Budgeting for Beginners

Budgeting can be such a bore and I suppose that's why many of us avoid it. We'll do a bit of mental budgeting, check our bank accounts regularly but we don't really know what we're spending. While I've always been a saver as apposed to a spender and often very conscientious with my money before I came to uni I never really had to budget. But since I've become an independent adult of sorts, basic budgeting is a skill that I've had to acquire.

Personally I find the easiest way to budget is to fill in this simple spread sheet everytime I buy something. To make this easier I try to keep all of my receipts so I don't forget what I've spent. I've created a spreadsheet that you can download below if you want a little help when it comes to budgeting. The spread sheet has a spaces to record spending Monday - Sunday for 52 weeks, so you can start whenever you like and have enough space for a whole year. I've input all of the formulas so that excel calculates the total weekly spend, the amount left of your budget for the week, the total yearly spend, total remaining budget for the year. All you need to do is decide how much you want to spend each week and insert that into the cell saying 'Weekly Budgeted Amount'.

Download Template Here

Keeping a record of everything I spend has also made it easier for me to save money as spending money seems more real. I also don't panic that I'm going to run out of money at the end of the term because I know how much I can spend each week. I know this wasn't the typical beauty or fashion post you were probably expecting to find on my blog today but I hope it has been useful to at least one of you out there. 

Eleanor xx

10 Minute Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

One thing you may not know about me is that I love baking, I have done ever since I was a kid. My love of baking stems from my mum, who taught me to cook just as her mother taught her and so on throughout the generations. When I was younger my mum was always the go to women for charity cake sales and cooking lessons at Brownies, so it's only natural for me to share one of our favourite recipes with you.

I have no idea where this recipe originally came from but I've been using it for years because I am yet to come across a cookie recipe that beats it. Not only are these the tastiest double chocolate chip cookies ever, but they so quick and easy that even a beginner to baking could cook them. 

The Recipe

1 Packet of Betty Crocker's Devils Food Cake Mix

2 Eggs

1/2 a Cup of Vegetable Oil

1 Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips

Serves 24

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 175°C and either line a large baking tray with parchment paper or grease the tray with butter.

Step 2

Put all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Keep mixing until the ingredients bind together to form a dough. For a twist on your typical double chocolate chip cookies swap the milk chocolate chips for small chunks of your favourite chocolate. 

Step 3

Form small balls of the cookie dough (about 3cm wide) and evenly spread them out on a baking tray. For rough looking cookie like pictured above try not to make the balls smooth. Also leave plenty of room between the balls as the mixture will spread, this may mean that you have to use 2 baking trays.

Step 4

Put the cookies in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes. Then when they come out of the oven leave them to cool on the baking tray before trying to move them.

Step 5

Eat your cookies! Personally I think they're nicest when eaten warm with a delicious hot chocolate or a cold glass of milk.

I'd love to know what your favourite recipes are or if you try my recipe what you think.

Eleanor xx