this word for my next simple living topic because the logic behind a move towards sustainable or simple living, is to ultimately save money. I have made significant changes to reduce my cost of living, and those savings are currently being re-invested in infrastructure required to produce further savings...I have found that you need to have a mixture of long term and short term financial goals in order to see some immediate rewards.

Budgeting is not a big strength of mine, despite the fact that I work with figures and numbers every day...like the plumber with a leaky toilet :) I find that, with teenage children, there are so many variables that are not accounted for and my budgets have always tended to run in deficit. Still, I do have a plan that I stick to every fortnight when I get paid, and these are some of the things I first did that helped me to reduce my expenses:

I made a list of all of my fixed expenses such as mortgage, insurance, car registration, electricity, groceries, credit cards etc. I then brought all of these expenses down to a weekly figure ie. monthly credit card payment multiplied by 12 then divided by 52. I tallied all of these up and deducted them from my net income, leaving a surplus amount for variable expenses such as school excursions, medical expenses etc.

I then had a look at everything I was paying, and investigated whether I could save any money on those fixed expenses. This is what I came up with, which I have posted about previously Focus on Financial Balance:

• Mortgage - I weighed up various options and found our rate and the fees were very competitive but I did ring our bank and tell them I was looking at other offers...and they reduced our rate by .25% over the phone. 
• Credit cards - I transferred our outstanding balances to a 0% for 12 months credit card - a massive saving over $1,000 in interest. The interest rate after the interest free period is also 5% lower so there are ongoing savings.
• Insurance - I got quotes, and bundled all our insurances together to get a bulk discount - this saved $500/year
• Electricity - we took advantage of the Solar offer of 44c feed in tariff. Origin offered us an extra 6c on top of that because we bought the panels through them. I then joined the One Big Switch campaign and Click Energy offered us an extra 2c on top of that. So we have a 52c feed in tariff, and even though we are paying our solar panels off for two years at $300/month, we have no electricity bills and are actually $150 in credit. So, when we pay the panels off...we will be $2,500 a year in front.
• Groceries are our second biggest expense and I set myself a goal to reduce our bill by $50/week to just $150. This has been my second biggest saving...a massive $2,500/year. In this post How to save money on groceries I outline 20 different ways you can save money. The biggest saving for me is in making my own cleaning products which save me around $10/week or $500/year.

Everyone has a different situation and the above outline is only an example of where I started, in examining my finances. A useful website I have found that has great money saving and budgeting tips is Simple Savings. They even have a link to a budget that you can use to plan ten years in advance...which I have put on my list of things to investigate.

As well as reducing the cost of my existing expenses I am also working on my variable ones, for example reducing my personal spending and putting the surplus into a savings account. I buy less luxury items, and always look for the most economical alternative. For example, I used to spend hundreds of dollars at a time on skincare. I have now found that organic brands such as Sukin work fantastically well for about 20% of the price. I also know people who make their own skin care products which may be something I venture into down the track...the homemade bug is addictive once it takes hold :)

Have you given your budget an overhaul lately? Where have you managed to save money?

Menu Planning Monday 7

Welcome to the start of another week. We are expecting storms here in Gympie so I am cooking ahead just in case we lose power. Last week's menu plan was great, utilising the dahl I had made the week before, and I stuck to my budget of $130 grocery spend this week, making up for the $20 I spent over budget last week. The kids enjoyed the menu and didn't even query the extra beans and vegies in the dishes. I am not a great food photographer so please excuse the photos:

Monday - Chicken Curry

I used 500g chicken breast and 500ml of the dahl. To this I added a tin of coconut cream and some massaman curry paste. That's all. The rice took longer than the meal to cook.

Beef and Bean Burritos

I made a double serving of the mexican mince to be used over two nights. I used 1kg mince, a tin of canneloni beans (I would normally use kidney beans but did not have any), 1 litre of the dahl mix, a tin of tomatoes and a packet of mexican seasoning powder (burrito). I placed the mince on wholemeal wraps with cheese and toasted them in the sandwich maker. Served with salsa, light sour cream and avocado.

Mexican Chilli

The same mince from last night served with corn chips, avocado, salsa and light sour cream. I melted the cheese on the chips and mince, in the microwave.

