Stop Grocery Shopping Eating Out Your Wallet!

How much do you spend on your weekly grocery shop for the family?  $100, $200 maybe even $300?  Do you feel as though your grocery shopping is eating through your wallet, leaving you with little to save at the end of a month?  What if I could show you a better way to shop, where you’re guaranteed to get on top of this often missed opportunity to really improve your budgeting, so that you have more money to save or to spend on what you really value.  And you won’t compromise on the quality of your meals – in fact they are more likely to improve!

I started shopping this way when I was on maternity leave with my second baby.  I had wanted to take a full 12 months off work and had to plan for the loss of income during this period, and really tighten the belt and make every dollar stretch.  This was the time that I learnt the most about budgeting… and I’ve made a real effort to maintain the principles now that I’m back at work again.  If we could live off a lower cost of living then, there’s no reason why we can’t do it now.

One book I read at the time gave me fantastic ideas for following the loss leader cycle of supermarket chains specials.  It detailed a method of looking through the catalogues that come in the post or can be found online.  Then start keeping a notebook to record each grocery item you regularly buy, the price and date.  It’s amazing how quickly you can go from not really taking any notice or remembering grocery item prices, to knowing prices and recognizing a decent special.  You may even be able to predict when a particular item is likely to be on special!

Another book I read was Cath Armstrong’s Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing.  Cath describes stacks of practical ways to save money on many facets of daily living.  Her blog is also full of ideas, recipes, crafts, gardening tips and other advice to help you meet your financial savings goals.  You can check it out here.

Now that I have two growing school-age children and I’m working full-time, I have very little time to go shopping.  So I have switched to ordering shopping on line and having it home delivered.  Through Coles Online, if I book a delivery for Wednesday it’s free of charge.  Wednesdays soon sell out though, so I need to make sure I order groceries on the prior Sunday. 

Not only am I able to get free delivery, I have also found that I save a LOT more money by sorting items by unit price and recognizing real value.  For the past year, I have found that my weekly grocery shopping is always less than $120 per week, and I often save $30 - $50 off usual prices!  This grocery shopping excludes fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, as I prefer to buy these from growers markets or our local Farmer Jacks which sells particularly good value local meat. 

This is the method I use for shopping:

1.        Don’t be brand loyal – buy what’s on special, the best value by unit price

2.       When buying an item like flour, sugar, rice etc I buy cheap store brands as they don’t involve a recipe and quality is just as good as name brands.

3.       During the week/fortnight make a list of items that are running out or low that I need to buy.  Have a plan in mind for the meals that my husband or I will cook over the next week, and add items for these meals to the list.

4.       Don’t be loyal to one supermarket … if not inconvenient shop for the week/fortnight where you get the most savings for the items on the list.

5.       Look through catalogues (in the letterbox or online) and check products and prices against my list so that I can determine where I’ll shop for the week/fortnight.

6.       If I’m going to physically shop, I mark the prices next to each item on my list (usually rounded to the nearest dollar) then add them up so I know how much to expect the shop to be.

7.       If I’m shopping online I’ll see the tally of the total value of the shop before I commit to buy.  If I’ve ordered something that’s stretching the budget I have the opportunity to remove it.

8.       I always sort the list of items online by their unit price so that I can easily see the best value.

 

I had intended this year to shop fortnightly, instead of weekly but I haven’t yet been able to make this discipline stick.  I do want to make an effort to do this though, and get out of the habit of a weekly shop, as I think the longer I stretch the shopping trip the more opportunity I’ll have to save.

My last two weekly shops have been ordered online with free delivery, been within budget and show considerable savings on usual prices:

 

Do you have some tips to share about your successful shopping strategies?  I’d love to hear them, so send me a post or comment below or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Meditation - for inspiration, clarity and creativity

Isn’t it strange that just when you start wanting to find out about something new in life, the topic just keeps presenting itself everywhere you look?  This happened to me just recently, when a friend of mind was getting rid of some old books and asked if I would like any of them.  I found one on meditation, which I knew I just had to read. 

