Save Money on Easter is Impossible

"On the Third Day He Rose Again"
Luke 24:5-8

Shout out to my fellow believers!

Sadly I wasn’t able to stick on my budget this Easter.

So I like to put up a plan for next year in able to prepare myself on another Easter just like this one.

Weather on Easter

It is undeniable hot usually on Easter here in the Philippines that is why it is very important to plan for refreshments.

Let’s start out the plan:

          Meal Plan

On Holy Thursday until Saturday, it is common that major malls are closed and not all small stalls are willing to open as well, so it is essential to buy things on a Sunday preceding the start of Holy Week.

I like to plan my meals, it doesn’t necessarily mean to stick to a certain recipe I just like to stock up on essential ingredients that I will most likely cook during this week.

I most likely to have Chicken recipes and variety of fish (definitely).

Grocery Ideas to Stock Up

          Meat

·        Chicken (enough for probably 4 recipes)

·        Marinated Milk Fish (daing na bangus)

·        Eggs

·        Smoke Fish (tinapa) / dried fish (dilis or daing)

·        Deboned Milk Fish (you can freeze this up for recipes like sinigang)

·        Chicken Nuggets ( if you have kids at home)

·        Canned goods like corned beef (not for people who fast though)

Vegetables

         

·        Cucumber (for a salad to pair with dried fish)

·        Cabbage (you can stock it up for a good week and will not spoil, just put it inside your fridge)

·        Bell peppers and tomatoes (for Omelette recipe)

·        Other veggies can be bought on local markets (I mean outside the mall so it will be cheaper) so I will not go all out on veggies

Refreshments

·        Canned Pineapple Juice (a family favourite)

·        Melon (can be bought outside the mall or your local palengke/market)

·         Read: Save Money W/o Breaking my Budget

·         Read: Save Money 10K a Month

·         Read: Jobstreet Tip: Save the Best Job Last

Recipe Ideas

Smoked Fish/marinated milkfish/ dried fish w/ cucumber salad

Togue with chicken (Mungbean sprouts with chicken)

Sinigang na Bangus (milkfish in tamarind soup)

Chicken in Tomato Sauce

Omelette recipes

Corned beef w cabbage

Pansit (Chinese noodles w chicken)

Fried Chicken (if you run out of recipe LOL)

Budget

This is for my whole family, we have 3 adults including me and a 7-year-old nephew.

Some of the recipes can be stretched without putting all your savings in, just make a simple trick of adding more vegetables and you are good to go.

P 300                    for the chicken

P 300                    for milkfish

P 200                    for smoked fish and dried fish

P   75                    a dozen of small egg

P 200                    Veggies

P 360                    4 big cans of pineapple juice

P  180                             3 medium-size melon (for melon juice)

P 130                    Small Pack of chicken nuggets and canned corned beef

Total        :        P1,745.00

Hmmmnn, this is no way this gonna fit in my budget, not even with the salary I have. I think I need my mom’s help in able to execute this plan for the next easter.

That is it.

Final Thoughts

Planning ahead makes a huge difference if you like to stretch your budget for a holiday like this.

My ultimate tip is to think about the recipes that you will most likely to cook.

I really like chicken recipes with a variety of vegetables and from that you can stretch on a meal to 4 people.

Another favourite of mine is omelette recipes; I think at least once a week I have it so stocking up eggs will go a long way.

Just plan ahead and for sure you will able to fit in a nutritious food within your budget and be able to save money for future investments.

Thanks for reading all the way!

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