Matters of Monetary Maternity

When we found out that we were going to have a baby I, like most people, needed to mentally prepare for a huge dip in our discretionary income and thought we'd be living on toast and porridge. This was actually something the hubby and I have been through while trying to survive university. And as fun as those times were, we agreed never to go there again. 

One of the benefits of living through times of monetary leanness is that one gets a teensy bit fanatical about budget (spreadsheets, savings graphs, etc), and I've found that the arrival of our Little Man has not really broken the budget. 

We've done this just by being conscious of a few things:

Tuesday tip - don't cook occasionally

That's right, you heard me - don't cook. It's a terrible thing, but people need to eat ALL the time. Especially small children; mine are particularly fond of declaring "I'm hungry" approximately 3.141592653 seconds after I've cleared away the last meal.

In our household we have a veg*n, a die hard carnivore, a picky toddler and a nursling, as well as two hounds. That makes for a lot of meals. Although we try to eat in themes - for example, on Mexican night there is a mince option and a bean option, it still makes for a lot of leftovers.

Now I'm frugal and I hate waste. So once a week or so, we schedule a hunt and gather night.

What that means is that we don't cook anything new, and instead we scavenge around the fridge and the freezer for leftovers and make up a meal. First in gets first dibs (unless one of you is pregnant or PMSing, that's always trumps!).

By not cooking and scheduling in a night where you forage in a modern manner, those leftovers get eaten and there is much less waste come bin day. Wins all around (except for the hounds who then have to eat proper dog food because there isn't any human food for them to beg for). Ha!

Read more about how I meal plan here.

Tuesday tip - take a rain check

Did you know, that if a supermarket is out of an advertised special, you can ask for a rain check? No? Neither did I, but you can! And this little tip is a gem!

Ask for rain checks on specials

If something you want is out of stock and an advertised special, you're entitled to a rain check. You can have up to four that you can use anytime within the next TWELVE months! Genius!

Quinoa reduced to $3 from $15 (example may be exaggerated) but none left on the shelf? No worries, just ask at the checkout / service desk and you will get your rain check - four of them if you ask actually. And you can then buy that item at the reduced price any time within the next 12 months by presenting your rain check.

Winner, winner, quinoa dinner!

Have you gotten any bargains lately?