 

In many of the books, blogs and articles I’ve read on different topics throughout this year, there has been the common thread of the benefits of meditation.  Whether I am reading about wealth creation, life coaching, career coaching, living slowly and simply, or building resilience the practice of meditation has been attributed to achieving a sense of purpose, de-stressing and refreshing yourself and focusing energy.  I just had to know more about meditation, and find a way to incorporate it into my life.

Most people associate meditation with stillness of the mind, and the Buddhist practice of emptying the mind of all thoughts.  But meditation doesn’t have to be the absence of thoughts.  It is about finding a relaxed state – totally relaxing your body and mind and just being in the moment.  I like the idea that in meditation I can just let my thoughts come and go, without needing to restrict them.  The most important part of meditation is that you let your body completely relax.  Having some thoughts or images to contemplate such as through guided meditations allows any inspiration or messages from the Universe to come through. 

In the book that I picked up from my friend, it details methods for how to get your body in a relaxed state that will enable you to achieve the best results from the meditation.  I like sitting comfortably on the couch or lying in bed, with my eyes closed and taking a few deep breathes, in through the nose and out through the mouth.  Some guided meditations I have listened to ask that you breathe in and out to the count of 5.  Others aren’t so prescriptive about the counting of your breath, just that you notice your breathing ….. in slowly and out slowly…. and that it’s comfortable.  I also get into a relaxed state by making myself aware of each part of my body, from my head to my toes.  When I do this, I feel aware of the tension that I’ve been holding in each part, particularly tightness in my face.  I tell my body to soften, to feel light and gentle and to let go of any tension, relaxing the muscles.  Once I’ve concentrated on each part of my body from head to toe, I then like to use a meditative visualization to move me into a deeper sense of being, and perhaps focus on finding a solution to a particular issue I’m dealing with.  There are heaps of youtube videos on meditation with calming music, or guided imagery.  I like the mediations by Deepak Chopra and The Honest Guys.  Everyone is different, you need to find something that resonates with you, for the results you are looking for.

I have started to set aside half an hour a day for meditation.  Morning works best for me, as I find I’ll fall asleep if I try to do it at night!  I might take just 20 minutes or half an hour, depending on how easy it is to get into a relaxed state of mind and body and which visualisation I choose to do.  Tom Cronin is a finance broker turned meditation advocate living in Bondi Sydney, and on his blog he recommends taking 2 of the 72 20 minute blocks available in the day for meditation.  For a perspective on why meditation is important for mental and physical health, Tom’s story is particularly interesting, and you can find out more here.

There are many known benefits of meditation, such as:

-          Better focus

-          Lower blood pressure

-          increase in creativity

-          increase is compassion

-          Better memory

-          Less Stress

-          Increased immunity

Need any more convincing?  Click here to find out 100 benefits of meditation!

I have found that through meditation I feel calmer throughout the day, even under very stressful situations.  I find that I can communicate more effectively, with greater clarity.  I have also found that when I need to I can create a positive influence on a group of people, such as in the office – particularly when I have sensed tension previously – at home, and even via meetings over the telephone!  I put this down to meditation assisting me to raise my energy vibration…. I’m just beginning to explore this, so more on raising vibrations later!

So why not go on and try meditation for yourself. All you need is 20 – 30 spare minutes a day and the changes to your life can be immediate and significant.  If you have already been meditating I’d love to hear about your technique and how it impacts your life.  You can post a comment below or contact me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .

Being Consumed by Consumption

Material things don’t lead to happiness – we do know this inherently, but so many of us are caught in the consumption trap and find it difficult to get out.  Advertising does a magnificent job of selling in a way that connects people on an emotional level to their products, through feelings like pride, envy, fear of missing out and competitive one-up-manship.  It’s frustrating when we recognise that we have fallen for the lie, and what once felt like an item you just couldn’t live without now sits at the back of the cupboard, unused. 

         Enjoying the freedom of a trip to the beach - it costs nothing but adds to our life immensely!

With easy access to bank and store credit cards so many make the mistake of putting the “I wants”  before “I need”, buying things with money that isn’t even theirs.  In an era when we have so much opportunity to accumulate wealth for ourselves and our families, why is it that we only seem to accumulate things?? 

