Review & Save

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I have most of our regular expenses set up so that receiving and paying them requires the minimum amount of input from me.  This means that we receive as much as possible via email and many of the payments are direct debit.

One downside of this ‘set and forget’ arrangement is that it is easy to lose track of exactly what you are paying for.  It is important to regularly review plans and contracts and make sure that they are still meeting your needs.  Telecommunications is one area where plans are constantly evolving and being upgraded, however, if you do not ask you will be left on your existing plan.  It will still be as good as when you originally chose it but may be lagging behind newer options.

Yesterday I looked at our home broadband, mobile broadband, home phone and 1 mobile phone.  Both our home and mobile broadband are with one provider while the telephones are with another.  Our telephone provider had contacted me several times about bundling our broadband as well, however, I did not capitulate to the sales pitch and decided to research it all on my own terms.

Firstly, I contacted our internet provider and although the plan I had was the best available for us I discovered that they could upgrade us to a faster speed (about 6 times faster) at no extra cost.  Naturally, I agreed to that suggestion.  I also confirmed that I could maintain the mobile broadband even if I happened to choose to change my home broadband.

Next, was some research about the bundled products from our telephone provider via their website.  I discovered what a good deal I had with my existing provider as I had more download and greater speed at the same price as their bundled offering.

My other concern was that our most recent telephone bill showed that we had exceeded the data allowance on our ‘smartphone’ so had incurred some additional costs.  I rang the company and discovered that the $29 capped plan advertised on their website is superior to the one we have had for about 15 months.  The call and data caps are $300 and 400Mb per month whereas we are paying the same price for an ‘old’ plan which includes $150 of calls and 200Mb of data – exactly half of the service for the same price!

I am in the process of finding out how much time we have left on our contract and what the penalty would be for breaking it because I think it is likely that the penalty will be less than the risk of exceeding our data cap again for a month.  If that is the case I will accept the penalty and upgrade the the newer plan.

It definitely pays to spend some time reviewing your regular expenses and seeing whether you have the best arrangement for your circumstances or simply if the current plan offers value for money.

Do you check what you are paying for from time to time?

Neglected

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It is about 10 days since I last posted and I have absolutely no excuse.  I have had the topics in my head and time to write but the will has been totally lacking.  I even got as far as opening a page and putting a title on it, however, the blank page has defeated me several times.

I am finally working on a post which I will post later today and hopefully there will be more to follow in the coming days.

Edible & Spreadable

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What do you spread on your sandwiches?  Butter, margarine, something else or nothing at all?

I used to buy margarine without giving it a great deal of thought, however, about 18 years ago I changed to spreadable butter that I make myself.  My reasons are several:

  • Eliminate non-recyclable waste (margarine containers)
  • Health benefits (margarine is simply a chemical cocktail)
  • Easier to spread than pure butter
  • Know exactly what the ingredients are

2012-07-15 01This is the recipe.

SPREADABLE BUTTER

500g butter
250ml oil
150ml water
3 tablespoons skim milk powder

2012-07-15 02Allow the butter to soften but not melt.  Beat butter using a mixer or food processor.  Combine the other ingredients in a jug and stir well to dissolve the milk powder.  Gradually add the mixture to the butter while continuing to beat.  Beat for another 1 – 2 minutes until white and creamy.  Spoon into containers and refrigerate.  This made almost 1500ml so it is really quite economical.  Actual costings would depend on the type of oil that you use.

2012-07-15 03I generally keep one container in the refrigerator and freeze the rest because we do not use a lot of butter and it will go mouldy/rancid if stored for long periods in the refrigerator.  I use Pyrex glass containers as they can be put in the freezer and I am constantly trying to minimise the amount of plastic that I use for storing food.

2012-07-15 04This mixture can be used instead of butter in cooking and baking.  The only exception I make is pastry as I prefer to use ‘real’ butter for that.

The type of oil you use is entirely up to you.  I choose to use locally grown and produced organic olive oil which I buy in bulk at the Co-op in Maleny.  Olive oil does have a distinctive flavour so you may prefer something more bland such as rice-bran oil.  I do not consider canola oil as an option as most of the commercial crop is genetically-modified and I prefer not to use foods that contain GM products.

This is not a totally zero-waste exercise but it is certainly better than all of the margarine containers that you would otherwise use.  I take my glass bottle to be refilled with oil.  The butter wrapper is used to grease baking trays or line cake tins and then goes into the compost.  I buy skim milk powder from Aldi in a 1 kg non-recyclable bag, however, I have recently discovered that I can buy this in bulk from Simply Good so will be doing that in the future.

