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Transcript

Hosting a cost effective Christmas · She's On The Money

0:00
Speaker 1: She's on the Money. She's on the Money.
0:23
Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast
0:26
Speaker 2: for millennials who what a financial freedom. Over the last
0:29
Speaker 2: couple of weeks, we've discussed the Twelve Saves of Christmas
0:33
Speaker 2: as well as sustainable gifting, and today we want to
0:36
Speaker 2: talk about how you can host a cost effective Christmas
0:39
Speaker 2: Genius Genius, my name is Georgia King, and joining me
0:43
Speaker 2: as always for yet another jolly episode is Financial Advisor
0:48
Speaker 2: Victoria divine V.
0:50
Speaker 3: I'm so excited about this, I know you are. If
0:53
Speaker 3: you thought there were too many Christmas episodes, you're wrong.
0:56
Speaker 3: There's no such thing. The limit does not exist.
0:59
Speaker 2: This is our last one, though, wasn't it? Oh is three?
1:02
Speaker 3: Okay? Yeah, we've done.
1:03
Speaker 2: Three too excited. Three is probably where we need to be.
1:06
Speaker 2: That'll do it.
1:07
Speaker 3: Three is the magic number I've heard.
1:08
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that's it. That's it for you are quite
1:12
Speaker 2: the host. I've heard the rumors about your watermelon margaritas
1:15
Speaker 2: along the journey. You've told me about this.
1:17
Speaker 3: You mean you've watched me on Instagram story?
1:19
Speaker 2: Well that's it.
1:20
Speaker 3: Have you had my watermelon margaritas? Oh that's unlucky. Come
1:23
Speaker 3: on over babes.
1:24
Speaker 2: I've heard really good things. But you've also told me
1:26
Speaker 2: about that amazing fish dish that you make. Oh stop
1:30
Speaker 2: from off.
1:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, people are obsessed with it. Okay, So first things, first,
1:34
Speaker 3: watermelon margaritas. They're red. Garnish them with mint. It's very festive.
1:38
Speaker 2: That's festive.
1:39
Speaker 3: We'll post that in the group this week. And then
1:42
Speaker 3: also the fish dish. Everybody I've told about this recipe
1:46
Speaker 3: is always like, oh cool, thanks, and then they make
1:49
Speaker 3: it and they call me and they're like, Victoria, this
1:51
Speaker 3: is actually amazing. So it's baked fish, right, is this
1:53
Speaker 3: what this episode's going to become. It's just like Victoria's
1:56
Speaker 3: cooking show. Are you ready? All right? Well, I told
1:58
Speaker 3: you last episode that it's rustic. This is all so rustic.
2:00
Speaker 3: It's like more thrown together the better. You get a
2:03
Speaker 3: jar of red curry paste. You get a can of
2:06
Speaker 3: coconut milk and some desiccated coconut, so like shredded coconut.
2:10
Speaker 2: Incredible.
2:11
Speaker 3: You mix those things together because that's what makes the paste,
2:15
Speaker 3: so it'll be like quite thick. You don't put all
2:17
Speaker 3: of the coconut milk in, You just like put a
2:19
Speaker 3: little bit, so it's like creamy red curry. You pack
2:22
Speaker 3: it on top of fish or tofu or chicken, and
2:24
Speaker 3: then you put it in like a foil container that
2:27
Speaker 3: you've made, so like wrap it in foil and seal
2:28
Speaker 3: it at the top. So you've got like maybe some salmon,
2:31
Speaker 3: and then you're like red curry paste on top, bake
2:34
Speaker 3: the fish. Your house is gonna smell amazing. Two people
2:36
Speaker 3: think it's like a real fancy fish. But then three,
2:40
Speaker 3: you can just put like real quick rice with it,
2:42
Speaker 3: maybe some greens on the side, and you come out
2:45
Speaker 3: looking like master chef. I mean George at Changin, they
2:48
Speaker 3: definitely make the curry paste from scratch and they like
2:51
Speaker 3: bake it in a banana leaf and all of this
2:52
Speaker 3: other fancy stuff. But I'm telling you, everybody who has
2:55
Speaker 3: had my salmon recipe is always like Victoria. That was
2:59
Speaker 3: like the best hack ever. Everybody writes home about it.
