The Month of the Budget

I have really been struggling with the cost of living lately.

The Mr and I made some career decisions, plus we had some set-backs, all of which put some strain on our monthly expenses and savings.  Unfortunately, we did not change our lifestyles much to cater for those changes and so now I find myself in the situation where I have some debt and little savings.

I have never really had to work on a budget before, because I have always been quite frugal.  But for some reason I am just not getting it right anymore.

So now, I have instituted the major budget! Budgeting is not fun, but I have worked out a schedule whereby I can pay off my debt by next year and still live comfortably and eat properly.  I will just have to live carefully.  But I think I can adjust and I am quite excited about it.

The 4 major portions of my budget are:
1: Spending money will be drawn in cash for the month. I can only use my cash for entertainment and luxuries, not my cards.
2: All meals which I cook have to be within a certain cost range.  The grocery money should cover the groceries for the month, and I should not have to use my own money to cover additional costs.
3: I am going to pay the same amount on my credit card each month until it is paid off.  For example, if my budget allows for me to pay R1000.00 to my credit card per month - this is my R500 minimum payment plus an additional R500.00.  Each month, my monthly minimum payment will decrease, but "my" contribution will increase so that I will still pay R1000.00 per month. This will only work if I do not spend anything extra on my credit card, which will be the tough part.
4. Zero wastage in the kitchen - no leftovers to be wasted, no groceries to be thrown away because it went off before getting eaten, etc. Everything to be used!

This is my first month on The Budget - so lets see how it goes!

I have also been online and looked at just about every website about how to save money and be thrifty. And none of these are South African based, so it has been a little hard. I don't have a gym membership to cut, I don't buy coffee on my way to work every day, I already use public transport and I don't get manicures and pedicures. So trying to cut my cost of living has been really hard.

The meal planning will be the major change for me. The Mr and I have a joint account where we each contribute money for the groceries each month.  In theory, this should cover our groceries for the month but yet every month I end up spending a lot of my money on groceries.  I tend to buy things like "Mince Mate" and I love Ina Paarmens Sauces - but these make the cost per meal rise drastically.  We also end up using the grocery account for weekend braais and takeout. This will now come from our entertainment money for the month. I have split or grocery money into 2: the general fund will cover cleaning supplies, and groceries like spices, rice, pasta and potatoes, juices and cereals (i.e., general foods). The meal fund will cover dinners only, as this is the only meal we really eat at home except for the weekend. But I will worry about weekend breakfasts and lunches once I make it through the month. Like I said, this is my first month on The Budget.

My budget for dinners is R20 for 2 people. I know it sounds ridiculously low - but remember that things like rice, pasta and potatoes are part of my general grocery bill and not my meal grocery bill.

What I did this winter

This winter I planned to work on several of my goals:

1. Craft projects, including knitting and sketching
2. Sorting my Photographs
3. Continuing my health and fitness plan
4. Decluttering and sorting my home

In actual fact, I achieved very little of this and spent most of the winter hibernating.


At first I was disappointed with myself, when I realised two things:
1. The only person putting pressure on myself was me
2. I am not a 1950's housewife - this is 2014 and I work full time

I tend to take on most of the housework and cooking during the week (reason being, I get home from work 1.5 - 2 hours before my boyfriend). Almost every day he comes home to a cooked meal, dishes and laundry done, bird fed and cage cleaned - all he has to do is sit down and eat in the evenings.

The other reason that I tend to take over the housework, even over the weekends, is because of my personality. I like to plan and organise. I spend long portions of my day (when I am not working) thinking about meal plans for the week, grocery lists, my schedule when I get home and spring cleaning that needs to be done.

So perhaps the winter hibernation was good for me. Although I still did the cooking and cleaning every evening, I didn't pressure myself to do anything more that I could cope with. And if I felt like everything was too much, if I was just too tired to cook and clean and do everything all the time, Mr never put pressure on me to be Perfect Housewife (this is one of the reasons I love him so much).

But now it is spring time - the days are getting longer and the evenings are warmer. And so it is time to restart my healthy living routine.

Inspiration for the week: Week 24

Sometimes when I sit and think about the changes I want to make in my life and my home and how I want my life to be different and better, it is easy to get overwhelmed and give up and sit on the couch and eat a packet of chips.

But all I have to do is making little changes, every day do something small towards being a better person, living a healthier lifestyle, having a neater home.

