The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty

It is Day Thirty of The $1,000 Plan, and it is exactly a month since I started working towards the goal of saving $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks. How have the last thirty days gone? Where am I at with achieving this goal? Have things worked out favourably financially over this time for my household to achieve the hoped for outcome within just thirty days only?

The last thirty days have not been without their challenges. Just when I was hopeful of achieving the hoped for financial breakthrough, we have had unanticipated costs for repairs come along to nip at our ankles.

The washing machine, which has faithfully worked up until now, decided at the end of last week to stop working. It is going to need at least one if not two new parts, and this of course costs money. The toilet in the ensuite bathroom has also ended up with a leak that we just can not work out how to fix, and so a plumber is now booked to come also.

So sadly, within less than a month we now have some unforseen expenses turn up for our household. What money was saved towards the $1,000 goal and could have been put away for something akin to a sunny holiday kind of day, is now instead being used for the current household maintenance and repairs that need addressing.

Such is life it would appear, that you have to go several steps forward, and also several steps backwards sometimes, before the real breakthrough comes your way.

It seems so unfair doesn't it, when you are doing everything you can to step forward and have a positive change come your way, and things that are pretty much out of your control turn up and knock your goal that bit further out of reach.

Could we have reached our goal and had money in the bank for something more exciting like a holiday? Potentially I am guessing yes we could have.

Instead we have for now, money in the bank ready to pay for those things that need to be fixed and need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. The perk of it all, there is not the added stress of having to borrow against a credit card or seek a similar more costly loan financing option instead at present.

At the heart of it, being able to save money by looking at what can be adjusted has aided our household, even if the result was perhaps not as wonderful currently as I would have hoped. I am guessing that it will take several more weeks to recover what money is used on paying for these repairs to be done, so I will still keep working away quietly at trying to achieve my goal.

Life happens, and things do surprise us out of the blue sometimes. When you have some savings tucked away it at least makes the experience of facing such surprises, such as having to repair a major appliance, somewhat less stressful to deal with.

Sometimes it takes a little longer to reach a goal that was hoped for. We can feel discouraged and it is okay to have the feelings for a bit. However, the real difference will be made by persevering and keeping on until the goal is in fact truly achieved.

The sun was out today, and I enjoyed having a cup of tea whilst I sat for a time out in it. While there may be a grey cloud or two along the way, we can believe in our goal, our vision, our dream and just keep going.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Five

It is Day Twenty-Five of The $1,000 Plan and today I wanted to share & reiterate what have proven to be 5 helpful tips for my own household over the weeks we have been working towards the goal of The $1,000 Plan.

I hope by sharing these 5 helpful tips they may prove to be helpful for your own household, particularly if you are currently endeavouring to achieve a financial breakthrough also.

The 5 helpful tips are as follows:

1. Make using what is currently in your freezer or pantry a priorty, when it comes to planning & making meals. It has helped my own household tremendously, over the weeks we have been working on The $1,000 Plan, to always shop the freezer and food pantry first. If you shop from what you already have at home, to help plan and put together a meal, you are making the most of your current available resources.

With a little creativity, innovation and a bit of research (online or via your collection of recipe books) it can sometimes work out that you can create several meals from just one 500 gram pack of mincemeat. The simplest of ingredients can often surprisingly lend themselves to the most delicious as well as nutritious of meals.

Being able to plan ahead and plan creatively, when it comes to each & every household meal, helps towards achieving a hoped for financial goal. Your freezer might just stock what you need for a week or two of wonderful meals.....it might even supply you with even more!

When you shop your freezer and pantry first before doing a grocery shop, it also helps with keeping track of use by dates of frozen items as well. Rather than discovering sadly that there were items lurking in the depths of the freezer that are now no longer food safe, a regular audit helps to keep food rotation occurring.

Alongside keeping the need to grocery shop within budget being carefully met, by shopping your freezer you are kept up to date with the actual contents of what you have on hand within your freezer. Why discover too late that what you purchased on sale 12 months ago, is now freezer burnt and no longer consumable? Shopping from the freezer or pantry is a very wise means of keeping within a concise food budget as shrewdly as you can.

2. Buy generic brands when you can. With allergies needing to be considered in my household when it comes to product buying, I know firsthand that it can be tricky to work through what can potentially be purchased from amongst the range of cheaper brands of certain products.

I choose to purchase that which does work well for my family members health-wise and budget-wise. You may not be able to buy cheaper generic brands of bread for instance, if you are a gluten-free or dairy-free household, but perhaps you could purchase a generic brand of aluminium foil instead. Choose what will work best for your household and make the most of what options you have available to you.

