When you think of RICH does the image of money and wealth immediately spring to mind? For most people it does, but did you know that the dictionary has many definitions of the word RICH and only one has to do with actual money.
However, by following these 3 simple rules, you can become financially rich.
Rule Number 1: Do Not Live Above Your Means. I think everybody knows their income should be higher than their spending to be able to achieve financial stability. Certainly, my philosophy of making my cash work hard for me has been the cornerstone of creating my “Sunshine Cash” lifestyle
Rule 2: Save Up and Invest Again the common thinking is to save the balance between your income and outgoings and invest to create further income. Planning income for your future self is a wise decision if you do not to be still working 9-5 well into your 80’s.
Rule 3: Improve on Rules 1 & 2. It is easy to plan and budget your expenses. The issue comes in the practice. So many have the greatest intentions only to slip back to bad habits in a month or two. It is VITALLY important to keep checking in with yourself and keep yourself on track to achieve your long term goals.
Rule 4: Do Not Apply These Rules to Just Your Money. To have a truly RICH life, every area of life needs to follow the first 2 rules. Let’s see how this can be applied to the 8 life areas..
Life Area
Rule 1:
“Do Not Live Above Your Means”
Rule 2:
“Save Up and Invest”
Financial Wealth
Spend less than you Earn
Save and Invest the left over money after expenses
Home and Environment
Have a home that suits your lifestyle
Maintain your home to keep it in good condition.
Family & Friends
Have hundreds of “Friends”
Nurture and protect true friendships that see you through thick and thin.
Romance / Partner
Be too busy to give your partner time. Taking them for granted
Taking time to connect on a personal level often to keep the spark alive.
Health & Wellbeing
Overeat and don’t exercise
Have regular check-ups with health professionals.
Career & Business
Jumping from one job to the next often.
Creating a long term career that creates job satisfaction.
Personal Growth
Being constantly stressed and busy
Allowing some “Me Time” to create balance and unwind.
Fun & Recreation
Being constantly stressed and busy
Finding time to have fun, engage in a hobby or just relax with friends
Take some time and consider how can you apply the 2 rules to your life in all areas.
You may remember that last Friday, I made the decision to create a restaurant style meal each Friday night.
I had the week to think about it and ponder over what was in the fridge and freezer. This what I came up with.
Salmon Wellington with Lemon Butter Green Beans and Carrots
see the recipe below
Would I make it again?
Yes…. but. The pastry did go a little soggy, so if I was do it again, I would place baby spinach leaves on the pastry to try and combat some of the moisture. It would have been nice with some flaked almonds added to the vegetables too.
Overall though, it was a success.
Salmon Wellington with Lemon Butter Green Beans and Carrots
4Button Mushrooms ( medium)
1Onion (small)
1tbspThyme
1tbspButter
1tbspOlive Oil
2Salmon Fillets with our without skin
2Puff Pastry Sheets
1Egg
2Carrots (cut into sticks)
2Serves of fresh Green Beans cut to the same size as the carrots
1tbspButter
1Lemon (Juiced)
1: Pre Heat your oven to 180C or (160C Fan Forced)
Remove the Pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw.
2: Finely chop the Mushroom and Onion
Melt together the Butter and Olive Oil Add the mushroom, Onion and Thyme and sautee until soft and fragrant.
3: Place Salmon Fillets onto the pastry skin side down
Spoon over the mushroom mixture and drizzle over any pan juices. Fold over the Pastry to envelope the salmon. Brush with egg wash. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is deep golden brown.
4: While the Salmon is cooking, boil or steam the carrots and Beans until tender.
When cooked drain well and quickly add butter and lemon juice. Swirl gently to coat the veges. (be careful not to break the carrots)
5: To plate up, place the Salmon parcels on one side of the plate and arrange the vegetables to the side.
Have you seen my “Getting $#!T Done” course yet? I ask because, part of the challenge is to audit your life in every area and slowly level each area up to a “10”
One area of life is, of course, “Romance / Significant Other” I have rated this area of my life as a good solid 8 🙂
Nobody is perfect and I don’t know that anybody should actually rate their relationship as a 10. Let’s face it there is always more to do and some little thing that we are not 100% happy with about our partners (or ourselves).
When I was going through my monthly plan and trying to decide how I could level up this area, I thought one thing we enjoy doing is eating out. We choose not to spend $100+ very often on a restaurant meal, but we are both capable home cooks and can replicate a restaurant style dish without too much stress.
