Here is my first Summery for January period.

I have updated my Excel finally so here are the figures for last few months I have been quite busy here.

This for period of 28 days each as I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its very near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

Review for January budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$31.00
Groceries===$125=== =$58.72
Non-Food===$15
Clothes ====$35
Grooming===$20
Gas======$20
HH items===$40======$12.80
Fares== ====$15 ======$20.00
Entrainments== $15 ====$20.00
Garden =====$15 ======$86.60
Gifts & Donations ==$35 ===$25.50
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70====$18.20
Misc ======$10=========$4.00
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$70.59

Note only one amount is a No Spend

No Spending Days 13 of 28 days

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $347.41 under by $202.59 on general spending.
This saving went into some of my huge bills over this period.
Personal allowance covers health drinks, lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month; it was $390 this period.

Grocery allotment $125 for each period it was under by $66.28 this period.

Strategy - Don't believe all the advertising you see on TV or in the mail you didn't know you wanted it 15 minutes before you saw that advertisement.

Running behind here. Update
.

Here is my Financial Summery for August period.

I have updated my Excel finally so here are the figures for last month I have been quite busy here.

This for period of 28 days each as I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its very near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

This is my review for August budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$24.50
Groceries===$125=== =$113.63
Non-Food===$15
Clothes ====$35=====$86.99
Grooming===$20
Gas======$20======$21.55
HH items===$40======$115.50
Fares== ====$15
Entrainments== $15
Garden =====$15
Gifts & Donations ==$35 ====$6.00
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70====$15.00
Misc ======$10
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$85.14

Note only one amount is a No Spend

No Spending Days 14 of 28 days

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $481.31 under by $68.69 on general spending.

Personal allowance covers health drinks, lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month; it was $30.00 this period.

Grocery allotment $125 for each period it was under by $11.37 this period.

Strategy - Try to drink water with your meals when you are dinning out and if you on a special diet try to stick to it as best you can.

Here is my Financial Summery for - December period.

I have updated my Excel finally so here are the figures for last month I have been quite busy here.

This for period of 28 days each as I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its very near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

This is my review for last month's budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$15.30
Groceries===$125=== =$106.83
Non-Food===$15======$2.50
Clothes ====$35======$34.00
Grooming===$20
Gas======$20
HH items===$40=======$21.46
Fares== ====$15
Entrainments== $15 =====$26.50
Garden =====$15 =======$47.90
Gifts & Donations ==$35 ===$37.48
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70====$11.90
Misc ======$10
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$4.00

Note only one amount is a No Spend

No Spending Days 13 of 28 days

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $307.87 under by $242.13 on general spending.

My watches required new batteries that came out of clothes were an out of pocket expense of $34.00 and I never spent much of my personal allowance. Personal allowance covers health drinks, lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month; it was $245 this period.

Grocery allotment $125 for each period it was under by $18.17 this period.
I had to watch my spending this period as my outgoing on bills and major projects were over $16000 this period. That they all have been paid for now.

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

11th Monthly Financial Summery for 2013
Here is my Financial Summery for November period.

I have updated my Excel so here are the figures for last month.

This for period of 28 days each as I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its very near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

This is my review for last month's budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$27.40
Groceries===$125=== =$176.51
Non-Food===$15=====$10.00
Clothes ====$35
Grooming===$20
Gas======$20=======$72.55
HH items===$40=======$8.00
Fares== ====$15 ======$10.00
Entrainments== $15
Garden =====$15 =====$9.50
Gifts & Donations ==$35 ===$11.50
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70====$1268.10
Misc ======$10
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$83.38

Note only one amount is a No Spend

No Spending Days 10 of 28 days

Budgeted for this period $550 spent ($1667.44-$1260) under by $142.56 on general spending.

My dentist bill was an out of pocket expense of $1260 which I had been saving for a while.

Personal allowance covers health drinks, lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month; it was $1685.00 this period.

Grocery allotment $125 for each period it was over by $51.51 this period .

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

Well I am almost finished my garden in readiness for summer.

Just need to weed and munch the front garden before it gets to hot here. It's very dry so I may only just weed it for now!



Here are after pictures of my clean-up of those two garden beds. The dead vines on the tree had the main roots in the clean-up bed so died when cut. It's takes about two years to get back to the way it was. I think I may plant some sweet potato in that bed for now!



