Thrifty Living, Three Days After Payday.

So payday came. We went out for a nice dinner and I splashed out on payday breakfast. That's it. Done. It may as well be 3 days before the next payday as far as spare cash goes.

I do hope this month is a little different. The past 2, I have been genuinely broke after about a week and I was determined not to put myself in that situation again. Money is always tight when you're saving, but relying on Oliver to buy food is already old, for both of us.

I withdrew £200 on payday and put £40 in my purse for this week. I put 4 lots of £40 into 4 envelopes and labelled them for each of the 4 weeks until next payday. I can't spend money on my debit card if it's in my bedroom! This hopefully means each Friday will be a mini payday and I can still afford basics and even to socialize a week before the real payday.

We're both keeping an eye on ways to save money. Every little thing helps towards getting by on less than we're used to. We bought a giant fillet of salmon for £10 something from Morrisons, chopped it into individual portions and froze it. It'll do us for 3 dinners each and then a spare chunk for something else. Usually fish for one dinner for two people is £4, so this is thrifty and will see us further into to the month.

We stuck £60 each into a kilner jar for food shopping this month. We spent £38 today though, so I'm not sure how far that money will go. Still, it's better than having no idea about what we're spending on food. My friend Jill shares a house with 3 others and they write a menu each week, so they can plan and everyone gets to cook at least one night a week. I'd love to do this, since it must be really easy to budget for the one or two meals you cook a week. It's more expensive to cook for 4 people than just yourself but surely more economical to be buying more of the same ingredients than 4 different meals.

In my house, we work different hours and we don't all like exactly the same stuff, so it would be trickier, but I'd love to give it a go.

I'm hoping that these tricks will stop me from dipping into my savings a week before payday. Even just taking out £20 makes a difference to what I'll be able to take to South America with me. I'm casually eBaying my belongings, using cashback websites, budgeting, and trying anything else to save. I'm pretty much open to anything and I love a thrifty tip or two.

While we're away, we still want to be thrifty and have decided upon renting an apartment in Buenos Aires for a month, for the same price as staying at a hostel. We think this sounds indulgent and luxurious. I can't wait to wake up in a new city for a whole month, have somewhere to cook and relax that's just for me and Oliver.

We also found a few websites that let home owners list their properties for house sitting. While the owner is away, you stay at their house and walk their dog/maintain their garden/look after the property and in exchange you don't pay any rent! Brilliant idea. We've been guided to these thrifty ideas by Never Ending Voyage, a couple from Manchester who've been travelling the world on a budget. I can only dream.

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