Here is a film review I wrote published recently in Taranaki Daily News. It is a bit random but there is a stark comparison between the fast shallow way of life – Hollywood Blockbuster, and the more thoughtful, sustainable approach – local doco…
Anyway have a read and see what you think….
I could actually see the cows this morning as I rounded them up for early milking, the end of daylight savings another sign that this season is drawing to a close. I don’t like to whinge because I do like daylight saving but I also dislike blundering around in the dark, which is what I have been doing every morning since the end of September. But it has also been nice ending the day with enough light for a barbeque on the deck and you can’t have it both ways.
Another sign that the end of the season is nigh is a bit of extra energy to be bothered doing something after work for a change, so when Danni suggested she and I go to the pictures the other night I jumped at the chance.
I’d seen the trailers for the romantic comedy Bountyhunter and it looked quite entertaining. The gist of the story seemed to be Jennifer Anniston getting chased around by Gerard Butler who was the Bounty hunter but also her ex-husband. When I see it written down like that, I now question why I ever thought it would be good but I got caught up in the hype. It was Tuesday night, so the tickets were cheap, but we fell into the trap of going along hungry and pigged out a bit at the Candy Bar. So much for the $75 grocery budget that week – should extortionate pop-corn prices be part and parcel of going to the cinema? Mind you no one forced us to buy it.
Laden with ice cream, popcorn and drinks and with the EFT POS card screaming for mercy we settled in and waited to be entertained. One hundred and ten minutes later I was still waiting. All the good bits were in the trailer – there were no more good bits to this movie. It was a great movie trailer – end of story. I left the theatre feeling ripped off. Bountyhunter appeared to have it all, big name stars, action, comedy, stunts but at the end of the day it was violent, sexist, nonsensical, had no continuity and was all 100% hype – 0% delivery.
Jenifer Annistons character, whose name I have forgotten, spent the whole movie looking great in incredibly short, tight skirts and running away from Gerard (man-boobs) Butler, whose name was Milo (which I only remembered because it was the same name as the chocolatey breakfast drink.) If only Jennifer had taken her ridiculously high heels off, then Milo would not have been able to catch her and put her in the boot of his car but alas, she kept her stilettos on and he captured her easily every time. Apart from a few baddies chasing them and Jennifer eventually blowing one of their heads off with an AK47, I don’t think anything else much really happened in this movie. On the way home I remarked – ‘That’s the last time I’m going to the pictures!’
To get another perspective on the movie, I just asked Danni (17) – ‘What did you think of Bountyhunter?’ Her succinct review, ‘Bullshit!’ That girl does not mince her words.
True to form I went back to the pictures less than a week later, this time to the Arthouse Cinema, where you can sit in a bean bag and watch the movie – how cool is that? Prompted by a positive preview in the Daily News, I took both the girls to see This Way of Life, a documentary style film shot on the East Coast of New Zealand over a four year period. Unlike the Bountyhunter this unpretentious Kiwi film delivered on so many levels and still has me thinking about it days afterwards, as amazing, enriching and memorable as Hollywoods Bountyhunter was horrible and forgettable.
This Way of Life follows the mixed fortunes of the Karena family, Dad Peter, Mum Colleen and six kids whose names I could remember, Llewelyn, Aurora, Malachai, Elias, Corban and Salem Ottley-Karena. Narrated by an 11 year old child (Llewelyn), This Way of Life is allowed to unfold with such a quiet subtlety that the whole impact of the story didn’t fully hit me until days afterwards.