I have started on a new project here so more about it later.

Here is my Financial Summery for August-Sept period.

I have updated my Excel so here are the figures for last month.

This for period of 28 days each as I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its very near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

This is my review for last month's budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$36.30
Groceries===$125=== =$86.37
Non-Food===$15====$19.95
Clothes ====$35
Grooming===$20
Gas======$20
HH items===$40=======$59.30
Fares== ====$15
Entrainments== $15
Garden =====$15 =====$2.00
Gifts & Donations ==$35 ===$5.50
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70====$42.34
Misc ======$10
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$38.65

Note only one amount is a No Spend

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $290.41 under by $259.59

No Spending Days 14 of 28 days

Personal allowance covers health drinks , lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month, it was $85.00 this period.
Grocery allotment $125 for each period under by $38.63 this period
You can see that I am saving for something! A dentist bill that is will show up in period 11.
Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

Well I only have about two hours of work in garden then I have finished the pruning all the over grown areas in the back yard. It has taken a few weeks to do as I have to put it in the garbage bin each week as I can't take it to the dump for green waste. There are weeds that would regrow again if allowed too! As I say going slowly I will get there in the end. About 2 hours per period or until I fill the bin is all that I am doing. The garden patch is doing great and I will be picking my first lot of English spinach over the weekend. I have a good crop of basil in the garden now and self-seeding tomatoes are still growing around the place along Italian parsley in front garden.


this is the area I am working now! Minus the pumpkins



One of the areas that I have been working on.

I will be mowing the lawn hopefully this weekend to keep the weeds down not that the lawn need to be mowed as we are having a very dry spring this year. It's been very hot for September and now again in October too! The lawn is almost dead in patches but the weeds are growing like mad.

Over the past few weeks I have been working in my back garden trying to make a vegetable garden of sorts. I had to remove a lot of plants the could be planted else so I had to fix that garden first then add manure and potting mix to the bed as the was very little soil left after I removed a dying shrub that just broken apart when you put your weight on it. Then I moved all the tree roots as well. That done and the irises and bromeliads were planted out. I hope not have to do that garden for a while now.

Yesterday I planted out some vegetables in the new garden beds here is hoping it's no too hot for them. Next year I may have to plant them out in the last six weeks of winter as our weather has changed here. It's around 26 - 31C for early spring and very little rain. A good day in summer is 28-30C and it's our rainy season so here's hoping. Today I worked on my other garden bed to remove all the weed plants now I need to remake that bed as it's a Square foot garden bed. I am planning the remove everything and start from scratch again. Even digging out the soil and all roots from the old plants and composting it all and relaying that bed as it a removable bed.

This will be in the near future as I may just get it ready for my summer crop as like tomatoes and radishes may be silver beet as I have to find a good stop for this to grow.

But other things may take my time up over coming months so have to see how things go!

Our local Aldi store had rhubarb and asparagus bulbs for sale a few weeks ago so bought some to plant out for next year. As my soil is mostly clay and not very good for planting, I put them in large pots and will nurse along until I can get a good spot to plant them out in. I have never had these plants in my garden before but I will give them ago. They are coming along nicely in the pots. I did plant some seed of silverbeet in a pot too! These are now showing their heads above the soil. I will need get my only garden bed ready for them to transplant them in it soon!

I just cut down three trunks of a HAPPY PLANT that was growing in my garden here. They were getting too tall so every so often I will cut down part of this plant. They branch out and make new growth off each cutting so you dont lose the plant. Its been there for more than 20 years it about the third time I have cut some of it down. The local school may take some for their gardening class next week if I am lucky if not I will cut it up for the bin the following week.

As I am behind in my posting here is my Financial Summery for March - April period

I have updated my Excel so here are the figures for last month.

This for period of 28 days each as I looks like I missed one somewhere. As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its every near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

This is my first review for last month�s budget.
These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx. Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35=====$4.00
Groceries===$125=== =$176.17
Non-Food===$15=====$23.12
Clothes ====$35
Grooming===$20
Gas======$20=======$18.80
HH items===$40
Fares== ====$15 ====$12
Entrainments== $15
Garden =====$15========$65.00
Gifts & Donations ==$35
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70====$125.00
Misc ======$10
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$41.21

Note only one amount is a No Spend

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $467.70 under by $82.30

No Spending Days 14 of 28 days

Personal allowance covers confectionery, lotto, books, stamps, craft and hobby supplies.

Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

As for Medical and Diabetes Expenses - this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up over this period just on medicine that is not covered be refund claims.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month, it was $32.00

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

Strategy: - Track your daily spending down to the cent by writing it down daily.

Its Easter weekend and we have two days with most things closed shops included. Today was one of them not that I mind as I not planning to do anything much in the way of going out. I visited two of my neighbours and had a visit from a lady who is a near neighbour asking could she have some greenery from my garden for her floral arrangements for the family gathering on Saturday it Hangi they are New Zealand Maori. I didn’t mind as I am pruning my garden and some of what she was asking for is going soon!

I am not going to Adelaide in May now! With family problems down that way at the moment so it better to go at another time.

I got my tests done so far cost $535.00, it will cost more if I need to pay doctors gap charge, so I will now wait and see. $500 of that money was my excess was for hospital cover. I need to go back in 5 years’ time. All was well but for small hiatus hernia so I just need change the way I do things at times and the new teeth will help too!

So happy Easter everyone!

I think we have got it lucky here as the heat has not been as bad as in some places around the country. Sydney had its hottest day since record begin about 105 years ago 46.5C . Here we got to about 35C and Ipswich got to over 40C which is only 30km away but inland not on the coast. I still haven’t put my Air Conditioner on as I can stand the heat up 36C than I will think about if the there is no breeze, so I am saving money by only using a standing fan near my computer with all the doors open for any breeze. I can’t do any gardening as the sun is too hot to be out in to do it. In January it is always like this so minimum gardening. The lawns are almost dead as we have had no rain for at least 6 weeks then very little of it.

Still no spending here as I am on my six no spending day in a row. Most likely will spend something tomorrow and on Tuesday my car goes in for a major service and new tyre I think I will get the spare tyre put on with this new one and use one of the old ones as a spare. I have to pay some bills this week so may go the city or a major shopping centre to that sometime this week after the car is fixed.

All my money will be spent on bills this month so I have got no money to spend anyway!

For someone that doesn’t do a lot of gardening I have a lot of stuff that are garden items. What I have done will stop me buying items that I have already bought and need to be used up. I do gardening in waves when I have the energy to work on it. We have the right weather for gardening here! I just that I do it so rarely other than mowing the lawn it takes me so long to do the whole garden front and back.

I needed to get started on redoing the storage areas so that the painters can work in that area. The less I need to move later the better. I would like to just move just once when the painter arrive and not need a clean-up then. So anything not needed, I will dump now and other things stored in other areas. I have started working on the smallest storage area will work my way through all three areas over the next few weeks putting all the same items back together again. If I don’t find what I need at the time I go and buy more and then when I have these clean-out I find have double of some stuff and none at all other items.

I finally got around to getting some quotes on my painting the outside. Still waiting for the last one to come in then will decide.

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

My son finely came to mow my lawn as it was getting too long for me to do it myself! It has been raining since it was time to mow! This will be the last time this year too! He did get to move a few items on the lawn that were in the way but I was just mowing around them the best I could. He also was dismantling the old TV antenna so it could be put into the rubbish tomorrow.

I did prune a few weed trees out before they got too big. We have the problem trees next door.

I wrote about doing my annual weeding in my front garden

here


Azaleas were flowering in late winter now all the other are flowering.

All the bulbs, lily and iris that were replanted or left in the soil are now in flower.

Gladys are the same bulbs stock that my father planted 40 years ago.



They are like a weed but no annuals grow in this garden so I let them just grow here you don’t need to take them out for next year as we don’t have any frost. If you move them the baby bulbs just fall off.



I don’t know the right name of these ones but you don’t break them up if you want flowers that year. A friend thinned hers out and got one flower this year. I didn’t thin my out.



I counted over 23 irises in flower at the same time this morning.

Seeing that I have not posted my bean patties recipe
I thought I better do so here.

I found this recipe in an old cookbook that had lost it cover. At the time I was looking for a bean recipes to use up 3kg beans, I and my friend was growing at the time. I still have some of these beans left. You can use any kind of bean for this recipe.

