Every so often I collect the Cash Pot Payout slips and I try to imagine what I would do if :
I played several combinations of numbers or
If I actually won in one of the categories for which the prize changes every day depending on the multiplier which is "generated" and the number of plays for the day.
So here is some information on one of the ideas which I have jotted down as being a good choice for a big win:
Commit to payments towards electricity, telephone and food for a year (12*700 =$8,400)
Remember these are contributions and are not intended to meet the full amount which is due...
So here is my idea of what my $500 towards the Food would be spent on:
P.S. The electricity and telephone payments are to be made monthly to develop the habit of tracking money and reducing costs as quickly as possible.
1 - 5 "packs" of soup materials; (each item in the pack weighs about 1/2 a pound and the estimated cost of a pack is about $10. Total cost is $50.
Given that there are items which may not last a month in the fridge, I would buy these items weekly. Alternatively, if there is space in the deep freeze, you can peel items like pumpkin and freeze it until you are ready to use it.
This soup is light weight and the actual cost can be increased by adding other items, such as green figs, cassava, dasheen. Examples of items in the soup pack are: split peas, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, garlic, ginger.
Additional sides which can be added are: a sandwich to add some depth to the soup or dessert.
2 $100 - Flour, butter, etc. This is a 10kg bag of flour which can cost about $60, so there is $40 to spend on "flavourings and rising agents such as yeast and baking powder"
3 $150 - Cheese - This works out to 2 pieces of cheese @ about $15.00 each for 5 weeks.
Look at the unit price of cheese and shop around until you get a low unit cost. If there are less than 5 weeks in the month, then you may have a saving of $30. in that month.
I buy cheese on a Wed and I try to not buy extra pieces during the week. The size of the household also impacts upon the use of cheese. 3/4 of one piece of cheese can contribute towards the Sunday lunch, ( a grater with small holes helps in this situation).
4 $100 - Potato, pumpkin, beans - This is about $20 in potato, pumpkin and green beans per week and does not take into account the cost of taxi fare or use of a vehicle. If there are less than 5 weeks in the month, then you may opt to save the 5th week's $20.
Between #1,3, 4, there are savings of $60 which can be put away. At the end of the year, there will be savings of $720 for food emergency money. A Money Market account at UTC would make life easier with respect to keeping this savings separate to your other savings.
I was pleasantly surprised by a colleague who visited on an assignment and he indicated that they use their car on weekends as it was cheaper to use the train or bicycle to work.
Also, once upon a time in my life I lived by buying things according to recipes as I did not know about buying things and winging it towards cooking. Other persons did not readily understand my thinking as I felt less stressed when I had money to be flexible and they felt that they needed to have the groceries to cook according to what they wanted.
5 $100 - Mayonaise refill packs ( about 2) buy as you need it; eggs about 2 dozen again, buy as you need it.
The above represents a contribution towards the meals in the house and excludes Sunday lunches, breakfast and dinner on most days. The items in #4 tend to provide for some of the other meals.
I would add another hundred and twenty dollars $120. and buy about 3 sets of 5 tins of sardine and tuna which would be fillers towards breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on your schedule. (P.S. I got the benefit of a Price Smart card which someone paid for, hence the prices.)
If there are any cans left over at the end of the month, then these can either be used as a saving or "sold" to a colleague with the money being put in the UTC MMF account referred to #4.
I actually had some other options re contributions of $500 towards the home which were:
$250 towards milk for: tea, coffee, oats, cornmeal porridge etc.
$250 towards meat, be it minced meat or pieces of chicken.
The above are purchased weekly to allow for flexibility and discounts which become available at different times.
Enjoy the options and let me know what you think....
Btw, I know that there are many persons who are trying different options to make things different in their lives and this has been part of one of the modifications which we have made in ours...
For some persons, having their year start at another point in time actually works for them as they see their results in a different time and way to others.
Update: April 2, 2018 - I have not stuck to the plan re the food choices, however I have discovered other choices with respect to food, which I may share in another post.
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