Just trying to reply to some recent comments here, cause I'm not sure if people are reading the replies to comments I have written on older posts.
What is the protocol for replying to comments btw? Personally, do you come back and check previous posts or are follow-up comments e-mailed to you if you commented? Is there even that choice on this blog? Sorry I can't tell. Like the word verification thing, that never came up for me when I commented here, but it was on for other people.
So anyway, here are some recent thoughts on comments people have made.
You'll know who you are so I'm not bothering with names here!lol
Carrying shopping while holding kids is a huge challenge and the main reason I started getting shopping delivered. It was ok when there was just B, but got really hard towards the end of pregnancy number 2 so that's when I started looking around for this type of service. I joined up when my Mum went home when A was just over a month old, and get stuff delivered at least once a week, usually twice.
Along with normal groceries, they also have kits for cooking. Everything you need (and a recipe) for a certain dish is included, and all the veges are cut up for you. It works out more to buy things this way, but it has been a saviour in this household, especially after A was born and I had NO time for preparing. That's the main reason I wrote that my budget would be 8,000 yen while pregnant and after giving birth, because I plan on buying some of the sets each week. You still have to cook everything, just no mucking around with cutting things up and going shopping for a bit of this and a bit of that.
Milk consumption.
And buying shares in a cow.lol
We go through at least a litre of milk a day, more if I use it in cooking, so that's a minimum of 7 litres a week, usually 8. Plus I buy banana milk as a treat for the kids once or twice a week so there's another litre or too just for that. Cosmos sell milk for 168 yen a litre, that's the cheapest I've found anywhere. The delivery people sell it for 198 yen so I normally buy 2 or 3 litres from them if I have an order, and all the rest I buy at Cosmos.
Bread.
Bakeries are dangerous places for me, so I try to avoid going if I can.lol
The whole breadmaker versus buying thing is a hot topic at the moment.
We go through a lot of 食パン, but maybe the breadmaker wouldn't benefit us so much. Well not budget wise, although it probably would taste wise.lol
Rice.
How much rice does everyone go through? And what do you pay for it?
I buy 10kg for 2,980 yen (That's when it's on sale. It's pretty much 3,600 yen wherever you go most of the time, and it's a brand of rice we like). It usually lasts just over 2 weeks. We would be stretching it to the max for it to last for 3 weeks.
And angel card readings.
This is something I have only recently discovered and am a beginner with a capital B. Actually, probably need a capital E, G, I, and N in there as well.lol
I guess it's about getting in touch with yourself. And listening to your inner voice. And trusting instincts. Something I need to do more of. As a very well informed source has told me, angel cards are also called oracle cards, and they are positive cards which you shuffle and place down for a reading and then you try to make out what it is you're being told. Just think オーラの泉.lol Correct me if I'm wrong, Kelly!
I'm not really sure about オーラの泉 as I've never watched it, but you described it all pretty accurately. ;)
返信削除Those kits sound pretty interesting. So the shops make them up every day?
They've just started delivering to our house from coles and woolies, they never used to, and i've considered it except the delivery charge is between 9-12$ and it's cheaper for me to walk the 20 minutes to the shops.
Do you guys have a delivery charge or is it free of charge?
I like to read about all the things you're talking about especially in regards to the budgeting. It's really interesting to me how everyone else does theirs. :)
See, you just had to find a topic to write about that interests you!! :) Writers block solved.
Kelly xx
I'm still following and absorbing!! So much useful information and pretty much like my thinking.
返信削除I CAN'T go to many shops because I walk out with extra stuff and thus blow the budget. Also I don't have so much time and I'd have to drive everywhere so I do my shopping once a week with list in hand and change mid shop if I find a huge bargin
We buy 10kg a rice a month or slightly more often. Like you it is the one we like but only cost around 1900 yen. I would like to have my family eating genmai but that is a battle!
I like the idea of the prepared meals while pregnent and with a newborn. I tried the whole weeks food with a home del company but I couldn't cope as there were too many foods we didn't eat. That's why chooing the foods you like sounds great.
Comment how you like! I always choose 'follow ups to email', you don't get this option because it is your blog!! Put your blog in English it maybe easier to figure it out
We buy rice, about 10kg for a month too, since I do try to cook pasta of potato as 主食 food at least once a week. Last one we bought was about 2100yen.
