Starting Out With Savings... Part 5

This is our final post (for now) on our savings system. I wanted to make sure that I didn't give anyone the impression that this system would be easy or foolproof.


Moving to cash is difficult. We have lived a DINK lifestyle (double income, no kids) for two years. We are used to getting what we want when we want it. Not only that, but we drew our own money from our own paychecks. This meant that there was very little accountabilty to each other over what we spent or what we were aiming for. Basically as long as bills were paid, we could each spend whatever we wanted. On what ever we wanted... 


That's not a long-term solution. 


We are already realising the limiting nature that this system will have on our lifestyle. We will have to check if one of us has cash before going out to supper with mates after church. Buying a new album online might not be a spur of the moment purchase... 


The way I see it is this; living this way is freeing. The way we were living, we felt like we were living it up because we could have what ever we wanted. Except, we actually can't achieve our bigger financial goals like buying a house because we haven't saved any money. And if something goes wrong, if one of us looses our job, if our mortgage repayments change, if one of us gets injured or sick, we have a very temporary buffer. Then, we are done. 


By saving, budgeting and managing our money, we might actually have a shot at making our lives easier in a few years. Its short term pain (and really, is waiting a few weeks for new shoes really a pain? If it is, you need a reality check. Sorry, but that's the truth), for long term gain. 


Below of I have listed some sites that make being more thrifty a reality. I hope they are helpful to you.


Finally, a reminder from God's Word:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." so we can confidently say,

   "The Lord is my helper;   I will not fear;what can man do to me?"

~ Hebrews 13:5-6

Helpful Resources

Money Saving Mom - check out her series on paying down 100% of their first home. Lots of other awesome money saving ideas.

Small Notebook - you know how sometimes you read something and go... "hey, that is really sensible. Why didn't I think of that?" This post helped put things in perspective, but there is oodles of interesting and helpful, simple stuff on her site. 

Simple Mom - lots of ways to save, reflect and minimise our impact on the earth.

From The Recipe: Making A List

   Sometimes when I go to the supermarket, I walk out wondering where that extra $20 went. I didn't really need 4 bottles of orange and lime juice, but they were next to the apple juice and they were on special for a $1 off. So I only wasted $6, not $7...


I am a pretty conservative shopper by conventional standards, but I have found that even I have difficulty ensuring that I only walk out with what I intended. Being a working wife, I find that I have a haphazard approach to shopping. I only get groceries when I have to, or when I have a large block of time. But this means that I often don't have on hand everything I need to make an entire meal.  So I get creative and that's where I fall down. 

Enter the Shopping List


The shopping list can save you money. IF YOU STICK TO IT!  There is no point having a shopping list that you see as a basis for buying other things. That's how you will come unstuck. 


There are some awesome resources for menu planning and shopping lists. 


I bought myself an A5 folder and printed out a bunch of free menu planning and shopping list printables. You can find some of my favourites below.

For this week, I sat down and picked the recipes I wanted to cook. I wrote out a list of the ingredients I didn't already have at home. If one recipe called for mushrooms and another recipe also needed mushrooms I would just write (times 2) next to the item on the list so I knew to buy more. I'm sure you could get technical with quantities, but its only early days for me! 


Then I organised my list. I shop at two different supermarkets. Aldi because the staples there are cheap, and the big supermarket down the road for the 'other stuff'. The simple way to do this is to go to Aldi first and cross off what you can get there as you go, and get the other stuff afterwards. But if the idea of that does your head in, then stick with the one supermarket. You pay for convenience these days! 


To make the Aldi portion even easier, you could use their phone app to plan, or their online shopping tool to pre-prepare your list. 


Once you are at the supermarket - STICK TO YOUR GUNS! I find it helpful to organise my list in sections in the order I will walk through them at the local supermarket. That way I feel like I'm buying things in order and don't get side tracked. What ever works for you!


The goal is to use up what you have, to focus on only buying what you need and to make a system that works for you. For me, the extra 30 minutes planning (even less as time goes on) is well worth the $20 saving each week. 


For more info on menu planning: 


Organizing junkie has great info and a weekly link up
Info on menu planning and batch cooking from Simplemom.net
Free printable pages for menu planning and shopping lists - Organised Home.com
More Free Pages from The Household Planner
If you want to get serious, pay for a membership here - I had one for 6 months and it was great - Listplanit.com

Disclaimer: This is an unsponsored review and link up, I do not have any affiliations with any of the above companies or pages.

What I've been making...

I seem to have more hours in the day for planning sewing projects than I do for sewing them! I have hurt my neck recently and can't spend long periods sewing or typing or sitting really so I have just been planning mostly! As soon as I'm better I'll be blogging my sewing efforts!

Here are a couple of things I have made in the last couple of months that I've been meaning to post!

Baby Blankets

Babies everywhere at the moment and I have been stitching away with some polar fleece blankies.

Patchwork fleecy for baby Ryan, wrapped up (above) and unwrapped (below)

This print was too cute to cut up, so I just stitched the edges (after a very unsuccessful attempt to sew blanket binding around the edge, Awesome said "Just do that stitchy thing you do, it'll be quicker", and it was, only an hour and a half in front of the TV!). This was a remnant that I found at Lincraft in the remnant box, (love that!) and only needed 1/2 for the blanket - all up it cost me about $2.50!

A close up of the stitching around the edges

With Mothers' Day here I thought I'd show you the little purse I made for my Granny.

This is a purse from a pattern in Pip Lincolm's book Meet Me At Mike's. I love this book and have been busy making things from it (I sadly lost the photos of the bird and flower coasters and another purse like this I made for a friend). The fabric was left over from other projects and the button was from a bag of thrifted vintage buttons I bought at a church fete in bowral (bargain - about 50 buttons for 50c!). All up it probably cost less than $2!

There are still many, many things on my to make list.. and I seem to be adding them faster than I am making them. I am getting a little faster at sewing though (although I have to be careful not to go too fast and cut corners!). Here is a skirt I made by adapting this pattern (which I love and will make a shorter version of soon), while Stu was taking a shower before we went out for dinner. Yep, a new skirt in less time than it would take for me to park at the shops!

(sorry about the photo - Awesome was sleeping). The fabric was given to my by my Mum as an off cut of something she was making, the bias binding was also a find in a bag she was getting rid off and the elastic was from the Lincraft remnant box again ($4 for a bag of about 20 pieces of various elastic!) so all up it cost me practically nothing to make! Even if I had bought all the bits myself the skirt probably comes in at under $10. Bargain!

Lovin' my sewing machine! What are you making?

Freezer Blues

I am feeling a tiny bit defeated today. Its silly, but simple accident of the freezer door being left open overnight has zapped all my energy. I have thrown out... well, a freezer of food, which makes me a little sad. I am trying to work a little harder at being an organised and prepared wife... and this set me back a little.

But I do have things to look forward to... like meeting my husband in an hour to shop at the discount grocer Aldi, and at the local discount fruit and meat warehouse. And the fact that just three days ago I recieved a $10 off your next purchase voucher in the mail for the fruit and meat place! Thanks God :) And that that I read some other blog posts today which built me up and reminded me God's grace can even extend to shopping - you just wait til I get praying over that trolley!

But for now I'm going to curl up for a very quick nap and then get ready to have fun shopping for our 'new' freezer (which has been defrosted, wiped down and frozen up again ready to go).