Now I had managed to cut my grocery bill down by almost half, but I have been frustrated with the amount of mince (ground beef) and sausages we have been eating, as well as having to fill up on bread, rice and pasta.

I decided that I need to get more raw fruit and veges into my diet (hmm...I haven't been doing so great with my salads this week!  I had huge salad every day for lunch for 2 weeks straight and sometimes for dinner too, but I just can't seem to face them this week!), but I wasn't sure that we could afford it on our budget!? 

Well guess what?  Last week I came $10 under budget and I brought HEAPS of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and dried fruit!  It did help that I have a freezer full of meat, from buying in bulk when things like mince, chicken breast, chicken pieces and sausages were on special!  So I didn't need to buy any meat last week...nor do I need to this week (actually I could about a month without needing to buy any more meat!), unless of course, there are some great specials!  I have resolved to never buy meat that is not on special!  And you don't need to when you buy in bulk.

More about Meat...

We have cut down on the amount of meat we use, like having homemade tortillas (a family favorite) with meat and salad...I find you only need about half the amount of meat as usual when you have tortilla's, so I usually make enough for about 4 meals and freeze the rest in meal-sized portions to whip out of the freezer (along with the pre-made & frozen tortillas) for a very quick, easy meal on those days when you might otherwise be tempted to grab take-out!  We have things like Mexican Mince, Teriyaki Chicken or Sausage & Lentil Casserole in our tortillas...the possibilities are endless!  It's a great way to use up leftovers too!

I doubled the quantity of our mince spaghetti bolognaise (ground beef, tinned tomatos, tomato paste, onions, garlic and herbs) the other night by cooking a cup of red lentils and adding it in...it did give it a slightly different taste, but it wasn't bad and it meant I could put another nights dinner in the freezer!  Boy, do I LOVE easy meals! 

Love

Ang

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 These are a firm favourite in our household!  We love them with Mexican style mince & beans with salad or Teriyaki Chicken and salad.  Even children, who don’t usually like salad, will happily pop lettuce, diced tomato & cucumber, grated carrot into their tortilla!

I usually make quadruple quantity and freeze the extras!!  It takes a couple of hours to make that many, so don't do it at dinner time!!

Makes 10

2 ½ Cups flour (all white flour or 1/2 white & 1/2 wholemeal)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp oil

About ¾ cup warm water

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the oil and then gradually add enough warm water to form a soft dough.  Knead on a floured board for about 5  minutes (great triceps work-out!!) and then allow the dough to rest for around 5-10 minutes (this makes it much easier to roll out). 

Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll each to about 20 cm across (okay, so admittedly, mine end up looking more like one of the American states than a nice round circle!  But I promise it doesn’t affect the taste!).

Cook them quickly in a very hot, lightly oiled frying pan for 30-60 seconds, until they bubble and start to brown.  Turn them over and cook the other side.  When they are cooked, wrap them in a damp kitchen towel to keep them soft.

To warm the tortillas, wrap them in foil and heat them in the oven, or just pop them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds each.

Ha ha, told ya they looked more like one of the states!

 Jack gives them the taste test...and they pass!

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 Words to live by for the frugal!  I found this tip on Ruth's blog.

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Shop with CASH instead of ‘plastic’...take out the amount you have budgeted to spend (in my case this is $150 pw for groceries) and stick with it!  It is much less tempting to go over-budget, and saving is far more satisfying when you actually SEE your savings!

If you come in under budget, put the left-over money in a safe (and secret!) place...if you consistently do this, you will build up a little grocery 'nest-egg', that will enable you to have the extra money to stock up when the basics are on special, or cover the essentials on a 'lean' week.

Blessings

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Porridge for breakfast is really cheap (Rolled Oats from the bulk bin section of the supermarket or bulk foods store costs 29c in NZ$ per 100gm - which is 1.5 servings for myself and three children) and healthy...the children and I have it for breakfast Monday - Friday, having cereal or other breakfast foods only in the weekends. 

I won't say that it's the childrens favorite breakfast...but they're used to it, and look forward to something different in the weekends.  I sweeten it with raw honey (much healther than sugar!) and stir a spoonful or two of milk powder into the pot to add in some calcium and make it nice and creamy.

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What is better than home baking??  Forget spending all that money on Christmas presents (that they may not even like or use!) for your extended family and others you like to give gifts to at this time of the year...what about some yummy fudge?  How about chocolate chip cookies...or my personal favorite at this time of the year...gingerbread!!  Yummy!!  Find some festive paper plates, little baskets, or boxes (try the dollar store!), tie it up with a festive ribbon and a candy cane!  Get creative!!  What a neat project to get the children involved in! 