This Way of Life has had such a profound effect on me that it is actually a struggle to find words that do the film justice. The storyline follows the Karena family in the Hawkes Bay where they live a natural life style which contrasts sharply to what most people would call ‘normal or modern.’ When asked what he does for a living, long haired Peter Karena replies, ‘I live for a living.’ But to make money he elucidates that he will do ‘anything that doesn’t compromise my integrity.’ In the duration of the film we see the Karena’s lose their house in a suspicious blaze, we learn about the tension that exists between Peter and his step-father, we see them living rough, Mum, Dad and all the kids, including a new born baby, in a caravan and later on, a shed. We feel their happiness as they revel in the freedom offered by their lifestyle, we marvel as little kids race around rivers, beaches and the country side on huge wild horses, we see the sorrow on the lines on her face as Colleen talks about the loss of her unborn child, allowing just two silent tears to fall and we hang onto Peters every word as he articulates quietly (from the branch of a tree) about his love and respect for God, family and nature. This Way of Life drew me in and consumed me in an unprecedented way. I resented the intermission because it intruded on the short time I got to spend with the Karena family. Days afterwards and I am still thinking about the layers of stories contained in the glimpse of the life I saw.
Filmed on a zero budget This Way of Life made me think about what is real and what is not, what is valuable and what is worthless. In stark contrast to the insultingly loud, million dollar, star studded, box office, Hollywood forgettable disappointments, this New Zealand film rises above the rest as an understated triumph. If you get an opportunity to see This Way of Life, make sure you go… then you will see what I mean.
Read More
Just went to Bin Inn and got eggs, barley, rice, mayonnaise, brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, corn starch, sesame seeds, peanuts, sunflower seeds and oyster sauce all for less than $30. I’m having a go at Chinese cooking. I took my own recycled containers and bread bags which I will re-use again and again. What a great way to shop.
Unfortunately I fear Bin Inn is not as popular as it deserves to be and wonder if I will continue to have the option of shopping there in future years. Bin Inn (Bulk food outlets) beat supermarkets hands down as a cheap and sustainable means of purchasing your daily supplies, and as you can tell by my list above, they have a fantastic range of goods available. So if you are lucky enough to have a Bin Inn shop near you, support it. Supermarkets with their expensive pre-packaged goods are a huge trap for the unwary and will suck your resources dry if you are not wise.
I also stopped at the local fruit shop for fresh ginger and called in to the local butcher for some pork. I got exactly how much I needed for my sweet and sour pork dish and didn’t have to pay for pre-packaging. This is definitely the way to go. It is worth it to make a concerted effort to change your habits and shop around a bit. The three stops took no longer than a supermarket run, I spent way less money, enjoyed some friendly local service and did the environment a big favour. Win, win, win. I feel richer in three different ways.
Read More
In order to survive on a $75 a week grocery limit/budget surprisingly few changes need to be made. One of the main keys is simply keeping a running tally of how much you have spent as the week goes by. It is important to do this as it keeps you up to date with what you have left in the cupboard. The decision you make is whether to spend the last $10 on new food or ingredients or make do with what you have left. It is amazing what you can come up with, using what you have. I used honey to sweeten my coffee the other day as I had run out of sugar. The result was perfectly yummy – probably nicer than sugar, so I learnt that honey is an OK substitute and there was no need to go screaming down to the supermarket to re-stock. My kids are learning this too.
On the subject of sugar, for some strange reason I used to stock several different types of sugar in my pre-budget days. White sugar, brown sugar. Icing sugar, raw sugar , castor sugar and honey. Needless to say it all got eaten up once the stringent budget was in place. When I think about it, how ridiculous having all those choices. Obviously there is no harm in it, but it’s not really even practical. Now I will not restock any type of sugar until all sugar/sweetner is gone. Then I go to Bin Inn and fill my own container, which is cheap and cuts down on wasteful packaging.
We do purchase a lot of things unthinkingly and great stocks of food sit in some of our homes untouched for months. Now-a-days we only stock what is required for the week and make sure that is all eaten before buying any more. I sometimes think of struggling people starving in the 3rd world and wonder what they would make of someone having 6 different types of sugar in their pantry. Would they think we were lucky and rich or greedy and stupid?
Read More
I stumbled across this on the net. Loved it so much I thought I’d stick it here for you to enjoy too. Click Read More and follow the link: http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/parenting/community/feature-member-mortgage-free-in-four-years-20100202-n9xx.html?s_rid=xpromo
Read More
Save money, lose weight, be healthy, reduce waste and lessen your environmental impact…
Five good reasons to learn how to MAKE your own cleaning products and cosmetics.
