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.

Questions to ask yourself when aiming to spend consciously

• Do I need it?

This should always be the first question. Do I need it? Honesty is key here. It easy to fool yourself into believing a ‘want’ is a necessary purchase. Just look at the amount of unused gym equipment lying around people’s homes, not just tying up cash but also space and causing immense guilt in the purchasers lack of motivation to use it. Ask yourself many times ‘Do I need it?’

• Do I love it? Truly Love it?

If you identify that you don’t need it but do really love and want it then this may be a good enough reason to go ahead with the purchase. So the second question should always be ‘Do I love it?’. Everyone should be able to buy something they really love, from time to time. This can be a legitimate reason for a purchase.

• Can I afford it?

By afford it I mean truly afford it, not go into debt for it and pay it off later. Again honesty is key. Even if you can buy it outright still bear in mind that if you are looking to pay of debt elsewhere every penny you do not spend reduces that other debt. Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after them selves is a famous British saying.

• How many times will I use it?

Consider how many times you will use it. This can make a buying decision harder or in some cases easier. For example I purchased a dress for twice the price of another, but knew I would wear it at least 5 times more than the other due to it’s versatility. The lower cost per wear is what I based the purchasing decision on.

• Do I have something already that already serves the same purpose?

Sometimes you can forget you have something. One way to eradicate this is to declutter and have a clear inventory of what you have. When a need arises, you may already have something that serves a purpose, don’t always reach for your wallet. One tip is to think laterally. If you need to exercise, if you are lucky enough to have feet and they work – use them! Don’t buy a treadmill; there is limitless road out there to hit

• Have I purchased it the best way?

I’m not a bargain hunter, because if I have made the decision to purchase then I need the item and am happy to pay for it. I do of-course do a check that I have the best deal (as far as I can see) and have checked that there aren’t any additional discounts available. I also do not bargain hunt as this can lead to inaccurate purchases and also additional purchases due to browsing.

• Can I wait for it?

We live in a time where everything is immediate. Do you remember as a child waiting for your birthday, and receiving a gift you really wanted? Even if you buy it yourself for your own birthday, it makes it that little bit more special. Don’t cheat and buy it early. Waiting also encourages a natural cooling off period, which confirms whether you really do need/love it.

• What will I do with it when I no longer need it?

Sometimes to spend a little more is the better option long-term.  When we bought our first baby buggy we spent a lot on it. It has lasted 6 years and I still love it, it is incredibly functional and still has a good resale value all these years later. I’ve seen other new Mums and Dads replace and change buggies and overall spend considerably more that we did on our first investment.

• Have I slept on it?

Never impulse purchase! If you see something you want or have identified that you ‘need something’ make sure you sleep on it. Give yourself a cooling off period. 1 week is ideal as there are very few things that cannot wait a week. As long as you have given the above 9 questions some thought - If you still need it and/or love it and you can afford it, then buy it!

Agree/Disagree? Please share!

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Have you entered the Experience Days giveaway yet? If not why not check out my last post…

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…

Now, I cannot personally recommend Experience Days as I have never purchased an experience from them myself. Also, please be aware I receive no compensation for this post in any way. It just sounded like a great giveaway for one of my dear readers.

I’ve been assured that the company prides themselves on being “100% committed to customer satisfaction” and that they have “never had negative feedback on the vouchers won as part of the giveaways”.

So without further ado let me hand you over to Experience Days…

Experience Days is the UK’s most exciting Experience Gift Company, offering thousands of experience gifts nationwide – perfect for every occasion. All gifts include a personalized gift pack and can be sent instantly via email!

We are the UK’s best Experience Gift company. On www.ExperienceDays.co.uk we offer a growing number of unique gift experiences nationwide. Experience Gifts are perfect gift ideas for Holiday Gifts, Wedding Gifts, Birthday Gifts and more. All of our activity gifts are sent in an attractive gift pack and presented in the form of a gift voucher which may be redeemed by the recipient at their convenience.

www.ExperienceDays.co.uk

And back to me…

There’s a £50 gift voucher up for grabs! My suggestion would be (as I myself have done) is check out the website to see whether it’s of interest to you to take part. I’ve taken a look, and there’s quite a few experiences to choose from!

As Experience Days is a UK company, it’s limited to the UK.

However, and this was something reader Susan suggested when I did the Aldi giveaway, overseas readers can enter and nominate a UK recipient.

