Tightwad Kitty's $$$ Stretching Blog

This is the seventh in this series

For someone living from pay check to pay check this system may not work for you.
I allow a budget fixed amount to care for my cats each year excluding trips to the vet�s as I have a float for that and the float money from my last trip to the vet�s is back up to $500 again plus the cost of their flea treatments. My goal each year is to come under this amount so far I have won this battle and I have had these cats for almost 15 years.



I buy a clumping cat litter as this what my cats like to use. This is the store brand one, as I don�t like to have to drive my car to the supermarket very week, I try to buy enough to last 3 weeks ,same with the cat food except for the store brand one, that one of my cat likes and it�s the cheapest by far @ 69c! I buy enough this one until I am back into that supermarket chain again or when I get down to the last can. I only buy on special, I check each week the catalogues for good buys in the brand that they will eat. I will drop in and buy if the price is right. As the amount I buy depends on the price and how much I still have in stock from the last buying trip. Normally the price is around RRP $1.59 per can, I will try to buy it around a $1.25 or less the lower the price the more I will buy. If it even comes down 89c again then I will make extra trips to buy as many as I can up to 100 cans.

As for dry cats food I buy three different varieties for them. I will have in stock about 3 packets unopened so that I don�t just go shopping for this item. Lately our supermarkets have lowered their prices on some of their goods and these are just one of those lines that now rarely go on special now! If they do go on special then I buy extras that week.

As for vet supplies the online company I deal with here is

Priceless pets I buy enough to last 6 months at a time. This does save on postage again check the sizes and prices before you order. When I went to the vet�s he told me to change brands for a while when ordering online, I have been using Revolution for a few years now, told to change to Advantage for a while different formula but both do the same job as I have 2 cats the same size I buy the 2x 6 packs do check the price of these items at the local pet shop and online.



If things get tough in the future then I will be taking a closer look at some of these websites.

Google -- cat and dog food recipes

I came up with two gems but there are many more there but watch out for ones selling you stuff as you can find a lot of this information for free.
Pet Food Cooking Recipes

this one looks interesting that I may try some of them at some time.

This is the sixth in this series

I am lucky enough to have an oversupply of beauty products. I was selling Avon a six years ago so I have a lot of leftovers that are now out of date that I am using up myself. I now only buying one item that I have finish my supply of and still using most other items more slowly as no longer wear make up that much these days. That's what you get when you are your own best customer.

As for hair care, I buy

hair dye and shampoos and conditioners, as I stockpile these when I find a good buys on them I have enough of these items for the next few years too!

So would suggest look at your discount stores for these items whether it a discount chemist or discount store always check size & price for the best price. At times Avon can beat both when they have some of their deals in their catalogue at times. Toothpaste, shower gels, soaps etc. you need to know your prices on these then buy when you find a good deal. I multiple buy if I find it at the best price I had found so far.

So my strategy here is to buy when I found at good price and buy enough to last 3 months or longer.
At a pinch you could use some homemade beauty products but will leave search for those on Google
Try using -- good homemade beauty recipes

Paper goods in the way Hand towels & toilet paper I only buy only on special or TP at 50c per roll or less. I only buy one brand in toilet paper which now here which sold at 50c per roll in 20 or 24 packs.

As for laundry and kitchen cleaning items, I have a bit of stockpile I need to use up first.
I buy dish detergent at the chemist when they have it marked down. As for laundry detergent I use 50% of homemade one and using up some bought packs that were bought on special. Again do a price check before you buy these lines buy at the price and size.

Here some links
The Benefits of Organic and Natural Cleansers

Homemade Household Cleansers

Alternative Cleaners and Recipes

vinegar and baking soda cleaning recipes

This is the fifth in this series

I eat very basic plain food so I can get away without having all these artificial additives in my food more about that later. I do buy canned food and packaged goods but only the one I want and are good for my health. If I don’t understand what in the product from reading ingredient list, I am likely to leave it on the shelf.

On occasions I will find a very good buy in the marked down bin of item that I could make from a recipe found in cookbook or on the internet, I then may buy it to try out then find a way in making that item myself, I do keep the packaging or label for a reference then set out to find similar recipes or methods to make that item. You have to remember that we in Australia do not have any coupons like you have in America so the price you see on the supermarket shelf is the price are going to pay unless it’s marked down or on special in some way.

Single household shopper may not need 10 cans or packets of the same to get these specials deals so we will need to look for other ways or places that sell in singles a can or packet at that price. The other day I saw an offer of Mars candy bars 18 share packs in store the shelf price $2.79, near it was a table with these same Mars candy bar share packs with $4.00 on it didn’t make sense so I asked the staff about it, it was buy 2 packets @ $4.00 or single pack @ $2.79. They are doing this quite a lot lately with other lines.

Only you can workout what food you like and get in your local area you live in.

Here in Australia we can get most things but if they are imported name brand as listed in American or British recipes they can be far too expensive on limit food budget. The answer is in substitution of local or cheaper items from your own area. So look at what’s cheaper in your area and learn to like and cook with these kinds of foods.

I do buy canned tomatoes as I have worked out that when fresh are expensive then I can use the cans for cooking. I try to grow some cherry tomatoes to use in fresh salad and use canned tomatoes for cooking. Only buy when on special at the cheapest price you can find. For a single household just buy 6 - 10 at a time unless you are making soup out of them. I bought 50 cans of tomatoes a few years ago now I still have 7 cans left to use. Far too many!

As for frozen goods I only buy the basic vegetables single packets of spinach, peas, beans & corn and a store brand mixed a vegetable that is diced for quick use, if money is real tight then mixed vegetables and peas and use what’s cheapest in fresh only and make do with these. As for the others frozen good on if the special is 50% off or bigger packet for the same price and then on special I may buy some at times.

I do buy jams buying only the ones I will use in a can and decant it into jars. As for honey I buy 3kg containers of my favorite when I can then decant this overtime the last lot took 3 years to use up but then honey will keep for 7000 years if sealed well.