Imagine if everyone picked up on these recipes, the positive impact would be phenomenal personally and collectively.
I’d love to see District Councils all over New Zealand get behind their communities and help these recipes find the way into towns and cities New Zealand-wide and beyond. If everyone benefitted from the simple concept of MAKE-ing their own toothpaste, dishwash, laundry powder, all purpose cleaner etc, as much as I have it would be so positive.
Save money and lose weight are probably on most people’s wish list and here’s how to do it. Slash your grocery budget. Limit your spend and stick to the limit. You will be surprised at what you can do without, and you will be surprised at how quickly the savings pile up. Your whole approach to grocery shopping changes – maybe not overnight but very, very quickly. I am ashamed of what I used to buy and feed my family. It was way over priced, unhealthy and wasteful. I was teaching my children to be excessive and putting them on the road to weight and health problems and financial misery.
My $100 a week grocery budget was hard to maintain in the beginning. When I started making my own laundry powder, toothpaste, moisturisers etc that was when the whole budget turned around. It became so easy to live on the tight budget I shortened the purse strings to $75 a week just for a challenge. That has seen us adopt a mainly vegetarian diet which is turning out to be a bonus in itself. We planted our own vege garden the other day, so will keep you posted on how that goes. So far so good.
So if you have a MAKE franchisee in your area book in for a lesson. It’s quick and easy to learn – anyone can do it. Tell your friends. If you don’t have classes locally order the recipes and books on-line and have a go at home. I can support you by phone or e-mail. You will love it so much you will want to become a franchisee yourself.
Read More
Taranaki Daily News Jan 2010
Traditionally at New Year we make rash promises of life changing policies we intend to introduce for our own betterment. Typically changes last for about five minutes and we fall back into our old habits of overeating, smoking, boozing and laying around on the couch. Last New Year, when holidaying at Opunake Camping Ground, I was struck by great clarity of vision and decided that 2009 was the year to get my act together financially. My family returned to the same camping ground this year and it was time to re-cap and see if that previous New Year’s resolution had stuck.
There is no doubt about it, changes have been made, reflected most markedly by a sizeable nest egg waiting in a managed fund to become a deposit on a rental investment for me and my two daughters. I am amazed at the financial progress I have been able to make by implementing a few changes around the home, changes that on face value look difficult but in reality have proven to be beneficial and positive in many ways.
Because I have chosen sharemilking as a job I am guaranteed if not a decent income, at least access to money to pay myself the average wage. And because I have up-skilled in other areas ie: Artificial Breeding Technician and Diploma of Agriculture, I gain opportunities to secure secondary employment, like tutoring and an AB run, so income is not really my problem (just is there enough hours in a day to fit it all in.) If income is not a big problem and you still can’t save a cent then obviously the fault lies with expenditure and let’s face it, a lot of resources are tied up in other people trying to get that last dollar out of your pocket and into theirs. Just look at the coloured junk mail that arrives in the letterbox every day enticing you to go shopping.
However I am all for for taking responsibility onto my own shoulders, so I can’t blame my lack of funds on advertising even if I am bombarded with messages to spend, spend, spend everywhere I look – billboards, newspaper, junk mail radio, TV… At the end of the day it is me who hands that last buck over the counter, so it is up to me to make sure some of those bucks stop with me.
Marketing is pretty slimy. It can slither up on you and before you know it you truly believe that the $120 face cream is truly going to take those nasty wrinkles away or drinking Coke is going to transform your spotty mates into hot babes and you will all have a great time frolicking in the sun… and if I’m not totally immune to it at my age, how is that going to impact on the younger and less experienced – with phone cards, DVD’s, energy drinks and bottled water draining their accounts it’s a wonder the youth of today have any money left to start with. I’d just like to reinforce here that I make my own moisturiser now $7-00 for two-litres, prefer tap-water to Coke and steadfastly refuse to get a cell phone.