Cooked Minced Beans Mixture
Any kind of beans can be used for these dishes. If dried beans are use they must be well washed, then soaked in water overnight, and cooked until tender but not mushy. Mince the cooked beans or rub them through a coarse sieve, using the back of a wooden spoon. (I use a potato masher)

Make a mixture of 2 cups of beans and 1 cup of the following (or a mixture of them): Breadcrumbs, wheatgerm, mashed potato, or cooked cereal. Up to 1/2 cup of cheese or chopped nut may be added, but these are optional. (That's for every 2 cups of minced beans add 1 cup of bulk mixture. Up to about 3 teaspoons of flavorings.)

In the following recipes any of these foods and /or flavorings can be added: Soy sauce, grated garlic, mixed herbs, chopped celery, Worcestershire sauce, Chilli sauce, 2 part curry powder + 1 part turmeric, finely chopped capsicums (red or green), paprika, mustard, chutney, sage, thyme, rosemary, lemon juice, cider vinegar, tomatoes, eggs, milk or whatever you like. Make to your taste. Note:- I divide mixture in two and do two flavors normally curry & herbs ones.


3 dishes of beans

Closer look at Mashed beans texture

Mixing in the mashed potatoes

Using Cooked Minced Beans Mixture

Bean Croquettes
Shape the cooked minced beans mixture into sausage shapes about 20mm (3/4 inch) thick and 90mm (3 1/2 inches) long. Cover with beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs or wheatgerm. Shallow fry in hot oil or in Teflon pan until golden brown. Two per serving.

Bean Rissoles/Patties
Shape the cooked minced beans mixture into patties cakes shapes about 20mm (3/4 inch) thick and 60mm (2 1/2 inches) round. Cover with beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs or wheatgerm. Shallow fry in hot oil or in Teflon pan until golden brown. Two per serving.

Bean Cutlets
Shape the cooked minced beans mixture into cutlets using a piece of macaroni inserted into the end to resemble a bone. Cover with beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs, or wheatgerm. Shallow fry in hot oil or in Teflon pan until golden brown. Serve with tomato wedges and green peas or beans. Serving size: 2 bean cutlets (80mm x 50mm each)

Mashed Beans

Bean Loaf
2 cups cooked & mashed beans
1/2 cup milk
6 tsp. Soya flour
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup wheatgerm
1 cup chopped celery
1 egg, well beaten
salt

Mix the milk into the Soya flour and stir until smooth. Add the other ingredients and shape into a loaf. Bake in greased baking dish in moderate oven (375 F) 190 C for 35 minutes.

Baked Bean Casserole
1 cup cooked & mashed beans
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated onion
1 cup chopped celery
salt
tomatoes slices
grated cheese
wheatgerm or breadcrumbs

Place vegetables in layers in greased casserole, season and top with the sliced tomatoes, grated cheese and sprinkling of wheatgerm or breadcrumbs. Bake in a moderate oven (375 F) 190 C until the wheatgerm or breadcrumbs browns - usually 20 to 25 minutes.

From Old Vegetarian Booklet

Curried Bean Rissoles using the above method

4 cups cooked beans unfrozen
2 large potatoes cooked & mashed but still hot.
2 tsp curried powder
1 tsp turmeric
Few pieces finely chopped capsicums (red or green)
Add Breadcrumbs as dried filler if mixture is too moist.

Blend and mix well.

Shape the cooked minced beans mixture into patties cakes shapes about 20mm (3/4 inch) thick and 60mm (2 1/2 inches) round.
Cover with beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs or wheatgerm.
Shallow fry in hot oil or in Teflon pan until golden brown.
Two rissoles per serving.
About 16 rissoles/patties


Curried bean mixture


Plates of bean patties ready for the freezing

Freezing Instuctions
Mold rissoles or Croquettes as above and put on to plastic plates about 8 to a plate with glad wrap over them to keep freezer clean. Freeze for about 2 hours or more until solid remove from plates and wrap in serving size amounts and label. Cook from frozen this whole shapes better.