Anyway, I digress 🙂
In my never ending quest to become a princess and be wined and dined by my prince I decided that , as I work from home every Friday, I would look through a few menus and have a “fancy dinner” on Friday nights. I will not shop specifically for this meal, but rather use the menu as inspiration to use what I have in the fridge, freezer and pantry.
This weeks menu came from a lovely restaurant not far from us. See Restaraunt in Mooloolaba I have actually only been there once, and it was with a group of girlfriends for a special lunch. It is on my list of places to go with hubby, but is is a stretch on the budget. (A couple would do well to walk out spending under $100 after meals and a couple of drinks)
Scrolling through their menu, this dish caught my eye…. Confit Duck, Spec and Green Pea Medley, Honey Carrot Puree
Yummmmmm, but I don’t normally have duck or spec residing in my well stocked fridge/freezer, but I most certainly do have chicken and bacon!! This sounded like a winner.
This is what I ended up with …. Slow Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken, Bacon and Green Pea Medley, Honey Carrot Puree.
I found this recipe on Taste for the Chicken and made it with a small half bird from the freezer.
The “bacon and green pea medley” is a side dish I often make for guests.. (a similar recipe is here) In my dish I used frozen peas, green shallots and snow peas and fresh beans all cut into small pieces about the same size as the peas.
For the honey carrot puree, I sauteed a small chopped onion in a drizzle of olive oil until soft but not coloured. to that I added two medium carrots chopped into rounds, and covered with water, a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of chicken stock. Simmer this until the water is mostly gone. Be careful, you don’t want it to boil dry.
To serve, mash or puree the carrots ( I used a stick blender) and spread onto a plate in an attractive pool. Nestle the chicken in the puree and surround with the peas. Gently spoon over the sauce from the chicken being careful not to “drown” it
As I am a TERRIBLE food blogger, I forgot to take pictures 🙁
Hubby declared the meal a success, and I felt I had boosted my “relationship score” a point or so – at least for the night 🙂
Have you ever had Dry Aged Meat?? Hubby and I were aware that some high-end butchers dry-aged meat, but we had never seen it let alone eaten it. What is Dry Aged Meat? According to Wikipedia
“Dry-aged beef is beef that has been hung or placed on a rack to dry for several weeks. After the animal is slaughtered and cleaned, it is hung as a full or half carcass. Primal (large distinct sections) or sub primal cuts, such as strip loins, rib eyes, and sirloin, are placed in a refrigerator unit, also known as a “hot box”. This process involves considerable expense, as the beef must be stored near freezing temperatures. Subprimal cuts can be dry aged on racks either in specially climate-controlled coolers or within a moisture-permeable drybag. Moreover, only the higher grades of meat can be dry aged, as the process requires meat with a large, evenly distributed fat content. Because of this, dry-aged beef is seldom available outside of steak restaurants and upscale butcher shops or groceries. The key effect of dry aging is the concentration and saturation of the natural flavour, as well as the tenderization of the meat texture.”
I noticed on Facebook recently that Cotton Tree Meats not far up the road from us had installed a dry aging cabinet. The reviews were that the meat was something that had to be tasted to be believed.
When my birthday rolled around in August, hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and where would I like to go out for dinner. I suggested a “2 for 1” present and said why not buy a piece of dry aged beef?
A short trip later and we were the proud owners of the most beautiful looking piece of 28-day dry aged Black Angus Rib-eye on the bone.
We like to think we are pretty capable cooks, but we thought we had better find out how to do this lovely steak true justice. The answer turned out to be a cooking technique we had not tried before. “Reverse Searing”
Reverse Searing is a method that involves slow cooking the steak in a super low oven until the internal temperature reaches the desired doneness, then finishing in a screaming hot pan to give a lovely seared crust.
This method works best with a thick piece of steak so have your butcher cut a nice piece of Sirloin, Rib, Rump or T-bone into at least 50mm thick (this will feed 2-3 people).
This is the step by step method.
Step 1: Pre-heat your oven to 135º C
Step 2: Pat your piece of steak dry with paper towel. (the drier you can get the steak the better the crust you will get) Season well with salt and pepper. (there is no need to oil the meat)
Step 3: Place the meat on a grill over a baking pan lined with foil or baking paper to catch any drips.
