What Danni Said

I have to credit my daughters for the success of our stringent grocery budget.

There is no way I could have stuck to  spending just $75 a week if there had  been constant moaning, groaning and  bickering at home.

Happily, the girls seem to have adapted easily to the limited choice and staple ingredients that now largely feature in our pantry. I sat down and asked Danni, 17, for her honest thoughts about our changed spending habits. I must say, I was impressed when she recently went to Outward Bound and whipped up a pottle of home-made clove and orange flavoured toothpaste to take.

Danni also had no qualms taking home-made moisturiser to use. So much for brand-conscious teenagers – she really likes the environmental advantages offered by products made at home. I am also proud to see the girls making healthy lunch choices, like scroggin, using cheaply sourced ingredients, rather than relying on expensive packaged products.

So here’s how our conversation went:

What do you think of the $75 budget? I like it.

What do you really think? I do like it, honestly. I don’t even care about it. I don’t even notice it.

What changes have you made? I don’t drink juice anymore, just water and milk. I make do with what is there and make something out of it, not go and buy something new.

What’s the best thing about it? We don’t have mountain-loads of rubbish anymore.

What’s the worst thing about it? I can’t make school lunch fast. You actually have to think about what is going in it.

We used to grab a bar of this and a bar of that. Now we have to make something. That’s annoying – you should make our lunch for us!

What did we do before? We were just like little pigs that ate all the cake and pies, going around in all the rubbish that we made.

Do you want to change back? No. I like saving money and the planet. I’m going to save money when I grow up.

Would you recommend this lifestyle/budget to others? Yes. It will open their eyes.

Next week: What 12-year-old Stevie said.