I don't need to become a completely different person overnight.

And I think that is the difference between making a quick-fix change for now, and making a lifestyle change for ever.  These changes aren't just about ticking off new-years resolution, but about beinh a happier and healthier person, mentally and physically.

Everyday, if I do something that makes me happy or is work towards my goal, even just one thing ... one small thing, it is progress none the less.

Progress Report: Month of Organisation

No, I haven't organised my entire house yet
Yes, it was an ambitious project to begin with

I am pleased with what I have accomplished though:
- My kitchen, bathroom, bedside table and dressing room table have all been organised
- Mr and I tackled the study and threw out a lot of things that we had been accumulating for no reason, I also sorted out my knitting supplies and my magazines

Things  I am still working on:
- My filing has gotten a bit out of control lately
- My bedroom closet needs a serious sorting
- My linen cupboard needs to be organised

Organisation projects that are going to be Craft projects:
- My recipe book
- Photo album

June is therefore still going to be primarily about organisation. I found these great tips to me motivated:

http://craftivitydesigns.blogspot.com/2014/03/175-organizing-solutions-for-your-home.html

Inspiration for the Week: Week 22

I love this quote so much.

No matter what my personal goal is for the day, week, month ... all I need to work on is being better than I was yesterday.

I am so printing this out and putting it everywhere.

As the end of the month approaches and I note that my house is still not organised and I still don't have a flat stomach and I still binge-eat chips all the time, all I have to so is remember that everyday I am working to being a slightly-better person than I was the day before.

I have started drinking 1 liter of water everyday (from 2 or 3 glasses a week) and I had only 1 glass of fizzy cooldrink the whole week. I have gotten back onto track with my exercise routine with the new crunch-squat challenge, and my aim is to everyday add a few more sets (once I have done it for the day, I am either in the mood to carry on working out or I at least know that I have done the bare-minimum for myself). My kitchen, bathroom and linen cupboard have all been organised.

And in my personal life, I have really been touched by how many people have been thinking and praying for me since the robbery.  Some people who I considered close friends, didn't even bother to ask me how I am. Other people who I didn't expect to hear from have been so kind. Perhaps this is a lesson for me, that I should focus on being a better friend in general.

All in all, I am so glad that I am slowly accomplishing my goals for the year.

The new 31 day challenge

Starting today, the new challenge is the 21/31 day abs, butt and thigh exercise

One set will be as follows: One standing oblique crunch on each side, one squat- jump x 21 sets

Starting today, and excluding weekends and public holidays, the challenge ends on the 21st June and should work out to 21 exercise days (with one spare day off).

Seeing a number trend here? Yes .. my colleague (who came up with the idea for the challenge) is very into numbers. I must remember to ask her what the significance is. I'm sure she told me, but I was having a brain dead day.

I might throw in some cardio or strength exercises inbetween if I am feeling energetic, but I think this sounds like a manageable exercise that I can easily fit into my day.

Crunch crunch squat ... crunch crunch squat jump ... I even have my mantra going.

And here is my inspiration picture ... I will have a flat tummy!

May - the month of organisation

Well, there is nothing like an armed robbery to mess up your whole routine.

My new partner-in-crime is busy working out a new exercise challenge, cos clearly that is the only way I am going to get any exercise done and reach my fitness goal.

But this month was supposed to be the month of organistation. I had visions of a beautifully organised home just before winter hit and I would be too cold to do anything.

I started off really well ... unfortunately most of my photographic evidence was on my iPad which is now no longer in my possession.

But the one thing I am proud of sorting out is my tuppaware cupboard and for 3 weeks it has stayed neat - so there is hope yet.

I don't have before pictures - but trust me, it was a giant mess.

I started by buying these handy containers. They have a handle, so they're easy to take in and out of the cupboard, as well as for keeping things together.

Then I got rid of all the tuppaware that had no lids, and all the lids that had no containers. Some of them I kept for using when I paint or other craft projects.

Then I repacked it and was amazed at how much space there was in the cupboard! All the lids go into the container, so no more hunting for lids. The tuppaware I stacked neatly.

There was so much space left over that I even managed to clear out a kitchen drawer of all my measuring cups and other baking tools, which went into another container. And the last container now keeps all the smoothie shakers (we have way to many) which also cleared up space in another cupboard.

So now everything is in its place, and I managed to declutter my tuppaware cupboard and streamline my kitchen.