Creative Play

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Today I want to share a tried and true toy with you.

Construction set
This is a construction set which my parents bought when Belle and Missy were young.  They enjoyed creating things with it and the set was used by other children as well.

When my mother was downsizing a couple of years ago, I brought it home.  Last year I brought it out for Miss O and Izz.  It has been really interesting to see how their use of the pieces has developed and increased in complexity over that time.  They love this set and it is almost the first thing they ask for when they come to visit.

Packed in a box
It packs away easily into a masonite box and I keep it in the wardrobe in my sewing room.

This set is about 25 years old and was made not far from where we live.  I suspect that it is no longer produced, however, it is a very simple principle and one that you could do yourself.

Instruction sheet
This is the instruction/ideas sheet which is very fragile and unfortunately was ripped by a bit of juvenile enthusiasm.

There are many simple, self-directed play ideas which are valuable for pre-school children.

My New Toy

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I had another post half written but I just have to show you my latest acquisition.

It is a cast iron Dutch oven that I bought from Aldi for $20.  Today we parked at Beerwah to catch the train so we could go to Aldi on the way home to buy some cat food, milk and ice-cream. Of course, while we were there The Duke had to have a browse at the items in the middle section (not food) and saw these.  Normally, I would have said that we did not really need one, but 2 days ago I had read this post at Down to Earth about making artisan bread in a Dutch oven.  So, we are now the proud owners of this.

2012-07-13 01Here it is with the lid off.

2012-07-13 03It is a 4 litre capacity so I am sure it will be used for reasons other than making bread.

2012-07-13 02This was an unplanned, spur of the moment purchase but I do not think I will regret it.

Making Progress

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It is amazing the difference that a couple of days and a written list can make.

I feel as though I am making some progress now.

Buy travel pants – hopefully The Duke can do this tomorrow
Book appointment to have our tax done – DONE
Arrange remote access to the business network
Buy enough cat and dog food for when we are away – Dog food is DONE – will buy the cat food tomorrow
Check and stock up on my medication – DONE
Complete first draft of information for the house-sitter and email it to her – DONE
Attend specialist appointment re my injured knee – have x-rays, referral and Workcover info ready for appointment on Monday
Cancel another specialist appointment
Pack for trip to Melbourne next week – 3 days of work then 3 days of holiday
Stocktake of food in the freezer and plan meals to use up as much as possible before we leave
Finish quilt for Izz’s birthday
Write list of birthday/Christmas gift ideas for Miss O and Izz
Measure Miss O and Izz with a view to buying clothes while we are away

Here are a few more things that I have thought of and added to the original list.

Organise to borrow a travel clothesline
Book car hire for trip to Melbourne – DONE
Arrange accommodation for trip to Melbourne – partly done
Collate all of our paperwork for tax appointment
Change the linen on the spare beds – DONE
Organise to borrow an electrical adaptor – DONE

Being able to cross things off the list adds to the sense of achievement and produces a sort of calm.  I know I can do it.  I will be completely organised and ready to leave in a little over 5 weeks.

Shopping At Home

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In years gone by the phrase ‘shop at home’ usually referred to mail-order catalogues.  This meant that you could peruse the pages for your choice of everything from underwear to saucepans.  It was a service provided to people who lived in remote areas.  Imagine the excitement when the carefully-chosen and long-awaited parcel arrived from the city stores (Myer and David Jones) to families on outback properties.

Shopping in the comfort of your own home was also a driver of many ‘party plan’ and catalogue businesses.  These included Tupperware, Avon and Nutrimetics, to name but a few.

More recently, much of this shopping activity has been surpassed by buying online.  I have bought things online, but usually only after considerable research.  It makes shopping easy, so easy in fact, that I think some people have accumulated much more debt due to the ease with which they can part with their money or more likely, credit.

My shopping at home, today, was none of these.  I merely walked downstairs to my store-cupboard and replenished supplies which would otherwise have necessitated going to the shop.

2012-07-11 01This morning there was no cereal nor much psyllium husk which I have on my cereal.  So I headed to my cupboard and picked these two buckets.

2012-07-11 02Here are my pantry containers refilled.

2012-07-11 03This afternoon I ‘shopped’ again – this time for raisins and sultanas as I wanted to make a boiled fruit cake.

