Saving money in all day life.

Hello dear followers,

I hope you enjoy the beginning of spring and all the posts we wrote for you. Here are some ideas to save money in every-day life.

In our modern society, we have always to hurry up, but do we really have to or do we think / are formatted to think that?

Maybe it would be good for you circle of family and friends, for the planet too, to slow your pace, your mind, your time?

Here are some suggestions to enter a “slow world” which can be too an economic world! And everybody knows that time is money 😉.

Advantages:

Save time, save money, develop our autonomy, our manual skills, our self-confidence.

Drawbacks:

Can take a little more time at the beginning, can make you seen as a wild, or primitive, or out of modern society, but let them gossip and go your own way!

My first advice:

The 1st advice I could give is to put your TV at the bin, or give it to charity associations. Watching TV is, in my opinion, the more consuming activity in a day. You will save money because:

• You don’t have to pay the tax as a TV-owner,

• You won’t be bombarded by commercial advertisement which make you think that you ABSOLUTELY need a lot of things,

• You won’t have to buy journals to see the programs.

You’ll see you’ll gain a lot of time to look for and to find ways to save money:

• You have more time to cook by yourself instead of buying industrial food (and it’s better for your health and your purse too),

• You can make conserves of fruits and vegetables when it’s the season of and eat them in the winter…

Other advices and suggestions (not exhaustive!):

• Buy in big quantity (for the products you consume the more) and in loose, it will be cheaper,

• Buy by 2 or 3 persons and share if the product / amount is too big to afford for 1 (a chicken or a pumpkin for example are cheaper bought in whole than in parts),

• Always look at the price per kg or per litre of each item,

• Prefer store-brands rather than “big brands”: very often, the product inside the packaging is exactly the same, but “big brands”’ packaging lets you think that the product is better Actually, no way, but you’ll pay 2 or 3 times more expensive,

• Prefer vegetables and fruits of the season: if you want tomatoes or strawberries in December, they will evidently cost much more than in summer when they grow easily and more naturally. And it’s healthier too!

• Use your bike or your feet as often as possible: it’s also good for health!

Specific suggestions to save energy and water:

• Cut off the lights when you’re not in a room,

• Cut off the electric/electronic devices when you don’t use them, for the night…, don’t let them only in veil,

• Don’t take a bath but a shower. The swimming-pools, the rivers, the lakes, the seas and the oceans are perfect for bath 😉.

• If you really want to use the less water possible, you can fill up a bottle with hot water. I often live in wild camping, and I use less than one litre to wash myself, and another 1,5 litres to wash my hair. And I’m really clean after that!

• At last but not least, to cook rice, pastas, lentils…: why do you need to do as written on the packaging and waste a lot of energy to make water boiling you are going to throw out? Try the cooking by absorption, it’s very easy.

o For the rice: measure 1 quantity of rice (+/- 1 glass per 2 persons, a bowl…), rinse in a little quantity of water, throw out this water. Then pour the rice in a pan, add 1,5 quantities of old water, toss a little, cover with the lid on, and then put on the fire. Watch once or twice, and when the water is boiling, toss one time, and cut off the fire. Let the lid on, and wait for 8-10 minutes. The heat will be enough to cook well the rice and there will be no water to throw away.

o For little pastas: measure 1 quantity of pastas. Then in a pan, pour 1,5 quantities of water (often a little less), salt, cover with the lid, and put the pan on the fire. When the water is boiling, pour the pastas inside, toss well, once or twice before the water boils again. Then, let the lid on, and cut the fire.

o For lentils: (green, grey, but not for coral lentils as they cook more quickly): let them dip in water several hours (with a drop of lemon juice or cider vinegar, it will be easier to digest), then rinse and pour 1 quantity of cold water with sliced carrots, onions, garlic, salt, and other seasoners if you want, in the pan with a lid. When the water is boiling, cut the fire and wait for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy your meal!

And you, what are your tips to save money?