This week has been all over the place - as usual in a busy household of five. I think that it's life at it's very best, interesting, fun, loving and happy.
We all saved money, time and energy this week by:
Picking some roses from the garden to take to Mum.
Saving the shower warm-up water for the washing machine.
Drying the washing on the clothesline, using our free solar clothes dryer.
Cooking all meals from scratch, according to the meal plan, using ingredients on hand.
Making a double batch of Whole Orange Cup Cakes, using oranges from the freezer.
Making a double batch of Sweet Potato Chocolate Cup Cakes using sweet potato puree from the freezer. Our local baker sells larger cupcakes for $2.60 each; four batches of cup- cakes cost $9.60 to make, so I've moved $50 to our savings account. This is a lot less than the cost of buying 48 cup-cakes, but there's no way I'd ever pay $124.80 for cup-cakes so I've shifted what I *might* pay in a pinch for a very special occasion for really spectacular cup-cakes.
Sweet Potato Chocolate Cup-Cakes |
Using less than 1/4 tank of petrol so didn't need to top up (thank goodness, petrol is still expensive).
Making labels for Mum's new clothes using a fabric marker and white bias binding I had. I hand stitched them so they're nice and secure and won't come off in the laundry.
Planting out some lavender strikes I've been nursing along in pots. I saw them at the nursery for $8 each, and they were smaller so I've moved $48 to our savings account.
Celebrating Wayne's birthday with his favourite meal (baked beans on toast) and his favourite cake (passionfruit sponge) and dessert (lemon meringue pie and ice-cream) at home. He loved his birthday dinner and we all had a fun night. I made him a special birthday card, and the kids all gave him handmade cards too.
Shopping around for prescriptions and found my regular chemist was the cheapest for them, but Chemist Warehouse was cheaper for the over-the-counter medications needed. They're both in the same area so only one trip was needed.
What did you do to save money, time and energy this week?
I like the sound and look of those sweet potato chocolate cupcakes Cath, and great savings there. The price individually of those cupcakes is ridiculous, yet some people pay for those items as if there was no other option!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest saving this week was rain! We had a heap on Thursday night and now the gardens don't need watering for a little while as the weather is staying cooler for the next week. The car also got a free wash as we put it out in the rain.
We were in Adelaide last weekend, so I stocked up at Aldi. The main item I purchase is their organic tin tomatoes as I use them a lot. I also buy the dried fruit, like dates, apricots, sultanas and mixed fruit for cooking. I buy extra for my mum too!
This comment is a little late, but I have been trying to stay of the internet (especially social media) a bit more so I can get some things done. It is always great to catch up on what you have been doing.
Have a lovely week!
xTania
Cath what do you mean by moving money to your savings account? From where? I understand the concept of savings from homemade to shop bought goods and having envelopes for groceries etc but where do you get the money to switch around?
ReplyDeleteLorraine, I believe money isn't saved until it's in the bank. Until then it's just not spent, so to me saying I saved money by making the sweet potato cup cakes wasn't true until I had actually banked the money into our savings. In this case, the cupcakes were for a birthday celebration, lunches and snacks and to take to a party. So I took half from the birthday budget, and a quarter each from entertainment and grocery slush fund.
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