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There is somewhat of a backlash to girls and women wanting to be a “princess”.  After all, in this modern world can’t us women be so much more than a figment of prettiness that relies on a saviour in the form of a man? Well…DUH!!   Of course 😊     I do not aspire to be a Disney Princess nor an actual Royal Princess -that appears like faaaaaar to much work. What I DO aspire to is the perfect life that most little girls are led to believe that a Princess […]

1: KNOW what your ideal life looks like Dream, really image yourself living your ideal life. What does it look like? Who is in it? Where do you live? What do you do every day? You need to be REALLY specific here. Start from the moment you open your eyes. What is your bed like? What do you do first thing?  Now get up, what do your toes touch on the floor? Is it lush carpet or cool polished timber floors?   Do you go directly to the kitchen to have a glass of fresh squeezed OJ or do you make your […]

What is your relationship with money? Do you have a feeling of dread that there is never enough? or do you rejoice and welcome the possibilities that every dollar can provide? I am sure you have guessed by now, that I love my money, I welcome it and treat it nicely like I would a trusted friend. By making money welcome, more will be attracted to you and there will always be enough.  Sure, I would like more sometimes, but I very rarely say “I can’t afford that”  rather I say […]

How much money do you need? Interesting discussion recently on this subject with a group I am in. Now of course the whole philosophy behind my life and, indeed, this blog, is that I don’t aspire to be financially a gazillionaire. Sure, I wan’t to be a princess but there a whole lot of factors that are brought up around being financially rich. I enjoy working, but have no wish to do it for 100 hours a week. I also love travelling, but when we are away for an extended period of time, […]

There is one thing that stands in your way to becoming anything you want to be and accomplishing anything you’ve dreamed of. It’s not money and it’s not time. It’s not a lack of luck or not having the right opportunities handed to you on a plate.   The thing that is standing in your way is a lack of consistency. I am sure everybody has heard that it takes approximately 28 days to create a new habit (or break an old one) Changing behaviour is HARD, you are rewiring mindset patterns that […]

I got what I truly wanted ? Every now and then the Universe decides to give you exactly what you ask for. It might be in the form that you visualised, or it might be something completely from left field. For years I have been following the idea that visualising your perfect life will indeed create that life.   It has been a cornerstone of the way hubby and I treat most areas of our day to day life. And, of course, it is the foundation of my concept of Sunshine Cash and the creation of […]

Part of the appeal of eating out is often, for us ladies, the fact that we don’t have to cook 🙂 Luckily hubby and I enjoy cooking so that is not such an issue for us.   We tend to look for “something different” Different flavours, different pairings, different view. We were wandering along our local restaurant strip recently and neither of us felt the compulsion to try anything (and subsequently spend $100 for a “blah” experience).    One restaurant has […]

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 […]

A little over a month ago, I had a speaking engagement at a conference. I was also meeting a number of my coaching clients for the first time. In the lead up to the conference, I was determined to have nice long strong nails for the weekend. To achieve this, I had a routine of using strengthening oil on my cuticles and coating them with Sally Hansen’s “Hard as Nails” Strengthening Polish twice a week. (If you have not used the Hard as Nails polish, try it, it is great for growing long healthy […]

Ahh the elusive subject of “Balance”  It can start out with such good intention and quickly spiral out of control and, before you know it, you are back to square one. Often your life might seem like a never-ending game of “Snakes & Ladders”.  Forever taking one step forward and three steps back, until maybe – finally you get a lucky roll of the dice. So what CAN you do to create balance and momentum ion your life to achieve your 10/10 life. PLAN!!! Yep it really can be that simple.  (but oh […]

Morning..,. I admit it, I am a morning person, and I know some of you might hate me right now:) I know that for many people, the mere thought of morning brings feelings of dread and panic. However, for me, mornings are the time I get some “me” time. I like to get up 30 minutes earlier than hubby. He is one of those – “as soon as his feet hit the floor he is go go GO!” My 30 minutes or so are quiet time.  I like to make myself a cup of tea, read a few pages on whatever book I […]

Have you heard this term yet?  I have a hunch it will be BIG very soon. I first came across the idea of “Cozy Minimalism” a couple of weeks ago.  I must tell you, I am HOOKED!!! Like many of us, I scour Pinterest for home decor ideas and have not ever really nailed down a style that is “me” I like elements of many styles… Farmhouse Styles like Joanna Gaines does on “Fixer Upper” Hampton Style from when the TV show “Revenge” was on […]

Life is like a road.  There are long and short roads; smooth and rough roads; windy and straight roads.  Many roads are on the map as we journey through life.   There are roads that lead to a life of marriage and family or others that lead to a fulfilling career with our without a family.  There are roads that lead to fame and fortune on one hand or isolation and poverty on the other.  There are roads to happiness as there are roads to sadness, roads towards victory and success, and roads […]