3:01
Speaker 3: Do you want to get into the episode? Though?
3:04
Speaker 2: We should? We should? That was a little bit of
3:06
Speaker 2: a digression.
3:06
Speaker 3: I'll put that festive fish recipe into the Facebook group
3:09
Speaker 3: this week as well, because everybody needs it.
3:12
Speaker 2: So, I mean, the moral of this tangent is that
3:15
Speaker 2: you're quite the entertainer, and you're.
3:18
Speaker 3: Also and I'll also give all my recipes away evidently
3:22
Speaker 3: exactly exactly.
3:23
Speaker 2: But you're also good at money, am I? Because you're
3:25
Speaker 2: a financial advisor and an entertainer guru.
3:28
Speaker 3: Look, I'm good at telling people what to do with money,
3:31
Speaker 3: but given my current spending habits in the lead up
3:33
Speaker 3: to Christmas, you probably wouldn't say, oh, that girl, she's
3:37
Speaker 3: good at money.
3:41
Speaker 2: Do you think that there is an added pressure at
3:43
Speaker 2: Christmas time when it comes to entertaining to like really
3:46
Speaker 2: up the anti and make those events extra special.
3:49
Speaker 3: I feel like there absolutely is, and I feel that
3:51
Speaker 3: pressure as well. I'm not saying it's pressure. I think
3:54
Speaker 3: you just want to make it really special for other people.
3:57
Speaker 3: You really want everybody else to have a really beautiful time.
4:00
Speaker 3: And from my perspective, sometimes that is about making a
4:03
Speaker 3: really pretty Christmas table or by putting out a tablecloth
4:07
Speaker 3: when you don't usually do that, or having like Christmas
4:09
Speaker 3: crackers on the table. Like I'm someone who adores entertaining,
4:13
Speaker 3: and for me that makes it Christmas in a way.
4:17
Speaker 3: So yeah, I think that we want to up the ante,
4:20
Speaker 3: but it does increase the price.
4:22
Speaker 2: Well, that's it. I wanted to ask you how we
4:25
Speaker 2: actually figure out how much we should be spending on
4:28
Speaker 2: these special days, Like, obviously we need to set out
4:32
Speaker 2: our budget and know exactly how much we can spend
4:34
Speaker 2: and try not spend over that. How do you suggest
4:38
Speaker 2: that we kind of make that really clear in our
4:40
Speaker 2: mind before we go ahead with our planning.
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Speaker 3: So financial advisor Victoria says, probably don't spend extra on
4:47
Speaker 3: things that are unnecessary, like don't go out and buy,
4:50
Speaker 3: you know, festive napkins. Don't go out and buy things
4:53
Speaker 3: that you're only going to use once and then potentially
4:55
Speaker 3: throw away. I'm not saying don't do these things if
4:58
Speaker 3: they spark your joy, but from my perspective, I have
5:02
Speaker 3: tried over the years to be really thrifty with what
5:05
Speaker 3: I'm purchasing. So at Christmas time, I don't have different
5:09
Speaker 3: place mats and napkins. I just have white ones. Yes,
5:12
Speaker 3: they're material ones because you have to be fancy. But
5:15
Speaker 3: I bought a pack of twelve bells, like you know,
5:17
Speaker 3: those little gold ones that hang on your Christmas tree.
5:19
Speaker 2: George yeah, gorgeous.
5:21
Speaker 3: So I bought those, and I use the Christmas decorations
5:25
Speaker 3: as the type, and the napkin and I do that
5:28
Speaker 3: every year, so like they're already in my house, Like
5:31
Speaker 3: I'm not going to use something I don't have. I
5:34
Speaker 3: also every year go for a little bit of All
5:36
Speaker 3: Wonder or Christmas Morning and drag back some gum leaves
5:39
Speaker 3: and stuff like that and decorate my Christmas table with that.
5:43
Speaker 3: So I do try to be quite thrifty. But it's
5:46
Speaker 3: really stressful when it comes to maybe you hosting Christmas
5:49
Speaker 3: for the first time, or you feeling like there's additional
5:52
Speaker 3: pressure to actually making something festive. But from my perspective,
5:56
Speaker 3: it's not about buying something that is festive. It's about
6:00
Speaker 3: maybe using what you have and giving people a really
6:02
Speaker 3: cute experience.