Shepherds Pie

I browned 500g mince, added 500ml of the dahl, gravy powder and water. Then placed in a casserole dish with mashed potato, bacon and cheese on top.

 The boys loved this!

Beef Casserole

This was my favourite for the week. I browned 700g rump steak and an onion, then added 1 litre of dahl and gravy powder with 1 cup of water. I let it simmer on low for about 30 mins and served with rice.

So, there you have it. Five meals from one crockpot of vegetable leftovers. Now, this week's menu:

Monday - Coconut and Peanut Chicken with Couscous
Tuesday - Beef Tacos
Wednesday - Chicken Burritos with sour cream and salsa
Thursday - Spaghetti Bolognese
Friday - Lemon Pepper Fish with chips and salad
Saturday - Corned Beef with Mashed Potato and Vegies
Sunday - Almond Crusted Chicken with salad

I just had to share this fancy omelette with you - Zucchini Flower, Spinach and Parmesan. Beautiful combination of flavours. I just chopped the Zucchini Flowers and Spinach with some spring onion (all from my garden), cooked in butter then added the eggs (beaten with a little water). Yum!!

I hope you have a great week and share some yummy meals with your family! Would love some suggestions for my menu next week.

If you have a menu plan why not link up with Becci's Domestic Bliss. There is a great recipe for a cheap chow mein on her site today. I think I may be changing one of my planned meals for the week :)

How to Save Money on Groceries

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and decided that I wanted to reduce my grocery bill in order to save for a holiday. My personal finances were an area of my life that I identified as a problem when I looked at achieving total balance in my life. This week I was asked to go into more detail about how I have been reducing my grocery bill and to pass on any tips that may be useful.

It is early days yet but last week I finally managed to spend only $150 instead of my usual $200. We have not run out of anything and there is still food in the fridge, freezer and cupboards. Five of us live here, but my daughter eats out quite a bit and buys her own toiletries, so I guess you could say we have four and a half residents. Some of this information I have mentioned in other posts but putting it all together will make it easier to refer to later. Every Monday when I post my menu plan I will include my weekly grocery spend and a savings tally.

So, where do you start? Here are my top 20 tips to reduce your grocery spending. They will not work for everyone and some you already know, but that's the thing with lists.

1. Keep your receipts and track your spending
Tally them up for a few weeks to see what you are spending money on. I did this and the results were surprising with approx $40 per week being spent on fruit and vegies, despite some supplementing with home grown produce. I also identified the kids lunchboxes as an area I could save on...and provide healthier snacks at the same time. Make sure you include any milk, bread etc bought at the corner store as well so that you can add them to your grocery spend if you are regularly running to the shop.

2. Menu Plan your dinners
Work out what you are going to cook every week, checking what ingredients you have at home to utilise first. You want to reduce the risk of popping out for extra ingredients and hence avoid the temptation to overspend.

3. Write a Shopping list
Every post about saving money on groceries will tell you to do this. It works, but only if you are strong and stick to the list. Take a pen and cross off each item as you go or download a grocery shopping app onto your phone to do the same.

4. Research Grocery Prices
I get the Coles, Woolworths and IGA catalogues delivered to my email inbox and check the prices every week so I know where to do my 'extras' shop and get the best prices, particularly on meat.

5. If you have an ALDI, shop there
I save at least $30 a week by shopping at ALDI and what I can't get there (my 'extras') I get at one of the major supermarkets. For example 1kg of grated cheese at ALDI is $5. I would pay double that at any other supermarket. A dozen rolls of good quality toilet paper are $3.99. If you don't have an ALDI supermarket in your area buy generic brand staples to keep the cost down eg. things like flour and sugar.

6. Shop Weekly
This may sound different as most people say to shop fortnightly. I always find if I shop fortnightly I run out and have to do a second shop anyway. It is easier to budget if you spend weekly and your shopping list is smaller and easier to manage. Your vegies are also fresh every week instead of having to last a fortnight or rely on frozen ones - speaking of which, always have a supply in the freezer just in case.