Note:-
**You could divide the mixture up before adding flavoring ingredients so that they are not all the same. I have done this on occasions.
**I usually soak and cook 4 - 6 cups of dried beans at one time in large pasta cooking pot with a drainer, cool and then put 2 cups cooked beans per bag then put into freezer. Defrost and use as above when required.
**Now if the beans are old and the skins are the tuff then remove the outer coating of the cooked beans. The beans in the picture were grown in 2006 and dried in my garden I got around 3kg worth. They were a heritage bean. I still have a few left of them.

The Bold and Beautiful Book of Bean Recipes PDF

there are recipes on here including some bean ones

I finally finish the front garden, I found a few problems that I need to fix when I pulled away some of dead leaves in the beds. A fungus in one of the small beds that I had to remove all the other plants that I had growing in those beds and one of tree has borers in it as well. I filled over four wheeler bins these are very large 90 Litres bin each with prunings.

Here the garden pictures before I put the cane mulch on.

I have been gardening this weekend, my front strip. Once it took me about 2 hours to do it, now it has taken me over 6 hours of weeding, trimming shrubs and pullout some plants , adding more soil and replanting smaller plants that I pullout as well binning all the rubbish. Now I still have to plant cuttings so I will have more plants if these ones fail and cover the beds with cane mulch that will get done tomorrow as I have run out of energy now. I did check my gardening shed for supply so I didn’t need buy anything.




These are before photos of my front garden

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

I have a few vegetable plots and fruit and herb trees. Over my lemon tree my choko vine has grown over it so I am planning of removing it some time next week then prune the lemon tree some what as it has some problems that needs looking into. As I was working down stair in the backyard area I look out at my tomatoes vines to a sea of ripe red small tomatoes then looking past them seeing last season lemons that need picking for juicing as I have two seasons crop growing as it’s has two crops per year. Then looking at the choko vine that’s over lemon tree help large Chokoes hanging there waiting to be picked.

Having finishing off my washing I collected my washing basket filling it with 12 large Chokoes 7 large lemons and small container of full tomatoes as well cutting off the flower heads of my aniseed seeds so I have fresh seeds for next year. I don’t need to plant any seeds as many a seeds drops as I pulled these plants out so they will self seeds this year. My herb garden is doing well and a new crop of Italian parsley is coming along fine. My curry tree was prune last week so drying some leaves to use in my cooking. Will pick some bay leaves to dry soon too!

My crop (sorry about the colour.)


This Is the corner of the garden that the chokoes grow in.

After reading this blog

15 Items or Less. I had a look at my own last two grocery shop dockets both are under 15 or less too! Shopping for one person does have it little savings at times. Remember we have no coupons here.

Shop 1 - 6 items

3 pkt Savoury Biscuits @1.09 =$ 3.27 -off $1.51 pkt - saved $4.53
1 Pkt Bread Roll $1.50 -off $1.50 -saved $1.50
1 can Spam $3.00 -off $1.01 -saved $1.01
Home brand Ice Cream $2.19

Saved $6.69 off RRP this week

Shop 2 - 5 items

1 dozen Eggs $2.55
403g Sweet Potato .80
Mixed Fruit $2.00 -off .89 - saved .89
1 kg Tasty Cheese $7.98 -off $2.01 -saved $2.01
1 kg Hans Bacon Rashers $6.99 -off $5.00 -saved $5.00 (manager mark down)

Saved $7.90 off RRP this week

So that’s $14.89 off my groceries in two days.

Also that’s about 20 meals in the future of the protein parts.

I planning of using vegatables and fruits up that I had got here and garden vegetables first. I have plenty of beans and cherry tomatoes for now!

It’s back to gardening here, the weather is good. I spend all Sunday working the garden weeding the lawn and getting it back up to scratch, it was full Bindii which were under other weeds so had to be done by hand then I mowed to lawn which by this time I was done and had to get a neighbor to start it for me and it a quick start mower too! It’s done now for a few weeks. My vegetable garden beds are still giving me plenty of broccoli, baby tomatoes & spinach, and the Chinese vegetables went to seed so I pulled them out now. The bird netting is working so will put it on the next bed that is planned for this month.

Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Sweet & Sour Chicken with Rice
Monday ~ Teriyaki Beef & Noodles
Tuesday ~ Mixture of Eggs, Bacon & Vegetable Scramble
Wednesday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce
Thursday ~ Grilled Sausages with Onions & Grilled Tomato
Friday ~ Seafood Casserole with Rice
Saturday ~ Chili Beans with Corn Chips & Salad

I did end up buying the massage machine. It’s great I have used it every day since, both my doctor and chiropractor was happy that it has worked. My visit to the chiropractor last week was the first time that I wasn’t tense up as my muscles have been for such a long time.

Now it’s time to get back into the garden and make my third vegetable garden plot for spring and summer here.

Casada Manual

Picture of Casada Deluxe Maxiwell Massager


Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Leftover’s night
Monday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce
Tuesday ~ Chicken Schnitzel & Egg with Vegetables
Wednesday ~ Teriyaki Beef & Noodles
Thursday ~ Corn Beef & Vegetables
Friday ~ Seafood Casserole with Rice
Saturday Grilled Steak & Onions, Mashed Potatoes with Baked Beans

I have been off online for a while now but I am back.

I have my vegetable garden up and running, I picked my first vegetable yesterday to cook an Asian green which is the fasts to grow in just little under 7 weeks. I have two beds so far just for vegetables and I am planning to add another one by the end of month. So far I have cabbages, broccoli, spinach, Asian greens, chilies, fennel, green onions, baby carrots and strawberries planted. Before I make the other bed, I will have to move my compost bins and cut a scrub down a bit as this is sunniest spot left to grow vegetables.

Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Hamburgers and Salad
Monday ~ Chili Beans on Toast
Tuesday Chicken Schnitzel & Egg with Vegetables
Wednesday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce
Thursday ~ ~ Grilled Sausages with Onions & Grilled Tomato
Friday ~ poached fish and vegetables
Saturday ~ Omelet with salad

Busy week this week I went to the Gold Coast and went up to 78 floor of Q1 building at Surfers Paradise it’s World Tallest Residential tower it’s 322.5 M high 526 Apartments 12660 sq m
You have to pay to go up in it too! After we went another Apartment complex and had lunch at one of restaurant there. I had corn beef and vegetables for a change. This must be my month this year for dining out. I am up to number three and still another few to go. I will need to cut back next month on eating out it can get a bit expensive.

I have been busy making vegetable garden beds, on my lawn. I have just finished doing mixing soil today. I will be planting some vegetable seedling & seeds on Tuesday as I will be going to my son place to work on his garden.

Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Mother’s Day Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant
Monday ~ Curried Sausage & Vegetables
Tuesday ~ leftovers
Wednesday ~ Omelet with salad
Thursday ~ Grilled Sausages with Onions & Grilled Tomato
Friday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce
Saturday ~ Apricot Chicken with Rice

I had visitors here, number of day trips to the country and little time to get on here. Now things are back to routine so I will be able to post more.

With the price of gas now, I did drive my own car doing over 500 km while they were here. I did go to a country town and found some canning bottles for under 30c each, I will have to buy lids and seal when I do get around to using them. I will find time to review my chutney bottles and get new lids and seals as I haven’t use them for along while.

Starting a new vegetable garden here, one of my visitors did dig the beds for me, now I am waiting a few weeks to let the mulch kill some of the weeds that may be in the lawn area that is now vegetable garden. I was looking up the seed companies online as I wish to void hybrid seeds where possible. I will be going organic with this garden. I do know that planting times are very important around here as we are sub tropics here. So I have made a list of what will grow here all year around, fall & winter, spring & summer. These lists will help when planting out and when. Some vegetables I will never eat so will not be buying them. So far I have spent around $100 on garden soil mixtures and edging bricks. Will be spending about $35 on seeds but these will be for next three years of planting.

Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Roast Chicken & Vegetables
Monday ~ Omelet with salad
Tuesday ~ Grilled Steak & Onions, Mashed Potatoes with Baked Beans
Wednesday ~ Leftovers night
Thursday ~ Grilled Sausages with Onions & Grilled Tomato
Friday ~ Salmon Patties with Vegetables
Saturday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce

First off DF-M gives me some ripe tomatoes which I made some pasta sauce with, then another friend bought some breast of chicken and chicken wings about a 1 kg of each. This morning DF-D came over when I was out but arrived back just in time to get 5 kg box a frozen fish and 4 Chicken Maryland frozen. I think, I will have enough for a few weeks now. So you can see I will be using a lot of chicken in the coming weeks. That’s over $50 worth of food for free. Mind you some of it is a birthday gift.

