I went shopping yesterday. I only spent $185 dollars on groceries and that should do us for the fortnight.
The next credit card bill is looking good, there is only about $160 on it at the moment and hopefully it will stay that way. I have given my credit card to Mum so I don't use it for stupid stuff like takeaway food which I have been known to do. I still have a access to money but I don't tend to spend cash in the account.
We paid our council rates and insurance in full last year but we are going to pay quarterly for the rates and monthly for the insurance starting in August this year. The rates will be about $200 a quarter and tha insurance would be about $80 a month. I will know exact figures for the rates about June this year and the insurance in late July/early August.
Also I will be getting a $959.95 lump sum payment in July this year that will be going straight off the mortgage. I should find one of those lump sum calculators on the net to find out how much interest I would be saving by doing this.
I am going on an easter picnic today! We will spend a couple of dollars getting hot chips for my son and an ice cream probably! I am taking my own food and drinks. We should have a good time!
Went shopping yesterday
March 31st, 2007 at 08:16 pm
April 1st, 2007 at 01:17 am 1175390267
April 1st, 2007 at 02:22 am 1175394155
Good work on the grocery budget. I'm going to have to get your menu plan. What do you send DS to school with for recess?
April 1st, 2007 at 05:37 am 1175405857
DS has 1 vegemite sandwich and 1 peanut butter sandwich for lunch. And he has a packet of chips and a packet of shapes or tiny teddies for recess. He won't have fruit because he doesn't like it when its warm and it just comes home again. So I get the 20 pack of chips from Aldi for $3.99 and that will last about 5 weeks. He has 3 sandwiches on a Monday only because that's the day he gets his pocket money and he buys rubbish from the canteen. I used to just give him sandwiches but his schoolfriends gave him chips and snacks anyway so I gave in.
My menu plan is not really set out. My son is very fussy and will only eat a limited amount of stuff and I cook my own meals so I cook twice. Mum cooks for herself and Dad and sometimes I share in their meals. So I guess my menu plan would not really be suited to anyone else's family as sometimes it works out that we are cooking 4 meals on the one night. My Mum will cook my Dad a meal which she doesn't want to have so she has something separate. And the only meal that I can share with my son is spag bol.
Here are some of the meals that my Mum cooks:
Nasi Goring (you can google the recipe). It is spicy but yum! We use pecks paste for the shrimp paste.
Beef casserole with gravy beef. Just cut up beef, flour, then cut up potato, carrot and any other veggies and cover with beef stock in a casserole dish, cover and cook for 2-3 hours at 180 degrees. Its yum!
T-bone with veg
Mongolian beef and rice
rissoles and veg
homemade hamburgers with lettuce, beetroot, cheese, egg and tomato.
porcupine casserole, this is meatballs with cooked rice added with tomato soup and canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano.
chicken strogonoff and rice (with light evaporated milk)
chicken curry and rice (the curry has cabbage, grated carrot, capsicum and onion added)
battered fish (from Aldi) and veg
fresh fish in foil and veg
salmon patties and veg
I have some of the same meals and I have a lot of stir fries, I usually make the recipe up as I go along!
I might repeat this comment in a post of its own!