homework

I'm churning through the bills presently. I'm seriously considering ditching the health insurance 'extras'. It makes me shudder, as I've always insisted on the complete coverage, and we do get the benefits from it- regularly visiting the chiro, osteo, physio, and the dreaded dentist. But I was thinking that if we took the 'extras' fee and directed it into our savings, then we could just pay the 'extras' when we go, like other normal people. My aunty, who is a nurse, put this idea into my head many years ago. She seemed to think health insurance was a joke, before it became compulsory.

Health insurance is our biggest monthly expenditure. It's outrageous. And we still pay to visit health care providers- they all charge more than the scheduled fee. We are looking at saving $100 a month by dropping extras. Our annual health costs are much less than $1200 a year, even with a baby. By putting that difference into our own savings, instead of the insurance company coffers, we should come out on top, given good health, over time.

I'm just going to check our figures again. And affirm that it is possible to just save this amount. It can't be resumed into everyday living. We can't mentally think we have more money to play with. It just has to go into the savings without question. It's health savings, and we may need it.

This challenge makes me nervous. It's a real test of my resolve and will, and has direct consequences for our health and well-being if I fail.

I've been keeping a mental list of the brilliant money saving things I have done this past week. Reflecting on it now, it seems that they have all involved spending money, which is not a great money saving tactic.

The baby boy's first birthday is coming up. I planned to get him a little, plastic hook-up swing to hang in the back-yard. This week I successfully got one on ebay, $26. New they cost $49.95, so I've done well.

As mentioned in a previous post, February is birthday month. I was very close to making something for the birthday people, but never quite got there. Those ideas will go into the project vault for the next gifting occasion. So, one got books (my favorite gift to purchase ) from a large store that offers 35% below retail. I came in under budget. Usually I would spend the difference boosting the gift, but since I'm now in the cheapo league, I kept the difference and felt proud. I haven't told the gift recipient that I write this blog. Don't you tell either.....

The other birthday person is a tricky one, and there was no skimping there, but I managed to get just what I'd planned, and that is quite a step. I'm prone to panicking and impulse buying. Staying on budget was the goal. Well done me.

While I was shopping, I saw an Easter special, and got 20% off the price of eggs. They were lovely, different chocolates and that saving was worthwhile. I'm going to have to buy these things at some stage, no? I'd rather get something nice, in a timely fashion, than be raiding the supermarket on Easter Saturday and paying full price on the dregs. That said, it was an unplanned purchase. As was the book I bought for baby boy, and the plastic farm animal figurines. Hmmm..

Not a great week of saving, more like necessary spending. I feel like I need to be across my budget forecasting by twelve months to see the impact of my curtailed shopping. I can only believe that it's better than before, and keep up the practice.

fizzy tangy yuck

Grrr. I've made it twice now, but that magical yoghurt recipe is not working for me. It looks gorgeous- creamy and thick, white and pure. But for all this, I get a mouthful of tangy fizz. Even when I dug down a bit, (thinking the top layer, which wasn't submerged in the thermos may have been tainted), it was wrong. I hate that tongue tingling taste of failure.

To me it makes perfect sense. Milk product kept at a tepid temperature for 12 hours is going to be a disaster. It's a food safety law. But I had been convinced by the home-yoghurt-makers that the magic of yoghurt would win out. Beautiful bacteria would triumph.

Not so. Twice. Of course it's a contamination issue. But I had cleaned and dried all my equipment. Started with fresh yoghurt. It's new skim milk, too. Not much else you can do to get it right, according to the recipe.

Because it's supposed to be sooo simple, I'm never going to quit now. It's got me. I have to be able to do this. People who can't cook can do this! Right. It's only one recipe of many. Making yoghurt is as individual as making homebrew or curing salami in the back shed. Trial and error. Since I'm using cheap powdered milk, I'll tolerate a few errors..I have checked back to the "French Women Don't Get Fat" recipe. Once I've washed and dried my equipment (again), I'll get out that thermometer, and try it (again).