3. Be more conscious of your electricity consumption. Over the colder, darker winter months it can be particularly challenging to keep your electricity consumption from jumping and steadily increasing. It can be too easy to get caught in the trap of turning overhead lights on as you pass from room to room. It is wise to keep stock of just how much usage you are making of what you have available to you.

It is far better to aim to have everyone on the same page and making a combined effort to not leave lights randomly on about the house, rather than receive a shocker of an electricity bill at the end of any given month.

Can everyone work quietly in the same room with one overhead light and with one source of heating, rather than have people in multiple rooms all using different sources of light and different sources of heating?

Could ambient light be sought out instead during the daylight hours, rather than a light switch being habitually flicked?

Could a hot water bottle or two be used to warm a cold bed, rather than an electrical blanket?

Rather than everyone showering or bathing daily, could you set up a rotation over the colder winter months, so everyone has their shower or bath on alternate days?

Give your use of electricity greater thought, as it can make a significant difference to your overall utility bill each month, and also to how you go about achieving your financial breakthrough goal.

4. Set up automatic payments where you can. When you make partial payments, over a greater length of time, rather than as a lump sum payment biannually or annually it helps to not make things too tight and uncomfortable on the financial front when those payments are finally due. 

It helps cut down the worry that can linger in the back of your mind about making and keeping up with utility payments when you make regular part payments via automation. We have found it helps clarify what is truly left each payday, as those payments that are defined commitments are dealt with first and foremost always, via the automation process.

Keeping on top of payments lessens one's overall worry and stress. Plus, it helps to provide a clearer picture of just how the balance of expenditure versus income is really going. An automatic payment ensures your financial commitments will be served first and served well.

5. Use your surplus to generate additional income. If you have surplus items that you no longer require, it can be wise to look at selling them. We recently sold a no longer required small outdoor shed and are looking forward to using the money gained to purchase some firewood.

Over the winter months it can be a good opportunity to do some decluttering and list things for sale online on Trade Me or other local sale sites. This can sometimes help generate some additional income and help aid achieving your hoped for financial goal. 

The bonus of decluttering is that you not only gain extra space around your home & property, but you also gain some potential extra dollars also. These are both wonderful pluses, when it comes to making the most of your current resources and what is surplus. 

It really is my sincere hope that by sharing these 5 helpful tips, they may prove to be helpful for your own household, particularly if you are currently endeavouring to achieve a financial breakthrough also. It takes perseverance and often courage to make changes, and where we can learn and gain from the experiences of others, I personally have always appreciated having the insights shared with me. May these 5 tips prove to be helpful for someone else also.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-One

It is Day Twenty-One of The $1,000 Plan and today I chose to seek soul food. The monotony of taking over yet another extra workload at home had really started to weigh heavily on me yesterday. So today I knew I had to consciously seek to bring some lightness and brightness along my life's path by personally having some much needed time away from the house & my household commitments.

Early in the afternoon I drove to Hamilton with my daughter and we went and spent several hours at the Hamilton Gardens. I have wanted to visit these gardens for more years than I can tell, and so I chose to make it finally happen for myself today.

There is nothing quite like getting some soul food to put a sense of balance back into life. My husband once said he would be happy to live in a retirement village and simply have a laptop at his disposal. That has however never been my idea of a good time or something that fulfills my soul looking into the future.

While at art school, I specialised in photography, and sadly over the years there has been less & less time to engage with my love of photography and art. Going to the Hamilton Gardens today reminded me about how much I value having visual beauty around me, particularly natural beauty.

I get so much enjoyment from being able to compose a photograph and capture in a moment of time, the beauty that light and a good composition can make, when out with my camera amongst nature.

A beautiful lush collection of flowers, the tangle of roots growing up along a mason wall, the changing patina of a metal garden sculpture..... these are all things that can cause my soul to feel feed and refreshed, if & when they bring my photographer's eye joyful pleasure.

Being surrounded by the diverse flora and fauna at the Hamilton Gardens and being able to take my time to capture various compositions via my camera lifted my spirits today and made me feel somewhat rejuvenated again.

I need colour and variation in my life. When things just coast along, day after day, in repetitive and monotonous patterns of daily life, I find it brain numbing and quite soul destroying.

I have no desire to simply work harder & longer to pay bills and never have pockets of fun and adventure along the way through life. While others may find it makes life blissful to just sit back in a chair each evening watching a Netflix video, that is not the life I actually find healthy for myself.