Anyway it wasn’t big ticket items draining my resources, rather the drip, drip, drip of everyday living – namely groceries. That’s why I enforced a $100 limit on my weekly grocery spend, and turned my life around. A stringent grocery budget keeps you out of several places where it is easy to be parted with your hard earned cash. One of these places is take-away shops and the other one is the bottle-store. Giving up take-aways has proven impossible for me. Cutting right back so take-away food has become a treat rather than a given has been more achievable – we are weaning ourselves off. The up-side of being tight fisted is that you constantly rate value for money and ask what am I actually getting for my $10? If the answer is a smallish hamburger bun with some wilted lettuce and cull cow beef patty accompanied by over salty fries saturated in god knows what fat and a sugary carbonated drink… then all of a sudden you are over it.
Same with the booze. I can’t justify chucking bottles of wine in with the groceries willy-nilly when the kids aren’t allowed biscuits and ice-cream any more so I just stopped doing it. After a year of drinking milk and water it’s enlightening to realise you don’t even miss alcohol. I have a cup of tea at night now if I feel like a drink and it is rather lovely. I’m glad the dreaded hangover has become a thing of my past, my liver is also glad.
Weight loss is another battle we don’t always win. A strict grocery budget certainly helps. Most treats are fattening. I’d definitely recommend frugal food shopping as a sure-fire way to, if not lose weight, at least stop it from creeping up on you as it tends to in middle-age. I now fit clothes that I haven’t worn for years which is pretty cool as I still love those clothes and it was like getting new ones but for free.
Another advantage of my last year’s resolution is that it has made me aware of others. Being on a self imposed spending limit makes you consider those less fortunate. On a global level, the ones who are grateful for any food at all just to survive, and closer to home, people in unfortunate circumstances who rely on charity. One small change I have made, that never entered my head before, is to donate a food item to Foodbank every time I shop. I can do that on a $75 grocery budget but never when I spent $300 a week on groceries which is food for thought.
So this New Year, encouraged by the success of last year’s resolution we have decided to: Stick to the budget. Convince a bank to let us buy that rental property. Consider second hand clothes before buying new. Steer our diet towards more vegetarian options. Recycle our rubbish. Go for a walk down the beach every night with the dogs (weather permitting). It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Read More
Natural remedies solve son’s eczema
By MARGARET PHILLIPS
WHEN Justine Reihana’s youngest son, Renata, was a baby, he suffered so badly from eczema, hayfever and lactose intolerance, it forced his mother to search for alternative foods and cleaning products.
Although Renata is now 19, Ms Reihana has stuck to the recipes and cures, some of which were Maori remedies passed down through the generations.
‘‘I had to find some way of washing his clothes and his nappies and some way of cleaning him,’’ Ms Reihana said.
Renata’s bedding and towels could not be washed in conventional washing powder. Everything that touched him had to be specially treated.
He was allergic to household chemical cleaners and even air fresheners, she said.
Ms Reihana began a long research journey. She sourced a mail order company which sold plant-based products. However, they were ‘‘horrendously expensive’’ and she had to buy in bulk.
‘‘So that set me on a journey of trying to find out what else there was,’’ she said.
‘‘I talked to the old people on the marae’’ and visited health food shops, she said. Slowly Ms Reihana built up list of washing products, remedies and foods that were acceptable to Renata.
Over the years, more information had surfaced about childhood allergies and it had become easier to source information, she said.
Recently, Ms Reihana found a North Island sharemilker, Lyn Webster, who had embarked on a similar path — although Ms Webster’s initial motivation was to save money by making her own products.
Ms Webster restricted her family grocery budget to just $100 a week and managed to save $12,000 over the last year to invest in a rental property. She created a home budget advice business called Pig Tits & Parsley Sauce, which Ms Reihana plans to promote in Gore.
Ms Reihana said classes, which would include recipes and remedies from Ms Webster and her own knowledge, would start this week.
Not only did the recipes and remedies help relieve the symptoms of allergies, they kept alive traditional methods, were environmentally friendly and saved money, she said.
The home-made products used little or no chemicals and used recycled containers.
Baking soda and vinegar were two key ingredients, she said.
Participants in the classes would be issued with a fact sheet that included recipes and some samples to take home. Ms Reihana would hold classes in Gore on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Thursday mornings, she said. If there is the demand, a Thursday afternoon session will be added.