Bottle sauces, spices & herbs, vinegars these will brighten up your dishes. Look into buying one or two seasonings starting with salt & pepper in each shopping trip so budgeting for these over time will build a good supply up.

Bottle Sauces over time buying a few that match your foods that you eat and in your recipes that you are using. There are some recipes around that will give list of what you need for this. Look into make your own sauces too! I will buy some fancy sauces for some dishes so that I know how they taste like but then look for a more basic version or these if they are in the bargain bins then will buy them again if cheap enough.

With spices & herbs I will buy a little bigger size than the supermarket size and give some of it away to friends if they use it! I have found that buying it in Asian or ethnic specialty grocery store I can buy it for around same price but almost 3 times a much. So check your supermarket out in their normal spice & herb area then ethnic specialty area for a price check & sizes then out outside for other specialty grocery store or deli.

See what you like in the way of pasta, rice, grains that you use to bulk out your meals. Just buy the variety you will use not every variety named in cookbooks. I use basmati rice and buy this on special in 2 to 5 kg bags. Forget buying in small bags unless you are just trying out to see whether you like it or not. Keep rice & pasta in the refrigerator if you have room there. But well sealed, I keep them there but the open container is out on the bench to use. Rice has a bay leaf in it.

Vinegars are a must have in the kitchen but only buy what will use in your kitchen use and in small amounts unless you are making chutney and pickles. Check your recipes for what ones you need and then buy them over time.

Cereals can be handy but expensive so I stick to just one, rolled oats or oatmeal and in the summer I may make up a

muesli

I use powdered skim milk (nonfat milk) for all my dairy needs. I will buy if I find some UHT milk on special then I will buy 2 cartons to have on hand for visitors and use up myself when it come nears the use by date.

Over the years I have been able to make a stockpile of extra foods mainly when GFC was on and now working my way though this, to reduce it down to a more normal level to buy when I’m are opening the one to use or 4-6 spare. I will not be affected if there is another recession any time soon.

My main aim now where possible use & buy on basic items that you can make food from scratch, that’s most food lines sold in supermarkets today. Somewhere on the internet you will find that recipe you will need or just look at the ingredient list on the can or package for clues of what should be in it.

Forget all the humbo jumbo of flavor enhancers, preservatives, emulsifiers, vegetables gums etc, do you want things to last that long. If they are natural and can be bought easily you could use them at a pinch.

This is a short run down of something’s I am doing to shop without coupons.

Some other ideas can be found in this ebook Save on Grocery Shopping on this link

Eating Well on $1 A Day


$120 food challenge for family per fortnight

50 tips for grocery shopping

I am a little late in putting up my monthly balance others things do get in the away at times, my cat is doing fine until his operation on next Wednesday to have his teeth removed so far its only two of them.

As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to a calendar months so here are the figures for my last period.

It’s time to start again on reviewing my monthly daily living allowance.

These are the categories for this challenge.
Items === Approx Budget===Spent
Eating out===$35.00=====$67.75
Groceries===$135.50 ==== $87.72
Non-Food===$17.00=====$26.43
Clothes ====$35.00
Grooming===$15.00=====$50.00
Gas======$25.00
Pets====== $50.00=== ==$607 less 500.00 =$107
HH items===$42.50=====$32.15
Fares== ====$9.00======$20.00
Entrainments= $12.00
Garden =====$10.00
Gifts & Donations =$35.00===$29.95
Medical =====$15.00======$10.00
Diabetes Expenses====$50
Misc ======$9.00
Personal Allowance =$85.00 ====$56.56

Note only one amount is a no spend

Budgeted for this period $580 spent $487.66 so under budget by $92.34

No Spending days over the 28 days = 11 days in total.

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

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

As for medical this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up this month just on medicine
As for my medical visits out of pocket expensive if they are related to Diabetes then I will class them as Diabetes Expenses will come under this new category.

Diabetes Expenses – nil
A most will be one off items or once per year expenses. But I need to track these items on my small budget and pension. Each time I pay for some thing in this category I will need to cut something in other categories.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month.
Spending on books and papers $49.50 for the month including 4 papers.

I had to buy a birthday gift a watch last month, now I have paid for it to be engraved $29.95.
I do keep my bill money separated from this summery. This year I will be budgeting around $650 per period month to cover all my bills. This month bills were around $1005.12 so balance banked this month. These funds do cover all my fixed bills for the year if I can stick to this schedule as I have done for the past ten years or so. On my budget excel modelling chart I can pay the full amount this year. This amount includes the cat operation with the Vet.
As for food out, I dined out 4 times this month costing between $5 & $9 a time most were around the $9 mark as I can no longer eat at fast food outlets. That $9.00 meals at casino is still looking the healthiest and best deal in the city for now.

My grocery bill came in normal for this month.
Most of my social outing are dining out this is part of my social outings money and spending allowance.
If any changes to my spending habits will need to come out of my daily living allowance categories of my budget as my bill categories are very tight now. Still need to work on a few categories as you can see but over all I had a good month.

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

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 was having trouble posting my next post, so this is a fill in.


Front of the Casino


Side wall of a bank


Treasury Casino

This is the fourth in this series


These beans have been soaked & cooked both are the same bean, one has had the outer coating removed.


The end result - Bean Patties

It's was once said that beans were a poor man's food. I do know that beans & lentil are one food when bought dried do multiple and you get more for your dollars and the same with rice. So to save money or make food budget go further just make yourself learn to like beans. You can do a frugal foodie trip around the world without leaving home to do it. I often will pick a country that use beans in they diet and then try they foods for a week or two!

I buy no more than 1 kg (2lbs) at a time of different varieties. I do keep dried beans in glass jars so they are well sealed. Soaking and cooking about 1/2kg at a time. I do precook my beans and bag them into 2 cups portions then freeze until needed. Defrost before use.

This is an interesting website to read and each newsletter has recipes that are low GI in them do look at archives for past newsletters.

How much protein you can get from plant foods

Hardy lentils ' poor man's meat' worth their weight in gold

As I have done a lot of posting on beans and lentils before I will just post the links this time.