As I read blogs and self help books, I am always amazed at some of the true Rags to Riches stories that abound.While I have never earned a huge salary , been unemployed for any long period of time or been even close to homeless, I have not often ever though of my situation as being POOR.Except for ONE DAY. Let me tell you about it. The year was 1984, I had been working as a photographic assistant in and advertising agency in the city. For a young 19 year old girl who was newly married, it was a […]

OH NO!! you might be thinking that this is yet ANOTHER New Years Resolution post.   It is not!! In fact I don’t “do” resolutions.  As most of you know, resolutions are easily made, but seldom kept, with most being broken by the first week in January. What I DO do, is have a strategic plan for my year.  This is broken down to a Quarterly Plan, Monthly Plan and finally Daily Tasks.  That is not to say that I am so scheduled that there is no room for spontaneity and fun.  My daily tasks are […]

I saw this quote on Pinterest today as a wall mural.  You can buy it here What a powerful message… Sure life hands us all lemons occasionally, but the mindset to “make lemonade” is an admirable quality, that I try to live to. When I read this, I was reminded of a friend of mine just recently.  The closure of his bricks and mortar retail store, an impossibly hot Queensland summer week in a house with no air conditioning, bushfires around and just to top it off him and his wife […]

I saw this lovely little poem recently by author Mary Stuber.  Initially I smiled and laughed to myself, then I really thought about it and how true it is.  We are blessed that we can have food on our plates and a safe home in which to prepare and eat meals. It made me think about how often we complain about little things and how, with a simple reframe we can turn an annoyance into a blessing. Some examples: Do you complain that the kids have left toys all over the living room floor? How […]

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 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 […]

As a “middle aged” lady, I do try to keep myself fit-ish.  I no longer go to Gym. I was a member of Curves for a few years but the fees kept rising and our local center changed hands and the opening times were not a “work time friendly” for me.  Hubby and I had been walking every evening, but now the Queensland Summer is just about on us, it is far to hot, even in the evening.  What to do? My Daughter has been into yoga for as long as I can remember, and while I do enjoy […]

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 […]

?Does that number strike a feeling of panic and dread, or are you ready for the holiday season? I have to admit, I am one of “those” annoying people who does not stress about Christmas or the cost of giving gifts.  And, yes, I have just about finished my Christmas Gift shopping  ? Why??  Well because I buy all throughout the year 🙂 I am fairly lucky in the fact that we do not have a huge family so I only need to buy around 20 gifts. My husband know that I cannot pass by a sale table […]

  I posted recently that my friend had commented on how I manage to always “Get $#!T Done” (You can read the post here) I promised to put together a 5 day challenge that will help you set goals, break them into tasks and achieve your ideal life and here it is 🙂 Buy my short 5 Day “Getting $#!t Done” Workshop and I will guide you step by step to being a more productive you 🙂 […]

  This weekend was a family birthday, so we packed up the car and ventured out to have a special picnic. The spring weather here is just lovely, and it is always a great time for a picnic. I designed a “high tea” type spread with pikletes with jam and cream, finger sandwiches, chicken and vegetables, bruschetta, mini prawn cocktails, cupcakes, brownies and fruit salad cups. None of the elements to this are difficult. The appeal comes in the presentation. I arranged most of the […]

I picked up a packet of Soy and Linseed rolls at the supermarket the other day. They were on special and they looked really yummy.  When I got home and looked at them again, I thought they were quite large.   I am not gluten free, but I do try to keep my bread down as I find I do get a little bloated with too much. I was going to cut them in half like this… Then I saw an ad on the TV for ( of all things) a MacDonald’s  Big  Mac. I came up with the clever idea to split my bread rolls […]

A friend recently commented that they have no idea how I fit everything in to my days, and stay sane 🙂 Yes it is true that I always have a heap of things going on at one time, and also a number of plans that are ready to burst toward fruition in the future.  Between my husband and I we run 3 business, I also try and keep up with this blog and keep the house clean and tidy. Like many women, I am pretty good at juggling life and getting things done.  But I am going to let you in a little secret.  […]

While I do like to add to my blog reasonably consistently, I am not one of “those” bloggers  You know the type – they post almost everyday and are super active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I have been writing and adding posts every few days -or so I thought!!   I get comments that people like my blog and I have been blindly carrying on as usual.  One day recently a friend asked why I was not blogging anymore??  She then mentioned to me that there have not been any new […]

  A couple of months of crazy days has seen us eating some “creative” meals of late. My main focus has been to feed us reasonably healthy meals that do not require too much in the way of preparation or fuss. Some days there may have been time to do things like cook a roast for a couple of hours.  Other days were “we need to eat in the next 30 minutes” type days. We very rarely eat takeaway, as mostly we find we can do better at home, cheaper, faster and healthier. […]

Did you read my recent post on what “they” say is the amount of money needed to retire?  (it is here) When this was originally reported, I said to my husband, “I am sure we could live on the pension as well as Mum & Dad.” So, we decided to try it.  Before making any sort of budget, I tracked our spending for 3 months to see exactly what we were spending, it was surprisingly low ? For our “live on the pension plan” we have not taken into consideration our mortgage or my husband’s […]

