I find that one of the biggest challenges to living a thrifty/frugal/smart life is the "little" expenses. The unexpected or unnecessary costs...it is easy to spend $10 or $20 a day with little effort-which ads up to $3650 or $7300/year!
I'm talking about the coffee/softdrink/newspaper you grab at the local shop, the $10 spent on a lunch because you aren't at home or didn't premake something-all seemingly minor costs.
If I handed you $7300 in cash right now, what would you do with it?
My suggestions are twofold-spend meaningfully and spend more time at home. If you don't leave your house every day there will be less opportunity to let that hard earned cash slip through your fingers-plus you will probably find time to do activities around your home which will also save more money. Baking, gardening, window washing-all activities which "busy" people tend to pay others to do...
Have you thought about inviting friends to your home for a coffee morning or afternoon tea? It would cost you less than going elsewhere-and if you find tidying your home gets away from you, then having visitors tends to be a great impetus to get it done!
Showing posts with label entertaining on a budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entertaining on a budget. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Thursday thrift....
Entertaining essentials.
I was thinking back to the early days for His Lordship and I and how little money we had. Our first mortgage, a wedding to pay for, two children with a third soon to follow!
We rarely went out together-we just couldn't afford the cost! With no family nearby we couldn't even afford to pay the teenager down the road to babysit-in fact, we would book my mum a year in advance to stay for a weekend in Decmber so that we could both attend a work Christmas Party!
Sounds like a dull life doesn't it? Nothing could be further from the truth! In those days we had far more dinner parties than we do now!
Friends seemed to love coming to our house for a 3 course meal-all cooked from scratch with very cheap ingredients!
Our street at the time resounded most Saturday nights with lots of laughter as we took turns gathering at one home or another-sometimes it was bring a dish, at others someone or another would host us all
In the years since then our income improved-and at times we became "busy" with the number of social outings to attend. Our children are no longer at home, so babysitting isn't an issue!
Now however, I find playing host at home much more satisfying. Once again I am enjoying cooking those meals for appreciative friends & family-these days the young children playing in the house are our grandchildren and their friends and I couldn't be happier!
It doesn't take much to pull together a meal for people and in this colder weather something cooked in the slowcooker is always a hit!
Pasta, roasts, curries-all relatively cheap to provide and please most! Homemade Pizzas are usually met with enthusiasm by younger generations-especially if they are allowed to assemble them!
What do you do to entertain on a budget?
I was thinking back to the early days for His Lordship and I and how little money we had. Our first mortgage, a wedding to pay for, two children with a third soon to follow!
We rarely went out together-we just couldn't afford the cost! With no family nearby we couldn't even afford to pay the teenager down the road to babysit-in fact, we would book my mum a year in advance to stay for a weekend in Decmber so that we could both attend a work Christmas Party!
Sounds like a dull life doesn't it? Nothing could be further from the truth! In those days we had far more dinner parties than we do now!
Friends seemed to love coming to our house for a 3 course meal-all cooked from scratch with very cheap ingredients!
Our street at the time resounded most Saturday nights with lots of laughter as we took turns gathering at one home or another-sometimes it was bring a dish, at others someone or another would host us all
In the years since then our income improved-and at times we became "busy" with the number of social outings to attend. Our children are no longer at home, so babysitting isn't an issue!
Now however, I find playing host at home much more satisfying. Once again I am enjoying cooking those meals for appreciative friends & family-these days the young children playing in the house are our grandchildren and their friends and I couldn't be happier!
It doesn't take much to pull together a meal for people and in this colder weather something cooked in the slowcooker is always a hit!
Pasta, roasts, curries-all relatively cheap to provide and please most! Homemade Pizzas are usually met with enthusiasm by younger generations-especially if they are allowed to assemble them!
What do you do to entertain on a budget?
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