Just try Recipes on the side bar. It's about 3 pages long or go to post that interest you! Then have a look in My Pages section for more beans recipes.

This is the lentil series that was posted a few months ago!
Lentils - part one
Lentils Recipes - part two
More Lentils Recipes - part three
Saving Advice Lentils Recipes - part four
Red Lentils and Barley Soup - low GI

Here the links to my beans & rice posts from last year.
More links on Beans and Rice Recipes
Complete Protein Myth
More on Beans and Rice Challenge Bean & Rice Recipes Links

Other bean posts over the years.
Broad Beans Provencale
My Mezze or Meze Platter (Hummus bi Tahina)
CHICKPEA CURRY Chickpea and Spinach Recipes
MINESTRONE
MIXED BEAN SALAD
Italian Bean and Tuna Salad

This is the third in this series

I went to the greengrocer last week as they had some specials that would have liked but I was a day early for them. So I was able to buy specials that I would have bought had I went last week. They do have a pensioner discount 10% off Fruit & Vegetables on certain days of the week but not on grocery lines.

Buying what was cheap and in season is my goal. This greengrocer sells fruit in buckets for a much cheaper price than buying by the kilo. If it will last then I will buy it this way. Tangelos are a fruit I have never eaten before; I think it's a cross between mandarin and orange. 2.5kg @99c, Pink Lady Apples 2.2 kg @.99c, broccoli 1kg .99c, punnet of strawberries 500g @$1.99, 1/2 drumhead cabbage $1.49 and on marked down table I got 4 green pepper s 99c, tray of Turnips & Swede $1.49, tray of celery sticks 69c. I bought the other day also 1kg avocados (8)@$1.99 and 1.5kg Mandarin $2.49 plus 2 kg Roma tomatoes @99c kg.

I also gave my friend some of this as she does give me some things too! 1kg Roma tomatoes, 4 avocadoes, 6 tangelos, 4 pink lady apples and head of broccoli. I would never eat this much on my own and I still have 3 kg of navel oranges that I bought 2 weeks ago.

While in the city this week I went to the Farmer's market which is held each Wednesday in front of the casino. I manage to buy 4 cobs of corn $2.00, 2 bags of zucchini $2.00 one which gave to my friend, 1kg of carrot $2.00 along with 3 herbs pot plants for $5.00. All were a lot cheaper than I have seen elsewhere. When I see cobs of corn for around 50c or less then I will keep buying them until they go higher in price.

As for a pumpkin I still have one I bought last time I did large shop. Once I cut it I will need to use it up or make mashed pumpkin puree and freeze it.

Now that my fridge is full and I need to use most of supplies before I will buy anymore so you can see I will be making some vegetable soups in the near future.

I do eat 3-4 pieces of fruit and 4 kinds of vegetable per day. I do like variety in my diet but without a lot of sauces which many people like. I don't use any sauce with fresh cream it at all so my sauces all end up being tomato base ones which in the end all taste the same.


Vegetables & Fruit: Buy in season only. If not buy canned tomatoes and baby corn or frozen vegetables. Check the country of origin on the packs so to buy where you can locally.

Remember Size and the way you buy things does counts.

Rice and Vegetables in a Pot
Serves Four.

2 cups raw rice
8 cups water or stock
3 cups mixed vegetables, diced - see note
Little salt to taste

Put water and all other ingredients into a large stockpot or saucepan.
Bring to the boil.
Cover and simmer on low heat very gently for one hour or until all vegetables are tender.
Do keep a watch on the water and add more if required.

Note: Mixed vegetables, depending on what is in season and the cheapest at the time. Carrots, yellow sweet potato, pumpkin, celery, peas or green beans. You could use best generic 'Mixed Vegetables' from freezer section (that is already diced), this is what I use when vegetables are expensive along with one or two cups of the above.

Do have a glass of milk or fruit juice with this, along with a piece of fruit to add more nutritional value.

Use brown rice, as it's a little healthier than white rice, which is just filler, and gives you very little nutritional value.

Use one cup of rice to two cups of water or stock. From each cup of raw rice you get about three cups cooked rice, enough for 2 - 4 servings depending on the other items that you are serving. Portion serving is 1/2 cup cooked rice.

Pumpkin & Lentil Stew

Home-made Vegetable Soup

For extra reading that I have found

Three PDF downloads on shopping for one.

http://www.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@health/documents/doc/uow082463.pdf
http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1423.pdf
http://ohioline.osu.edu/ss-fact/pdf/0160.pdf

Sorry here the links

Factors influencing food shopping practices the Baby bloomer...
Shopping for one or two
Grocery shopping for one

This is the second in this series

Can's of Tuna - You can buy small cans 95g, 185g or large 420g tins only buy when on special or at the lowest price you can get. Most tuna now is canned in Thailand in our area. So buy the size that suits your needs.

I use sardines in tomatoes sauce 1/2 can for me & 1/2 can for the cats. I tried to keep it for myself but that is not going to happen. As for smoked salmon that I do not let them even taste it as one will take the food off my plate if she gets the chance.

Same with canned salmon I have be very careful how I make my meals or very quick about putting it away. As for frozen fresh fish and seafood I use these too! Mainly grilled or poached again the cats get one piece between them I get the other. I don't buy fish that much so it's a treat for all of us. Frozen crumbed fish I get to eat as I will not give them any of it. Same with marinara mix I buy when on special then bag it into single serving lots and freeze. If there is a lot of normal fish pieces in it the cats may get a treat if not then I get the lot. Shopping for one can have its perks by having more expensive threats but in small quantity.

Is Canned Tuna Frugal?


MARINARA PASTA
1 quantity Basic tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
650g marinara mix (see note)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Cooked spaghetti pasta, to serve
Make Basic tomato sauce
Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half then adding wine
Add marinara mixture for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Serve with spaghetti.
Top with parsley.
Serves 4 -6
Notes
Marinara mixes are available from your local fishmonger, seafood retailers and some supermarkets. Marinara mix here is small pieces of white fish, fresh salmon, mussels, green prawns & calamari mix together. All in bit size pieces. Whatever is the cheapest normally white fish & calamari has the most portions in this mixture at times you will get no salmon at all.