Cheats “sort of” Strog. We are in the process of running down our freezer in preparation for 3 weeks away.    (while we are away, I will unplug the freezer and let it completely defrost, then give it a good clean out in the new year) I have been trying to mix the contents of the freezer around a little, so we don’t end up with sausages for 7 days straight 🙂    We had a fair bit of mince left in the freezer and I was looking something a bit “different” to do. I came up with the […]

Quite some time ago I read a news report debating whether or not the Australian aged pension is “enough” to live on in today’s economy. As expected, the comments were mixed with a lot of people saying they can NOT live on the amount received from the government. (I must admit, I do find it amazing when I see these types of reports where we see a woman complaining that she does not have enough money for electricity to keep warm, but she is being interviewed in a thin cotton top. – Put a […]

My daughter-in-law does enjoy a nice cup of tea 🙂 I came up with the idea of making an Advent Calendar with various types of teabag for her this year. I had done a tea wrapper for my Mum for Mother’s Day a couple of years ago, so I had a template for teabag envelopes on my computer. It took me a while to play around with Photoshop and create 25 different envelopes, but I got there in  the end Find the complete printable version in the information vault   Here is how I made the board […]

I must admit I like to read  but  I rarely make myself enough time to get lost in a novel 🙁 I do, however, enjoy a magazine regularly. Over the course of the years, family members have gifted me subscriptions to magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens, Gourmet Traveller, Women’s Weekly and a few recipe/food magazines.  Once the subscription was over, sometimes I continued it myself, or just bought the magazine from the supermarket. One day it dawned on me that magazines are […]

“Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin 1789 In many business forums and groups I am a part of, the topic of paying tax often comes up. Our account told me a loooong time ago that, as a business owner, tax is a good thing, it means you have made a profit. 🙂 Now, I don’t know about you, but while I do arrange our business finances so that we legally minimise our income tax as well a we can, I seriously do not object to paying my fair share of tax. While I […]

In today’s busy world I see so much written about passion and having to find your passion or purpose in life to get ahead and be successful. Sadly, we see this “requirement” as early as high school when 13-year-olds are expected to know exactly what courses they are going to do to set themselves up for the rest of their lives. How many of you are in jobs professions or businesses that align with your 13-year-old self? .. my guess is not many ☹ My 13-year-old self had no idea what I wanted […]

My husband suspects I might be just every so slightly totally bonkers. (In the nicest possible way of course). After 20 years, he is used to my sometimes crazy purchases. One of “secrets” to living my perfect life, is to visualise what that life looks like in minute details.  Then I choose an area that is less than perfect and upgrade it closer to my vision.  Of course, some things are not possible to jump from a level 1 straight up to a level 10, but for the many little things in […]

I have (again) decided I need to lose a few kg’s. I really do not bother too much about my weight, and do stick to a fairly healthy diet, but I know I have been a bit slack lately.  Tripping up and back 400kms to see my Mum has seen me not eating the best. Yesterday I thought I did not want my regular eggs on toast, but still wanted eggs.  I came up with this yummy little omelette on salad. It is a simple dish that is made by gently beating just one egg with a fork until just fluffy add […]

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 […]

The whole concept of “Sunshine Cash” is the total opposite to “Saving for a Rainy Day”   It is, of course, important to save an emergency fund for unforseen events, but (in my opionon) to have money in the bank for money’s sake is just not neccessary.   In no way would I EVER advocate spending more than you have, but cash is there to be spent. ALWAYS pay your bills first, then allow funds for saavings and general “adulting”  then allow some […]

Who hasn’t been in this scenario? It is the day after payday, you have a party to go to on the weekend, you really need a new dress. (shoes, bag, coat etc) You go to the mall and “BARGAIN” you find the perfect top for just $20.  YAY!!!!  At the same shop you find a cute skirt, a shirt for work and a funky belt. You walk out of the store feeling really good that you got some great deals.  All that for just $99.00 Still on a high, you get home, check the mail, and UH-OH the […]

One really simple way to save money and create your champagne lifestyle is to look at your spending habits make some quality changes. Some ideas might be: Coffee. Nearly every savings blog or site you see always puts coffee at the top of the list. Certainly your daily (or three) cafe coffee can leave a huge dent in your wallet, but life is way to short for bad coffee.  in keeping with the champagne lifestyle, I am not going to suggest you drink instant 🙂   Look for alternatives. Have a coffee […]

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year or so, you will have heard about the KonMari method of decluttering.  Through her best selling book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying: A Simple, Effective Way To Banish Clutter Forever, Japanese author, Marie Kondo promises to transform your life one empty closet at a time. Like many people, I took all this with a grain of salt.  The book and I admit, a bit of peer group pressure 🙂  did spur me on to do a decent declutter of our home. […]