I need to spend some time working out how I can obtain better balance for myself going forward. Today at the Hamilton Gardens reminded me of how much I need to have time-out and time away, to see beauty in nature and literally find joy in a diverse range of places.

The $1,000 Plan needs to not just be about saving money, but also determining what does in fact make life all the more richer & better. I need to weave this all in, to create the tapestry of life I need, for a sense of wholeness and well-being, and to experience a life that is truly rich & truly abundantly wealthy.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Nineteen

It's Day Nineteen of The $1,000 Plan and it is Friday. It is has been a busy and somewhat tiring week, and today I wanted to take things a little slower yet still do a little meal preparation for the coming weekend.

It is definitely feeling like winter now, as the days are so much colder and it gets darker that much more quickly. The days are feeling more & more like days where you just want to have a cup of soup and curl up with a good book by the fireplace.

I chose to put on the slow cooker with a big batch of bone broth to quietly simmer away this morning. It is the first time I have made bone broth. Bone broth is believed to be very nutritious.

Depending on what bones you use, it can allegedly be a rich source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. Animal bones particularly are believed to be a great source of these particular minerals.

The whole thing with bone broth is that as the bones simmer away, over time nutrients are released into the water and are then easy for your body to absorb. I am hoping by making some bone broth to add to soup, gravy, etc it will help us all on the health front over the winter months. I am still trying to personally shake off having bronchitis, so I hope it will indeed help a little health-wise.

Bone broth is believed to be good also for those with leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome and irritable bowel diseases (such as Crohn's Disease). The amino acids in bone broth are thought to help fight inflammation. Bone broth can also aid with improving the health of your joints.

There are mixed reviews about just how beneficial bone broth can be, however I am having a go at making it for the first time with lamb bones we have been putting away in the freezer, and we will see just what everyone thinks of it, over the next little while.

With Hubby's help, I have also finally got around to preparing some of the pumpkins we harvested and today I decided to  make kumara (sweet potato) & pumpkin soup. This is currently on the stove cooking and we will look forward to having some homemade soup over the weekend, perhaps with homemade Naan Bread or even a loaf of Irish Soda Bread.

During the winter curries, soups and warm rice & pasta dishes are food we often enjoy. I hoping it will all also help us keep on with our budget-friendly food focus as part of embracing The $1,000 Plan at present. Bon appetit, Everyone!

The $1,000 Plan: Day Eighteen

It is Day Eighteen of the $1,000 Plan and we are most definitely over half way! It seems a while now since the goal of saving $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks was set, and with each passing day we are steadily getting closer and closer to achieving the actual goal.

One of the very first things all those days ago that had to undergo transformation was mindset. It is interesting how habitual some behaviours and daily choices can be. Where once upon a time a good percentage of our grocery bill was spent on breakfast cereal and dairy products, now we do not even give having such for breakfast a second thought.

Everyone has expressed enjoyment of the main meals we have cooked over the last eighteen days. Where I once upon a time would go in and do a major grocery shopping haul, now I am only purchasing exactly what is needed as it is actually required, in order to supplement what is in the chest freezer, fridge or pantry to make any given meal.

We have got so much better about being conscious about our electricity usage since we set out on The $1,000 Plan journey. Rather than have people scattered all around the house using multiple electrical light sources, now there is more thought about trying to use the same light source and whether additional overhead electrical lighting is really even needed.

It is simple things that can help make a difference when working towards a specific savings goal. Choosing to use homemade cleaning products, or purchase cheaper generic branded items, has helped to bring costs down. Doing bulk cooking, so several meals are prepared at once, has helped time-wise, energy-wise and cost-wise. Considering what errands we can run on the way to and from picking up my husband from the train station........................ these are all positive, constructive budget-friendly choices that are helping us at present financially, plus time-wise and energy-wise.

Setting a financial goal in some ways is easy. What is challenging is the willingness to face what may need to be changed and to follow through on those very changes. So far I think we have done quite well. However, there may well be still things in the coming weeks we find which also may need to be given further thought. The $1,000 Plan is closer to be achieved, both day by day, and dollar by saved dollar.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Seventeen

It is Day Seventeen of The $1,000 Plan and today I thought I would share a recipe that has proven to be a favourite in our household.

Several months ago when we had an abundance of tomatoes in the garden, I chose to freeze a lot of them, and when needed I simply defrost what I need to add to soups, pasta sauces, etc. This particular recipe for tomato sauce, which I made using tomatoes from our garden, has proven to be one that we all enjoy.

Making a range of items from scratch, helps to make the most of what is in the freezer and the pantry. So here it is, a recipe for homemade tomato sauce:

Tomato Sauce

The following recipe makes approximately 3 1/2 litres of sauce.

