Payday. A whole $289.61 into my account. The electrician's bill finally arrived so I paid it right away, $222.63. Still left with well over $2,000 in the House maintenance a/c.
I had almost $500 in my check a/c so transferred $400 to my FFEF. I now have $2.082 in there.
I went to Knit Squad this afternoon and made a gold coin donation. I also put a dollar from my misc money into my Trans Siberian trip money tin. If I put a dollar in there every week I'll get there in a hundred years! But if I don't start saving something I'll never get there.
And I bought another cabbage and 4 cans of beans at a dollar each. It's a good job I like cabbage, and it can be cooked in so many ways.

New World had whole cabbages at $1.99 which is the cheapest I've seen in years. I bought one and I think I'll get another one, as it lasts for ages.

I put $20 on my bus card and spent $3.84 on bus fares, apart from that it was a no spend day.

I was born on this day 60 years ago, but owing to the number of birthdays I have missed celebrating I am really only 39. Artsenta put on a morning tea for me. The cake probably had some eggs and milk in it, but since they'd gone to so much trouble I had a small piece. Sometimes not hurting people's feelings is more important than an ostentatious display of principle.

I bought some carrots at Veggie Boys for 70 cents.

For the months of July, August and September I am recieving an extra $20.45 a week to cover increased heating costs. I have the heat pump on pretty much permanently in winter, it is bad for me to be cold.

I went to the Caltex gas station today and bought bread and pasta for $8.60. I paid with one of my vouchers and got $1.40 in change. I will buy carrots with some of my cash on Sat, apart from that I don't need anything.

And I found 50 cents on the way home. I now have $5.20 towards travelling the Trans Siberian.

For lunch I made a batter with peaflour and curry powder and added the struggling bean sprouts to make vege pancakes.

It was raining this morning so I caught the bus into town, $1.92. I could have stayed at home and saved the money but I don't intend to be a rich hermit. Part of the reason for having money is to enjoy spending it. The extreme belt tightening is only till my FFEF is built up again.
There was another whole box of apples at Artsenta today so I took some to make applesauce.

This morning at church I was given a jar of homemade relish so I ate some with the leftover communion rolls.
I looked in the Blacks Road greengrocer on my way back and they had bags of aging mushrooms for sale so I splurged a whole $3. At New World I bought reduced price bananas for $1.81 and a 1/4 cabbage for 79 cents.
DS went to a do this evening and got given a Motor Trade Association voucher which he handed to me as an early birthday present. Not sure what I'll be buying at a service station, but perhaps I can give them as thankyous to people who give me lifts.
So the situation at the end of the week is spent on groceries $15.20, in my cash envelopes:
food $11
misc $70
medical/dentist $100
change dish $6.80

Payday. At New World I bought
vege stock powder $2.99
grape juice $2.49
can mandarins 99 cents
flour $1.59
broccoli $1.49
total saved $2.90. The grape juice is for communion. I could get reimbursed by the church but it seems cheap when I get the leftovers.

I went to a farewell afternoon tea today and ate so much grapes and bread and hummus that I wasn't hungry for dinner.

I weighed myself and I have lost half a pound. I would like to lose a little faster so am aiming at 1600 calories a day.

Only one purchase today, a big bunch of kale at New World for $2.80. saved $1.20.

I'm disappointed with Financially Free. It has a little bit about saving and budgeting but mostly about prosperity thinking and acting rich to be rich. A jobless person who's about to get their lights cut off might get the impression they just need to tell themselves "I deserve to be rich", go off on holiday and the money will miraculously materialise. I recommend Stop Acting Rich by Tom Stanley as an antidote.

At PaknSave I bought
can tomatoes 69 cents
can green beans 99 cents
macaroni 75 cents
600 gram cut pumpkin 50 cents. All the other pieces were 99 cents, maybe this one was a mistake but I grabbed it
saved $1.20

For breakfast I had applesauce cake with peanut butter; for lunch potato pancakes and for dinner the rest of the rice and soy meal. This time I put in a chili and it tasted quite spicy.

I'm trying to sprout some adzuki beans but they're reluctant to poke their little heads out this time of year.

I had trouble sleeping last night so got up at 1 am and baked an applesauce cake from this recipe

https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2016/01/29/applesauce-bread-.... I like Jack Monroe as she was once a single mom struggling on a tiny budget and aims her recipes at poor people. Most of them are vegan too.


Gardens New World had a one day sale today. I had a good look for bargains but only wound up buying peanut butter at $1.99 (saved 30 cents) and strawberry jam at $2.29 (saved 20 cents).


I increased the weekly amount going into my bill paying a/c by $10 to cover winter power bills. The latest one I received is for $100.35. Pretty good, but the real frosts are still ahead of us.

And I transferred $300 from my checking account to my FFEF. I should be able to save over $200 a month.

Payday. Today I went to Veggie Boys and bought 10 kilos of brushed potatoes for $8. Getting it home was a bit troublesome. It kept overbalancing my wheelie basket as I trundled along but I managed it. Saved $6 over buying the washed potatoes in the closest supermarket.
Potatoes have a bad reputation among the low carbers but they're actually quite nutritious. This Aussie guy

https://spudfit.com/ lived for a year on nothing but spuds and was quite healthy. Good to know if I'm really struggling. He lost weight too, despite potatoes rep as fattening.