Make everyday a “Not Zero’ day I came across the concept of “Not Zero Days” this week.  WOW what a revelation.!! The idea of a Not Zero Day is that whatever you are planning to do, whatever your goal is just do SOMETHING toward it everyday. Sometimes we can set ourselves such big tasks that it all just gets to hard and we feel like giving up. For instance; Is your goal to do 30 minutes of exercise everyday?  If you jump right in and do that 30 minutes today, you might […]

Hubby and I have been just so stupidly busy lately that we are both feeling quite overwhelmed.  I can tell, both of us are a bit cranky and TIRED  oh so bone weary TIRED.  We often find ourselves struggling to stay up past 8:00pm We work for ourselves and recently lost a key staff member. It shook both of us around a bit and rather than re-hiring immediately, we tried to do it all ourselves.  (Bad move..although saving 3 months wages has made the bottom line look healthy) We have now hired some […]

Did you see my post a while back about having a weekend away? (if you didn’t…it is here  ) 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 […]

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 […]

Do you live your perfect life? How can I invite abundance if I don’t know EXACTLY what I want.?? Today’s post comes about from a discussion with my husband about abundance. When I asked him what  Abundance meant to him he answered “Winning Lotto” This is how the conversation went….. Me:  Great why? Him:  Because I would have a million dollars. Me: What for? Him:  For whatever I want. (getting cranky now) Me:  What do you want? Him:  I don’t know….a million dollars Me:  But what would you do […]

“Sunshine Cash” is the opposite of saving for a rainy day. For me, Sunshine Cash is the money I earn on top of my regular income.  It is not intended to pay the bills or be saved in the emergency fund.  It is FUN MONEY!!  However, it does trickle in sporadically depending on what I am pursuing at the time, so I have a separate bank account for it. Making the dollars s-t-r-e-t-c-h It is not so much the saving of the amount, as maximising the value of it.  I want every sunshine dollar […]

From the time I was a little kid, I never seemed to have enough “fun money”. Sure, Mum and Dad gave me pocket money for doing chores around the house, but I was made to put half of it in the bank.  (Who remembers the good old “dollarmites” school banking?) After depositing my hard earned cash into the bank, there wasn’t enough leftover for the latest Barbie fashion or tastiest lolly that I “just had to have”.    It was just soooo hard. Everyone […]

I have long admitted to having Champagne taste on a Beer budget, and I have discovered many ways to live the life I want on sometimes very little money.  Whether by earning a bit of cash on the side, or just getting great deals on the products and experiences that make up life in general.  I have found that the niceties of life can usually be found with some creative thinking and female ingenuity. What sort of things? My “Champagne taste” extends itself to most areas of my life 🙂  I […]

Here is something to think about.  We all have different ideas as to what constitutes a good food budget. It, of course is dependent on the type and amount of food we buy. While browsing the net for nutrition guidelines, I came cross the Australian Government’s ” Eat for Health” website.  The site has the (current) official dietary guidelines. It lists some sample menu plans for Men, Women and Children, as well as a really good guide to what makes a “serve” of […]

A few of you asked for something sweet when I did these menus in the past.  I admit I do not eat a lot of sweet things, So for me to not have biscuits, cakes and chocolate is not a big deal.  I have, however, acknowledged that many of you do crave a bit of sugar in your lives 🙂 so I came up with this 2-in-1 recipe that does not sacrifice all your eggs and butter as sweet treats. I made this recipe by combining two basic recipes and diving the batter to create 8 little cornflake cookies and 6 […]

Here is the shopping list and menus for a $50 fortnight. (Click here to see a large version of the Coles Shopping List ) 1 Loaf Multigrain Bread 1 doz eggs 250g Butter 3 litres milk 6pack Frozen crumbed fish 1kg Frozen Mixed Vege 200g pack 4 leaf salad mix 2 Brown onions 2 Carrots 3 large ( 170g each) Potatoes 200g Green Beans 2 Tomatoes 1 Fresh Corn 500g Beef Mince 500g Boneless Pork Pieces 1.25kg Chicken Drumsticks 250g Bacon 200g Cheddar Cheese 420g Can Baked Beans 500g pack Corn Flakes 400g […]

After a long time away pondering on the best course of action for the $25 a week menu, I have decided to relaunch the site as “Frugal Foodie” This will be the home for delicious Foodie menus created at a rock bottom price. I will  stick to a  roughly $50 per fortnight shopping list and will post the list from major supermarket’s online shopping sites. $50 per fortnight has been suggested as a more realistic figure as benefits are paid fortnightly. I will continue to post […]

As planned, I have a bit of a food stash left over from the last fortnight’s shopping.  We can add some fruit and sweet things this fortnight. 🙂   I have bought sugar and flour!! So there will be some baking happening this week 🙂   I know a lot of you will be missing something sweet.   Left Over from last fortnight 2 large Potatoes 1/2 bag of Pasta 1/2 tin of diced Tomato 3 cups of Rice Curry Powder Loaf of bread (minus 2 slices) 3 rashers of Bacon 200g Tuna (1/2 Tin) 6 carrots 250g […]