6:04
Speaker 2: So kind of you could almost like map out what
6:06
Speaker 2: you already have to provide and then things that you'll
6:09
Speaker 2: need to buy, and then kind of create a list
6:12
Speaker 2: of your spending limits, yeah.
6:15
Speaker 3: And like thinking about what you could potentially use that
6:18
Speaker 3: you have at home, but also what's feasible. Everybody has
6:22
Speaker 3: different budgets. We're not all in the same financial position,
6:26
Speaker 3: and there's literally nothing worse than stressing out about what
6:30
Speaker 3: we're going to have to buy. So if it's not
6:32
Speaker 3: in the budget to have decorations. Just don't have them.
6:34
Speaker 3: I promise nobody's going to walk in and be like,
6:36
Speaker 3: oh gee, I cannot believe that you have not got
6:39
Speaker 3: festive napkins. Nobody cares. They're just excited to have your company.
6:44
Speaker 3: This is pressure that you're putting on yourself. Nobody else
6:47
Speaker 3: is going to expect it. But I think when it
6:49
Speaker 3: comes to working out what our budgets are, we really
6:51
Speaker 3: need to work backwards. So going, okay, what is the
6:55
Speaker 3: total I'm going to spend on this? How much money
6:58
Speaker 3: can I allocate towards this, and breaking it down from there,
7:02
Speaker 3: because if you go, oh, I've got thirty bucks on this,
7:04
Speaker 3: twenty bucks on that, it's all going to add up
7:07
Speaker 3: really quickly and you won't notice that you've already gone
7:09
Speaker 3: over your budget really quickly.
7:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, so start from the end. I like that.
7:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, start from the end. It sounds counterintuitive, but I
7:16
Speaker 3: promise you it is not. Is the smartest way to
7:18
Speaker 3: budget for anything.
7:20
Speaker 2: Love it. Okay, So for today's episode, it's a little
7:23
Speaker 2: bit of a different structure. I've shaken it up a
7:25
Speaker 2: little bit.
7:25
Speaker 3: Coo fancy lady.
7:28
Speaker 2: So we're going to move effortlessly through the various elements
7:32
Speaker 2: of a party, celebration, a Christmas shindig, if you will.
7:37
Speaker 3: And I want you coming to my house to Christmas.
7:39
Speaker 3: J you are more than welcome.
7:41
Speaker 2: By way, I want some of that salmon and the
7:43
Speaker 2: watermelon mark stole. But as we move through these different elements,
7:48
Speaker 2: I want you to kind of explain how we can
7:50
Speaker 2: keep our costs down as well as minimizing waste, kind
7:54
Speaker 2: of going back to what we spoke about last week
7:56
Speaker 2: to make sure that that's still really front of mind.
7:58
Speaker 2: So I wanted to start with the funk shue.
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Speaker 3: Oh, I don't know if I have funk shwe at
8:03
Speaker 3: my Christmas table jee.
8:04
Speaker 2: Well, you already said that you've got the little bells
8:07
Speaker 2: on the napkins from home, so you're already one step
8:10
Speaker 2: ahead of me.
8:11
Speaker 3: There's a very big difference between feng shui and styling, but.
8:14
Speaker 2: You know what, I'm locking them all into the same
8:18
Speaker 2: stunning bucket. So talk to me about funkshwe slash styling.
8:21
Speaker 3: Okay, So important thing is obviously like making a little
8:25
Speaker 3: bit festive if you can, I would suggest using an
8:27
Speaker 3: old tablecloth or borrowing one from a relative or mates,
8:31
Speaker 3: or looking at op shops I'm telling you right now,
8:34
Speaker 3: they have so many good linens that nobody is appreciating.
8:38
Speaker 3: They often have literal linen that is really expensive. I
8:42
Speaker 3: adore linen same. I have just recently got the I
8:45
Speaker 3: love linen sheets, which ones lin I got the white
8:50
Speaker 3: sheets with the clay colored bedspread. I'm obsessed. It is
8:54
Speaker 3: so pretty. Anyway, I'm just obsessed with linen. But if
8:57
Speaker 3: you buy linen sheets, you know they are one worthy investment,
9:00
Speaker 3: but to not the cheapest investment. Worth it, but not cheap.
