Now is the time to be frugal!

Over the years I have come to realize that it is not what you earn, but rather how you spend your earnings that makes all the difference. Most of us tend to live beyond our means, because hey, you only live once! But now, more than ever, we need to learn how to be frugal. Remember being frugal is not being cheap, it is being smart.

Here are 10 tips to help you save!

• Buy milk in sachets, not bottles.  Our family consumes about 2litres of milk every day. If I buy milk in a container the average cost is R13.00 a litre. If I buy sachets the average cost is R8,75 a litre.  Over the course of one year buying sachets would have saved you a whopping R3102,50! I am sure you can all agree that is a significant savings for simply buying your milk in different packaging.

•  Invest in a large thermos flask. I am a real coffee pot and I work from home and as a result our kettle works over time. I now fill the kettle and boil it twice a day, at most. The flask works amazingly well, whether I am making noodles for lunch, adding hot water to my pot for cooking or satisfying my coffee addiction. I wanted calculate the exact saving, but the price per kilowatt varies based on location and how much electricity you have already used etc. So to simplify the logic behind the savings I did a simple test. Boiling one cup takes 01:15:05minutes and to boil 6 cups took 05:50:53minutes. So by using the thermos and boiling the kettle only once, you are effectively getting one cup of hot water for free. ( Not to mention all those times you boil the kettle and then get distracted, only to come back and boil it again! )

•  Braai all things. All South Africans love to braai, so when you ,make sure not to use any other electrical appliances to cook food. Make all the hot food on the fire. The point behind this is that you have already spent money on the wood etc, so try and save by not using the stove.

•  Don’t use the hot tap, unless you are having a shower or doing dishes. Teach your children to only wash hands, brush teeth etc. by only using the cold tap. By minimising the use of the hot water, your geyser wont have to fill up and re-heat all the time.

•  If you are not a butter person, and you use margarine, stick to buying the cheapest or just cheaper. This might sound ridiculous, but I always thought buying Rama or Stork is the healthier option, but when I actually looked at the label it told a completely different story! Another tip to save on the use of margarine is to not use it when you make peanut butter sarmies or even avo toast. We use to buy a 1kg Stork costing about R39 each, using about 3 a month, I am now buying the cheapest brand, only costing R19 each. Total savings R720 per year.

•  Have a meat free night. ( or nights ) Meat is really expensive. Cutting this from your weekly menu will save you alot, and give you the opportunity to sneak in those extra veggies. I do know that this option is NOT an option for many of you, so I will do an entire blog on great meat free night options to try an inspire some of you:-)

• When you do cook, cook once and eat twice. We have spaghetti bolognaise every Monday evening. It is a great a idea to cook all your mince for the month in one go. The effort really remains the same. Once cooled, pack in meal portion sizes and freeze for next Monday’s dinner! This also becomes a great time saver for those busy evenings.

• Plan lunches. Kids never know what to make for lunch. A good way to ensure they don’t eat you out of the house is to pack their lunches and snacks in the morning. If they are old enough you actually just need to pack out what they are allowed to eat for the day. So you could put the bread,  a tin of tuna, fruit etc in  a tray. By doing this, the salami will still be in the fridge for pizza night!

•  Buy veggies when they are on sale and in season. When you get home, wash and prep them for the freezer. The other day I paid R5 for a punnet of baby marrows. I bought 4, and froze them for future dinners.

•  Have a budget and a shopping list. I would suggest doing online shopping as it helps with sticking to your budget by checking the total before you pay. However the delivery fee might defeat the point. By not going to the shop, you avoid those  lovely temptations that were not part of the plan. I find sending my husband works really well. He hates shopping and thus he really just sticks to my list so that he can get out quickly!

I really hope these tips will add value ( and Rands ) to your life! I would love to hear from you and your frugal tips. I look forward to sharing my next blog, until then, happy reading and stay safe!