MARINARA PASTA cheat's version

Cooking this for one person this is how I cook it.

Put your pasta to boil. When cooked drain and save small amount of pasta water to pour over pasta. This takes about 10 minutes to cook

In the mean time, I find it's better to cook the marinara mix in a frypan with drop of oil by starting with the thickest piece of seafood then work your way through mixture until get to calamari cook this for a few seconds, heat your pre made basic tomato sauce I do this in a microwave add the marinara stir through and serve over cooked pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Basic Tomato Sauce

This is the first in this series

A little while ago someone ask in comments here.

" I am really struggling to keep my grocery spending down, I always allow $70.00 a fortnight, but I am finding it's not enough, I don't eat Meat, I only buy Chicken Drumstick's, can's of Tuna, lot's of Bean's, and veg, but it is very difficult, I would love some idea's from you, how I can stretch it, also Cat Food is very expensive here! I live off of a very tight Budget as it is, but find I am dipping into my saving's more and more, just to live, very depressing, thank you for sharing with us."

So over next few posts I will try to answer some of these areas.

In the past week I have bought more meat for the freezer.
1/2 kg (1lb) Short cut bacon packed into single serve with layer of freezer bag between each layer of bacon slices. 2-3 slices is enough for one serve.
4 kabanas, which I have sliced up and pack into 50g (2oz) packets.
Gypsy Ham 100g which is already sliced will eating over the week.

2 trays 4 x chicken drumsticks (see notes below)

3.6kg (8lb) 8 breast chicken with skin on. (@$6.99kg skin on and @$10.99 skin off this was a better buy even through I had do an extra 20 minutes work than I normally do when buying skin off breast chicken. I got the tenderloins which is most times missing). I bagged them up into 4 x diced chicken 250g each, 4 x 300g sliced chicken for poaching or frying. 2 x250g tenderloin chicken 3 pieces each

Chicken Drumsticks & Wings - I buy organic ones that marked down to almost half price when I can and come home and freeze them immediately. Thaw to use as needed. I buy normally 4 drumsticks packs and portion size is two per serve. So when I cook these I cook for 2 servings.
Rule of thumb
- Large drumsticks serve one & small drumsticks serve 2 per person
- Chicken wings 4-6 per person

Eating it later in the week again.

Breast or Thighs of Chicken - I do try to buy breast of chicken when on special for the same price as thighs and diced it up before freezing with no more than two breasts per pack. I will get four servings out of these packs and they can be refrozen to use later in the same month.

Some recipes that I found

Asian Style Chicken Drumsticks

Lemon and Thyme Marinated Chicken Drumsticks

Portuguese Style Chicken Drumsticks

Cheat's Apricot Chicken with Rice and Veggies

Spicy Yoghurt Marinated Chicken Drumsticks


On this site also there is an ebook p240 that you can download that has some very good information and recipes, these recipes above is in the ebook but written differently. P166


Thai Creamy Chicken Satay

Tomato Vegetable Sauce

2 cups (mixed vegetables, or beans, corn kernels, sweet peppers)
1 bottle of Cacciatore Sauce or any pasta sauce (2 cups)
1 can 400g diced or crushed tomatoes
Few dried herbs
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)

Place the lot in microwave dish, defrost and then cooked for 1.55 minutes (W1100)
or 3 minutes (W700) in microwave.
Serve 4

Cooked drumsticks then cover it with Tomato Vegetables Sauce
Can be served over fish as well!

You must remember that I'm cooking for one.

Size and the way you buy things does counts.

Buy only special or store brands if you can use coupons then use them if it's the best option.

I always think that a good buy in protein is around $1.25 or under per serving.

My favourite Australian bird is a

Kookaburra and I have this young one taking a liking to my backyard and will sit on my clothes line, garden wall and my garden arches and waits for free food, lawn grubs I think to appear. Here are a few photos that I got from my kitchen widow; it’s been raining for the last few days so the ground is wet. These are the kind of native pets I love to visit. The crows don’t like him one bit. Kookaburras normally stay together in family groups this one is alone so he has been kick out to fend for himself. Has been around for a few weeks but this time I was able to get a closer to him.

At lunch time


At 4pm

I thought I would mark this milestone with it own post. I would never think that I would get to this point when I start blogging.

Still lots of ideas coming up that I have read or thought off. I hope post a little more in the near future.

Now on to the next milestone 1000 posts or Million viewings!



Wattle


City Street Art

I once was paid by a neighbour to sort laundry basket of socks out. Having 3 males in their household most of the socks were odd, I only found 18 pairs of wearable socks in the whole basket.

The balance was odd or with holes that were unable to be mended if you still mend sock these days.

Some remarked the other day that they came home from they overseas holiday with no socks but took 10 pairs with them and sock monster ate their socks.

After thinking about this problem after first instance, I watch my own habits more closely and came up with this conclusion.

The monster sock eater is ourselves I found, I have a habit of wearing my socks to bed then they come off during the night and either left in the bed or under the bed. Now if you are travelling and doing this you’ll have a great loss of socks or sock is left behind in each hotel will soon add up. At $15.00 a pair for diabetic socks that a lot of money to loose.

To overcome this habit I have now made it a habit to put the pair of socks with my shoes or together before I leave the room each morning, since doing this I have never loss a pair of sock to the sock monster.

Another thing I found is buying as many pairs the same in style & colour as possible and on special minimum of 25% off that means multiple pairs at the same time to maximum benefit. I did on the last special and got 3 pairs of diabetic socks for $18.48 by buying multiple packs and buying on special.

Saving money and keeping it in my bank is my main aim so I can
s-t-r-e-t-c-h every cent out as much as possible. With a pair of ankle sock around $5.00 and a pair of diabetic sock $15.00. The longer a pair stays together the better.

I did take the Cat for his after operation check and then asked why I didn’t get my senior card discount like I did on the first visit, I do know that I forgot to show it again but found out that they should have put it on his file so that discount would be automatic come off next time. So I asked the vet and was told to come back on Tuesday which I did and got $23.00 off the total. In the end all up I paid $575.40 for one tooth removed and cleaning of the mouth. He is fine now and reclaiming my bed if he can.