Remember it's not about how much money you spend...don't let the commercialism of "xmas" pull the wool over your eyes!!  This is the season to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!!  It's the season to connect with our family and make sweet memories!!  It's NOT the season to bankrupt your family buying gifts you can't afford, for people who probably won't like them...not to mention the stress of shopping at this time of the year...why do you think they call it the "silly season"?  Turn this "silly season" into the "sweet season", bake with your precious babies, have fun getting creative in the kitchen (BTW choc chip cookies, cakes and muffins freeze really well, so you can make them in advance!).

Last but not least, don't forget those less fortunate than yourselves this Christmas...is there a nursing home you can visit to sing carols or just spend time listening and chatting to some-one who has no family to visit them, maybe getting the children to make them a homemade Christmas card?  Can you help out with the Salvation Army or homeless shelter Christmas dinner?  You don't have to have spare money to help others this Christmas...just the love of Jesus to share with the lost and hurting.

God bless you

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Use cloth nappies (diapers)!! Do you know how much it costs to use disposables over the course of two years or three years?  Around NZ $3000 - $4000!! ($3000NZD is around $2050USD).

I purchased 5 Snazzipants (which is a NZ brand - disposable style non-waterproof cloth nappy) and bummis wraps and prefolds, which are all 'modern' cloth nappies.  I spent around $350NZ on Snazzipants, Bummis and prefolds and Jack will fit the medium size I have for another couple of months...at which time I will have to spend about $100 on some size large Bummis wraps (the prefolds, which I have in several absorbency's will do him right through).

Of course this means an extra load of washing a day...but big deal!  Do the math - it's worth it!

Use cloth wet wipes!!  Another thing I am just about to start doing, is using cloth wet wipes as well!  I have been thinking about doing this for a few weeks now...I just have to go buy the cloths to use, either chux (soft kitchen cloths) type cloths, baby face cloths or small muslin squares will work fine, and a lunchbox to keep them in a solution of water, a squirt of baby wash and a drop or two of lavender or tea tree oil.  At around $6 a box of 80 disposable wet wipes this will save loads of money!

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Eat your left-overs! LOL sounds pretty simple doesn't it?  But do you actually do it??  I can't tell you how many times left overs have gone off in our fridge...it's been a pretty regular occurrence!  My dh is a builder, and doesn't have access to a microwave, so he can't take left-overs for lunch - but if your dh does have access to a fridge and microwave, then why not cook a little extra dinner for his lunch?  Most things will keep in the fridge for 3 days, so he doesn't have to eat the same thing two days in a row!

Now because my dh can't take the dinner left-overs, it's my job to eat them!!  I never used to do this...the left-overs would usually sit in the fridge until they turned into a science experiment!

But I just can't afford to waste things like that anymore, so I always check the fridge for left-overs before I make myself lunch now!

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Consider using milk powder - if you buy milk powder in bulk (from a bulk-bin type store or wholesale grocery store), it works out at about half the price of buying the fresh stuff.  I don't personally like the taste for my cup of tea, but I have trained myself to like my tea black (I can't stand black coffee though...but I don't have coffee alot anymore as I HATE instant and can't afford the real stuff!).  This also saves money on tea bags, as I only like black tea very weak, and can reuse the bag couple of times! It won't take the kids long to get used to it...try topping up the fresh milk with powdered milk when it gets down to the half way mark and slowly changing the percentages (or just stick with half & half if you prefer!).  Even if you only switch to using the powdered stuff for baking, you'll be saving a bit!

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Don't buy everything from the grocery store if possible - find out where the fruit & vegetable markets are - this is where the shops buy their fruit & veges from at wholesale prices. 

Research alternative places in and around your area for buying in bulk or at wholesale prices (these are the places that businesses buy their stock from)- sometimes you need a membership or business account to do this (sometimes with 'cash & carry' places, all you need is an account number to quote, then you pay at the counter, so if you know some-one who has a business and can open an account for you or give you their account number to use...check the rules & regulations first!)...do the homework - it will pay off in the long-run!

Stock up when the basics are on special! Use a deep-freezer! It really helps to have  deep freezer - when I was at the grocery store last week they had mince (hamburger meat) on special for $4.99 per kg (NZ$)instead of $8.99, so I got about 10 meals worth for the deep freeze! 

It is worth the investment to have a deep freezer - for instance my dh plays indoor soccer at a local church once a week and twice in the last few months they have given him a huge (clean) rubbish sack of fresh loaves, buns, scones, pull-aparts etc from the local Bakers Delight bakery (they collect all the left-over bread at the end of each day for the food-bank and sometimes have way more than they can use, but have to take it all!)  We wouldn't have been able to take it if it wasn't for the deep freezer!  What a blessing!

Blessings

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Make your own baby-food!  I know it's sooo tempting to just grab a few jars in the supermarket, but at NZ$1.60 a jar (one measly serving) it is very expensive stuff! 