Hi all,  Firstly I apologise again for the late post. 🙁 Work does tend to get in the way.  I have 3 days, meals here for you today…. so let’s jump straight into it.  Day 3  Breakfast  Omelette.  My omelette today had a bit of chopped onion and a bit of grated cheese.  Lunch  Leftover Pumpkin Curry.  As with most curries, the flavours of this had mellowed and just got better the next day. Dinner Chicken, Pasta with Bacon and Tomato I cut the meat off 2 large thighs (and kept the […]

I promised here a little while back that I would post our bulk meat shop from Meat City. We venture down the highway for the 50km drive because of the consistently low prices and great quality. We do a big stock up once every 3 or 4 months.  If you are reasonably local, do have a look at Meat City’s website and sign up to receive their weekly specials.  (I am in no way affiliated with Meat City other than being a regular customer) This trip’s buy produced the following. All of which […]

Two days menus here in this post. I am getting through the food basket I have put aside for these challenges.  I am more than confident that there is plenty of food to last the week. I am working on the next fortnight’s shopping list and menu plan as well.  I am hoping to get these posted in the next day or so. So, on the last couple of days meals. Day 1 Breakfast. Scrambled eggs today.  ( You know I love my eggs ) Lunch Pasta with Bacon, Tinned Tomato and the last remnants of the packet […]

We have come to the end of another week. I won’t attempt to do two weeks together again,  I totally messed up a lot of that and mixed some days and ingredients 🙁 At the end of the first part of the $50 fortnight, if you followed the actual menu.   you should have plenty of ingredients leftover for week 2 menu. By the end of this week we should have had another week of satisfying meals and be starting to build some pantry staples. We should have…. 1/2 bag of pasta 1/2 bag of […]

Hello to all my lovely followers. This is another catch up post to bring us up to the end of last week. $50 menu Day 6 Breakfast Baked Beans on Toast Lunch Left Over Tex Mex Rice Slice Dinner Chicken , vege and pasta $50 Menu – Day 7 Breakfast Poached Eggs on Toast Lunch Cheese Salad Sandwich Dinner Tuna Filled Spud 25 menu  Day 6 Breakfast Porridge Lunch  Cheesy Pasta Bake. This turned out really yummy.   In a pot I boiled 1/2 cup of pasta and 1/2 cup of mixed vege until not quite cooked […]

$50 Fortnight Week 1 – Day 5 Breakfast Souffle Omelette I really enjoy souffle omelettes. The fluffiness of the eggy mixture coupled with a bit of cheese and veges is just a joy to start the day with 🙂  It just seems so much more than 1 egg. Lunch Quiche. If I had given this day’s meal plan more thought, I would not have quiche after having eggs for breakfast. Dinner  “Tex Mex Rice Slice” I invented this combination a week or so ago when I discovered the range of rice […]

I am posting twice today as I seem to have lost a day and am getting myself confused 🙁 I am having meals from both meal plans and getting myself in an all mighty mess.  I twill be easier when I go back to just one menu plan 🙂 $50 menu  Week 1 – Day 4 Breakfast Poached Eggs on Toast Lunch Mince and Vege on toast. This was a few tablespoons of the delicious Campbells Meat Sauce and a cup of mixed vege. Heat until nice and hot and serve on hot buttered toast. Dinner Quiche   $25 menu   Week […]

$50 fortnight Week 1 – Day 3 Breakfast Baked Beans on Toast Lunch Toasted Cheese Sandwich Dinner Stuffed Spud. Today I had my spud stuffed with  mixed vege and a couple of tablespoons of Campbells Spaghetti Sauce with Beef.   OMG it was tasty.  When I was making it,  I had thought that if I wasn’t sticking to the budget, I would have added cheese, but on tasting it, I am glad I didn’t add the cheese, I did not need it at all.  Maybe a shave of Parmesan, but cheddar would have […]

I will diarise both meal plans into one post each day. Otherwise you will all get mightily sick of multiple posts. 🙂 $50 fortnight Week 1 – Day 2 Breakfast Scrambled Eggs on Toast Cup of Tea Lunch Leftover Chicken Carbonara from last night Dinner Tuna Rissoles with Vegetables Served with Salad These were super tasty. In a pot boil a small potato and a 1/2 cup of mixed vege. When tender, remove for the heat and mash well with nothing added ( no butter or milk)  You want quite a dry […]

Day 1 Breakfast: Baked Beans and Toast Lunch: Quiche Dinner: Chicken Carbonara  In a pan sautee some chicken and onion in butter Add 1/2 cup of milk (or cream if you have it) Bring the milk to the boil, then add a cup of cooked pasta. While the pasta is still warm, crack an egg into the pan and stir gently until it makes a thick sauce. Serve.   […]