My garden is not a tangy, fizzy failure. Time, water and sun will see us with such lovely produce. Green, cool and quiet, even with MB playing in the cage. A place to contemplate what can happen when one woman interferes with milk....

great tips

I got some brilliant feed back from my devoted readers, early on in my call out to 'thrift-ers'. And in an ongoing commitment to this blog, amt is proving a powerhouse of ideas. But I am feeling the pressure build. It seems that each issue I consider raises tangled branches of ideas to explore. This is brilliant, but I find it quite pressing. I feel that by taking my time over this stuff, I'm letting dollars slip through my fingers. But every little aspect of life must be considered. I remind myself of the tortoise and the hare.

Isn't it always the way that once you focus on something, it seems to pop up everywhere? Before, I wouldn't have noticed a thing about saving. But then I started this, and within a week, Helen found me a website and then I heard of another on 774, there was a string of articles on the tabloid news shows, and even the baker stumbled across a blog about saving money on another site. Not such an original idea, then..

Helen's turned out to be the best. In fact I was a bit gobsmacked that the Cheapskates lady was trying charge me to use her site. Like 'pay me, and I'll save you money,'. Really! But I did glean something for free- her home-made yoghurt recipe.

I have a yoghurt thermos, but I didn't really ever like the yoghurt it made. I didn't really trust those pre-mix packets. Then I heard the Cheapskate lady tell Richard Stubbs (774, afternoons) all about making it and how easy it was. I thought why not? I'd read all about it in 'French Women don't get Fat', but it seemed to require thermometers and special devices and much time and patience. Wouldn't suit me at all. This new recipe is easy. It's setting as I type this and I'll let you know how it goes.

In order to make the yoghurt I bought some powdered milk. I haven't seen this since I last stayed over at my Nana's house, when I was little. She's always used it, I think. And then I thought, why don't I? Currently we buy two types of milk. But the baker's been preferring the baby boy's whole milk. So we're down to 1 litre of skim and three of whole, a week. I'm happy enough with the idea of powdered milk, so I decided to try it out myself for a week. The bag makes 10 litres and cost about $6, so it's 60c a litre. Better than $1.41- $2+ for a litre of skim milk. By a lot.

I had some diet and health questions- surely fresh milk is better? My Nana is living proof that it's not. She's more than 80 years old and all things considered, fit and well. Bones intact, hair, teeth and nails all gleaming (I think the teeth are false, though). Powdered milk not proving any problems there. I checked out the Choice and Dairy Farmers websites, which had limited information. The yahoo Q&A forum discussed that the difference was in the taste. I know that already. I have a lovely cold jug of powdered milk waiting in the fridge. Tepid or freshly made, it can taste, hmm, powdered.

So the milk is under review. Yoghurt is setting.

I'm following a few suggestions from the Saving Mum website. I'm considering the washing powder recipe. And I've jotted down the Playdoh recipe for future reference.

The tips from everyone have been brilliant, and quite varied. I'm still working my way through them. I go back and reference the lists regularly. There's fodder for many months of blogging. I was quite proud that I was already using some of the tips- perhaps I'm not so bad at this afterall!

a d&m about aldi

We went on a family excursion to Aldi yesterday. Our first visit to such an establishment, but most likely not our last. Although I wasn't that excited when I was there, it has left a lasting impression on me. Actually, it's been a bit of a revelation.

Yep, it's cheap. But that's not it.

I have said before, I hate shopping. Well, this includes supermarkets. I hate having to trawl up and down those huge, huge, life sucking places. It takes so long, even just to run in and get milk. The time and energy it takes to simply do the shopping is dire. Consequently, by trying to avoid it I spend too much, because I buy a months worth of groceries at once. Either that, or I end up doing over the budget by 'shopping' at the milkbar.

Then there's the amount of choice and the time it takes to work out the prices. The things that always get me are cheese and washing powder. In London, (it must be the law) there is the tag with the price and the cost per weight/piece/mls. It was brilliant. Here, I'm standing in front of the dairy cabinet trying to work out the price of ten different cheeses at 350gms, 750gms and 1kg. For crap cheddar. Forgetting there are other cheeses in the deli section as well! Argh. I makes me bonkers.

