Monthly Archives: May 2012

The Simple Guide To Conscious Spending Revisited

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As we in the UK march toward the Diamond Jubilee (I have red, white and blue cakes planned!) it reminded me of a post I wrote over a year ago now.

Why I am a bit like the Queen

The above post links to a Guest Post I wrote for So Much More Life. It has never been posted here, so I thought it might be nice to revisit it. Enjoy!

The Simple Guide To Conscious Spending – Originally published March 2011.

For me conscious spending is knowing where every penny goes, or at least every pound. It’s about value for money, spending on what matters to my family and me and not frittering away cash. It’s not about being frugal, it’s about eliminating waste – I don’t mind spending money but I hate wasting money.

Due to living our family life this way it has meant that much of the last 18 years has been spent debt free (I am 36 now). Conscious spending has enabled us to travel, have lot’s of experiences and ultimately it meant that after our first child was born I could quit the 9-5, which I did. It has given us choices.

By consciously spending, rather than consuming, a debt free life is attainable. Every cent not spent makes a difference. It may seem insignificant at the time, but it’s not.

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Giving The Gift Of An Experience – A UK Giveaway

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I love giving gifts. Clutter-free gifts, that is.

Just this weekend, I made a cake as a gift for my Daughter’s friend. The photo is over on Facebook, for those like me who like looking at cakes!

I’m always trying to think of gifts that I can give that can be home-made. Or if not home-made, then useful. Actually if home-made they must also be useful!

One type of purchased gift that comes near to the top of the list for me is giving an experience.

I’ve written about this before.

So when I was contacted this week by Experience Days, with the offer of a giveaway, I accepted…because it would be lovely to give one of you Guys a gift. A gift of an experience…

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Looking For Inspiration?

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My writing mojo has taken a hit this week. I have to be in the right frame of mind to write. My thoughts have been elsewhere. This is not something I’m proud of. I feel I should be able to write-through whatever life’s throws at me, but I can’t.

So, looking for inspiration I put out a call to action on Facebook. To which Shelley kindly responded. It was suggested I post about saving on electricity by line drying etc…

Well…

I do line dry, but I don’t think I could write an entire post about it. However Shelleys’ much-needed suggestion made me think.

What is it that we do each day that makes a difference, not only to our wallet, but to reduce waste of resources?

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Selling It And A Giveaway

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Simply Being Mum’s Spring Sale continues.

£82 was generated from a car-boot sale and just over £52 from my first lot of eBay listings. Taking my total to a rounded down £134.

Some way to go to my self-imposed £600 target.

I have more to list on eBay, and have found that now momentum has built I am not actually dreading it this time. Still not overly enthused, but the photos have been taken and I’m building myself up to start thinking about descriptions.

My findings from starting to declutter and sell my stuff once more, is no different to what I discover each time I do it.

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When Paying In Advance Works

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I’m not one for committing to payment in advance, particularly for services.

For example; we don’t subscribe to cable, and I don’t have a gym membership.

I like to pay as I go (apart from my phone contract).

However, the more frugal I become, the more I am appreciating the additional benefits of paying in advance on occasion. Not in a committed regular payment kinda way, but as a one-off.

I’ve recently started taking yoga classes. They are on a Monday morning. I’ve also started reading **Linchpin by Seth Godin, and I know my resistance is strong on a Monday morning.

So, how do I use my relatively new-found frugality, and dislike of waste, to combat my resistance?

Answer – I pay for my Yoga class the previous Thursday. By Thursday each week I know my plans for the forthcoming week, and know if I can make it logistically.

Did I wake up this morning, full of the joys of Spring, pull on my yoga pants whilst practising my breathing, then proceed to bound into the class with my yoga mat enthusiastically tucked under my arm?

No

Neither did the rest of the class, in fact I was the only one there.

So not only did I conquer my Monday morning resistance by paying in advance, I also got one-on-one tuition (which was fantastically useful, and means I’ll be able to practice more at home now I know what I’m doing wrong). All for the grand total of £4.20.

Result = 

Paying in advance for Yoga class – 1

Monday morning resistance to exercise – 0

A great start to the week!

I’m intrigued – what works for you by paying in advance? And am I the only one who encounters resistance to exercise unless it’s written in ink in the diary, rather than penciled in?

