You've found the home on the net for romance writer, LaVerne Clark. Thanks for visiting! :)

I write suspense and light fantasy/paranormal set in the beautiful country of New Zealand. A land of myths and magic, Aotearoa (Maori for Long White Cloud) has always been a storytelling nation and it is my pleasure to share mine with you.

Make yourself your drink of choice, stay a while and feel free to leave comments. I love to meet new friends.



Heartpounding suspense and fantasy Downunder



Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Frugal Fortnight

This post has absolutely NOTHING to do with writing, but rather, to do with a fantastic book I've discovered and a website community I belong to called Simple Savings. In these hard economic times, a website like this is invaluable and I wanted to share my recent story when I applied the basic principals of "the rules" in The $21 Challenge book. Although I spent more than $21, it was still a significant savings for us.


My hubby and I had been shocked at how quickly our Visa bill had sky-rocketed, and with him being the sole bread-winner with me at home with the children, we needed to find some money from somewhere, or rein some back in somehow.

I've always shopped on a tight budget for groceries, it's what you do on a single income, but then I wondered if with the help of the book, I might be able to do better. So I set about a quick stock-take of the freezer, pantry and garden and planned a fortnight of meals from there. I was shocked at how easy it was, even without a freezer bursting with meat. We've eaten well, (if a little unconventional at times!) and best of all, I managed to save us $130 for the fortnight!

Here is the list of our meals for your interest.

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast - Toast and cereal
                           Lunch - Meat and coleslaw sandwiches
                           Dinner - Baked Potatoes with Bacon/Cheese sauce and a side of coleslaw
THURSDAY
Breakfast - Toast and cereal
Lunch - Leftover dinner from Wednesday
Sandwiches for the children
Dinner - Pancakes
FRIDAY
Breakfast - Toast and cereal
Lunch - Baked beans and egg on toast
Dinner - Pumpkin soup and homemade Pizza bread
SATURDAY
Breakfast - Toast and cereal
Lunch - Pumpkin soup and cheese toasties
Dinner - Chicken wraps and oven fries (both homemade)
SUNDAY
Breakfast - Bacon and Eggs
Lunch - scrambled eggs
Dinner - Thai chicken soup and homemade pizzas
MONDAY
Breakfast - Toast and cereal
Lunch - Soup and toasted Sandwiches
Dinner - Smoked chicken pasta
TUESDAY
Breakfast - Toast and cereal
Lunch - Left over pasta
Dinner - Spaghetti Bolognase

SNACKS (home baking): Popcorn, orange loaf, biscuits, cheese crunchies, fruit, chocolate slice

2ND WEEK - much the same with the exceptions below
WEDNESDAY
  Dinner - Shepherds Pie (left-over Bolognese)
THURSDAY
Dinner - Fried rice with Chicken
SATURDAY
Dinner - Pancakes
SUNDAY
Omelets and homemade chips
TUESDAY
Sausages, Mashed potato and vegetables

SNACKS - As the week previous

So, there we go. Most of the meat we had in the freezer and the meat which was there, I stretched for two days worth of meals - either for lunch or dinner - and everything else, I made with my baking supplies. The only things I needed to buy was milk, bread, fruit and vegetables.

We ate well, had extra money to pay bills and I loved knowing what I was to cook for dinner that night. It also had the added benefit of reducing the"what am I going to do for dinner?" stress, making for a much more harmonious home! Think we'll be doing this every couple of months!



                         
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12 comments:

  1. AJ NuestMay 12, 2011 at 12:20 AM

    Laverne, this is brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing. My dh and I are in the same situation, and trying to save every single penny we can. Now I'm heading to the freezer to take stock!

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  2. LaVerne ClarkMay 12, 2011 at 12:33 AM

    I'm glad you found it useful AJ - it's amazing when we find just how much we DO have.

    GOOD LUCK! : )

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  3. Leigh D'AnseyMay 12, 2011 at 7:55 AM

    Hi LaVerne - good on you! We keep chickens - the original idea being for good health and savings, but those chickens have taken us over and I swear it costs us $10 an egg. I'm going to dig into my freezer and follow your example.

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  4. Cherie Le ClareMay 12, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    You're a smart cookie, that's for sure! Anthony,I bet you are very proud of your clever wife:)

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  5. LaVerne ClarkMay 12, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    Hi Leigh - chickens!! I've thought about this, but we're too close (proximity that is!) to our neighbours, and with a cat and greyhound as well, might not be the best idea : ) It could be carnage!
    A lot more people are doing this now though and having great success. I need to find someone who has an excess and buy off them. We go through HEAPS of eggs

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  6. LaVerne ClarkMay 12, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    Aww, Cherie - you're lovely! I can always count on you to boost my ego : ) xx

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  7. SharBeeMay 12, 2011 at 11:48 AM

    Great post Laverne - and off to check out that book now!

    Cheers,
    Shar

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  8. LaVerne ClarkMay 12, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    Thanks Shar! If you do buy The $21 Challenge, I think it's cheaper through the Simple Savings website than through the bookstore - depending on postage.
    Hope you find it as useful as I have!

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  9. AnonymousMay 14, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    We are on a tight budget too, but I manage to feed three, with five in the weekends on $150 - $160 a fortnight. The first thing I do and stock up on meat, whatever is on special, buy fruits and veges, and what is left over goes on coffee, sugar, tea, flour etc.

    I make lunches for my boys, and we have a big homecooked meal every night. If I didn't get my meat and produce first, I think we would starve. There are many cool sites out there, another one to check out is http://120dollarsfoodchallenge.com/ which is in Australia, but great recipes there.

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  10. LaVerne ClarkMay 15, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    Wow Karen! That is an amazing achievement. I'm going to check out that website now. Another thing I've been thinking of doing is growing our own veges - just have to make the hubby clear out the area beside the shed which was our dumping ground for the hardfill when we built on to the house. Ahem...that was 2 years ago now...these things take time! : )

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  11. Ann PatrickMay 23, 2011 at 10:48 AM

    Hi Laverne
    I am a member of Simple Savings and have the book which I use regularly. Sure has saved a lot of money for us.

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  12. LaVerne ClarkMay 23, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    Hi Ann!

    Lovely to see you here and there : ) I LOVE the internet.

    The $21 Challenge book has to be the best investment I've ever made. As a member of Simple Savings, I thought I didn't need it, but having it so handy means its in easy reach, condensed and is a constant reminder of just what I can achieve. Gotta love it!

    ReplyDelete

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