People can buy the recipe sheets without attending the demonstrations.
Ms Reihana has created a range of baby knitwear called The Paa Hobo, which used New Zealand merino and possum blend wools. She had been selling the range of knitwear at the Mataura Community Market.
– Phone Justine Reihana on 208-7552 or 027 634-9353.
Back to nature: Coping with her son’s allergies led Justine Reihana to learn about natural remedies and foods. After teaming up with a North Island budget specialist, Ms Reihana is ready to share her knowledge.
Read More
Lyn Webster Introductory Story
When I tell people how much I spend on groceries every week, their jaws drop to the floor.
“What?! Only $75? You must be joking!” they exclaim.
“No, it’s the truth,” I insist. “I can feed myself and my two teenage daughters on that every week, no sweat.”
“You must be living on peanuts!” they joke.
When I tell them that I put a nutritious and delicious meal on the table every night, they’re even more astounded.
How do I do it? I hear you ask.
Well, it’s simple. I’ve started using my noggin when it comes to buying the groceries and cooking meals.
At the start of 2009 it dawned on me: I was 42, had no assets and my savings account was smaller than a fly on a cow’s tail.
I was earning good money as a share milker, running a herd of 175, but as I scanned my bank statement, I saw that I was flitting away all of my hard-earned cash like it really did grow on trees. I noticed that one thing in particular was wilting away my money: food.
Takeaways, supermarket and dairy purchases were cropping up all over my statement. In fact, I was spending more than $300 a week on food!
“Right, that’s it,” I thought to myself. “My spending habits need to change.”
I had always wanted to buy an investment property, so I used this as my motivation. I figured that if I could slash my weekly food bill by $200 and put this money straight into a savings account, I would have more than $10,000 by the end of the year. I could put that money towards a deposit on a house!
The next thing I had to do was break the news to my daughters, Danni, 17 and Stevie, 12.
“That sounds like a great idea, Mum,” they both encouraged.
We scribbled a big “$100” on a piece of paper and wrote our grocery list underneath it. No matter what, we had to spend less than $100. Admittedly, for the first few weeks we found it tough, but the more we tried, the savvier shoppers we became.
But there was still one thing that was biting a huge chunk out of my budget and that was cleaning products. With a bit of research I found that I could make my own cleaning products, which were just as good as the products I bought in the supermarket. I also learnt to make shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, moisturiser – even cosmetics!
When I put all of my newfound knowledge into practice, it didn’t take long for my bank balance to sport a few extra zeros.
“I can’t believe it!” I whooped to the girls. “I’ve saved $15,000 and it’s only been six months!”
“That’s amazing!” they cried.
As my bank balance grew, so did my popularity. I’d scored a regular column in my local newspaper, The Taranaki Daily News and had featured on Campbell Live and Good Morning. It turned out that I wasn’t the only Kiwi wanting to learn how to save more of their precious pingers.
Since then, I realised that spending $100 a week on groceries was no longer a challenge. My new limit is $75 and it feels great to be saving even more money now, even if it is only $25 a week extra. It all adds up.
My back-to-basics lifestyle has definitely rubbed off on the girls and they’re now boasting very healthy bank balances of their own.
“Mum, I’ve got quite a bit of money saved up now – why don’t we buy the investment property together?” said Danni.
“What a great idea!” I told her.
Stevie is keen to go in with us as well. It will be fantastic for them to own an investment property when they are still only teenagers – it will set them up for life.
I’ve now saved a whopping $30,000 in the last year and the girls and I have started looking for a house to buy.
If you said to me 18 months ago that I’d be buying a house, I would have laughed at you.
But I’m now richer, healthier and happier – even a little lighter thanks to losing a few kilos by cutting out pricey junk food!
Achieving your financial goals really is mind over money, and for the next few weeks in Lucky Break, I’ll be showing you exactly how I went from $0 to $30,000 in just one year. If I can do it, then you can too.
Lyn Webster, 43, Waitara.
Visit Lyn’s website www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz for more information.
Turn to page XX to read Lyn’s first Lucky Break column.
Read More