I am doing 2 menus this week.  The Week 3 $25 menu plan and also the 1st week of the $50 fortnight.   All meals that are photographed, I did actually cook.  Sometimes there will be repeat photos of dishes that repeat (Beans on toast, Poached eggs  leftovers for lunch etc) $25 per week Stand Alone Menu 3 – Day 1 Breakfast Porridge  (disclaimer I did NOT cook this.. Honestly porridge is just something I just cannot eat, but I know a lot of people do and it is a very budget friendly […]

Well the $25 a week challenge has morphed into a $50 per person a fortnight challenge. I have had quite a few comments saying that people would prefer a fortnightly shopping list as that is how Centrelink is paid. I do think this will be slightly easier as we can now take advantage of some bulk buying. Hopefully we can start building a bit of a  pantry stockpile.  Once again, for this first week, I have started from scratch.. Any carry over food items will be noted in next fortnight’s […]

Wow  what a week… Than you so much for all your comments and  encouragement. This week saw a lot more variety and some red meat.   Looking deeper into the supermarkets, I can see it is difficult to incorporate red meat into a stand alone $25 per week budget  🙁    I know I am particularly blessed to live in an area where we have lots of quality bulk butchers around us.  Consequently we eat lots of red meat at a budget price… we are most definitely carnivores here 🙂 For those of you […]

YAY!!!   Friday…. Easier day today meal wise as a lot of the prep has been done earlier in the week. Breakfast Poached Eggs on Toast Lunch Leftover Chicken and Rice from earlier in the week. I had this in the freezer and just took to work and microwaved until hot. Dinner Meat Pie Back on Wednesday, I cooked up the last of the mince. That night I made the rissoles for dinner, the meat patty for Thursday’s Burger and the mince mixture for my pie for tonight. I figured it was easier to […]

Sorry people…  Life and work got in the way.   Anyway…some new posts coming up for you..  🙂 Breakfast: Baked Beans on Toast and Tea Lunch: Burger Meat patty on toast  spread with a tablespoon of tomato from your tinned tomato, add grated carrot, salad leaves and an egg. Dinner: Chicken Casserole. In a pan seal some chicken pieces in butter along with carrot and onion Add in 1/4 can of tinned tomato and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrot tender.  In the last […]

Check back tomorrow for next week’s meal plan.  Also, did you know we are on Facebook? click here to go to our facebook page and like the page to get updates in your feed. Menu Plan for the day… Breakfast Scrambled Eggs on Toast Lunch Cheese Salad Sandwich Dinner Beef Rissoles with  Vege with Gravy I have used the last of the mince today.  (I also cooked up the mince for my pie for later in the week, but more about that in the coming days) After adding a chopped onion and a […]

Nice meals today 🙂  I am liking this way of eating.  Simple, clean food without too much fuss.  Cooking is a breeze, with any meal taking no more than 15- 20 minutes to serve up. Creative thinking has seen me have more variety that I thought I would.  I have a couple of good ideas to come in the coming weeks, so stay tuned 🙂 Today saw me feasting on:   Breakfast Baked beans on buttered toast Cup of tea and milk Lunch Egg and Salad sandwich Cup of tea and milk Dinner Diced chicken and onion […]

Arrrgh!!!   Disaster.. Well no not really. I went to look for the picture of the really delicious filled potato that I had for dinner last night and my phone has eaten it.  sigh..the price of technology.   Menu today.. Breakfast Poached eggs on toast Lunch Leftover Stroganoff Dinner Baked Spud  Cut a large potato in half and bake or microwave it until tender. While the potato is cooking, fry off mince and diced onion in a pan over medium heat. When the mince is cooked, add a good tablespoon of […]

I have a confession to make today.  It is Fathers Day and we are going to visit the family for lunch today.  I had  baked beans for breakfast, then baked the quiche with dinner and will have the quiche for breakfast tomorrow.  I will show the menu plan as having quiche for lunch though.  Does that make sense?  🙂 Breakfast: Baked Beans on Toast Lunch: Vegetable Quiche In a single serve pie dish, place one piece of bread buttered on both sides. Dice onion, carrot and broccoli into very small […]

Here we are again for a new week.  I do appreciate the positive feedback I am receiving for this challenge.  It is certainly making me look at the supermarket shelves in a whole new way.  Some of the aisles are ones I have not really ventured up for years. One comment I received was the the packet pasta and rice was a very expensive way to buy a cheap item.  I agreed, but then thought about it for a while and priced out stroganoff made form scratch vs the packet mix. Pasta 1 cup (1/5 65c […]

Imagine for a moment you have nothing in the kitchen,   no pantry staples, no extras…nothing.  Could you feed    yourself a varied and healthy(ish) diet for one week with    just $25.00 ?  Follow my trials to see how I do.   The shopping list for this weeks menu plan came in at $24.98 There is no plain dried pasta this week!!  I have managed to buy some fresh vegetables.  I took advantage of the “odd bunch” of carrots and bought a full kilogram of carrots for […]