The giveaway will run until 12pm GMT Thursday 31st May, and I’ll announce the winner at the end of No Waste Tastes Great on Friday morning.

To enter, just leave a comment.

Feel free to comment on anything, but if you’re looking for inspiration, I’d love to hear what your ‘dream’ experience would be. Or alternatively one of the best experiences of your life so far.

Just put ‘enter me’ if lost for words!

**Any questions please feel free to ask**

(please note entries will be limited to 1 per reader who comments, and is not based on number of comments left by any one reader. Only comments left on this post will be entered. Facebook comments will not be included in the draw)

Good Luck Guys! See you Tuesday!

Click here to find out more about my Friday routine

Simply Being Mum’s Friday Fridge

Top Shelf – Spreads and garlic

Top Middle Shelf – Small pot of mashed potato (for Dan’s lunch today)

Bottom Middle Shelf – 1/4 of a cucumber (will be eaten today)

Bottom Shelf - Bowl of Apples and satsumas (a few days left in them!)

Door – Milk, OJ and Water (To be used up over the weekend)

Oh yes, I’ve kept my eye on the ball this week.

Well kind of. Notice fruit has made an appearance in the fridge? I normally keep a fruit bowl (in sight) on the counter (so we remember to eat them!). However this happened mid-week:

Satsumas are causing me some waste issues recently.

So I’m trying out refrigerating fruit, after all, I’ve got the space to spare!

Anyhow, after that food waste confession – wanna see some naked muffins?

I haven’t quite got food waste totally cracked, but I’m getting there. My no-waste thoughts have started wandering elsewhere.

Something that has been weighing heavy on my mind, of late, is non-food waste and in particular – packaging. Hence no cases on the muffins.

I’m trying to think of ways to reduce packaging waste here at Chez Wright, and the wheels are in motion. I do have an experiment up my sleeve, which I hope to update on next week.

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.

Hang on…don’t go anywhere….I have a ‘head’s up!’…

There’ll be a great giveaway posted on Sunday for UK readers so please don’t forget to pop back!

Or maybe (if you haven’t already) subscribe so you get the giveaway delivered straight to your inbox?

There’ll also be a reminder on Facebook…

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?

It’s the classical win-win situation. Okay, so maybe the retailers and manufacturers don’t win, but my opinion is that there are way too many of them anyway! Brace yourself… there’s a controversial statement for an aspiring frugalista coming… but my ideal would be to produce and consume less generally and if that increases price, so be it. Maybe more people would buy what they need or truly desire rather than making reckless purchases (that tend to accompany low-pricing). These purchases impact on not only personal finances long-term, but so many other factors also.

Living a simple life is a frame of mind, it encompasses many things. It isn’t the same experience for all. There are degrees of simplicity and minimalism, of which frugality is just one facet. For me frugality isn’t the prime-motivator. It’s a very welcomed by-product of other changes I’ve made. After all, for me it isn’t all about the money.

One area I really want to work on is the amount of general (non-food) waste I produce, though I doubt I’ll be able to achieve what’s going on at Zero Waste Home (way to go over there!). For example, I know that by packing lunches in reusable containers I can reduce waste. This also means I can reduce time dealing with packaging waste as well as benefiting from significant cost benefits from not buying individually packaged convenience servings. I know Donna over at GRS is a fan of brown-bagging also.

But what else could I be doing?

I line dry, pack lunches, meal plan and have reduced our grocery spend. We turn lights off, wear a jumper instead of cranking up the heating and try to walk whenever possible rather than drive.

And of course I avoid reckless purchases by conscious spending.

But what else could I, could we all be doing?

I’m a huge believer that once you’ve covered the big stuff, that it’s the small, seemingly insignificant changes that make the difference day-in day-out, going forward.

One of my small changes is that I make my “coffee to go” at home, and I top up our water bottles before leaving the house. I know I’m not the only one. The Frugal Girl isn’t down with bottled water either.

I’ve been doing some reading to inspire me to push it further. Rachel, The Minimalist Mom kindly provided a great reading list yesterday, and ex-consumer Jenny has listed how some of her readers (me included) are doing it all over the world.

The floor is open – Please inspire us all!