7. Pay Cash
I have found that withdrawing my $150 each week and placing it into a separate compartment of my wallet, forces me to work within that budget rather than using my debit card. If I can see that I only have $20 left after the Aldi shop then that is what I will spend at Coles.

8. Set Limits
I never spend more than $10/kilo on meat and will shop around until I find good quality meat for that price. I sometimes shop at a butcher who supplies local meat, but only buy their bulk specials. Our IGA stocks local meat and their weekly specials are great. I use mainly mince (premium grade), chicken breasts, rump steak and fresh fish. We rarely buy lamb as it is too fattening and expensive. If you buy your meat at Coles or Woolworths you could be paying too much...and it is not local.

Less than $60 worth of meat creates nine meals

9. Cook with pasta and grains
Design filling and nutritious meals that use less meat by utlising pasta, rice or couscous. Lentils and beans added to mince dishes also create more bulk. I am also a fan of grated zucchini and carrot to bulk out rissoles or patties, and to provide extra goodness, of course. 500g mince should feed 4 -5 people as your meat portion should only be 1/3 and vegetables 2/3.

10. Buy Tinned Tuna
We have a tuna meal once a week, either patties, mornay, casserole or pasta . $5-6 will feed 4-5 people and my kids love it. If you don't eat tuna try a vegetarian meal or omelette to reduce your meat consumption.

11. Go to your local market
Buy your vegetables at your local market or farm fresh grocer if you can. I have been saving $15-$20 a week doing this. We also get local growers doing home or work deliveries and this way you can order the amount you want to spend and not be tempted to buy more.

12. Reduce Wastage
Plan meals that use fresh vegetables or ingredients early in the week to avoid wastage. Use old bread to make breadcrumbs or make a dahl in the crockpot with leftover vegies. Don't let anything in the fridge not be utlised. Everything you throw away is wasting money.

13. Add up as you go along
I do a rough calculation in my head as I go around the supermarket to make sure I will not go over my budget. I just round up each item to the nearest dollar and tally. You could also use the calculator function on your phone or a small calculator. If the boys are with me, it keeps them amused to add up for me.

14. Make your own cleaners
My initial expense on cleaner ingredients was about $15 and for the last three months I have not bought a single cleaning product. They work well and are environmentally friendly. Check out my roadtest.

15. Be Environmentally Friendly
Reduce your expenditure on paper towels (by using washable cloths), plastic bags and packaging to save money and the environment.

16. Make extra portions
Cook an extra portion or two each night to take for lunch the next day to work. It can work out cheaper than sandwiches and snacks.

17. Bake your own bread
This can save money depending on the bread you usually buy. A loaf of bread in our breadmaker costs around $1. It is smaller than a normal loaf but there is less wastage for us as we do not eat a lot of bread. This bread is so yummy it always gets eaten!

18. Bake lunch box treats
I have only just started doing this and am saving about $15/week on the boys lunches. The Pizza Muffins I made the other day yielded 16 for a total cost of $2.50. Good value for very little effort.

19. Grow your own vegies and herbs if you can
This is not a new concept and may not be practical for everyone. It does cost a little money initially but the rewards are worth it and every year you will get better at it and grow more...that's what I am hoping.

21. Buy a water filter
We used to spend $9/week on water or around $468/year. This water filter unit cost $68 and replacement filters are less than that per year. If you have town water and don't need a filter, look at how much you are spending on other drinks. The results may surprise you.

This is just a short list of some ideas to help you save money that have worked for me. I have also found fantastic information at the following links:

http://www.simplesavings.com.au/ I have not yet fully investigated this website but there is some great advice just on the first page.

http://mortgagefreejourney.blogspot.com.au/ Stacey has some awesome tips to save money and did a 3-post series on reducing your food bill. She counts every penny and budgets every day.

http://onelifeand3kids.blogspot.com.au/ This single mother of 3 kids saves money by using her crockpot. Check out some of her money saving recipes.

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com.au Rhonda's site is full of tips for saving money, has great recipes and information on how to make homemade cleaners.

If you decide to try and save money on your groceries let me know how you are going with it and offer your suggestions. Keeping this list down to 20 was for the purpose of this post but there are many more ways to save. This is just how I started...we will see how I go over the next few weeks.