Ingredients:

7 kg Organic Tomatoes, chopped

2 kg Organic Apples, peeled & chopped

12 Organic Onions, chopped

6 cups Sugar

8 cups Malt Vinegar

4 Tspns Salt

2 tspn Cayenne Pepper

2 tspns Black Peppercorns

2 tspn Whole Allspice

4 tspn Whole Cloves

Method:

1. Put tomatoes, apples, onions, sugar, vinegar, salt and cayenne pepper into a large preserving pan.

2. Tie peppercorns,allspice and cloves into a piece of muslin cloth and add to the mixture in the preserving pan.

3.  Boil mixture steadily for about 2 hours or until mixture appears pulpy.

4. Discard the spices in the muslin cloth. 

5. Press the prepared tomato mixture through a sieve. 

6. Return the sieved mixture to the preserving pan and allow to boil for another 2 minutes.

7. Pour tomato sauce into sterilised bottles and seal with lids.*

8. Store sealed bottles in a cool, dry area. Once opened, store the bottle of sauce in the refrigerator.

*I personally recommend also waterbathing the bottles once they are cool, to ensure a thorough seal.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Sixteen

It is Day Sixteen of The $1,000 Plan and we enjoyed having sultana scones for lunch today. It was nice to have a change from the usual pattern of having our main meal mid-day.

Here is the recipe for those who also might like to make some delicious sultana scones:

Sultana Scones

The following recipe makes approximately 12 large scones.

Ingredients:

6 cups of Organic Plain Flour
12 tspns of Baking Powder
1/2 tspn Salt
150g Butter, chopped
3 cups of Rice Milk *
2 cups of Organic Sultanas

Method:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl. Add the sultanas to the combined dry ingredients.
2. Chop in butter, until the combined ingredients resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add the milk and mix quickly to form a soft dough.
4. Knead the dough a little and then shape each scone as you wish. 
5. Dust a cool oven tray lightly with flour. 
6. Place each prepared scone onto the tray. Brush the tops with a little milk.
7. Bake the scones in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for about 10 - 15 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Remove cooked scones from oven tray and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
9. Serve when cool with jam and whipped cream.

*Or whatever milk you prefer.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Fifteen

As we work towards achieving the goal of The $1,000 Plan in 4 - 6 weeks, embracing alternatives has become part & parcel of a necessary mind shift. When it comes to seeking out alternative budget-friendly cleaning products, I mentioned in a previous blogpost how we have found it beneficial to make-from-scratch our own dishwasher tablets. We have found there are indeed quite a range of household cleaning products that can easily be replaced with less expensive, yet still healthy alternatives. One particular product that we have found has multiple uses around the home is white vinegar.

White vinegar can be used for a number of purposes. One such purpose we have embraced is that white vinegar works very well as a rinse aid in the dishwasher, as it helps to fight residue build up.

White vinegar is also working well as a deodarizer in the washing machine. We have been adding it to each wash for months now, via the fabric softener compartment.

White vinegar also can be added to a mix of water and a little dishwashing liquid to make a good universal cleaner for such things as windows. I particular like the streak-free finish this leaves on windows.

If you are keen to look at cleaner, simpler and budget-friendly household cleaning product alternatives, that also work well health-wise, white vinegar really is a good alternative when it comes to look at revamping your options for cleaning products.

With a little research, you are sure to find other uses for white vinegar, other than those I have just mentioned. Finding alternatives that work well for the budget and still prove to be safe & healthy also, all help to make a difference when you have a savings goal. White vinegar is one such alternative that we have found most useful.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twelve

It is Day Twelve of The $1,000 Plan and I woke up this morning feeling dreadful. I have been fighting a sinus infection, plus bronchitis, now for nearly a month, and sadly this morning on getting out of bed I toddled down the hallway to the bathroom to involuntarily go through the motions of wanting to vomit.

"Are you all right, Mum?" asked my young son quietly, when he emerged from his own room looking concerned and began gently stroking my back. All the while, I could only continue to stand bent over the bathroom sink. I had unfortunately woken him, with all the usual ghastly sounds one can make when in such a predicament. The involuntary unblocking of breathing passages of clogged up mucus had sadly woken more than just myself, on this cold and blustery day.

Tears caught at the corner of my eyes, as I tried to pull myself together to reply and reassure his sweet and worried face. His mama was trying to breathe, and involuntarily going through the motions of vomiting up mucus had been unfortunately part of the course her sick and weary body had taken this very day.

