Why life is better debt free

We are loving being debt free and the blessings it has brought into our lives. We are thankful for our journey to becoming debt free and hope that the lessons we have learned will stay with us throughout our lives (and prevent us getting into more debt). Today we are sharing some of the reasons why we are loving life so much now we are debt free. 

1. We can plan for our future
We are in a position now where we are able to plan for our futures. For us this involves getting our masters debt free and saving for a house deposit. Before when there was debt in the situation that had to be the priority of the focus and it detracted from our goals of the future. 

2. The burden is lighter
We don't have to worry about who we owe. We don't feel enslaved to a lender (Proverbs 22:7). We can live our lives as we want not bound by the constraints of another. The budget is able to be a little bit more relaxed and luxuries we cut out we can enjoy every now and again. The stress is considerably less, there is no worrying about going into overdrafts (incidentally C has now cancelling his overdraft when we got rid of the card). Less stress means less of a strain on our relationship. Rows about money just don't seem to happen anymore, we are on the same page and working towards the same goals. 

3. We can do things we enjoy
We can do activities or go on date nights without it being an issue. Since being debt free we can allocate more money to these areas of the budget (without going overboard). We are looking forward to visiting extended family over the Christmas holidays when we plan to go on a short road trip. These are treats that we can afford to include in the budget now we don't have to worry about paying down debt. 

4. We can give more generously
My family instilled in me the importance of giving to charity when you can and for many years sponsored children in less fortunate financial situations. When you live paycheck to paycheck there is little or no room in the budget to give. When we give we both give and receive blessings in our lives, being in a position to give is such a rewarding experience. Being able to pay it forward is such a wonderful way to make use of your money. 

What do you love about being debt free

1 simple tip to reduce food waste

Sometimes it can be hard to avoid food waste, even if you are diligent with your meal planning. You may have not needed as much as you expected, or unexpected been out of the house and not eaten a certain meal. But this shouldn't mean that we have to let good food go to waste. Today I'll share my favourite tip for avoiding food waste by turning leftovers into delicious meals. Granted this really only applies to vegetables (but for us this is where most of our food waste occurs).

Turn it into soup

Winter is coming and soups are a great dish for all the family. Plus put them in Tupperware and they store really well in the freezer. Soups are so simple to make and it doesnt matter if your food is no longer looking its best. They are great for pack-lunches and if you don't have a microwave at work/college then consider taking it in a thermos flask. Below I'm sharing one of my favourite recipes as we find carrots can be going off but are still great for in a soup. 

Simple carrot and coriander soup recipe

Ingredients
1lb of carrots
2 pint of stock
1-2 onions sliced
Coriander to season (fresh is preferable but not essential)
Little bit of butter/ oil

Method

1. Brown the onion in the butter oil for a few minutes.
2. Add the carrots and the stock and bring to the boil.
3. Allow to simmer until carrots are soft.
4. Blend the soup to the desired smoothness.
5. Add coriander to season.
6. N.B you can also use a slow cooker to cook the soup in. 

How to store your soup
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days
- Store in tupperware in the freezer for up to a month
- For easy portioning pour into plastic cups and freeze. Then once frozen take out of the cups and put in a zip lock bag- I saw this idea on Pinterest a while ago and love it. This works even better with silicone cups as it means you can reuse them time and time again. 

How to reduce your water bill

The cost of utilities can feel like its spiralling out of control. But utilities bills are one of the easiest areas we can save money. Making a few simple changes to your habits can have a big impact on your bill. This tips are especially useful if you are on a meter bill rather than direct debits. Check out this tips to cut your water bill.

1. Hand-wash rather than using a dishwasher. Using a bowl of water uses considerably less water that washing using a dishwasher. Consider (depending on the size of your family) washing up every other day (or every few days) so that the water goes further and washes up more. Plus hand washing saves on the electric bill as well.
2. Shower rather than bath. Showers are much more efficient, and the shorter the shower the more efficient, try to keep them less than 4 minutes. We alternate shower days with 'strip-wash' days which use even less water and completely avoid filling the bath. 
3. Use your washing machine when it is full. Be efficient with your washing, putting it on when the load is full rather than doing lots of little loads. I find that if I'm going to run out of anything it is underwear so I will often hand wash this if I have run out. If you find it hard to get a full load try using a colour catcher so you can put both dark and light clothing in the same wash
4. Car wash with a bucket. Using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose when car washing is a much more efficient way of using water. Using a hose can use unto 140 gallons when washing your car, using a bucket is a fraction of this amount. If you can't use a bucket try getting an automatic shut off nozzle as this can save up to 70 gallons per wash.
5. Collect rain water. Using a water but to collect water for use in the garden and for washing your car isa  grey way to reduce you bill as these are activities that do not required sanitised water. What you are really paying for in you water bill is the cost of purifying and distributing the water so why not use the free stuff when you can. 
6. Flush efficiently. People used to put bricks in to displace water and reduce the amount being used when fluxed however nowadays you can get bags filled with silicon gel that do the same job, these bags save about 30% of the water per flush. However, if you have a newer toilet with a dual flush function be sure to use it. Though a little gross the 'if its yellow let it mellow' rule works quite well at night time and again reduces the amount of flushes.