His quilt cover

Strategy - Ask about any discounts and don’t worry if you forgot to ask about it, worse they can say is NO so just ask.

I had the morning at home and waited for my son to drop in. He wife is away with work so we could use both pass on Friday. He arrived at my place 15 minutes after he finished work. Getting dressed we were on our away by 2.30pm arriving to park the car near the showground Carparking was $15.00 so we found street parking for $6.00 for the last four hours on the meters. He waited until 3.00pm so we only had to pay for 4 hours.
Walking over to the

EKKA showground we used our pass to get in again. Then walked though Side Show Alley and the Show Bag Pavilion we never bought a thing here. We had afternoon snacks at a Red Rooster stand at least my son did cost him $15.00, I had a fruit drink and mandarin from home.

We went down to government pavilion for my son to look around then went over the Woolworth Pavilion and got some free food samples and two kid’s aprons and shopping bags for the junior members of the family as there are different offers each day.

Walked around companies show case pavilion never spent any money there, walk over to the wool pavilion and had a look at the animal nursery the cows and horses then walked over to find something to eat yet again. I had a bottle of water and steak sandwich $10.50 DS had coke & hamburger $11.00.

On the walk up to the grandstands, we drop in at RM Williams stand, I bought T-Shirt for $15.00 but I had a voucher for $10.00 so I was able to use this so only paid $5.00 for the t-shirt in the end.

We went to the member’s grand stand at around 5.30pm and stayed there until 8.30pm when we went home. My son bought some coffee and hot chocolate for both of us. I had my muesli bar that I had with me.

Friday night was the night at they open the show, so we were there for this once. I did take a few pictures, they had some different breeds of cattle & cows on the ground and bullock team while the grand opening parade matched on to the oval. The person opening the show this year was our first lady of the Australia the Governor General Quentin Bryce, I meet her when she was the State Governor for Queensland here in 2006.

Ekka 2010 pictures are back up


Bullock Team


Opening Honour Guard Parade & Cattle



Honour Guard


Opening speech and police horses


Just before blessing of the plough


Also we watched the camp drafting, HiLux Heroes (5 truck team), bike jumping, Monster Truck Mania, Jet Van and then the firework.

That’s my day trips to the Ekka for this year! Home by 9pm.

Strategy - Have a treat now and then!

Strategy - Park your car in a spot that you will get your daily walk done too!

I went to the Ekka on Thursday & Friday this week . Day one I caught the bus, got off at the special Ekka bus stop in the city and had to wait 30 minutes for the bus to come so much for bus every 10 minutes service when we got to the other end you could see what was happening with the buses and why they were late in doing round this trip. Traffic parked in the bus lane to drop off people in wheel chairs with both lanes blocked in a two lane narrow street aright first day stuff up. It’s only 10.25am.

I didn’t have to worry about special Senior Day as I use the family guest member pass each year so I can get in for Free as I normally have it for the first two days of the show then the others use it the rest of the time.

My first stop was the Woolworth Pavilion a look at what going on there, missed all the cooking show this year. Had a cheese toastie at the Coon Bar for $2.00 and then kept walking. Went off down that side of the show grounds to find the Art & Craft pavilion only find it had moved downstairs, wandered around paintings and the cake icing and all that baking. Mine never look that good! While viewing the painting I got talking to a senior couple who husband put a painting in the show. After leave there wandered down to the fruit & vegetable pavilion, boy have they cut back there not so many entries as before I think the flooding back in January has a lot to do with it too!

As the Qld Government area is a demolition site they have moved over the lower level of the cattle building near where the school band play. I had a walk around there and went to see about fire ants updated as I always looking out for these when I walk around as we are in tail end of an area for these buggers. There are still only 500 nests in Qld but if left unchecked half of Qld be covered in less than 20 years. I was given and post pack if I was to find a nest and was told to kill the ants by freezing it before sending off it too! I don’t think so I just phone them I think. If it’s on someone else properties just don’t tell them just call the DPI and leave the telling to them.

Next stop was lunch, I had 2 Greek Chicken Souvlakia and I had a fruit drink that I bought from home. Had a little rest while eating then off to see the show bags pavilion which is in a marquee smack in the middle of side show alley resulting in rides and stalls now partly on the second oval and around this huge marquee. The old show bag pavilion area is a demolition site as the whole site is being revamped.

I didn’t like that area so returned to the Woolworth Pavilion had another walk around collected some recipe leaflets and walked back to the Super food Ideas stall and bought 2 bags for $10.00 and walked out the door, I was stuffed for the day It’s only 1.30pm. Walk down to the bus stop and caught the bus back to the city which with it drop off across the road from my bus stop to go home wondering if I will catch my closest bus to home, I did by 2 minutes walked in my house at 2.20pm. Tired but saw as much as I could stand up for that day and there another day to come!

Spent only $20.00 for the day.

Boiled Fruit Cakes


Some Cake Icing Pictures





Crafts




Soft Pastels


Oil Painting

He is home and much better, he didn’t need to have his teeth pulled but one needed a filling and every needed teeth clean. He has a sore under his tongue and this was cause the infection in his mouth. He doesn’t like car rides at all, but will go into the cat carrier without to much fuss. He has to go again on Saturday morning for a post op check and see if he needs another needle, I hope not at $75.00 each. Today’s operation cost $469.00 with the visit on Saturday included.
For 14 ½ year old I was told his was healthy for his age.

This is post op shot him.