As I sought to go back to bed, tired and weary from trying to seek relief at the bathroom sink, my son soon came through with a cup of lemon & ginger tea he had kindly gone off to brew for me. One of the numerous and many perks of homeschooling is having my beloved children often volunteer to make us all a pot of tea. Today the gesture was extra sweet for its underlying care & kindness.

Today, I got to thinking about how sickness can so often rob us of a financial breakthrough. Having just recently forked out close to $100.00 to go to the doctor's, and then pay for meds to allegedly make the breakthrough needed with this persistent sinus infection and bronchitis, I am feeling the financial pinch yet again, and am caught with being still under the weather.

This time of year, with winter ills often turning up, our need to take care of our health can prove to be extra paramount within a household. Winter can prove to be an expensive season with not only extra heating being required, but the ills of winter can bite into our budget should medical intervention be repeatedly required.

As I still battle my way through not feeling great, I have been researching online alternatives to conventional medicines and conventional prescription antibiotics. It was interesting to find out about natural antibiotics such as garlic, oil of oregano, manuka honey, ginger, echinacea, colloidal silver to name just a few. If these could be incorporated more into our day to day lifestyle, perhaps they might tip the balance health-wise not just for myself currently, but for our household overall.

I decided to prepare a lamb curry for our main meal, and it has been interesting to discover just how benefical some of the spices can be on the health front. Turmeric, for instance is considered to be very beneficial, with its ability to fight viral infections, bacteria and even fungi. A compound within Turmeric called Curcumin is even been tested to see if it will help fight cancer. Who knew that spices could have such significant health benefits? I sure didn't!

As I read and research more & more alternatives to revamp our food menu plan, it has become clearer and clearer that revamping our household food menu may not only help achieve The $1,000 Plan, it may also make a significant difference on the health front also! How fantastic that will be!

A good curry, (not necessarily one with lots of cream, though!) can, according to recent research shared online, help protect you from heart disease, Alzheimers and even ease arthritis. All due to the presence of turmeric, cardamon, coriander and even basil at times in the make up of curry powder.

Like all things though, curry powder needs to be taken in moderation, as there can be side affects for some, such as those on blood thinners and with gall bladder issues. It is always best to do a little research to see what would indeed work best for you.

With the current need to address my own ill-health, we may well have a little more curry over these winter months, and making them from scratch will likely also help on the financial goal front also.

Here is the recipe for Curry Paste, which I made to use when preparing the Lamb Curry and the Stir Fry vegetables today. Perhaps you might like to look at making your own made-from-scratch version also.

Curry Paste

The following curry paste was made from ingredients I had onhand in the fridge and pantry.

Ingredients:

3 Tbspns Coriander Seeds
2 Tbspns Cumin Seeds
1 Tbspn Mustard Seeds
1 tspn Black Peppercorns
1 tspn Ground Turmeric
1 tspn Ground Cinnamon
1 tspn Paprika
2 tspn Chilli Powder
1 tspn Himalayan Sea Salt
2 Tbspns Crushed Ginger
3 tspns Garlic Granules
1 tspn Organic Tomato Puree
4 tspn Apple Cider Vinegar

Method:

1. Mix together the Coriander, Cumin and Mustard Seeds plus the Peppercorns. Cook them in a frying pan for about 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Once the Mustard Seeds start popping and the seeds all start to look golden brown, remove the pan from the heat. Tip the seeds into a bowl and put to one side. 
2. In a separate bowl mix together the Ground Turmeric, Ground Cinnamon, Paprika and Chilli Powder. 
3. Combine the spices and the seeds and grind them altogether in a coffee or spice grinder until well combined.
4.Add the Himalayan Sea Salt to the ground mixture.
5. Put the combined mixture into a small bowl. Add the Crushed Ginger, Garlic Granules, Tomato Puree and the Apple Cider Vinegar. Mix together gently with a spoon until a paste is formed.
6. The prepared curry paste can be used immediately, or you can put it into a jar and add enough Olive Oil to cover it. (I actually mixed the Olive Oil through the remaining Curry Paste, and then placed the sealed jar in the fridge for the rest of the Curry Paste to be available to use over the next few days). It can be kept in the fridge for up to one week.*

*You could choose to spoon portions of the curry paste into ice cube trays and freeze it, to be used at a later date also.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Eleven

It is Day Eleven of the $1,000 Plan. Last night Hubby and I worked our way through evaluating the overall household budget and I made suggestions as to how this could be done better.