Click here to find out more about my Friday routine

Simply Being Mum’s Friday Fridge

Top Shelf – Spreads, garlic and 1 yoghurt (all in date)

Top Middle Shelf – Grapes and blueberries

Bottom Middle Shelf – 1 courgette (zucchini), 3 tomatoes, a few mushrooms and a green pepper

Bottom Shelf – Half a carton of chopped tomatoes

Door – Milk and Eggs

I can feel a vegetable lasagne coming on!

With what’s in the fridge it will most definitely be a lasagne for dinner (I’ll grab some cheese for the sauce when I do my shop later). I’ll make some garlic bread to accompany it.

That deals with everything apart from the grapes, which will be eaten up over the weekend, and the blueberries are destined for muffins tomorrow as part of a Saturday Afternoon Activity with the Kids.

The eggs have plenty of life still left in them, and I have a large birthday cake to bake next week.

It would appear it’s a no waste week then?

Wrong… I have some midweek waste that I couldn’t bear to leave till Friday, and it hit the food recycling bin.

We aren’t quite getting through a punnet of grapes each week, and this one just didn’t last 2 for some reason. The apple was really soft, and inedible. Must try harder!

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.

And The Winner Is…

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on Wednesday’s post. I really enjoyed reading your decluttering dilemmas. It’s reassuring to know I’m not alone when it comes to hanging onto certain things, even when I know they should go.

There were 9 entrants to the giveaway.. and in a high technical way I wrote out 9 names on 9 pieces of paper.

Then I screwed them up into tiny balls, threw them vigorously in the air and picked one at random from where they landed.

Congratulations Stacey! Please can you drop me an e-mail at simplybeingmum(at)gmail(dot)com with your address please?

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

£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.

Car-boot Sales – I find the ones I attend are frequented by hobby shoppers and collectors, hence price needs to be low. Buyers are tempted by the potential bargain they will get and what treasures they may discover. It’s a game, recreational sport. But the nature of the game is changing. Prices are getting more competitive, and technology is playing it’s part. Buyers used to take a flyer, now they google make, model and resale value on their smart phones before purchasing, or check that they can’t get the item cheaper elsewhere.

I enjoyed my morning selling my wares and bartering. For a long time I’ve wondered whether I’m a trader at heart, a peddler? I once won a fancy dress competition dressed as a peddler. If I can track down the photo I’ll post it on Facebook.

eBay – You win some you lose some. I can’t list with any expectation of final value in mind. Of the items I listed this time, 3 stood out as a fine example of how it works.

Toddler Wetsuit – The higgest bidder paid £9.03, generating a profit of £1.04 on the original retail price paid. Great result (but I did buy well initially).

Breaking Dawn Part 1 DVD – sorry RPatz, you had to go that was the deal upon purchasing the DVD (I don’t keep them anymore). Sold for £8, paid £10 originally. Happy with that, a night’s entertainment for £2.

Early Learning Centre Trike – Just £7.16 paid for this by the highest bidder. 10% of the original value. In hindsight, I wish I’d given it away to a friend. But you take your chances on eBay, and I tend to list from 99p. Like I said, you win some, you lose some.

Having the £600 target in mind is most certainly keeping me focused. I’m currently eyeing up my CD collection, which is something I haven’t seriously considered selling previously, but know it needs doing. What can I say? I’m a music hoarder.

I don’t own many hard copy books anymore, but even the old faithfuls are on the hit list as it’s going to take some serious decluttering to reach my target.

Talking of books, this leads me onto a giveaway. It’s hard to generate much cash from books when you sell them second-hand. So I have decided to offer 2 of my collection as a giveaway.

The Power of Less by Zen Habits author Leo Babauta and The Joy of Less by Miss Minimalist author Francine Jay. (not affiliate links, for me anyway – not sure if they are for the authors?)

I’ll post anywhere in the world. The giveaway will close 10am GMT Friday 18th May (Just before my No Waste Tastes Great post goes live – and I’ll announce the winner then).

Just drop a comment on what you know you should sell but struggle to, even though you know they/it should really go. I’m mentioned my CD collection above. I’ve yet to count how many I have, but know it needs dramatically reducing! Technology now means I can hoard on a teeny tiny MP3 player instead

**I’ll actually draw a runner-up (but not disclose who they are), so if the winner doesn’t want both books, I’ll post the other out to second-place**

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By the way, if you like giveaway’s, why not check out Sarah’s giveaway over at Everyday Life On A Shoestring as the prize could come in handy for when I eventually get round to e-mailing out my freebie soup recipe book!