I am a little late in putting up my monthly balance others things do get in the away at times, my cat is doing fine until his operation on next Wednesday to have his teeth removed so far its only two of them.

~~~~~
As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to a calendar months so here are the figures for my last period.

It’s time to start again on reviewing my monthly daily living allowance.

These are the categories for this challenge.
Items === Approx Budget===Spent
Eating out===$35.00=====$38.05
Groceries===$135.50 ==== $77.51
Non-Food===$17.00=====$18.75
Clothes ====$35.00======$17.90
Grooming===$15.00=====$6.49
Gas======$25.00 ======$25.30
Pets====== $50.00=== ==$4.14
HH items===$42.50=====$44.64
Fares== ====$9.00
Entrainments= $12.00 ====$26.00
Garden =====$10.00
Gifts & Donations =$35.00===$71.50
Medical =====$15.00======$25.00
Diabetes Expenses====$50
Misc ======$9.00
Personal Allowance =$85.00 ====$138.89

Note only one amount is a no spend
Budgeted for this period $580 spent $495.17 so under budget by $84.83

No Spending days over the 28 days = 15 days in total.

Personal allowance covers confectionery, lotto, books, stamps, craft & hobby supplies.
Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

As for medical this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up this month just on medicine. Vitamin D 250 capsules saving on these was $19.95 on the bottle I first bought.

As for my medical visits out of pocket expensive if they are related to Diabetes then I will class them as Diabetes Expenses will come under this new category. Diabetes Expenses – nil

A most will be one off items or once per year expenses. But I need to track these items on my small budget and pension. Each time I pay for some thing in this category I will need to cut something in other categories.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month.

My one big over spend this month was on books as one of the bookstores had a closing down sale Borders here and non- fiction books were going for 75% off so I stocked up on a few that were on my wish list to buy! Spending $100.74 for the month including 4 papers.

I had to buy a birthday gift this month a watch, now I will have to pay for it to be engraved out of next month budget.

I do keep my bill money separated from this summery. This year I will be budgeting around $650 per period month to cover all my bills. This month bills were around $177 so balance banked this month. These funds do cover all my fixed bills for the year if I can stick to this schedule as I have done for the past ten years or so. On my budget excel modelling chart I can pay the full amount this year.

As for food out, I dined out 4 times this month costing between $5 & $9 a time most were around the $9 mark as I can no longer eat at fast food outlets. That $9.00 meals at casino is still looking the healthiest and best deal in the city for now.

My grocery bill came in normal for this month and I was stockpiling a few items both food items and non-food items.

Most of my social outing are dining out this is part of my social outings money and spending allowance.
If any changes to my spending habits will need to come out of my daily living allowance categories of my budget as my bill categories are very tight now. Still need to work on a few categories as you can see but over all I had a good month.

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

One of my cats doesn’t like being touched by anyone or picked up since he was born 14 ½ years ago, so it’s a nightmare if he is sick to take him to the Vet’s. He was sitting next to me the other night and I noticed that one of his teeth looked black around the gums and his gums were a ghostly white. It looked like an abscess to me by next morning but he is eating and drinking normally.

In the end I rang the vet clinic for appointment and got the only on left for that day so I took him to the vet. After a lot of fuss I got him into his cat carrier and screaming all the way, luck I was only going to the nearest clinic with all fuss he made but by the time we got there the abscess was gone but he had an infected mouth and two top teeth that are gotten and have to come out. He had an injection as I can’t give him anything myself. The injection will last 2 weeks and cost around $75.00, he look better all ready for it. Next week he will go back to have his teeth removed and the vet will check his kidneys first with a blood test. If anything wrong then there no operation on his teeth. Not looking forward to that vet bill.

So first vet visit cost $129.40 including a Senior Card %. All up. In my budget I have $500 in a float for vet bills so will use this for now and pay any extra out of my saving on my grocery bill this month. I didn’t spend any money on anything else since last Friday.

Cat Dental Problems - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Its Medical appointments day, once every two months these appointments are on the same day.

Chiropractor and Podiatrist visits both within 1 ½ hours of each other this is so that can do things in between and be ready to catch the bus when finished the last appointment.

Today I planned to do any shopping that I would to do as well these appointments. When I got off the bus I found a pair of shoe that I was looking for but when I tried them on and ready to pay for them, I was informed these shoes shouldn’t have been put in the marked down bin they were full price $139.00 when all the other shoes were $69.00 oh I could have them if I bought gold or red ones for that price but not black which is the only colour that I wanted so I walked out. Not happy with that but I will not be tricked into buying something wanted but could live without. No sale.

Drop by the newsagent and bought GO CARD fare ticket top up $20.00. I don’t need to look for charge anytime I catch public transport with this card and I get senior discounts with it.

While walking around on Wednesday I checked the frypans out that were going on special this Thursday, as I need a new 20cm frypan as the one I got is burning food too much. So I got myself a nice new stainless steel one and a new measuring jug both 30%off all up (RRP $28.00) then marked down to $19.95 after I used my new staff card. When I went to the kitchen shop which had a silicone whisk that I saw on Wednesday RRP $7.95 to $1.55 so I got one of theses too!

I stopped for morning tea and had some pancakes $3.45 with a free Senior % coffee. Off to the book store but in the end didn’t buy any books today. Chiro visit went without any problems so then went to the Officeworks which sells computer programs and I found the one I bought that for $38.09 Saving $6.01 on price tag of which $2.01 was staff card discount. I just get don’t some price tags these days this not the first time the registers scan different to the shelf tags. If it’s lower I now just pay what they ask for it but if higher I pay the shelf price or walk out. In some cases you will get the item for free but not always.

I walked down to the medical refund office as this takes enough time to get my daily walk in as well. Went and did some window shopping in new revamp Wintergarden shopping building stage 1 without buying and shoes were only that I could afford but not my style before going to my next appointment. Off to get my next medical refund before I went home for the day and on the way to the bus dropping in to Crazy Clarks discount store for some hand wash. I found a few bargains while I was there so in the end my $2.49 had blowout to $62.37 I got some bargains while I was there and did buy my hand wash too!