One thing that clearly stood out was the need for us to do better when it came to utility payments. Some payments had been set up as automatic payments for quite some time, but there were other payments that clearly needed to be made into automatic payments as well.

Some payments needed to be adjusted to be done as partial payments, over a greater length of time, rather than a lump sum payment biannually or annually; as this tended to really make things very tight and uncomfortable on the financial front for a bit.

When you have the option of setting up automatic payments to go out close to, or immediately after a salary or wage payment comes through, it cuts down on the worry about making and keeping up with utility payments.

Nothing is worse that having a dark cloud hanging over you, with worry and concern about whether you can meet a financial obligation.

Some utility payments may only require payment once a month, others may require payment fortnightly or even weekly. However, difficulties arise when you leave any payment for too long and suddenly it becomes quite the mountain to conquer.

Making steady payments can eleviate a lot of stress. It is much better we have found, to keep on top of payments and where possible to make partial payments, rather than have a substantial billing suddenly hit the wallet at the end of the month, bi-annually or even annually.

As a property owner, it is highly likely you may have to pay both local and regional property rates if you are based in Aotearoa New Zealand, like we are. These billings can be quite hard on the pocket if you do not make partial payments over the course of the year, particularly when you are a single income household.

In our single income household, we have found it best for most utility bills and other such financial obligations to be spread over several weeks. This helps to lessen the blow felt when the actual due date for payment comes around each month or every six months, etc. A fortnightly payment of say $15.00 is far more manageable for instance, than suddenly trying to meet a billing for $413.00 for regional rates once a year.

It takes time to work out payday by payday how best to spread out any obligations you have on the financial front.

It takes careful consideration to weigh up what you can afford each payday, alongside the longer term financial obligations that you may have.

Keeping on top of payments lessens one's overall worry and stress. Plus, it helps to provide a clearer picture of just how the balance of expenditure versus income is really going.

When you set a financial goal, such as The $1,000 Plan it becomes increasingly apparent that each and every dollar and where they each go, becomes rather important to ascertain and keep track of.

When you have a financial goal, you really want to make sure you are giving yourself the best deal possible and the best chance possible to succeed in your endeavours.

We have valued taking a little extra time lately, to do a bit of a self audit on the financial front. It is looking with each passing day more hopeful & more likely that we can indeed achieve our hoped for goal of saving $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks. Yay!

The $1,000 Plan: Day Ten

With the $1,000 Plan well & truly underway in our household, we have been mindful of making changes where we can, as well as making the most of opportunities where and when they present themselves.

One thing that has stood out significantly, has been how valuable being part of and having community is. It makes such a difference having a network of people around you, be it family, friends, neighbours or acquaintances.

Over the past week, community has played a role in helping us make progress on our savings goal. By sharing our surplus, and also having others share with us from their surplus, we have experienced blessing.

My husband was asked by a neighbour if he would take a look at their computer, as they were experiencing a problem with it. As he works in the IT industry and has skill in doing trouble-shooting and sorting out a range of glitches that can arise with electronic devices, he was happy to freely oblige and provide some practical assistance and support. 

On seeing the issue resolved, he was the happy recipient of some homemade jelly preserve, plus a platter of deliciously prepared sausages, all given to him as a gesture of thanks and appreciation. 

What a wonderful blessing when we each can give what is needed, or would be valued & appreciated, to each other's households, simply by being friendly & neighbourly!

Today, on dropping off the children to their horse-riding lessons, their instructor kindly passed on to us a bucket containing beautiful, homegrown kumara (sweet potatoes), and we in turn passed over on pickup the very same bucket containing surplus feijoas from our backyard garden. How lovely it is to be able to give homegrown garden goodness, when and where we each can!

How wonderful being part of community truly is! When we are able to exchange what is our surplus, or what we no longer require with others around us, it blesses, encourages and makes such a difference for the receiver.

Be it a container of surplus fruit or surplus vegetables, a platter of sausages, a bundle of pre-loved clothing children have outgrown, a much needed hand with getting a task completed..... it all can make a difference on the financial front, and help us make breakthroughs where they are needed.

Too often, we buy into the falsehood that we have to keep, have to hold on to our surplus 'just-in-case.' The truth of the matter is, we are so much wealthier & so much more better off when we share and give freely, that which is abundant & surplus within our own lives.

Fear and anxiety can rob us of actually experiencing abundance. When we hold on too tightly and worry over not meeting our needs, we may miss out on just that very opportunity that may avail us of having ample and variety come our way.

