$20 a week items

Well after doing the meal plans I believe we have a few issues to clear up:

#1. You are going to need a good spice rack! Such as


This is one that I have. Spices are the flavor of life. You will be using them EVERY day. I cant emphasis this enough. You can completely change up boring dishes.

#2. Get the basics down. Before the new year, get in some dry pasta, beans, canned tomatoes, frozen peas (The biggest bag you can find), frozen kernel corn, Bread mixes (You can make your own bread and save a fortune!), tuna, canned veggies, tomato sauce, pasta sauce, canned chicken. Etc... That's the main ones I can think of.

#3, Nick and I are so busy in the first few weeks of January, that we survive on slow cooking. The one we have is

It is amazing. :)

#4. get up and get peeling! Essential for surviving on $20 a week. Keep the peels and start a vegetable garden with fresh compost.
In the summer this will keep your costs down.

#5. Use what is in your pantry! Dont go over the $20 budget, if your missing a few ingredients in the meal, substitute. Use one type of bean instead of three.

#6. Clip some coupons.

#7. Go to your local Farmers market. Grab some fruits and veggies. Bargain prices :). If they are still more expensive than your local store, haggle with them. And bring proof. If you haggle loud enough, they will probably match the price you are asking.


Later today will be the first food plan. I will post the recipies underneath the scan of my plan.

Keep the recipies in a word document. This will be useful for reusing specific meal plans.

See you all later.

Please feel free to comment!

What are we doing in the run up to new year?

After a huge freak-out about a car insurance payment last night, we have decided to start a little bit early. Just trying to get in to some better habits.

We are currently going through gas/petrol like crazy. With 2 jobs each and college it’s almost at $40 a week for both of us. Which I know is great compared to some large truck's gas... But these cars are tiny!
 

So, how do I lower the amount I spend on Gas?

1. Take out any extra weight in the car. I know I am the worst at this... I carry round a set of kettlebells for my job!
2. Use cruise control. It’s easy to flick on and off again, and it actually saves a lot of Gas. I love CC!
3. Turn of the engine when waiting. Especially if Nick is late out of class. If its hot or cold, open a window or wrap up!
4. Stop revving your engine... Especially young boys. Its just not cool.
5. Use higher octane gasoline if your engine allows it.
6. Take good care of your car. Do a once weekly check on your engine, tires and clean it out! This is something I do every Sunday morning. I also do a lot of repairs myself. There are so many good videos on you tube to watch about fixing cars. 
7. Make sure you have some good tires, and that they are replaced when they need to be. The pressure in the tire needs to be kept at the recommended limit too.
8. Drive at the speed limit. This helps us out a lot with the Gas limit. It also helps us to be safe.
9. Turn off the A/C when you don't need it.
10. Buy half a tank instead of a whole tank. That weight adds up eventually!

I hope this helps some people. We will be starting up a podcast soon. 

 (Hopefully next year our insurance is lower...)