Medium Amber Hair dye was on special this week normally you buy this at chemist for about $16.95 a packet at these discount store you can buy it for a lot less and at 2 for $10.00 all the same colour which is the important part of my system, I bought enough for the next two years $50.00 worth and put it on that credit card. I found a tip that I use to make this work.

Also I bought as well this:
Craft supplies - moulding clay 3@$1.47 & beads for necklace $1.47 = $5.88
Date rolls biscuits 2@ 1.00 & smoked oysters 2 @1.00 = $4.00
Hand wash $2.49

Total $62.37

My savings for the day

Medical Refunds $70.35
Computer program $6.01
Senior % coffee free - saving $2.80
Kitchen items saving $14.45
Craft supplies $12.00
Hair dye $119.50

Saving over all $225.11

I don’t think I have loss my touch. No more unplanned shopping until of

EKKA show time in two weeks time.

Strategy - Know when the best sale may be on and be ready to go!

Strategy - Only buy what you will use when shopping without a list

As it’s that time of the month again to meet up with my ex work friend for lunch and Medical appointments, planning my bill paying and shopping for these two day of the month. As I said my last post that I needed to start using my credit card for next $1000+ purchases and bills. I spend very little so need to plan this very carefully. I started out with paying all the bills that I had to pay first none could paid via credit card so they came out of my debit card as I don’t carry these large amounts around with me. The council rates, water bills and credit card payments were paid up for this period to date. On the spending side I bought book of stamps for my wallet so that I don’t need to go shopping for just a stamp and spend extra money when that’s all I need. I got a 50% off key ring for $5.00 that will make it easy to find extra set of house keys that I have here. Had a cup of coffee at the Coffee Shop, Senior Discount offer medium size cup for the $3.65 instead of $4.80. This is all done before I meet up with my friends for lunch.

We are now eating at the cheap venue for members $9.00 for main meal, fruit salad and coffee I had lamb shank and roasted vegetables. Had a play on a 1c slot machine and won $30.00 so came out winning for the day that is rare as I only play with $3.00 per day just to keep my member card active. As it was Wednesday the Farmers Markets were on and I bought bag of broccoli and 4 avocadoes for $4.50 and a newspaper then went home.

Money wise
Bills total $809.00, Lunch Food $12.65, F&V $4.50, misc items $12.10 = $850.35
Gambling outlay $3.00 won $30.00 so $27.00 I came out spending $823.35 for the day.

Senior % saving $1.15

Strategy - Don’t spend your forward bill money on trivia, it’s been put aside for a purpose and keep you stress free.

I was trying to explain to some friends about saving bank fees on credit cards. They just didn’t get it.

These credit cards are ones that I can’t replace if I cancel them as I don’t meet the income levels anymore so I leave them open for emergency use and paying some bills as well as trades people but I do pay them off monthly so far haven’t paid any interest in 15 years just an annual fee.

I have more than one account both have annual fees around $30 each and they are No frills accounts. One account has a loop hole so that you don’t need to pay annual fee. If you spend and put on the credit card more than $1000 in one calendar year you don’t pay the fee for the next year. The first year was free to start with. So instead using my debit card to pay my bills I pay them with this credit card if it doesn’t have a fee for using a credit card as some firms do here. So I can charge some of my bills to this credit card then pay it off with a debit card in full. I just have to remember the annual starting date for this card. So if I pay my car bills with this credit card and any other transactions until this covers that $1000+each year thus saving the annual fee. It’s only a matter of paying it off each month which is the easy part as all these amounts are budgeted for and banked in my bill account. The way I look at it is $30 is better in my pocket than the banks. So I end up paying $30 annually in bank fees as I have worked out how to reduce banks fees all round.

Does your bank have any loop holes you could use? You may have to read the fine print on each account to find them.

I got a bargain today in my fruit & vegetables box for $7.00. One of the local greengrocer has these bargain boxes most times but I never have bought one before as normally they are of box of one or two kind per box, last time it was Granny Smith apples $2.00 per box but today all the boxes were mixed vegetables and some fruit or mushrooms as the cherries looked ok I bought the one with cherries in it.

2 large red onions
7 lbs (3 ½ kg) small chat potatoes
1 leek
1 Zucchini
4 large tomatoes
1 large ripe avocado
1 Cos lettuce
1lb (500g) Brussels sprouts
8 orange carrots
4 purple carrots (never cooked these before)
4 corn cobs
2 navel oranges
1lb (500g) cherries - grown in US (marked $5.99)

I did cook one of the purple carrots with a normal carrot just got to remember to cook them on their own in future as it dye the normal one and all the water went purple but they tasted ok.

All this will be good for my diabetic diet.

I had a good run of no spending days this week hopefully I can go one more day. I do know I will be spending some money on Wednesday as this the day I buy my paper for the Weekly TV guide, as the Sunday paper is almost double the cost of the Wednesday one. I also need to pay my credit card 2 off this week as it’s due before my next trip to the city which is another week away. I also will need some tuna cat food and eggs as these are on the low side and will need to go another shopping centre for that. So I will be taking the car out.

Shopping List

Pay $10.00 on credit card 2
Paper @$1.10
Eggs @$3.00
10 cans store brand tuna cat food @69c
French stick @2.00

Total $23.00 now to see if I can in on target.

I got a surprise today in the mail, we were told that we would lose our retire discount cards at the end of May this year. But the company has had a charge of heart and reissued them again. I have my retire staff card 5% off again, every little helps in this climate of uncertainty GFC wise. I was able to get some gift cards with 5% off the price so will be able both together when I shop for groceries equal 10% off and get 5% off at non grocery stores.

Read this post

End of an Era this is the card I'm talking about.

Not that I am spending a great deal these days, as I planning what I purchase and when and how.

How I am going make this work will be my next theme for a while as I plan to s-t-r-e-t-c-h my money yet again.

My family finally booked the tickets to take me to

Australia Outback Spectacular 2 - Heroes of the Light Horse for my last birthday which was back January. So I didn’t need to pay for my ticket. We went in group of ten made up of DIL girlfriend family and my son, DIL and myself and we got a group photo taken too!

Everyone gets a special outback hat which has a coloured band on it and this is how you know which side or station as they call it you’re on. The pavilion or shed is divided in two each side has a cattle station name. Each row has 15 seats and faces on to a table bench which has one drawback if you come in late you need climb into your seat from the walking platform behind your seat row if the your row is all most full. A few people in front of us had to do this as they were in the middle of the row.