Well what a week. !! I proved to myself that it IS actually possible to feed yourself on just $25.00 per week. I must admit though that I need a bit more variety in meal choices than pasta every day. I have not starved, in fact I have food left over. I have 9 teabags left , a full bag of pasta, 1/2 bag of mixed vege and 2 slices of cheese. Now that is not necessarily a good thing. It probably means I had too much pasta and not enough vege for each meal.Each of the meals was 1 cup of each. The […]

Here we are the end of the first week.   On the menu today we have…   Breakfast 2 x poached eggs on toast   Lunch A cheese and salad sandwich   Dinner  A “Bacon Burger” made with the crusts of the loaf of bread, cheese egg bacon and a tablespoon or so of tinned tomato.  I should have kept a few salad leaves for this too, but did not think of it.     […]

I am enjoying this challenge.   Here is my shopping list and menu plan for Week 2.  There is a bit more variety this week. I hope you will follow along with me again next week.  Stay tuned for the update after I shop when I will update the list with the actual amount spent.   […]

On the menu today… Breakfast  2 eggs scrambled with a cup of mixed vege that I heated through in the microwave before adding to the pan.  Served on hot buttered toast and a cup of tea. Lunch A cheese and salad ( spinach, carrot and cucumber)  This was a busy lunch at my desk today 🙁  Not sure I even managed a cup of tea until later in the day. I keep a bottle of water on my desk so am always sipping away. Dinner Pasta with 1 cup of mixed vege and the last of the tin of tomatoes (although […]

On the menu today we have: Breakfast; Bacon and Egg on toast ( the same as Monday hence the copied photo) and the ever present cup of tea 🙂 Lunch: Tuna with pasta, beans and tomato Dinner: Chicken,  pasta and vege in soup sauce Today’s cooking prep was easy.  While my breakfast was cooking I boiled up a cup of pasta ready for lunch at work.  Once cooked, I put the pasta in a microwave container along with the second half of my tuna, the last 1/3 of can of bean mix and 1/3 can of tomatoes. […]

Another work day. The menu today is: Breakfast: 2 x poached eggs on hot buttered toast and of course the ever present cup of Tea 🙂 ( I am MOST impressed with myself that I managed to get my eggs onto the toast without breaking them.  I was expecting to destroy them because I needed to take a picture 🙂 Lunch: 1 x Cheese sandwich (which I toasted) Cup of Soup.   (I am actually pleasantly surprised with this home brand soup.  I would not ordinarily buy this as they have been, in the past, far to […]

Back to work today 🙁 The fact that I remembered to take my lunch to work is a miracle in itself. We have a well stocked kitchen at work  with a lot of leftover meals in the freezer. So lunch is usua;;y “something” from the freezer heated through in the microwave. On the menu today we had: Breakfast Bacon and eggs fried in a little butter. Serve on top of buttered toast Sprinkle with a little bit of chopped spinach leaves to make it look pretty !! Team with a cuppa and you have the […]

Woke up to grey skies, so a lazy Sunday is in order today. Breakfast is two eggs scrambled on top of hot buttered toast. ( I added a couple of spinach leaves just to “MasterChef” it up.  🙂   Along with a cup of tea, it is a good start to the day. Simple lunch of “Pizza” and a cup-a-soup. “Pizza” is a piece of bread toasted on one side only to create crisp base.  If your toaster cannot take a double piece of toast, you can toast the bread on one side in a […]

Today is the beginning the meal plan.  I am excited 🙂 I have made a couple of decisions to aid me in making sure everything lasts the week. I will measure out out 300ml of milk to use each day.  Now, my math tells me that 7 x 300ml is 2.1L and of course I only have 2L, so the sneaky plan is to take out 100ml of milk from the carton, top it back up with 100ml of water.  Voila!! 2.Ll of milk that you cannot taste any difference with. I have put 7 teabags out near the kettle and will keep track of […]

Here is the update of my shop. You may notice the column labeled “Actual (Deemed)”  If a price is in RED, that indicates an item that I have not actually bought because I have the same product already at home. I had budgeted for Tea Bags @ $2.57, but I took advantage of the special on Nerada tea at $1.99  I have Liptons currently at home, but only because they were on sale a few weeks ago.  My tea varies between Liptons, Bushells and Nerada depending on what is the best special on […]

Here is the update of my shop. You may notice the column labeled “Actual (Deemed)”  If a price is in RED, that indicates an item that I have not actually bought because I have the same product already at home. I had budgeted for Tea Bags @ $2.57, but I took advantage of the special on Nerada tea at $1.99  I have Liptons currently at home, but only because they were on sale a few weeks ago.  My tea varies between Liptons, Bushells and Nerada depending on what is the best special on […]

Week 1….Shopping List and Menu Plan After spending the morning on the Woolworth’s Online site to gather pricing information, I have come up with this shopping list and Menu Plan.   I will update this with actual prices and photos of purchases tomorrow after I have actually done the shop. Shopping List Menu Plan    Loading the entire shopping list into Calorie King produced the following nutrition report. It shows that the kJ count is slightly OVER my ideal.  (52984 vs 50666 ideal) I […]