Don’t forget I’m on Facebook, why not pop along and join the conversation?

**There are no affiliate links in this post

No Waste Tastes Great / Use What You Have

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It’s Friday Guys – time for No Waste Tastes Great

Click here to find out more about my Friday routine

Simply Being Mum’s Friday Fridge

Okay, so I’ve stepped it up a gear this week. All there is to use up are the grapes, and they’ll be eaten over the weekend. In fact supplies are so low that I have just enough milk left for another coffee this morning before I do my grocery shop.

How did this happen?

Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about food waste this week. It all started when I commented on this post over at The Frugal Girl. I explained about my minimalistic approach toward storing food. I was then inspired to give my cupboards and freezer a once over, and found that I had accumulated slightly more ‘emergency’ supplies than I normally carry. Possibly minimal in comparison to many households? But still, once I get to this point I like to start thinking about using freezer and store-cupboard items up.

So last night instead of the planned Spag Bol, I conjured up a sausage, pasta, tomato and parmesan dish.

This means that next week I have the following frozen items to use up:

3 haddock fillets, 2 salmon fillets and 450g/1lb of lean beef mince. I’ve already planned my meals around my freezer supplies:

This means I have a very basic shop to do today. Only the bare essentials.

I love having a ‘use it up week’ as it can drastically reduce my already 50% reduced grocery budget. And we won’t go hungry, it’s amazing what you can rustle up from basic items.

So what’s the plan for dinner tonight? If the Friday fridge is bare we have license to partake in a takeaway. But I’m on a ‘use it up’ vibe. Scouting through my jars and tins, I discovered these.

Plus 2 sweet potatoes that I had planned to roast this week, but didn’t.

I’m going to try slow-cooking a Thai red curry with chick-peas and sweet potato. I’ve never tried this before, but hey, that’s the fun bit!

Anything goes at Chez Wright on a Friday!
How’s your Fridge looking this Friday? Anything to declare? Or is it nice and bare? Please share…

No Waste Tastes Great is bought to you (as always) with thanks to The Frugal Girl for the original inspiration.

FoodWasteFriday

Don’t forget I’m on Facebook, why not pop across and join the conversation?

Simply Being Mum’s Spring Sale 2012 Starts

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I read a while back that the average UK household contains £600 worth of stuff that is no longer required and could easily be sold.

Now it’s very annoying when someone quotes a statistic like that and cannot find the source to back it up. Sorry but, I’m going to be one of those annoying people today. I have a good idea it was an article in one of the Hubby’s finance magazines, but can I find it? Alas no. A couple of years ago I would have presumed I’d hidden it away, my opinion this morning is that it’s been enthusiastically recycled (aka chucked)!

The reason this value sticks in my head (and thus I’m confident to quote it) is that lovefoodhatewaste.com also claim the average family throw away over £600 of food each year.

£600 saved by not wasting food + £600 generated from selling unwanted stuff = £1200

Enough for a family holiday in the UK, me thinks!

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Simple (Partly Slow-Cooked) Chicken & Mushroom Pasty Recipe

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I’m not sure whether the word ‘pasty’ is one that would be recognised internationally, but for anyone living in the UK, it is probably most well-known for its Cornish roots.

Pasties are different from pies, but how really I couldn’t say for sure. All I know is I wouldn’t walk along the English coast eating a pie, but I would a pasty!

Pasties originally were made with beef, I believe, but as time moves on so does taste. Anything goes now. So mine are chicken and mushroom – because, well, why not?

Regular readers will know I don’t believe that slow-cookers should only be used when preparing the whole of a meal. My cookers get used for all sorts of things, including simply keeping gravy warm when waiting to serve.

Therefore the first part of this very simple recipe to create your very own homemade pasties is actually from a recipe I posted a while back.

Simple Slow Cooked Chicken and Mushroom Pie Recipe

Follow the above recipe to the part where you spoon the contents of the slow-cooker into a ovenproof dish. You may wish to make the gravy slightly thicker as it is to be placed on top of pastry, and it needs to be rather sticky. Use a spoon to remove the mixture that will drain excess liquid away.

Once you have your mixture for the inside of the pasty, follow these really simple steps.

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