2014 saving challenge

I know money and saving isn’t often talked about publically, unless you read some thrifty saving blogs, like I do, but I want this blog to cover all different aspects of my life, so I’m going to post about it. Hope that’s ok with you all?

Since moving into my new flat last July I’ve been really struggling to save some money, despite my best efforts. Now, thanks to a couple of different factors, I feel like I’m in a better position to save up some of my hard earned money, for emergencies, for my future, for fun, and holidays. My good buddy Megan introduced me to this challenge just before Christmas, and I think it’s really super, so I am going to share it with you today!

For each of the 52 weeks of the year of 2014 I will be saving some money, starting with £1 in week one (already been and gone, I’m a little late with this I know!), up to £52 in week 52 in December. If you continue upping your savings by £1 a week throughout the year the total you’ll save is an impressive £1,378. Pretty good huh?

If you’d like to start saving now we’re currently in week four, so the total you’ll need to put aside is £10, an easy amount to start on, don’t you think? By next week your little pot will go up to £15, which is great to see adding up!

I’m planning on swapping a few of the weeks around, so by the time it comes to December, which is already a busy month, I won’t be so strapped having to put aside just over £200, compared to what I would be in April for example.

On top of doing this challenge I’m also planning to transfer a monthly amount into my savings account, and regularly emptying my purse of all change and adding to my savings pot!

So, what I want to know is, what are your tips for saving money, and do you save regularly? Also, if you’d like to join in with the 52 week saving challenge, I’ll be posting regular updates about how I’m doing, but you can also read these helpful links!

Image source

Recipe | Chilli hodge podge

I’m not sure this is a recipe as such, more something I made out of odds and ends in my cupboards and I really enjoyed it, hence the ‘hodge podge’, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget it! It’s really healthy too, made of all veggies, so perfect for those trying to be healthy over January, and yet comforting enough to hit the spot on dark, cold, winter evenings.

You’ll need:

Onions//garlic//celery//chilli powder//italian herbs//tomato puree//tinned tomatoes//cannellini beans//quorn mince//bisto gravy//oil

Fry off the onions and garlic in some oil until softened.

Add the chilli powder (lots), italian herbs, and tomatoe puree and give it a good stir.

Add in the quorn mince and allow to defrost and cook through.

Add in the celery and cannellini beans. Give it all a good stir.

Add in the tinned tomatoes. I only used one tin. Keep stirring.

Boil the kettle and put about 3tsp of gravy granules in a mug with a splash of the boiling water to make a paste. Add the paste to the chilli mix and give it a good stir. Did you know bisto granules are suitable for veggies? I didn’t, but the addition of the gravy keeps this a veggie dish but adds loads of flavour.

Simmer away for about 20 mins. Keep stirring, and if it looks like it’s getting dry, add a splash more water.

Taste to see if it needs any extras. I found the taste of celery to be quite strong, so I added loads of chilli and gravy granules to keep the taste none celery-ish.

I served up mine with some carb free mash, inspired by The Londoner (I mashed mine, not blended, but it was delicious nonetheless), and half an avocado, and a sprinkle of cheese. It felt very indulgent and so filling, but actually the only bad thing about it was the bit of cheese on top and the butter in the mash. So a totally healthy recipe in my eyes!

I think it’s a good reminder for me that even when I think I have nothing in the cupboards I can still create a delicious and satisfying dish that totally hit the spot. I need to do this more often I think, and this definitely qualifies as a budget meal!

Resolutions 2014

This year I didn’t publish any resolutions, so looking back on the year I can’t say how well I did or not. For 2014 I’ve got a few things I’d like to achieve, so by posting them here, I hope to make myself a bit more accountable, and have regular check-ins to see how I’m doing.

1. Complete London duathlon with a good time. I have all summer to train for this race, and with just two elements, I should be able to practice the full distance with transitions, to make myself feel fully prepared and confident when I cross the start line in September. I haven’t really given thought to a time yet, but I want to complete it in a time I’m proud of.

2. Continue racing. I love racing, because I love receiving medals. Racing is expensive, if you enter the big ones, but I’m hoping to enter smaller races and get some more medals for my display!

3. Sub 30 mins 5K, and sub 60 mins 10K. In 2013 I managed 5K in 30 mins, and I completed Brighton 10K in 63 minutes. I want to work on my speed a bit more, and try to crush those times.

4. Continue to juice regularly. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m new to the juicing world. However, I think it does work for me, and so I’ll be kicking off the New Year with another go at 5 in 5. I’d like to keep juicing at least one day a week, and to try new juice recipes, and make some up of my own.