At Aldi I realised just what I need to buy at the supermarket. Basics are all I go shopping for, and it's all Aldi has. Not aisles of specialist ingredients, Asian, Mexican, ready-made, fresh frozen blah, blah, blah.. No endless rows of everything to fill the cupboard and blow the budget. Nope, just the basics, all in a space covering under an acre. Perfect.

Moreover, it's not just the basics, but the bare basics. No choice. Or not much. One brand and no branding. My first revelation- how much I am influenced by labels and packaging. When wrestling with price comparisons has drained my energy, I end up grabbing any product I like or have seen advertised. That's how brand identification happens. We are a Devondale/Surf/Weet Bix family. Without even thinking about it. And here emerges the larger issue. In my mind we are NOT a 'no-name' family. Buy why?

Early in life an image was planted in my mind of someone sweeping the factory floor and scooping that stuff into a no name yellow-and-black bag. My impression of home branded products is that they are the scraps off the end of the line. And I can't shake that image. Some of the products are not tip-top, like the watery, nasty baked beans, and the chocolate. It is worst grade. But things change, don't they? Well, this could be the test.

Currently I have an issue with nappies. I know that Aldi nappies are cheap and have had them recommended by many people, but I can't come at the idea of no name nappies. I know they they are not made from the sawdust and scratchy cotton leftover from other sanitary products, but I'm still reluctant to embrace the savings. Which are considerable. My earlier rabbitings about the Huggies sale tells you that I will pay up to 38c a nappy. Times 6-8 nappies a day times seven days times the number of days until MB is toilet trained. A lot. Aldi nappies come in at much less than this. It adds up quickly. So what is wrong with them? Or me?

Here I realised how indulged I actually am. Because I have a choice. I choose to shop and buy what I do. I think I'm being restrained but really, that's not the case. If I want to I can fill my trolley with anything that takes my fancy, whack it on the card and not think about it again. I can buy whatever I want. I choose not to, presently.

Undertaking this process and raising my own awareness, I now see people who don't have a choice. They have to think about everything the do, carefully, or live with consequences that can snowball. A life of 'need this but missed this bill so didn't pay that so couldn't pay this'....It's a way of life I fear, but not one I live with. I only ever had to drop off a luxury or two to get by. I worry about not being able to have what I want, when there are those who fear not being able to get what they need. Presently I am quite aware of what we need to live, and what is left over is, well, brilliant. Because we have something leftover after taking care of our needs. Using a cheaper nappy would give us more. So I think I'm going to get over it.

We shopped for most of our basics at Aldi and I spent under $50, even with impulse buys (gotta test the chocolate, don't we? I think it's a real Cherry Ripe in a different wrapper!). The milk is 60c cheaper than the cheapest I can by locally. Even factoring in the travelling- 8kms, not so convenient- it's worth the trip.

No way to know but to try.

the golden gorilla

In the early days of my wee boy's life, I was a bit housebound. I think it was the shock of it all. We also had to adjust to one income, rapidly. But shopping was so hard. I used the online delivery supermarkets, for the convenience, and the local shops for meat, fruit and veg. We did ok. We weren't saving though.

Then a (dear, true) friend recommended the Golden Gorillas. They are a fresh fruit and vegetable delivery service that comes weekly or fortnightly and brings fresh fruit and veg. A big mystery box of goodies delivered to your door for $35.

Now, I know that every time I go the the green grocers it costs me $30 at least, and that's more than one visit a week. So already, I'm in the green. But then the delivery actually came. It was about three times more than I would buy. Amazing. And fairly consistent quality, which is important to me. You don't get to choose, but you can say what you don't want. It's a lovely challenge for a house-bound chef. Surprise dinner.

As the first week rolled past I became aware that we had a bit of stuff left. I made soup, stew, a roast and had people to dinner to use up what we had. Great. Same at the end of the next week. So I stepped it up during the week. The running joke became 'Veg and three veg for dinner tonight, darling'. We became vegetable eating machines. It was good for us. I lost a couple of kilos of baby weight, and my husband lost the last of the Paris pastry weight he bought home. All good.