返信削除Milk I get for 2 for 300yen at Gyomu supa, this is the cheapest I have found for full cream milk. Juice, which we buy a lot of too, I get at the local supermarket, 100% for 98yen. The orange and fruit mix is nice, apple is clear, not as nice. I make up my own iced teas, and drink tap water, but we do buy bottled water from Costcos (33yen/500ml) and try to take it out with us rather than buying drinks when out.
I actually just bought strong flour at Gyomu supa (1kg for 350yen) today, so perhaps the breadmaker bread is not so expensive, but probably not cheaper than cheap 食パン.
The angel cards sounds interesting - good luck with it!
RE comments, I usually come back, or choose follow ups comments to be sent by email too, like Achan mentioned. readers can do that on your blog, but it is written in Japanese, on the right at the bottom of this comment box. I think you can get a similar option for seeing comments on your own blog by going to: Settings>comments>Comment Notification Email (at the bottom of the page)
It says "You can enter up to ten email addresses, separated by commas. We will email these addresses when someone leaves a comment on your blog."
I also look at your side bar "recent comments" when I visit.
I am enjoying your budget/thrifty posts a lot- I have to say I am so bad (I have said it before) and have no idea how much I spend on certain things except for meat. I try to buy meat when it is on special- even if it means putting it in the freezer and then menu planning it in later in the week.
返信削除Milk I buy for 168yen and we go through about 3L a week and sadly that is only for coffee (and sometimes baking)- I have one or two coffees a day but Shun will have up to 5 on a week day (2 before work, 3 when he gets home) and more on weekends. He is a coffee addict!
We make our own iced tea and I drink tap water and everything else I have no idea what the price is. I am trying to even think about rice and I think it is about 1600yen for 5kg so obviously I should be hunting for a better deal! I am seriously thinking about using the PAL delivery service or co-op delivery service though- at least for meat, milk and rice maybe. I will have to look into it further.
Toilet paper and tissues we get from MIL. I have no idea why they have so many but she is always bringing us toilet paper. I am not complaining though as it means I do not have to carry it home!
You work on a weekly budget? I sort of work on a monthly one- and we start from the 25th as it is pay day (SO TODAY!)- I withdraw our supermarket money, the money for the bills I pay at the conbini ( some come straight from the account though), money for shun to buy a teiki if he needs to renew his teiki this month and then our own "allowance" plus an extra 2 man to put in the draw for emergencies and/or hospital/dentist visits. Then I make sure I leave enough in there for our rent, other bills, credit card bill and insurance and then I transfer any extra to our savings. Sometimes I wait a week to transfer it to our savings so that I can be sure all that will be coming out has come out.
Oh as for comments- I click "recive follow up" If I ask a question or I check back in previous posts when I come to comment again next time. I read through a "reader" so I only come to the blog physically if I am going to comment usually.
Kelly:
返信削除The kits aren't normally sold at the actual supermarkets, they're something that you can only buy from the delivery people.
I pay 200 yen a month as a general charge for using the service, and delivery is free if you spend more than 2000 yen. It costs 200 yen if your order is less than 2000 yen. So I just make sure I go over 2000 yen when I order (which isn't very hard to do!lol). Then the total amount for the month is taken out automatically from my bank account the following month.
achan:
That's really cheap for your rice, especially if it's one you like!
I was thinking of looking into the whole weeks delivery thing for after the next one is born. Which company did you use by the way? I know there are a few companies out there and I've recently found one where you can look at the menu and only buy one weeks worth at a time, no strings attached. Was yours like that?
tj-injapan:
Thanks for that info. Your milk and juice is cheap! I guess it makes up for our cheap veges.lol
I found the comment thing you mentioned btw, thanks for the lesson!
lulu:
I have a weekly budget but I also have a monthly budget. Confusing?lol
What I mean is I have 10,000 yen a week to work with, and I try to stick to a maximum of 7000 yen for groceries every week, but sometimes I don't need to spend anywhere near that much, and other weeks I need to spend more. Generally speaking things even themselves out though so that's why I check the average for the monthly figure, not the weekly figure.
Ahh ok, that's not too bad, only 200 yen delivery fee, but even so, even a gap shop it would be worth spending 2000 yen. :)
返信削除Kel we used ヨシケイ. Their service was great. We ordered one week in advance and could quit whenever we wanted. There was 4 or 5 plans to choose from. Partially prepared to fully cooked and then deluxe. They arrived at 4.30pm everyday without fail. I found the meals a little small (or you could say we eat too much!!) but my kids didn't like the food so I had to cook something different for them anyway. I don't like seafood and there was lots of that!! The food was okay for a short period but I was thankful that my hubby was happy to be back eating my cooking!!
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