9:03
Speaker 3: So opshops are a really great place for picking up
9:06
Speaker 3: things like napkins and tablecloths. But also you could just
9:09
Speaker 3: do a little bit of a dupe use a white
9:11
Speaker 3: sheet like no one is going to notice, I promise you.
9:14
Speaker 3: And how many people here in Australia don't even use
9:17
Speaker 3: the flat sheet. They just use the fitted sheet with
9:19
Speaker 3: their doners because they're psychos.
9:21
Speaker 2: G I am counted in that little group of psychos.
9:25
Speaker 2: Do you use a sheet? Who doesn't use it?
9:27
Speaker 3: I just thought, who? I just thought everybody used a sheet,
9:30
Speaker 3: But apparently it's not a thing and people just put
9:34
Speaker 3: their sheets in their cupboards, Like why buy a sheet set? Then?
9:37
Speaker 3: Why would they sell you a sheet set with like
9:40
Speaker 3: a flat sheet if you guys aren't going to use it.
9:42
Speaker 2: I didn't know they did that. I just buy my
9:45
Speaker 2: space sheet from like kmart and then have I love
9:48
Speaker 2: linen on top. It's a weird fusion anyway, V let's
9:51
Speaker 2: move on to from sheet chat sheet chat.
9:53
Speaker 3: But anyway, you can use a sheet instead of a tablecloth,
9:56
Speaker 3: and I think that's really smart because I reckon some
9:58
Speaker 3: people listening are going to be like, you're right, I
10:00
Speaker 3: have a flat shehet. I've never used multitasking.
10:03
Speaker 2: We love it, brilliant, brilliant. So that's your base. Where
10:06
Speaker 2: do you go from there?
10:07
Speaker 3: I think you have fun with your cutlery and plates,
10:09
Speaker 3: leaving space in the middle for dishes to be placed.
10:12
Speaker 3: So I think that when you're setting the table, actually
10:14
Speaker 3: putting out your cutlery and your dinner plates and stuff
10:17
Speaker 3: like that can make it look more fancy without you
10:19
Speaker 3: having to buy stuff. And when you're like stile it properly,
10:22
Speaker 3: you can look up some inspirational photos. But when you
10:25
Speaker 3: style it properly, you'll have your glasses up the top
10:27
Speaker 3: and it'll just look really fancy already, and then you
10:30
Speaker 3: can leave like space in the middle and you can
10:32
Speaker 3: put down like your serving plates, and if you're a
10:34
Speaker 3: bit like me, you can go for a walk and
10:36
Speaker 3: pick up some native plants or some gum leaves or
10:38
Speaker 3: some trees from your area, or maybe you're actually just
10:41
Speaker 3: going and picking flowers from your garden, but you can
10:44
Speaker 3: pop them on the table and they will look really
10:46
Speaker 3: rustic and cute and organic. And I really like that,
10:48
Speaker 3: Like often I much prefer that vibe then, like here's
10:52
Speaker 3: a beautiful style orchid, like I don't know, just feels nice.
10:56
Speaker 2: That vibe is very in right now.
10:58
Speaker 3: I feel, yeah, exactly, it's it. But also Victoria likes it,
11:01
Speaker 3: so obviously that's really important. Oh for sure, for sure
11:04
Speaker 3: the vtick of approval only gosh, don't even.
11:07
Speaker 2: And what are your thoughts on like having a matching set,
11:10
Speaker 2: a matching dining set?
11:12
Speaker 3: I guess v I mean, that's a pretty privileged thing
11:14
Speaker 3: to have, Like I definitely don't.
11:16
Speaker 2: We have three plates that are the same and the rest.
11:19
Speaker 3: I'm very lucky in that I purchased plate semi recently
11:24
Speaker 3: and now they match, but historically they didn't. But I
11:27
Speaker 3: think that's a galctic. That's cute. We're going to keep
11:30
Speaker 3: going with that vibe. Least we've got plates.
11:32
Speaker 2: Hey, well that's it. That is it.
11:34
Speaker 3: And if you want some more matching ones up shop,
11:37
Speaker 3: I promise you the amount of good quality stuff people
11:40
Speaker 3: throw out it baffles me.
11:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then you can find more unique, quirky things
11:45
Speaker 2: as well. Just a little recommendation here that I did
11:48
Speaker 2: pop in the newsletter. Relatively recently. There's a girl on
11:52
Speaker 2: Instagram called Pasta Mamma. I actually don't know what her
11:55
Speaker 2: real name is, but she's that's her name. She's a
11:57
Speaker 2: queen and she has these past nights in like Melbourne
12:02
Speaker 2: and Byron Bay. Very chic, very cool. But she has
12:05
Speaker 2: the most incredible table setups. So I love have a
12:08
Speaker 2: little perth. Yeah, she's just yeah, she's very stylish, but
12:13
Speaker 2: it's like it's quite chaotic. I love chaos and nothing
12:15
Speaker 2: is like matches. It's great. So that's hot inspo.
12:19
Speaker 3: Another one is actually Studio George, so Studio g E
12:23
Speaker 3: O RG no E like our George on the show
12:26
Speaker 3: no E on George. But she's an interior designer and
12:30
Speaker 3: does lots of like flat lays and very very cute
12:33
Speaker 3: table settings. She's also in the She's on the money
12:36
Speaker 3: community and has been for a very long time. Because
12:38
Speaker 3: you know, I don't think she'll be mad about me
12:40
Speaker 3: saying this. She's one of my clients. But her stuff
12:43
Speaker 3: is gorgeous and I literally drawl over it, and she
12:46
Speaker 3: always posts like cute a collective flowers. She's very good
12:50
Speaker 3: at buying opshop vases like I'm all about it. So
12:53
Speaker 3: if you want to check out her, her name is George,
12:55
Speaker 3: so she's obviously a very good egg. But it's George
12:58
Speaker 3: without an E on the end.
13:00
Speaker 2: Heaven. We'll pop both of those in our show notes.
13:03
Speaker 2: The next little tip here that's a part of the
13:05
Speaker 2: fun Shway package bucket thing that I've created is music.
13:10
Speaker 2: This is kind of random. I'm not going to lie
13:12
Speaker 2: about it. But if you don't have a speaker, ask
13:15
Speaker 2: you mate. I feel like a lot of people have
13:17
Speaker 2: those cute little Loui boom things. Ask them to bring
13:20
Speaker 2: them along.
13:21
Speaker 3: Look, someone somewhere is going to have a Bluetooth speaker.
13:25
Speaker 3: I think that's one of the hottest tips of the day. Actually,
13:27
Speaker 3: George is asking other people what to bring if you
13:31
Speaker 3: don't have it. If you don't have enough plates, ask
13:34
Speaker 3: someone to bring some. If you don't have enough books,
13:36
Speaker 3: ask someone to bring some. I promise you people are
13:39
Speaker 3: gonna be like, yeah, George, no problems. I'll pop them
13:41
Speaker 3: in my bag as I come. Like, you don't have
13:43
Speaker 3: to buy new stuff just to have a celebration. People
13:47
Speaker 3: are going to be really happy to bring it. And
13:49
Speaker 3: I would be like, hey, George, have you got a
13:50
Speaker 3: bluetoth speaker? And you'd be like, yeah, still, my dad's
13:52
Speaker 3: on the way out. Sweet, no problems. Otherwise, you can
13:56
Speaker 3: just borrow you mum CD player and crank those Michael
13:58
Speaker 3: blue Belet albums as loud as I'll go, Oh, gotcha,
14:01
Speaker 3: everyone's got lad.
14:02
Speaker 2: Christmas so good? What's your favorite track?
14:06
Speaker 3: It's actually been a while since you've recommended Michael Boobley
14:10
Speaker 3: in the newsletter.
14:11
Speaker 2: I know I actually miss him.
14:13
Speaker 3: I hope he's well you miss him.
14:15
Speaker 2: I miss the boob Okay, So I wanted to ask
14:23
Speaker 2: you about lighting V We've got the ones that are
14:27
Speaker 2: connected to our homes, but how can we how can
14:30
Speaker 2: we make it cost effective and like chic and fitting
14:33
Speaker 2: in with the cool functionay that we've created in every
14:36
Speaker 2: other aspect. G King, She's gone blank.