Step 4: Bake in the oven until the internal temperature of the meat reaches your required doneness. Do NOT guess this, invest in a meat thermometer. Remove from the oven and rest under foil for at least 10 minutes.
Step 5: Get a heavy frying pan (cast iron is good) or BBQ screaming hot and add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. Carefully place the steak in the pan and sear well for 1- 2 minutes on each side, don’t forget the edges until a lovely golden crust forms.
Step 6: Place your steak on a board and cut it into pieces diagonally across the grain. Serve simply with a bit of herbed butter or your favourite sauce.
This was certainly NOT a budget meal, but still much less than if we had gone to a local pub and had a standard steak, salad and chips meal. And of course, it was sooooooo much nicer .
Next time you get a piece of steak, do try this method of cooking. It might just change your life 🙂
Hubby and I had a great break, one that was most needed.
We have been crazy busy for the last 3 months ( with not much end in sight) so while we really could not afford (time-wise) to be away from our business, we did enjoy it, and recognised that the relaxation was more important.
As I posted earlier, we had a 50% off voucher from Groupon for 3 nights in a fully self-contained Ocean View Apartment. The apartment was huge. It was actually a 3 bedroom apartment that they had just locked off two bedrooms to be able to sell as a one bedroom apartment. The kitchen was a full size kitchen with all the crockery, cutlery, pots and pans that a family of 6 would need. We had a wonderful view looking right up Main Beach and kangaroos came and visited each afternoon. We also spotted a koala having a sleep in a nearby park.
Usually, I do try to stay in apartments with a kitchen. I find it saves us a bucket load of cash while still having a good break. Before going away I do up a rough meal plan and then look at the budget and work out how many meals we might like to eat out.
We like to have a Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner out. (Not all on the one day 🙂 ) I will then hit Google and look at restaurant and cafe menus to get a good idea of how much the local cuisine will cost. I also look at Groupon to see if there are meal deals in the area we are going. ( sadly there were none for this trip)
For this trip we took from home: Milk, Coffee,Tea, Bacon and eggs, Some bread, butter, cheese and ham from the fridge, The last of the week’s veges and a pack of beef mince (it all became a savoury mince type dish) Cheese and crackers and a couple of bottles of wine 🙂
We ate out for one breakfast, had pizza for one lunch, and had the most superb meal at a resort restaurant. We also bought a “meal” of fresh prawns and crab fresh from the trawlers to go with the wine. Overall we kept well in budget and came back recharged and ready for another few months hard work.
One of my favourite things to do with my sunshine cash is to spend it on travel.
Now, while my businesses do generate a good liveable income, we cannot just have unlimited time away. Even the richest men and women are still found in their offices more often than not. I make a point of getting away for long weekends every 2-3 months plus and extended week or two once or twice a year.
One of the best ways I have found to have these breaks, is by making good use of daily deals sites. Sites like Groupon, Living Social, Luxury Getaways provide great deals on travel destinations that we may not have otherwise considered.
For us 3 nights away works well, as we can have Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights away and have at least some time at home on Sunday afternoon before getting back to work on Monday.
I am preparing to go away next weekend. I bought a Groupon Deal quite some time ago for 3 nights at Whale Watch Ocean Resort on North Stradbroke Island at 50% off the regular price. This short break is about a 90 minute drive from home.
I have already Googled some great places to eat. We will pack the car with the bulk of our food and drinks and maybe eat out for 2 lunches and 1 dinner.
We have both been working really hard the last couple of months , so are really looking forward to this break. I can foresee quite a few liquid beverages on the balcony overlooking the ocean and watching for humpback whales as they make their migration up the Queensland coast.
Many of us have been raised with the idea of "saving for a rainy day", so we diligently squirrel away savings for a disastrous event.
While it is important to have a safety net backup, "Sunshine Cash" is the complete opposite :) It is the money to have FUN with, money to burn, money to enjoy, and money to LIVE.
It is the formula that has seen me "Rise to Rich" and I can help you do the same.
Where to now? Join me on the Sunshine Cash journey. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for tips and hacks to create YOUR best life.
Oh! Please do comment on my posts. I love to know if something resonates with you, or how you do things differently. I love to hear your stories.
Have you ever had Dry Aged Meat?? Hubby and I were aware that some high-end butchers dry-aged meat, but we had never seen it let alone eaten it.
One of my favourite things to do with my sunshine cash is to spend it on travel.