5. Cut back on processed sugar. This is probably going to be the toughest one for me to do, because I’m a ginormous sugar addict. Hopefully with the help of regular juicing and a couple of juice detoxes I can cut back massively on how much processed sugar I have.

6. Complete my quilt. I started my quilt back in April/May last year, and have been working on it on and off since then. With the arrival of my new sewing machine, I hope to make some real progress on this, so that by next winter I’ll be able to use it.

7. Hit that number on the scale. We all have a number, I know what I’d like mine to be. I’m hoping that with regular exercise, and regular juicing, and cutting back on processed sugar, I’ll get closer to that number in 2014. It’s all about #teamhealth.

8. Cook a new recipe at least once a fortnight. I’m setting myself a challenge to make more use of my extensive cook book collection, so I’m planning to cook one recipe from it each fortnight. I’ll do a separate post on this, as I’m planning to make it a regular feature on the blog.

9. Save, save, save. I need to budget better, save harder, and spend less in 2014 so I can get the things I want in life long term. This may mean some budget/thrifty posts, making do and using up cupboard basics, and exploring more free/cheap days out locally.

10. Have regular pamper evenings. I love nothing more on a Sunday evening that getting into clean, ironed bedsheets, and lighting a candle with a book. I’d like to expand on this, pampering myself more by painting my nails, and having regular face packs etc.

So there you have it, hopefully not too ambitious, but some challenges too! Have you set any resolutions or challenges this year? Did you set any last year, how did you do?

Image source: Oh so beautiful paper via Pinterest

Budget challenge | Week one

I drew out my £30 for the week on Friday, pay day! I was pretty excited about having money to spend, but also pretty worried about how far that £30 would stretch.

Friday at work I treated myself to a doughnut (60p), it was pay day afterall. In the evening I went to my friend’s house for dinner as she kindly cooked. The evening was cheap as we spent £5 on a bottle of wine and everything else was taken care of. Total spend = £5.60

Saturday I went to a wedding, by far the biggest challenge of the week. I stuck to soft drinks all day, at 90p each soda and lime was my tipple of choice. Not very exciting for a wedding, I know, but it meant that I was wide awake and happy and fun and dancing all night, without the fear of a hangover the next day. I also shared a taxi home with some friends, allowing me to split the cost and came in at £10.50. Total spend = £13.20

Sunday I had planned on a Sunday lunch, but with funds low and needing to last me the remainder of the week I suggested a picnic and walk to my friend. Stocked up with sandwiches, carrots and humous, crisps, apples, and a drink all for £4.26 we set off for a lovely 8.5 mile walk. Of course, no Sunday walk in the sunshine would be complete without a stop at the pub, and with some hesitation I opted for a cider, although I didn’t expect it to be as much as it was at nearly £5. Total spend = £8.76

Bank holiday Monday I knew needed to be a cheap one as nearly all my money had gone already!! I followed a 7 mile run with another 5 mile walk and managed to spend no money. My friend kindly treated me to a Koppaberg mid walk, although I did offer to pay. In the evening after doing all that exercise I was seriously tempted to go out for a Chinese with my friend, but keeping in mind my budget challenge and all the exercise I managed to do I decided not to undo all my hard work and stayed at home instead. Total spend = £0

Tuesday back to work and I managed to get the through the whole day without a trip to the sandwich lady, vending machine, or corner shop. A success in my eyes! In the evening I was desperate to go out for some chocolate, but made do with some frozen fruit in the cupboard as a snack instead. Maybe this challenge will be good for my waistline too? Total spend = £0

Wednesday I needed to get a couple of bits of fruit and veg plus milk to get me through a couple more days at work. I only had £2.44 left for the week so needed to be really careful what I spent. I don’t drink cow’s milk so I knew that would be expensive anyway, at £1.38 a carton. I ended up getting the milk plus some bananas at 69p and decided to leave the vegetables until next week as I still had a big bag of frozen peas in the freezer to use up. Total spend =£2.07

Thursday I did a lot of exercise and running about being active generally, so by the afternoon all I could think about was an ice cold drink. I spent my last 43p on a diet coke and it was glorious. Total spend = 43p

Total spend for the week = £30

Comments?

I actually found this week tough but interesting. It showed me where I normally spend a lot of my money getting little snacks etc throughout the week, so I really had to think in advance about what I needed to spend my money on. I spent nearly all my money in the first three days, so I need to try and improve on that for next week.