We consume a variety of resources and products today having moved beyond basic needs to include luxury items and technological innovations to try to improve our lives. Such consumption beyond basic needs is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, as throughout history we have always found ways to make our lives a bit easier to live.  But when the consumption and continual spend results in spiraling debts and traps us in jobs we no longer enjoy, we need to fess up to the fact that our consumption is getting the better of us.

Recognising that we are already abundant is essential to getting off the consumption binge and getting our financial health on track.  Bob Griffiths in his book Do What You Love For the Rest of Your Life says we need to recognise that we already have enough.  He says that a most liberating affirmation that helped him change his perception of the need to accumulate material possessions is: “I will have enough only when I realise that I already do.”

We don’t really need more than we already have!  As Bob says “The reality is that on any given day we don’t need anything except food.  We already possess clothing, shelter and all the other genuine needs of our lives, plus much, much more.”  Another affirmation that Bob suggests may be helpful is “ Today, I have enough; therefore I need nothing.  I desire all that I already have; therefore I have no wants.”

By changing our attitude towards consumption and detaching ourselves emotionally from material things we are taking a step closer to our financial freedom.  By understanding our household budget, we should get to know how much we need to spend on essential items, and recognize how much money we waste on things that don’t make an impact on our lives.  I’m certainly not saying that we shouldn’t spend our money on fun and entertaining activities.  They are essential of course, for leading a truly abundant life!  But discretionary spending on things where at the end of the month you look at the bank balance and can’t for the life of you think where your wages have gone is not wise and needs to stop.

If you have any thoughts on our attitude to consumption, I’d love for you to share them.  You can write me a post or send an email to livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .

Declutter to simplify your physical space and free your mind.

Decluttering!!  Ugh! 

Where do I find the motivation to start?  Should I wait to be in the right mood, the right frame of mind?

There’s no getting away from it.  The best way to start decluttering is simply to start.  And it’s the starting that’s the hardest step, but once I do start the process it seems to just flow and I manage to go from this:

 

To this:

 

I’ve recently decluttered my work spaces, both in my company’s office and in my home office.  And boy does it feel satisfying!  At home it took me about 3 hours to declutter a relatively small room.  The method I used was to create 3 piles of stuff – 1.  To ditch, 2. To file or put away, 3.  To give away.  The biggest pile by far was the ditching pile (why do I keep this stuff in the first place, if all I’m going to do with it is ditch it?)

It seems simple.  Keep your work and house spaces free of accumulating stuff by being organised – a place for everything and everything in its place. But it’s too easy for workspaces, desks and benches to become dumping grounds.  To prevent this from happening after my decluttering exercise I have ensured that I have folders to keep newspaper and magazine clippings for inspiration, and drawers for filing receipts, financial records, invoices and paid bills.

Not only does the space look a lot cleaner, neater and more inviting but there are many other not so obvious benefits of decluttering, including those affecting our health.  The website http://www.inaquandary.co.uk/decluttering-benefits.htm lists these as:

·         You should be able to sleep better in a clean and tidy environment, and spend less time worrying at night.

·         You will feel more energised to start projects and carry them through to their end.

·         You will feel more able to deal with things as and when they happen.

·         You will feel better equipped to deal with life on a day to day basis.

·         You will have more time to pursue hobbies and outside interests.

·         You will be equipped to part with sentimental items.

In his article Declutter Your Home and Your Head, Brian Johnson says “We also have a socially driven tendency to believe that possessing more brings greater happiness. Tackling this assumption can also bring better mental health and happiness. In fact, owning more things brings with it more anxiety about how to pay for, protect and look after them. The simple truth is that owning less is easier than organising more.” http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/sex+relationships/wellbeing/declutter+your+home+and+your+head,16685

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein

If you want to get some decluttering done, I would suggest starting small.  There is an excellent blog page called “Declutter 52 things in 52 weeks Challenge”.  Get inspired and start with just 5 minutes today!  http://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/declutter-52-things-in-52-weeks-challenge/

If you have any tips on decluttering, I’d love for you to share them.  You can write me a post or send an email to livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .