This is the breakdown for the last week:
Groceries:€45
Leap Card top up (both of us): €50
Orienteering: €7
Bike Repair:€5
Charity Shops: €23
Total for the week: €130
I really didn't think we would over spend for February, especially since we didn't even get around to getting our Helsinki flights, I even thought we could take a big chunk off the overspend for our ski holiday, but end the end we were €65 over for February leaving us €775 over in total this year.
This is the breakdown for the last week: Groceries:€45 Leap Card top up (both of us): €50 Orienteering: €7 Bike Repair:€5 Charity Shops: €23 Total for the week: €130
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We don´t get to do this very often, and I´m not even sure what we did even qualifies, but this morning when I was walking into a shop, I passed the cashier at the front door shoving yesterdays salads into the bin, when I stopped him and said I would take them, he told me there were 3 more inside he had to get rid of too, so in total we got 2 spicy bean salads, 3 carrot and seed salads, and mixed salad, all for free, so if we did rescue food like this more, we would end up saving quite a bit! (I am just not ready to take that step yet)
When you look at these in shops, they can seem expensive ...in tiny little packets or huge cost per kilo, but actually they work out quite reasonable (which is just as well as we have used them to replace most of the protein we used to get from animal products) Here is why they work out cheaper:
1. You don´t eat as much...where as before we would have put one full chicken breast (or similar) per person into a stirfry for example, now we just throw in a handful of sesame seeds or cashew nuts, so the cost of the meal ends up being less. 2. No more racing against best before dates, these foods are non perishable so you don´t end up eating more than you need, just because it is going out of date or won´t last until after the weekend. 3. Pulses are sold dry, and take in more than double their weight in water when you (soak and) cook them, so the price per kilo you see in the shop ends up as less when you look at your plate, which is the opposite of meat which shrivels and loses juices while cooking. 4. You can save money buy buying in bulk; due to the long shelf life and the fact that they are sold dry you can avail of discounts by buying larger quantities, not really an option with meat, unless you have a giant freezer! Groceries ~€73
Toiletries €22.50 Flights (for a stag in April) ~€31 Drinks and Coffees €46.50 Swap Shopping (Clothes) €10 Charity Shop (Clothes, CDs, DVDs, mug) €10.50 Total this Week: €195 Total this Month: €685 Overspend (this year): €645 Another thing that makes our supermarket bill cheaper that we buy stuff that is in the reduced section because it is going out of date soon. An extra advantage of shopping in this section for us, is that we get to buy stuff that we wouldn't usually get (because it is hard to find packaging free or because it has animal products in it). Todays haul is particuallary Another thing that makes our supermarket bill cheaper is that we buy stuff that is going out of date soon, (usually it is reduced
Climbing €75 (the 2nd pass)
Phone credit €40 (both of us) Groceries €40 (including wine) Household €11 (€4 light bulbs, €7 charity shop stuff) Flights €61 (for a trip away in May) Total for week 2: €227 Total for February: ~€490 Remaining Budget: -€450 Still not back on track, but we are playing the long game! I am kinda bluffing with this post, because I am not so hard core that I would refuse to use salon shampoo and conditioner (it is bought in bulk after all) and I have been known to get a dry cut in my past life before I was so conscious of waste. But basically a dry cut is much cheaper!
You could argue that forgoing the wash and blowdry is taking money out of the local economy, but I´ve got an answer for this! I plan to get up-styles more often for weddings, balls etc, where before I would have just done my own hair, nothing, timed it to be just after a hair cut or asked a friend to put my hair up. I am not doing it specifically to keep local small businesses alive, so much as to treat myself/polish my look, since I won´t be wearing new clothes and shoes! (Now I just have to figure out where I stand on bobby pins and hair spray, and get the smell of cologne* out of my hair). *I don´t remember this from the other times I got a dry cut, so I guess it depends where you go. Groceries €77.45 (mainly bulk supplies)
Climbing €75 (12 trip ticket) Orienteering €21 (2 events) Raffle Tickets €12 Charity shops €20 (Gifts, Home Decor, Clothes, Music) Hair Cut €20 Tickets for a Social/Dinner €40 Total~€265 Running Total (based on €750 a month) : -€225 (with 3/4 of the month to go!)This looks a bit rough, especially as we will need to buy a 2nd 12 trip climbing wall entry the next time we go, but then we should be good for a while, and the bulk food should keep our grocery costs down! As always, I am an optimist! This saves on packaging (for stuff you can't get loose). It looks more expensive because you are spending lots in one go, but it works out cheaper because you don't have to buy again as soon!
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When I started this blog I was on quite a tight budget, I was on carers allowance and C was looking for work. Our monthly budget was €750 a month after rent. Archives
June 2018
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