Community, being part of it and contributing to creating it, makes all the difference both practically and figuratively, when it comes to living life with joy. I highly recommend making an effort to build a greater sense of community with those around you and who cross your path day by day.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Nine

Can you entertain and still have a savings goal you want to achieve in a short space of time? The answer is yes. With the $1,000 Plan underway in our household, we have been mindful of making changes where we can, however experiencing joy daily is still something that makes life richer and makes memories all that more happy and pleasant.

We had visitors come to visit during the weekend and I wanted to enjoy blessing them with good food as part of being hospitable towards them. Food is such a part of being hospitable, and I for one always love to bake or cook something that everyone will enjoy and which will add to being welcoming and friendly.

Thinking through what was onhand, I chose to bake Anzac Biscuits, one of our household favourite biscuit recipes, plus I chose to bake scones. I envisioned how lovely it would be to have something of a Devonshire tea, so checking the budget situation I knew I could afford to purchase a small bottle of cream.

From the feedback received, everyone loved what was on offer for afternoon tea. I had found a packet of sultanas in my baking ingredient stash, and these added a little extra something to what otherwise would have been plain scones. With no actual jam or jelly preserve onhand, I opened instead a small jar of stewed plums, and these were used alongside the cream for the scones.

We can entertain when we are on a fixed or even tight budget. People appreciate seeing gestures of hospitality and kindness, and it does not have to be over the top in presentation or delivery. The simplest of afternoon teas, or any other meal for that matter, can still create a sense of welcome.

Here is the recipe for the Anzac Biscuits that I chose to use, for those that also might be interested in making them:

Anzac Biscuits 

This recipe makes approximately 40 biscuits.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Organic Flour
2 cups of Organic Raw Sugar
2 1/2 cups Dessicated Coconut 
3 cups of Organic Rolled Oats
200gms Butter
4 Tbspns Golden Syrup
2 tspn Baking Soda
8 Tbspns Boiling Water

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats. 
2. Melt butter and golden syrup.
3. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water, and then add to the melted butter and golden syrup mixture.
4. Stir butter mixture into the dry ingredients.
5. Place tablespoons of the mixture onto a cold greased tray.
6. Bake the prepared biscuits at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Place on a wire rack to cool.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Five

Here it is Day Five of The $1,000 Plan and it has certainly been an interesting working week! I have to say my hands have started to feel sore today, as a result of doing a lot more cleaning and washing up, as part of taking on doing all the bulk cooking and multiple meal preparations, these past five days. I have started to rub oil into them, trying to make the skin not so sore and irritated.

We have had five days so far of doing breakfast in an alternative way, with no dairy and cereal products included in the mix of what is on offer each morning. The children have told me that they really do like having the muffins each day now, and depending on their individual preferences, they have been at times keen to join me for a cup of herbal tea also.

Lunchtime has become a lovely mid-day break time, as we sit down to actually eat together in a more formal dining on dinner manner at the dining table. Having the main meal of the day at noon (or close to it) has been working well for us all.  I have personally found it feels so much less stressful than trying to rush through dinner preparations in the evening alongside collecting Hubby from the train station.

We have eaten a range of main meals this past week, and everyone has enjoyed the variety. I will spend some time over the coming weekend digging further through the contents in the chest freezer, in order to determine what direction next week's meals take. Planning ahead has been so beneficial, and I want to build on the momentum that has been put in place.

Having something of a variety of fruit currently on a number of the fruit trees in the garden has been a great perk this past week. I had purchased some additional fruit last payday, so the guideline I set in place was everyone could snack anytime from the fruit in the garden, however, that which was purchased was only to be eaten at set meal times. This has to date worked well.

The meals have taken more work, yet I weigh this against the fact that I was cooking greater quantities, in order to have less work and preparation in the coming weeks. I think the hours of additional work carried out over this week will prove to pay off in the weeks to follow.

As we get closer to the next payday, I will need to take time to work out an actual shopping list to determine what is essential to get us through the next fortnight. The first two weeks of this six week plan may prove to be the template for the next two weeks after that....... I am certainly learning at the coal face what works well, day by day, to meet everyone's food needs, plus what potentially can still quietly work towards supporting our savings goal being achieved. The goal is getting day by day closer to being achieved, and what an achievement that will be!

The $1,000 Plan: Day Three

It is Day Three of our household endeavouring to save $1,000 over a 4 - 6 week period. Today I thought I would share one of the muffin recipes we are currently trialling, as an alternative food for breakfast, if you are interested in also trying them. 

I have shared them with the dietary adjustments I made, to be true to what ingredients I did in fact choose to use to make them. I have also adjusted the actual quantities of each ingredient, as I chose to do multiple batches that I could freeze and have readily onhand every morning, over the month ahead.

