budget | Kai Chronicles

I love a good smoothie and in my household, at least one batch is made daily. If I’m in the city, I almost always get a smoothie from BOOST. My favourite is the Gym Junkie!!

However, I’m glad I don’t live near a good smoothie bar because these liquid lunches can be very expensive. When in Perth, I pay approximately $7.50 a pop. If I were to buy one each day that would be $52.50 per week or $2730 per year.

Can you imagine?

I’m sure there are some city slickers who ARE dishing out that kind of cash on smoothies. And better than blowing it on heroin but I am sure my homemade smoothies are much more cost effective.

Here’s what I do to save money on smoothies:

Buy reduced to clear items. I simply cannot pass a mark down on bananas, strawberries or yoghurt. These are staple smoothie ingredients and can be frozen for later use. Frozen smoothie ingredients are better anyway. Most “spotty” bananas are perfectly fine on the inside.

I saved $3.50 on this reduced tub of greek yoghurt.

ta da….perfect little yoghurt cubes for the blender

cool (and cheap!!) bananas

Buy UHT rice or almond milk when on sale. These pantry items will not go off so stock up! Add tins of coconut milk to the list too.
Buy in bulk. Frozen fruits and berries can be pricey so get the most for your money with bulk bags. Protein powders and chia seeds are also better bought in large quantities.

I love mango smoothies

Watch for online specials. I often buy health items from online shops. I love the single servings of smoothie powder from Green Smoothie Co and they do sometimes have sales! They also have just reduced the size of the portions, therefore they reduced the price too!

Yes, I skimp on ingredients but have a kick-ass expensive blender..lol

Do you buy smoothies or make your own? What’s your favourite combo?

Life as I knew it has changed recently. Mr M has enforced a family budget. I totally get it. We were not saving any money and spending was getting out of hand. Anything we wanted, we got it. Well, no more. The foot has dropped.

I used to go to the local supermarket almost daily. And although I do not have a figure to produce (I’m too scared to add up all the EFTPOS transactions on my bank statement), I guesstimate that I was spending $200-$250 per week there. Some people may think this is not much but let me remind you that we are a family of 3 and 7-year-old Master T still only eats toddler amounts of food.

Food costs a lot in WA – in Australia actually. I love my food and I hate having to budget the groceries, especially when eating “healthy” and gluten-free costs more than eating packaged, processed shit. I do understand how people eat fast food daily – you probably can eat cheaper that way. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that’s an option for me or my family because it’s not. It’s a lazy and unhealthy way of life. But eating whole, healthy food takes time and planning.

I am now planning meals for up to 10 days in advance. I am limiting my supermarket visits to 2 times a week only. This has been my first week and I have not mastered this skill yet but I am within my budget. But unfortunately, I will not have any surplus funds – I really thought I would have some extra money to go towards next week.

So, how much is the budget? $150 per week. This is quite a cut and sacrifices are being made. I still want to eat healthy and this budget cut will help reduce the amount of crap I used to buy; not that I bought too many processed items. As mentioned in my last post, I am back to weekly baking, which I love to do. It’s a sure way of knowing what goes into the treats and sweets that my family loves. And, in the long run, it is cheaper.

I’m off now to spend the last $12.80 of this week’s budget. I need to get milk, whole oats, wraps, risotto and mushrooms. I wonder if this is even possible. I hope something is on sale.

Do you have a grocery budget? If yes, do you stick to it?