This past summer the Gorillas went on holiday for three weeks. What a shock. We went straight back to our old habits (three aging apples in the fruit bowl and the same limp veg staring out from the crisper). I was shocked. I expected to have to spend to keep up with what we were used to. But I didn't. Without the knowledge that more would be arriving I couldn't motivate myself to cook and eat what we had. Ridiculous, no?

Nevermind, they're back and we are loving what it saves us, loving home delivery, and my baby loves all those mashed vegies and stewed fruit. Viva la Gorillas!

cheap recipes

I had a flash the other day. It must have been going around because emzeegee had the same idea. The secret is cheap recipes.

I have an enormous cookbook collection. A book for everything, and I love every book. Since undertaking my saving task I noticed that many of my books require specialist ingredients. Expensive, beautiful foods that will make you a meal to remember. A meal to remember while you are crying over your credit card statement, in your rented house.

I needed to find a better source. I looked at what was about. Recipes for the people- Better Homes and Gardens, Good Taste, Delicious, Nigella, Jamie etc. Even they would have me out there buying eye fillet or salmon ($28 per kg), creme fraiche, proscuitto, gourmet cheeses, raspberries, blueberries..

Then it struck me. It's not about the ingredients, it's the recipe. I'm reading expensive recipes. So I changed what I am doing. No more out spending time, energy and money trawling for cheap ingredients. Do my research at home and find cheap recipes.

What makes a recipe cheap? Few ingredients, and not much of the expensive stuff. In main course and savory meals, you must look at what the bulk of the meal consists of, and what binds it together. Rice, potatoes, noodles, lentils, polenta, burghul and cous-cous bulk out a meal cheaply and beautifully. Utilising seasonal veges also makes a recipe quite cheap. Meat, cheese, prime pieces of fish or the need for protein portioned, like you get in a restaurant, will blow your recipe budget.

When you bake (if you do) then eggs, butter, chocolate, nuts, almond meal and honey will get you. These luscious ingredients make your baking luxurious and indulgent, which is why you would bother to make it in the first place. But the generations before us baked cheaply and filled the biscuit jar three times over for the cost of a flourless chocolate torte.

Out came the old Country Women's books (again!) and the vintage Good Housekeeping books, which I kept for the pictures. A quick scan and I found Asian, Middle Eastern and Jewish cuisines particularly lend themselves to cheap eats. In fact, the trend for peasant cooking like Italian, provincial French, Spanish and Portugese, brings us an abundance of great recipes. Out came clippings and old copies of anything I had from my Mum.

And I found a gem. Yum-yum Cake, from Joan Campbell. It's very easy and has water in it, for crying out loud. How cheap is that? Start with

1 cup raisins
1 cup sugar
125g butter
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and cloves
1 1/2 cups water
50g cocoa, sifted
pinch salt

Combine these ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil, simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool.


Then stir through
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
3 drops vanilla

Pour into a prepared 21cm ring tin and bake at 180c for 35-40 minutes.

When it's cool glaze with
150g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon honey
60g butter
which you have melted gently together in a bowl over hot water.

The glaze will bust your budget, but it was hard to go cold turkey on the first cheap recipe! Because there's no eggs, it keeps well for about a week. If it lasts that long.

free food

I go on about how much I spend on food, but I have noticed we get a lot of food for free. This is saving us a packet.

-My mum makes me lunches to have when I drop MB off to be minded for the day.
-We regularly share the harvest from my parents garden.
-The baker brings me fresh bread daily as part of his keep.
-My boss gives me the weekend leftovers.
-We share the amazing, organic bounty of their garden, too.
-The maternal health nurse often gives out baby food samples, which we love.
-My Nana makes relish, and has a neighbour who shares his home grown corn and beans with us.
-My other babysitter 'replaces' the tea-bags she uses while minding MB with a box full.

Now that I'm making the most of everything, such gifts make a big difference. Not paying for two or three lunches, never buying bread and utilising the fresh produce that graces us saves a lot. I notice, because I'm not having to shop as much, and at the end of this week, there may even be some money left in the kitty!

It's not a new phenomenon. We have always shared and traded goodies with family, friends and acquaintances. Just now, it's really proving to be to our benefit.