Best part other than the spectacular show was the meal that came with your ticket. Each person was served the same meal if you weren’t a vegetarian you would need to have informed them when you bought your ticket of that as all tickets are pre-booked. Entree was a mixed Queensland salad mixed with tangy mango dressing and rolled in a flat bread swag, main course beautifully cooked barbecue tenderloin beef steak with rich gravy, seasoned with Kakadu plum sauce and served with garden vegetables and Australian Damper and for dessert you got traditional baked Pavlova with Queensland berries and country cream Drinks were wine, beer or lemonade and water and at the end of the meal there was coffee or Bush Billy Tea. All this was included in your ticket. Photos cost $15.00 each for one or $10 if you bought more than one, our group bought 8 photos between us you couldn’t take your own photos as they have No photo were allowed to be taken inside the shed policy.

Everything was alive or on a film on the screen back wall. There horses, dogs, camels, sheep and cattle. It went for two hours almost none stop as the food and drinks was served as you watched the show by staff dressed in outback that’s around thousand people per performance.

Do explore the link as there are lot of pictures there.
Australia Outback Spectacular 2 - Heroes of the Light Horse

I only wished that I got to see the Australia Outback Spectacular 1 now!

I have been busy this past week, working on a few projects that needed to be done before Monday.

I have a lot of pears in the refrigerator so I am looking for a few ways to use them up. Here are two recipes that I found that will suitable for my diabetics too!

Streusel Topped Pears
Dessert

500g stewing or poached pears, cut in half or a can of drained pear halves
1 Tbsp Melted butter or margarine
2 Tbsp Dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp Cinnamon -- Stir all into butter

Stew or poach pears that have been cut in half or Drain can pear halves.
In pie plate arrange pears cut side up.
Spoon 1 tsp. crumbs on each pear half.
Bake at 180C - 350F for 25 minutes or until topping is lightly browned.
Could probably top with some whipped cream sweetened with artificial sweetener maybe stevia as this what I have in the pantry.


Pear and Apricot Slices

2 fresh pears
1 cup dried apricots -- soaked
1 tablespoon apricot jam
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 egg or 2 eggwhites
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Peel and chop pears into small pieces chop apricots mix together with the apricot jam and applesauce
Add egg mix well.
Mix together flour and baking powder, fold into fruit mixture
Spread into a non-stick (silicone sheet and/or paper-lined) 15cmx 20cm tin.
Bake at 190C /375F for about 25 minutes or until risen and golden.

As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to a calendar months so here are the figures for my last period.

It’s time to start again on reviewing my monthly daily living allowance.

These are the categories for this challenge.
Items === Approx Budget===Spent
Eating out===$35.00=====$22.85
Groceries===$135.50 ==== $208.67
Non-Food===$17.00=====$43
Clothes ====$35.00
Grooming===$15.00=====$50.25
Gas======$25.00
Pets====== $50.00=== ==$42.76
HH items===$42.50=====$190.19
Fares== ====$9.00
Entrainments= $12.00
Garden =====$10.00
Gifts & Donations =$35.00
Medical =====$15.00======$7.65
Diabetes Expenses====$50
Misc ======$9.00
Personal Allowance =$85.00 ====$85.08
Note only one amount is a no spend

Budgeted for this period $580 spent $650.45
No Spending days over the 28 days = 13 days in total.

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

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

As for medical this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up this month just on medicine.

As for my medical visits out of pocket expensive if they are related to Diabetes then I will class them as Diabetes Expenses will come under this new category.

Diabetes Expenses – nil
A most will be one off items or once per year expenses. But I need to track these items on my small budget and pension. Each time I pay for some thing in this category I will need to cut something in other categories.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month.

I do keep my bill money separated from this summery. This year I will be budgeting around $650 per period month to cover all my bills. This month bills were around $56 so balance banked this month. These funds do cover all my fixed bills for the year if I can stick to this schedule as I have done for the past ten years or so. On my budget excel modelling chart I can pay the full amount this year.

As for food out, I dined out 3 times this month costing between $5 & $9 a time most were around the $9 mark as I can no longer eat at fast food outlets. That $9.00 meals at casino is looking the healthiest and best deal in the city for now.

I did buy a few new appliances this month a electric skillet and food processer coming in at $169.00 this month for both. My grocery bill was a little high this month as I was stockpiling a few items both food items and non-food items.

Most of my social outing are dining out this is part of my social outings money and spending allowance.
If any changes to my spending habits will need to come out of my daily living allowance categories of my budget as my bill categories are very tight now.

Still need to work on a few categories as you can see but over all I had a good month.

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

I have millions of ants on my property, about four different kinds but no fire ants though. If they stay in the yard I let them be but in my house that’s another story. Owing to the very wet past eight months and now cold weather they have decide to move in and make nests inside.

I have found nests in my curtain rods in my bedroom and another bedroom’s drawers. Today I have found them in some my videos that I still have here, I had to just dump them into the rubbish bin as the nests are inside the tape area. As least CD’s don’t need to be dumped, just dusted!

Now the house smells of surface spray that I have used to kill them. I’m hoping that I don’t find too many more nests but you never know until one sees an ant trail somewhere. These areas have no food or water near them either.

They are starting to cost money!

When I went to go shopping the other day! I saw a carton on the road at the intersection of our local street. Seeing that I would need to drive over it so I went to look, it was a broken carton of

Pensfolds Rawson’s Retreat Cabernet Sauvignon, someone had removed some bottles but left the broken ones where were two broken ones and one still unbroken just the wet. There was broken glass everywhere some very large pieces. I took the full bottle of wine back to my house and went and got broom and dustpan and good size container to pick it all up, so I didn’t want more problems with my tyres. Some cars came by and the drivers were happy someone was looking after the glass. After sweeping and pickup the glass I took down two watering cans full of water and wash the wine off the road. That job done, now I can use some red wine in my cooking.

This make you wonder how some people put things in the trucks or cars. Last week someone lost a ladder in peak hour on a bridge. Many a time we fine nails & screws on the roads so you get flat tyres.

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.