2012-07-11 04Having a store of staples means less trips to the shops which in turn saves time, petrol and opportunities to spend money on other items.  It makes sense to me to have a supply of goods on hand in case of a range of possible emergencies or disasters.  As well as food I keep a supply of other items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and soap.

Do you keep a stock of foodstuffs or other items?

Time to Tackle ‘The List’

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With less than 6 weeks now until we head off on our trip it is time to really focus on what needs to be done.  The only way I can confidently achieve what I want to do in a specified time-frame is to have a list.

For the past few days while I have been busy with Miss O and Izz, I keep thinking of things I need to do.

Here is the beginning of the list:

Buy travel pants
Book appointment to have our tax done
Arrange remote access to the business network
Buy enough cat and dog food for when we are away
Check and stock up on my medication
Complete first draft of information for the house-sitter and email it to her
Attend specialist appointment re my injured knee
Cancel another specialist appointment
Pack for trip to Melbourne next week – 3 days of work then 3 days of holiday
Stocktake of food in the freezer and plan meals to use up as much as possible before we leave
Finish quilt for Izz’s birthday
Write list of birthday/Christmas gift ideas for Miss O and Izz
Measure Miss O and Izz with a view to buying clothes while we are away

That will do far a start.  I will update you as things are crossed off.  I find it much easier to have a written list than to have ideas floating in and out of my head when I am least able to deal with them.

Cut Out the Middle Man

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Firstly, my apologies for no Project Streamline post this week.  My busy day yesterday did not include photographing the next lot of clothes so tune in again next week when we hopefully reach the end of the wardrobe confessions.

Meanwhile, I wanted to tell you about some more clothes that I acquired last week.  Don’t worry I am sticking to my plan of keeping a minimalist wardrobe.  One of my work colleagues decided to get rid of a bag of clothes destined for the op shop which had been sitting under her desk for over a year.  I am not sure why taking them to the op shop/donation bin was so difficult but I generously offered to drop them off for her.  When handing over the bag she lightly suggested that I could check if there was anything I could use.  Most of my work colleagues are aware that I sew and refashion clothes.

I selected the following items and so the clothes went directly from her to me without going via the op shop.

This paisley cotton skirt is the first thing I have started unpicking.  I intend to keep the fabric for either patchwork or a summer outfit for Miss O or Izz.  It will depend on what they need.

The fabric from this pink top will go towards my current patchwork project.  The cotton lace is worth saving for when I need it.

I intend to use this pretty border print to make a summer skirt for Miss O.  I love the cool, summery look of it.

Finally, this black singlet top is a very soft, ribbed fabric and I will cut it down to make a singlet for Miss O.

I will post the results when the refashioning projects are completed.

Super Sunday

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Whatever I write tonight will not do justice to all that we have done today.  Miss O and Izz did not wake until almost 8am but it was non-stop until they went to bed at 8pm.  Who knew that 12 hours could be so exhausting?

We started the day with pancakes for breakfast then I did a couple of loads of washing and some sewing alterations.  First up I re-did the elastic in both pairs of pyjama bottoms.  Next was letting down the hem on Miss O’s dressing gown.

2012-07-08 01I also added ribbed cuffs and neckband to Izz’s pyjama top.

2012-07-08 02We left home at about 11.30 and went to a strawberry farm at Beerwah were you can pick your own fruit.  2 buckets and we were underway.

2012-07-08 03The girls very quickly figured out that the best ones were red right up to the top of the fruit.  Izz still needed reminding that it is best to pluck the fruit rather than clutching them in your hand!

I had packed a picnic lunch so the next stop was Glasshouse Mountains township and the park.  We had ham and avocado sandwiches, home-made sausage rolls with our own tomato sauce, home-grown mandarins and freshly picked strawberries.  The playground, complete with flying fox provided heaps of fun and games.

2012-07-08 04Then it was next door to the visitor information centre where the girls discovered a wall puzzle of different dinosaurs as well as an interactive history of the mountains on a touchscreen.  This centre is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Finally, we headed home via a local fruit stall and chose a few things including a pineapple to use on our pizzas for dinner.

Later this afternoon, I made 3 batches of muffins and of course had lots of help.  2 batches were made with added berry yoghurt and coconut which I cooked in small patty papers and they will be frozen and used for snacks for daycare.

Dinner was pizza followed by strawberries, ice-cream and a pancake then it was showers and bed for 2 little people.  After a very busy day we had absolutely no arguments about bed and sleep.

They are not the only ones who will sleep well tonight.

I hope you have had a great Sunday, too.