Onto the fourth week of my $20 a week challenge - 49 weeks to go. I blogged the first 19 days at

https://veganonabenefit.simplesite.com/ before running into difficulties and then remembering I already have this blog.
Today I bought cinnamon and ground coriander at the Indian Mart for $4. And from my misc I bought a book at the thrift store for 50 cents. It is called Financially Free: think rich to be rich by Anne Hartley.
For breakfast I had toasted homemade fruitbread with peanut butter; for lunch I made oaty pancakes; and for dinner I cooked up a big barley and split pea stew with the rest of the chard. Enough to last the next 2 days.

I burned the rice and despite much work with the baking soda the pot looks past salvaging. Also I tried my hand at sourdough breadmaking but it turnd out damp inside and not much risen. Si I gave in and bought more yeast.

Yesterday I dropped my watch and it stopped working. As it originally cost me $20 from K Mart 5 years ago, I didn't cry over it. Today I bought another one.

Thanks to walking my legs are in fairly good shape, but the upper half is very weak. I am determined to change that, so I have paid nz$16 for a pair of 2kg dumbells and am working out to a beginners routine with Bob Harper on You Tube. What? me pay for a gym? Well, maybe I will eventually - we shall see how I stick to it.

I happened to be at the other end of town today and while I was there I looked in their local supermarket. Prices are around .10 cents per item lower than mine, but i didn't want to carry a whole load of stuff home on the bus. I did buy 2 kilos of salt for $1.90 and put the saved dime in my change jar.

i got my plumber's bill for $106.44 and went online to pay it right away. I've never been the type to save up all my bills and have one marathon paying session once a month. I pay my bills as soon as I get them so I don't have to keep remembering the due date, and also so I know that the money left in my check account is all mine to spend.

I was charged $7.70 on my checking a/c for Feb. It's all my fault for using my debit card for minor purchases. New Zealand was the first country where debit cards and ATMs were introduced, and we were encouraged by the banks to use them because it was free, whereas the fees for checks and over-the-counter transactions went up. Once we were all happily using them, a .30 cent per use fee was slapped on. I try to make one cash withdrawal for the week and make all my small purchases in cash, but last month I slipped up.

Some people still get free usage of debit cards, esp students and retirees. It bemuses me when I see them paying for a cup of coffee with the plastic. One time I was bemoaning my high bank fees. Quoth my dad, "I don;t have fees because I'm retired." Quoth DS, "I don't have them because I'm a student." No wonder my fees were so high - I was paying for both of them!

I am in the third month of my spending fast, and today was the first time I have bought anything but food. My sneakers were worn out, so I bought a new pair at 50% off. I also went to the library book sale, where i got a book of knitting patterns. That was a want rather than a need, but i've wanted this particular book for a long time, and thanks to a small tear on one page, which doesn't hinder reading the instructions, it was mine for $2.

Had to go to the dentist for a checkup today. Bye bye $136. But now i'm all set to keep my fangs in my head for another 6 months, and thoroughly resolved to avoid sugar.

of Work & Income for medical certificates continue. Paid $44 for one this morning. Also paid an electrician's bill of $51.58. OTOH I found .10 cents, and a friend called round to see the new house bringing a big bag of veggies from her garden.

...costs money. I renewed a prescription today. $25 for the dr's scrawl on a piece of paper and $15 at the pharmacy.

The supermarket down the road from me quite often sells its less than perfect produce at reduced prices. Today I bought a bag of precut stir fry veges for $2. I would never pay full price for that, but it's a good way for me to get a variety of veges, since if I bought all the carrots, broccoli, cauli, onions, mushrooms and zucchini there is a chance they would spoil before I used it all.

Also today I found .10 cents.

I went to the Post Office today to get a change of address form. Alas! user pays now rules and I had to pay $NZ25 to get my mail redirected. Grr.

In: found .10 cents

Out: fruit $4.80

The sales start today, so I avoided going into town as I knew I would be tempted to buy some bargains I don't need. Instead I went for a walk in the park. Unfortunately I came home by the supermarket and wound up buying 2 of my favorite Turkish bread rolls, even tho i have a fridge full of food at home. This makes me realise how much i have got into the habit of spending small amounts on impulse. I need to get back to budgeting and tracking expenses - and leaving my cash and debit card behind when I don't intend to spend.

One loaf of bread ($1), one avocado (.90), one apple (.60), one tomato (.50) and cheese ($3) = one full tummy

I bought bread rolls, apples, cabbage, bell peppers, chard, celery and lunchmeat for $13.50. I won't be eating out this week.

I took this week's $20 grocery money and bought 10 kg rice, 2 packets pasta and 2 cans fruit, all on special for $19.70. And I have left several cans beans and sardines, potatoes, carrot and 1 egg to help spread next weeks $20 out.

I now have enough rice to see me thru the New Year - good job I like it.