Heyo Peoples. 🙂
We've had an... interesting month. One of those months of the unexpected. Our Older Daughter has had a bad run with her MI issues so she's needed extra help, including a 200+km round trip to a hospital for a medical emergency... ow my aching petrol tank...
Also had a "flood alert" which thankfully didn't translate into actually being flooded. Got within our back fenceline, but not into the house. But it was risky enough that we decided we should "prep" and make sure the animals were safe, and as much as possible was off floor level.
We've been eating more frozen meals and takeaway than I like as a result. Like others, I find home cooked meals are nicer, as well as being cheaper and healthier... but needs must. If we're either out-and-about or too exhausted, we still need to eat. Hubby and I have realised that the average "meal deal" from the big-chain takeaways is a bigger meal than we need, but if we buy one pack between us plus an extra or two, it's more affordable, closer to the right size, and if we choose the extras well, slightly healthier. So the meal we got on the way back from the emergency hospital trip, I asked for coleslaw instead of potato-and-gravy (the pack had both that and chips... spuds plus spuds... huh?), and we got pineapple fritters as our "extras". Not super healthy, but it meant there was a serve each of fruit and vegs. Better than meat plus carbs plus oil and salt. 😉
We're seeing our bills creeping up too, especially power. At least over summer that won't be so bad. We don't have air conditioning, we find we can mostly keep comfy enough using fans and a portable evaporative cooler on really hot days, plus we keep curtains closed most of the way on hot days to keep out the heat. On really hot days, we'll often cover them from the outside. We also make good use of wet facewashers around the neck, or kept on hand to sponge down the face, arms etc.
I've got a bunch of seedlings started for our summer veggie garden. I love it that home grown plants can be free, or almost free. I save seed for some favourites, but even buying seeds or seedlings, you only need to pick one bowlful of ripe tomatoes and you've reclaimed the cost of buying the plants. @Pepsimax, I was thinking when you mentioned you only have a balcony, probably your best "bang for buck" is a mixture of herbs, leafy vegs that you can pick as you want them like silverbeet, kale and lettuce, and maybe a dwarf tomato or two? The herbs and greens in particular cost a lot by weight, and are at their best when they're totally fresh anyway. If you like eating sprouts, like alfalfa or bean sprouts, they can be grown in jars on a windowsill, so they're a good option for salad or stirfry "greens".
Coming month is also looking like being financially stretched. I need to do some major decluttering, so while I'm at it, I'm hoping I can find a few things to sell and create a little bit of extra leeway. I'm not good at selling... prefer to give things away and find other means of stretching out some financial breathing space. But I think I do need to focus on selling at the moment. I may also pot up some flowering plants to sell. Spare veg seedlings I like to give away, because that gives someone else "access" to food...but if people want some of my "pretties" for their garden, it's fair enough that they pay for those. 🌺