A post popped up on LifeHacker this week regarding a journo who had pondered the question back in 2010 if he could feed himself for the price of a cup of coffee per day. The figure he came up with was $25.00 for the week. (Read the original 2010 article here.) He  revisited this idea as to whether or not he could still do it in 2015.  (read the follow up here.   his conclusion was he could not buy his original basket of food for the $25.00. That got me thinking….. Is it possible to feed […]

Week 1….Shopping List and Menu Plan After spending the morning on the Woolworth’s Online site to gather pricing information, I have come up with this shopping list and Menu Plan.   I will update this with actual prices and photos of purchases tomorrow after I have actually done the shop. Shopping List Menu Plan    Loading the entire shopping list into Calorie King produced the following nutrition report. It shows that the kJ count is slightly OVER my ideal.  (52984 vs 50666 ideal) I […]

A post popped up on LifeHacker this week regarding a journo who had pondered the question back in 2010 if he could feed himself for the price of a cup of coffee per day. The figure he came up with was $25.00 for the week. (Read the original 2010 article here.) He  revisited this idea as to whether or not he could still do it in 2015.  (read the follow up here.   his conclusion was he could not buy his original basket of food for the $25.00. That got me thinking….. Is it possible to feed […]

I recently found an awesome site. http://www.mindmovies.com/ The idea of a mind movie is to take the humble vision board a step higher. By making a movie or even a powerpoint presentation you create a moving visualisation of your desires and project them to the universe. By watching my mind movie daily, wealth, joy and abundance will surely manifest itself. I hope you enjoy my mind movie […]

I have found a great app for my phone that gives me positive affirmations everyday. Master Mind Today’s is…   My potential is unlimited What does that mean to me?   It means I can and will be whatever I desire.   I need to stop limiting my thoughts based on others.  eg:  I thought I would not be able to travel as much as I desired, because DH is not a great fan of airplanes.   Then I looked up the cost of first class tickets…and guess what, they were not as scary as I had […]

  More about ACTION   I have been doing a far bit of reading about what ACTION means for and Abundant life.   I have concluded that Action must be deliberate and considered.   Many people point out a duck or swan…sitting calm on the surface but paddling madly underneath.  The analogy seems to mean that active, successful people are actually in a mad turmoil.  I see this as incorrect.   If you were actually LOOK at a duck or swan their webbed feet move in a deliberate, […]

Action!! I have been listening to Bob Proctor’s “Success Principles” CD’s this week. I will share with you the lesson of ACTION!! As Bob points out in this lesson, we cannot have the abundance we seek without action.  We need to have the idea and the vision – but without Action it is not going to happen. How often do you hear “If only I could win lotto” or  “If I just had a better job” etc etc etc.  BUT do these people take action to move towards their goals??  9 times out of 10 the answer is […]

Once in a while the universe will give you a serious reality check. This week the universe made me realize that I am truly blessed with a life at all. After returning from a memorial service for a young friend of ours who sadly passed away at just 29,  I turned on the TV and was “channel surfing” when I landed on Oprah .  She was talking to an ex-model who said… “ Aging is a privilege not a birthright.” What a powerful message….. My  invitation to abundance today is for personal relationships. […]

Today I am having an abundant day with friendship. My heart will be lifted today with a very social day. Today’s mantra is Laugh, Love and Abundance […]

How can I invite abundance if I don’t know EXACTLY what I want.?? Today’s post comes about from a discussion with my husband about abundance. When I asked him what  Abundance meant to him he answered “Winning Lotto” This is how the conversation went….. Me:  Great why? Him:  Because I would have a million dollars. Me: What for? Him:  For whatever I want. (getting cranky now) Me:  What do you want? Him:  I don’t know….a million dollars Me:  But what would you do with it- what would you do         […]

Following on from yesterday’s post about belief,  I find that a vision board helps me focus on how I imagine my abundance and helps me trully believe in what I am inviting. I have been making “vision boards” in some form for years before i knew what they were.  My school diaries were littered with pictures of things I dreamt about.  Whether it was a cute new top or my first little bomb of a car. My current vision board has not been updated in quite some time and to my […]

Today’s mantra is BELIEF I read an article recently that said… “In order to receive we have to feel that we deserve to receive” This got me thinking…do I really believe that I deserve true abundance?? I ( like a lot of people) have had friends and famiky that have tried to squash my dreams and aspirations. After a few decades this is bound to sink in and affect the psyche. How to break the cycle of limiting one’s own dreams?? To affect lasting change in our […]

That is the loaded question 🙂 According to the dictionary… .–noun 1. an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain. 2. overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart. 3. affluence; wealth: the enjoyment of abundance. For the purposes of this blog, my “abundance” is to have an abundant life. I am inviting an abundance of love ,wealth and happiness. I am starting by giving thanks for the abundance i already have. Thank You for great friends and […]