It is Day Seven of The $1,000 Plan to save $1,000 over the next 4 - 6 weeks. For the main meal today, I chose to cook fish and stir fry vegetables. The fish were from a fishing trip that Hubby and Mr 9 went on, and it was onhand in the freezer ready to be enjoyed.
Because I chose to oven bake the fish, with garlic, lemon juice and rosemary for additional flavour, I needed to make sure I had ample aluminium foil onhand to wrap them, in order to follow the cooking process through that I wished to do. I thought I would share today one of the budget-friendly practices I have been doing in order to reach The $1,000 Plan: I buy such things as aluminium baking foil in a no-frills variety when I can.
There are some things for health reasons we do not compromise on, such as organic fruit and vegetables. These of course, more often than not, may cost a bit more to purchase than conventionally grown produce. Yet, for health reasons we choose to pay more, in order to have both the long term health benefits of avoiding food containing pesticides and the assurance that in the short term our children's skin and respiratory allergies are less likely to be triggered.
There are some day to day household items however, that I will select predominately because they are a no-frills variety, and because they are the generic type of that particular required item.
Sometimes it is only the brand name and/or fancier packaging that will make one type of product more expensive than another.
Being able to save on such things as aluminium baking foil, where there may really be no difference to the products on offer other than packaging and presentation, can make a difference budget-wise.
Yes, there are some things like soap and other products that can be laiden with nasty chemicals we wish to avoid, so I will not compromise and purchase just any product because it is cheaper, as it could well be that it is indeed much nastier!
It is best to always practice discernment and do a little research into what any given product is made of and possibly contains in its ingredients list.
Finding where you can save on certain items can help greatly when you are trying to reach a saving's goal. I personally always try to weigh up what potential hidden health costs could be lurking behind the scenes, and whether the risks outweigh the benefit of buying cheaper.
Generic brands can sometimes prove to be just as good others, we just need to exercise wisdom and do some thorough research, and then all will fall into its place.
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.