I just found a tip on using frozen fish which I will try with my bootie. You can retain the taste of fish in frozen fish, if after freezing; the fish is left to thaw in a bowl or container of cow’s milk. Just pour enough milk to cover the fish and allow it to sit until it defrosts. In our climate that’s in the refrigerator. I do poach most of my fish in enough water to cover, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 8 peppercorns and whole red chili or a stick of lemon grass. My cats do love this as much as I do. I have lemon grass and chili growing the garden here.

Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Teriyaki Beef & Noodles
Monday ~ Apricot Chicken with Rice
Tuesday ~ Teriyaki Chicken Wings & Fried Rice
Wednesday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce
Thursday ~ Satay Chicken & Rice
Friday ~ Beer Battered Fish & Vegetables
Saturday Grilled Steak & Onions, Mashed Potatoes with Baked Beans

It’s been so wet here lately that it was too wet to mow. We just had a window of three days to catch up on mowing the lawn around here. Nearly everyone got out they mowers or had they lawn mower service come and mow and tidy up they yards.

I did get my yard tidy, as I work long before the noise level can go up at 7 am and 8 am on weekend. I like to have my edges done long before these times. I still cut my edges with scissors which easy to do in short energy bursts.

It’s now raining again with two lows moving down the coast, again flooding around the place. I’m just watching it on the TV news now! 43 people had to be rescue off the coast, 37 on one yacht and 6 on the other, all are safe now.

You remember all that free stuff that I left behind for others to take or move. It’s all now rumble the tree lopper came in on Monday morning and a large crane came in yesterday and did the rest, if the rain didn’t get to it first. Anything that was left is now under the rumble, this includes some furniture too! These people get you to do everything for them. Another neighbor went to get some garden plants that needed to be moved. They wanted her to move them for them, they just watching her and were bit upset when she took them home. Want her to redo they garden for them as half their garden had to go at they place too!

No Spending Days 6

There is a bad weather on our coastline for the next few days, so this morning I got my mower out a mowed the lawn which needed to be done. If left for another week, I would have a hard job pushing the new mower. I got another few weeks before I will need to do it again. Saving $50.00 on paying someone to do it for me. I did water some of my plants with some tank water so the level would be lower too! I still have few pots around that don't watered when it rains. Next task will the freezer & fridge that needs a good clean but still to much food in them to do it at the moment. So I'm having the rest of the day off to work in the computer. I have run out of energy anyway! I did find a good article on wardrobe planning that was printed around 1973 in a book that costs 50c when new it's so old. It looks more do able than the other one. No spending day

As I start my new annual budget each year around now.
I am reviewing my past spending and goals before I start posting my goals and plans for 2008.

As you may have read, I had a spending spree this year.
New Front Door & Security Door, 3000L Tank, Water Hot Tank, New Mower, New Computer & Printer etc, Digital Camera plus extras, Holiday Interstate.
All bills paid on time throughout the year
And credit card at Zero balance at end of each month.
Best of all I’m still under my pension income and things are looking good for next year goals.

My goals & plans for next three months ~ December to February.

~ No Spending but for planned items. (If I have an item in the house or can borrow it, then I’m to use that first.)
~ I have only two gift vouchers for Christmas to buy as all other gifts have been bought.
~ Saving as much cash I can for a new stove & oven later in the year.
~ Have my credit card at Zero balance by end of the each month.
~ Come under budget. (Only if you don’t count major project)
~ Deposit into the online accounts.
~ Pay All Due Bills on pension days or ahead of time. (As my budget is now in Excel, I can see a working model of these figures. When due and approx amount needed for each month.)
~ Chiro visit (one every 4 weeks)
~ Known outings to budget for in December - February –dining out 5 times
~ Live off my Bulk Food Assets & Storage Assets
~ Gardening Mowing & weed back garden & put water saving techniques in place.
~ Cull & de-clutter computer files not in use.
~ Downsizing storage areas and clean these areas (zones 9, 10 & 11)
~ Lay a load wood chip that our neighbor hood (10 households) got for FREE, so far I have moved 30 Wheel borrows full for my garden. Still wheel borrows more to go.