In return, I try to be generous with what we have to share. Our vege patch is providing gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, radishes and strawberries, with pumpkins and cucumbers on the way. I made jam and pate (livers, so cheap) and am sharing that with Mother's Group, my friends with new babies and the family members who will eat it. Extra bread is gifted to parents and my appreciative boss. Sharing the beautiful things you create is one of the joys of cooking. And really, it doesn't cost much, does it?

the brown robe

After the excesses of Christmas, and with such a strict New Year savings regime to adapt to, it would be nice to get a break from gift buying, even for a month. Having thought all December about the perfect gifts, to do it again as soon as January is not fair. But no, those birthdays just keep on coming, and February, and March.....

I do have a gift budget, which has been cut back, but it's not tightass. I like to be able to find the right thing for the right person. In my mind. In the real world I hate shopping. I'll use the internet where I can (not cheap, as postage usually interferes with the bargain) and gift cards or vouchers if there's nothing the loved one really wants. On the new budget, I'm trying to see how crafty I can get and save on gifts.

Before you hear this story, I must mention that I sew. Not well, but competently enough to make basic things and repair the baker's workpants. Others in my age group think this is quaint and odd, and I don't mind. In the household I was raised in it is completely normal to sew, knit, do needlepoint, cook and garden. What else would you do with your time?

I decided to make my sister a dressing gown for her birthday. A day-spa inspired, rich chocolate brown linen wrap. Light and airy, natural and flattering. I pictured her with her coffee (which she doesn't drink), crusty baguette and The Age, breakfasting alfresco Saturday morning on the sunny deck of her shared house. Maybe I'm daydreaming about what I'd like to be doing....

It was no issue to make it. I had the material already. As a sew-er I am afflicted, so when I go to a material shop I buy reams of material for projects I've no time to make. Sew-ers like me have drawers stuffed with bolts of cloth waiting to be sewn. From years ago. The brown linen was such a piece. An easy, breezy pair of pants for summer holidays two years ago, that never got made. Perfect.

I snaffled the pattern from my Mum, along with some other material from her drawer that caught my eye (it's a compulsive affliction) and my sister's budget gift was underway. Hopefully it would be easy, since the earliest opportunity I had to make it was the evening before her birthday. No time to cop out and go shopping. Budget intact.

It came together beautifully. Linen is a great material to sew with and the pattern was a breeze. I was guessing at the sizing, but I figured if it fit me it would fit her. She's smaller than me but it's a robe. Fine tailoring is not the issue. Just to make sure, I slipped it on the check the fit.

I gasped. It did fit beautifully, a triumph. But sewn up as a luxurious day-spa wrap, my gorgeous brown linen looked like a Benedictine monks habit. Truly. Like an extra from the DaVinci Code. A bit too Return of the Jedi. Could I get away with it? Would she notice? It was still sumptious, luxurious and hand made. Just a touch more conservative than I anticipated.

I thought through my options. It's 11pm, at this point, the day before her birthday. No shops, no idea of what she wants if I do go, and every chance of a budget-breaking panic spend if I manage to get to the shops before our lunch. Check the robe again. She won't be leaving the house in it. It is light and summery, a lightly crushed look making it so lived in and comfy looking. Hmmm, will she notice?

I folded it in tissue, like something I'd bought at an expensive shop. I wrapped it in new gift paper, not scraps from the recycled wrapping box. I slipped it into a brown gift bag, to complete the spa style theme. Raffia and all.

I confessed the problem of my gift to Mum. She is ever forgiving and would never dream of criticising something made with love. She said it would be ok. At lunch, as my sister opened it, we both held our breath. But bless her, if her eyes didn't light up and she's exclaimed "Oh, great. I know, I need a gown. My housemate has about three....(I stopped listening at this point, since I was so relieved she liked it).

So, one budget gift, happily received. I did shop for my other sister, her twin- a pair of cork Masseur sandals (yes, they still make them, yes, they're still daggy) which she loved and I bought on sale- 50% off! So the two January birthdays are done.

I am in heavy planning and catalogue scouring for the February birthdays. The Februarians are savvy shoppers and home made will not fly with them. I'm also searching ebay already for the March and April birthdays.

Happy Birthday A & S!