It is very very cheap to cook and puree (for younger babies) things like apple and pumpkin etc and you can use ice-cube trays to freeze individual servings.  As they get a little older (my baby is almost 1!) they can eat many of the things the rest of the family does - with just a little extra mashing or chopping.

I have also just switched from buying 'baby yogurt' at about $5.50 or more for 6 servings, to feeding him plain greek yogurt (which I made myself - well, from a make-your-own-yogurt packet mix anyway - I'm going to find out how to make real homemade stuff soon!).

There is just no need to be spending $3 or more a day on tinned baby food, when you can easily make it for a fraction of the price!

Blessings

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Bake your own bread!  It costs a fraction of the price of store-brought bread (especially if you can buy your flour and baking ingredients in bulk!) and it is healthier because you can use 100% wholewheat flour and don't add in all the fillers and preservatives they add to commercial bread.

And NO you don't have to own a bread-maker (I don't!!) to make good bread - make it the old-fashioned way (it actually tastes nicer than bread-maker bread IMO), find a good recipe and teach your older children how to make it!  It takes a while from start to finish, but as long as you're getting other things done while it's rising, it's not very time consuming!  You could make a loaf a day, or bake a weeks worth in one go and slice it for the freezer.

Blessings

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Breastfeed for longer!!! Um lets see...it's free it's amazingly good for your baby and it's far easier than making up bottles.

My baby is just coming up 1 year old and I have decided to keep on breastfeeding him instead of switching to cows milk or formula.  The WHO (World Health Organization) now recommends breastfeeding as being best for baby until 2 years of age.

This will save you between $500 - $1500 (NZ) per year depending on whether you buy formula or cows milk, and how much your baby drinks etc.

The other plus is that I can eat whatever I like and not put on any weight (in fact I have to make sure I eat enough so I don't lose too much weight!!).

Blessings

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Use baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) for cleaning - this works well in the kitchen  & bathroom and anywhere else you would normally use a cream cleanser (although I've found it works fine on things like wooden window frames too).  Keep it in a little shaker jar (an empty herb jar or similar) .  Baking soda is very cheap - even more so if you buy in bulk.

Use shampoo to clean the shower and the floors! - keep a large cheap bottle of nice smelling shampoo in the shower and use a squirt on a microfiber mit or shower puff to clean the shower while your in it!!  I do this every other day and I NEVER have to "properly" clean the shower - it just doesn't get scummy anymore!

I also use shampoo to clean the floors - I fill a bucket with warm water and a squirt of shampoo, drop a couple of ready-for-the-washer towels in and my children scoot around the house on them in their swimsuits! 

After they are done cleaning I give them some more towels to dry it up and then I just chuck the towels in the washing machine.  I have polished wood floors and this keeps them clean and shiny!!  The children have a ball and I never have to mop!!

Blessings

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Use half the amount of laundry powder recommended on the box - your clothes will still be clean and fresh, it's better for the environment and your skin!!  This even works well with cloth nappies (diapers) and do I even need to point out that this cuts the amount you spend by 50%!!!!  If you have very smelly clothes, try adding a few drops of lavender essental oil to the wash.

This works best with a middle-to-top of the range laundry powder (I use a concentrate - Persil or Drive works really well, these are NZ brands BTW!).

Blessings

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Now, I know most of you homeschoolers out there will know what I'm talking about when I say that it is a struggle to live and homeschool on a tight budget! 

Any SAHM (stay at home mother) whose dh is NOT a doctor, lawyer or in other huge-income-earning occupation, knows that it takes skill and practice to live on one income in a two income world - add to that homeschooling and more than your average amount of children (the average being less than 2 in most developed countries!).

So I am currently learning to live on less.  I mean, we have been living on less for the last 2 years (since I became a SAHM), but I know that I could be doing a lot better too.  I am currently trying to get my grocery budget down from $280NZ ($186US) to around $150pw ($100US) for our family of two adults, ds 7, dd 6 and ds 11.5mths.  Not easy, but not impossible either (at least according to others I know who manage to do it!!).

So I will share my discoveries on my blog, in the hopes that I might be able to help others get their costs down too!!

Here are a couple of good links I've found so far...

http://www.destitutegourmet.com/ - I don't have her cookbooks yet, but I'm going to get them as soon as the budget allows!!

http://www.simplesavings.com.au/ - this is an Aussie website, but has some great tips (that would work in any country) on the 'tip sheets' page.  I haven't joined up (ironically I can't afford it LOL!!!) but there is good 'free' info on there too!

I am also getting some great tips from the various yahoo groups I am on (and a few frugal living ones I have just joined), so I will be collating them and posting them on here too (as soon as I have time!!). 

Blessings

P.S Any tips you could give me would be appreciated (leave a comment!!) - but we don't have the same kind of coupon system here in NZ as you have in the US and Canada.  We have 'auto coupons' that you don't need to cut and collect, the discount is automatically taken off at the counter.

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