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

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.

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

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!

We’ve been on a sorting and decluttering vibe for over 3 years now, and it still amazes me how much stuff I can find to sell. So being an ‘experiment loving gal’ I thought this year I’d tally up how much I can generate from a relatively decluttered home. I actually believe I can top £600.

This week sees the start of my Spring Sale. I did the same last year, but kind of forgot to tally up! oops! I know Jenny (a good blogging bud of mine) made over $1,000 from a garage sale she had.

eBay and I, have a love-hate relationship. I love generating cash from redundant items, but hate listing them. It’s not because it takes time. It’s rather I’m concerned about getting a really accurate description, and ensuring the person buying is fully clued up on the item. So mentally it can be draining! However, I got to it, and with much cajoling from the Hubby listed 6 items over the weekend. There are more to do.

(Baby swing now outgrown! How times flies, make the most of it!)

We also got to work on the hoard in the garage. Over the winter, as I’ve decluttered, I’ve thrown it all in a pile to be sorted and then sold at a car-boot sale. It’s planned I’ll do one this Sunday, and there’s some good stuff included.

Talking about hoarding, there’s still this to contend with. Non-saleable items. I have a little confession, despise my good intentions it still hasn’t been dealt with.

There’s a fantastic show started on Channel 4 Thursdays 9pm – The Hoarder Next Door. It’s a great watch for me, as it demonstrates to me how far I’ve come, and yet where it ultimately could have led. It makes my (now much reduced) sentimental hoard look almost innocent!

It’s when I watch shows like that, that I know I will never be a true minimalist. I like to live simply and live a slow, decluttered life, but I still like to retain some non-essential things. This is a topic that’s come up in the community recently. Robert posted this, and I took a virtual tour of Megyn’s minimal kitchen late last night (oh the beauty of the internet!). It’s a far cry from my own kitchen, which contains quite a bit of stuff, but is all used. Megyn and I do share the same Ikea dinner service however, although different colours.

I’ll be checking back in with my cash generated totals as I continue to get rid of stuff. Wish I had a Blue Peter Total-o-meter to keep track of my progress!

Any plans to start selling yourself? Please share how you are planning to do it, and what targets you may have set yourself…

Don’t forget I now post daily on Facebook, why not pop over and join the conversation. We’ve been talking running shoes this morning!

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.

1. Preheat your oven to high (whatever temperature you’d cook pastry on – or what it suggests on the pastry wrapper). Yes Guys… were using ready rolled!

2. Lightly grease a large baking tray

3. Place your puff pastry (or shortcrust if you prefer) ready rolled sheet on top and cut into equal rectangles. The 375 gram sheets I buy will make 3. The Kids share the third one. However you may wish to make 2 large, or 4 small, it will all depend on the dimensions of your pastry.

4. Spoon in some mixture into the centre of the bottom half, taking care to keep well within the edges. Stack high rather than spread wide. You probably won’t use all of the slow cooked mixture inside the pasties. I keep some back and pour over to make a hearty and substantial meal. Alternatively if the pasties will be eaten ‘dry’ save the mixture and freeze for your next batch.

5. In a cup or jug beat 1 egg. Spread some egg all around the edge of each cut piece of pastry (with a  fingertip). Then fold the top half of the pastry over itself.

6. Press the edges down with the edge of a blunt knife to seal. put a small air hole in the centre of the top (to let some steam escape). Brush each pasty with the beaten egg to glaze. (In the photo above I tried to twist the edges on 2 of them , it didn’t work out so well – I now stick to pressing down as in top left example!)

7. Place in your oven for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden in colour.

8. Serve and enjoy!

*Don’t forget that as tempting as it may be to lift the lid and have a stir or a sniff of the lovely aroma, that every time you do it will increase cooking time by 20 minutes.  Reduce the need to stir by always ensuring that you have stirred well when adding everything initially.

** Please note that I am not a qualified nutritionist or professional cook.  My recipes are what I put together at home and all amounts etc… are approximate. What I write is my own experience of cooking the recipe.  Ovens and ingredients do vary – just go with it,  have fun and apply common sense at all times!  Practise makes perfect!

If you do try it out please share your thoughts below, or should you have any questions feel free to ask!