My goal is to 'shop' from what is currently in the freezer and the pantry, and so the recipe shared below reflects what was available to me when I was preparing them, and therefore what was used to make them. You can adjust the ingredients to what would best suit your particular dietary needs.

Here is the recipe I used, which was adapted from one I found by Edmonds Cooking, called Apple Coconut Bran Muffins....

Fruit Coconut Bran Muffins 

This recipe makes 48 muffins.

Ingredients:

6 cups of Organic Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
4 tsp Baking Soda
8 tsp Ground Cinnamon
4 cups Wheat Bran
2 cups of Desiccated Coconut
1 cup of Organic Raw Sugar
8 Tbsp Golden Syrup
4 Eggs
4 cups Organic Rice Milk
400 gm Butter, melted
1 cup of Stewed Seasonal Fruit (I used Stewed Feijoas which had no sugar included in their preparation).

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a standard large muffin tin with individual muffin cases.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
3. Mix into the flour mixture the bran and the desiccated coconut.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the raw sugar, golden syrup, eggs, rice milk and butter.
5. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredient mixture.
6. Fold in the cup of stewed fruit. Do not over mix, stir until the ingredients are just combined.
7. Spoon portions of the mixture into the prepared muffin cases.
8. Garnish the top of each muffin with a little extra desiccated coconut for decoration.
9. Bake for 15 -20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Serving Suggestion:

Prior to serving, we found it best to wrap the muffins in tin foil and reheat them in the oven for about 10 minutes, as they are extra delicious when served warm.

We have enjoyed having them alongside a pot of herbal tea and a piece of fresh fruit each morning. I hope this recipe may prove to be one that your household enjoys also.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Two

What does it take to save $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks, as a single income family? As we launch out into trying to do things differently as a household, in order to achieve this very goal, a shift is taking place in relation to how people start the day at breakfast time.

Up until this weekend, breakfast was more often than not all based around cereal and dairy products. With the emphasis on making changes that could prove to be financially beneficial (yet would still allow for dietary requirements to be met), it was what is consumed for this particular meal that was first on the list to be reassessed and changed.

With each grocery shop, I was previously purchasing up to 3 - 4 different cereals to cater for dietary needs and in some cases, just people's preferences. This was taking a considerable portion of our fortnightly food budget. Breakfast was proving to become more and more a daily meal that was costly, as bowl upon laiden bowl of cereal was being consumed, as previous months consumption habits proved to show. 

I had started to see a pattern of behaviour develop that certain sugary branded cereals were increasingly being consumed in greater quantities by some individuals. It was becoming habitual for more & more boxes to be requested and purchased, before often the next payday was anywhere in sight.

It had become quite typical to be told by family members that their cereal had run out and we needed to get more on the way home from picking up Daddy at the train station. Sugary cereals were being more and more favoured over healthier muesli, and cereal was also being indulged in often as a snack food.

Breakfast needed a makeover, and it was the first area of menu planning expenditure that needed redressing for sure! 

For the financial saving goal of The $1,000 Plan to have any chance of being reached, the cereals being favoured and consumed needed to go and alternatives put in place instead.

As I have stepped out these past few days towards planning a more savings friendly menu, I have contemplated and started to look at alternatives. I spent several hours over the weekend cooking up several batches of muffins. I determined what I thought would be reasonable quantities to make, in order to look at having muffins available for breakfast for everyone (that is, one portion per person) over a month long period.

It was quite a muffin-fest, by the end of the weekend! With close to 100 muffins all accounted for, prepared and then frozen in labelled freezer bags, all ready to be able to be selected and put out in the pantry to defrost overnight as they were required each day.

The feedback so far, over the two days we have so far trialled having muffins, a piece of fruit and herbal tea for breakfast, has been positive. Yes, there are those that have told me they do rather like the chocolate chip muffins over the fruit coconut bran muffins..... but hey! It was a big step for some more than others, to try doing breakfast in a way that felt less breakfasty to them.

I chose to do four batches of each muffin recipe made. With each recipes original quantities allegedly allowing for a batch of 12, and having achieved 48 muffins per batch made, I was pleased with the overall results of the busy baking time had in the weekend.

I will share the muffin recipes we are currently trialling in my next blogpost, if you are interested in also trying them. I will share them with the adjustments I made, to allow for what ingredients I did have onhand in the freezer and pantry..... I am afterall endeavouring at present to 'shop' from these, to achieve the hoped for results of The $1,000 Plan. The $1,000 Plan is unfolding, step by step, with each new day.