organics revisited

Just a note about our mission to be predominantly organic. It's really disrupted the budget. I'm now back to my old habits of trying to find the best and cheapest, but this time organic and some of it is a bit shocking. I never really believed that organic was so much more expensive, I always thought it was just a bit more. A tin of tomatoes, the cupboard staple for us, regular, from 55c to 99c. Organic, $1.67 or more. Three times the price. Milk, regular, 2 litre, $2.80-$3.50, organic, $4.98- $5.33. This is really putting me to the test.

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!

where are the goalposts?

I am a little at sea. I have embraced my task, but I'm puddling along, minding the pennies, but not feeling like we're really getting anywhere. I know why- the budget, and the goalposts. Or lack thereof. I need a chart and a graph.

It's exciting to start something new, with lofty aspirations, your heart bursting with optimism. I made a plan, and have a map of what I need to do to get there. As new issues arise, they are listed and will be duly addressed. Banking, bills, tax, interest, shopping, gifts. Plenty to investigate and keep me busy and focused. So what's with the slump?

Saving by scrimping is a slow and cumulative process. Money I haven't spent this week will eventually appear in our account. But previously when I have set a saving goal, I was a contributing earner and it was much easier to just stop spending that income and save it for a while. Now I am trying to magically accumulate more money, and every little overspend wears me down.

Like this week, for example. I got an unexpected overdrawn fee from my bank ($30), did a bulk shop at the supermarket ($60 more spent than usual) and the baker received a notice to renew his licence ($112). So the .80c that I accumulated in the Jar seems a bit ridiculous. The goal was missed by a considerable margin. From that point I start to juggle money in my mind, trying to carry over credits from one week to cover debits of the other and it gets me into a complete mess.

I can budget. How else have we managed two overseas trips in the past four years, on modest incomes? Great budgeting. Since becoming a single income household I have checked and reviewed our budget several times, seeking ways to minimise our expenses. Now I'm doing this. Like I said, it's time to get creative. Is it working yet?

I've set the bar- the weekly saving of $192. This is my third week of blogging. Do we have $600 more in the bank? Well, no. We have $200. Quite short of the mark. But I'm working up to it. Watching the pennies so the (pounds) dollars take care of themselves....There will be a chart and a graph shortly.

the food issue

I realise that I have not previously mentioned I am a chef.

Of course, those who know me already know that. You all already know that food and eating matters to me. Our conversations will be turned onto food at any point, at any reference. It is a life of immersion. Cook for work, cook to relax. I have a good understanding of farming and growing, production, cooking, food politics, restaurants, markets, reviewers and writers, of those who contribute to our daily food life.

I won't buy cheap food, just because it's cheap. I can smell the rotting stink as I pass by cut price fruit and vegetable shops. I seethe with rage when I find items bought there deteriorating less than a day after purchasing. Even green bananas. I won't by cheap meat if it's water pumped, preservative drenched, bulk buy, compromised quality. I think that's false economy. I don't want to support bad farming practices by buying cheap cage eggs. I want to encourage good farming and small producers by using their produce, but small scale farming foods are generally more expensive.

Undertaking this experiment, I have found that food is a large expense in our household. Eating is a ritual, a joy, a hobby, our daily obsession. If you look at a budget planner, then buying, preparing, eating and sharing food fills more than the 'food expenses' column. We also cover off 'gifts' and 'entertainment'. Reducing what we spend in this area is imperative, but very difficult. See my challenge? It makes me wince. I'll be thinking about this a lot.