14:39
Speaker 3: What I didn't even know I was going to be
14:41
Speaker 3: asked about lighting as a really important part of Christmas,
14:45
Speaker 3: because that's not something I'm thinking about. Honestly, I'll just
14:48
Speaker 3: turn the lights on in saying that I have my
14:50
Speaker 3: Christmas fairy lights that I bring out every year, and
14:53
Speaker 3: usually they end up in a million different places. So
14:55
Speaker 3: i've got people coming over, they might be in a
14:57
Speaker 3: tree out the back. If I've got peace coming over
15:00
Speaker 3: and we're not going outside, I might put them on
15:02
Speaker 3: the Christmas tree as extra Like, fairy lights are very
15:06
Speaker 3: very good. Also, tea lights are very very cute. You
15:09
Speaker 3: can pop them in Mason jars or in little cups
15:12
Speaker 3: or literally old tea cups from the op shop. I'm
15:15
Speaker 3: it sounds like I'm sponsored by op shops these days. Honestly,
15:18
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be mad about it, but I am not.
15:21
Speaker 3: Because teacups with candles in them are very cute. They
15:25
Speaker 3: throw very festive, very chic energy around. I feel like
15:27
Speaker 3: Georgia Kian. Anyway, you can always buy fairy lights online
15:32
Speaker 3: or even those candles that don't actually burn. They're just lights,
15:35
Speaker 3: so they're essentially never ending, which is very good but
15:38
Speaker 3: essentially we love. But what I would be doing if
15:41
Speaker 3: I was looking for some new lights is just popping
15:43
Speaker 3: on eBay and having a look if they have them,
15:45
Speaker 3: because you're arguably going to get a really good deal
15:47
Speaker 3: on there. So I would recommend looking at those things
15:49
Speaker 3: before you buy brand new ones.
15:51
Speaker 2: Love it. What are your thoughts on a Christmas tree? V?
15:54
Speaker 2: Because some people are going to say they're essential for
15:57
Speaker 2: my parte and it it's look festive in here. What's
16:00
Speaker 2: the Christmas party without a Christmas tree? I don't know
16:03
Speaker 2: do people say that?
16:03
Speaker 3: Not sal am I going to sound like a terrible
16:05
Speaker 3: person by saying I have a plastic Christmas tree here.
16:08
Speaker 2: No, I've had it for the last.
16:09
Speaker 3: Like seven years. It probably it's probably about time to
16:13
Speaker 3: get a new one. But I bring that maybe out
16:15
Speaker 3: each and every single year and I adore it. But
16:19
Speaker 3: people love real Christmas trees, and I guess the good
16:22
Speaker 3: news there is they are arguably better for the environment
16:25
Speaker 3: than plastic ones.
16:26
Speaker 2: Well they're better because they grow in the ground. Oh
16:30
Speaker 2: my god, thank you for that contribution.
16:33
Speaker 3: No, but like obviously there are emissions and minimal they're
16:36
Speaker 3: like putting out more. They're putting out oxygen and stuff
16:39
Speaker 3: for us, So that's really good.
16:40
Speaker 2: I'm actually so embarrassed that I just said that on
16:43
Speaker 2: the podcast.
16:44
Speaker 3: I'm not embarrassed. I think that's actually quite funny. But
16:46
Speaker 3: I get really upset after Christmas about how many Christmas
16:50
Speaker 3: trees I see on the nature strip, like not yeah,
16:52
Speaker 3: it just feels like yeah, it just feels like an
16:55
Speaker 3: expensive tip trip to dispose of them as well. But
16:58
Speaker 3: I think this segment's actually a really good place for
17:01
Speaker 3: me to bring up my mum again, because she is
17:03
Speaker 3: the queen of Christmas trees. There have been a million
17:06
Speaker 3: different Christmas trees in my family historically. One time she
17:09
Speaker 3: got a giant gum tree branch. We went to the beach.
17:12
Speaker 3: She stuck it in the stand and put decorations on it.
17:14
Speaker 3: She'll be like, kids, that's the Christmas tree, and I
17:16
Speaker 3: was like, great, no problems. Another time she got an
17:20
Speaker 3: old piece of corrugated iron and she cut out a
17:23
Speaker 3: Christmas tree shape and spray painted it all silver so
17:26
Speaker 3: it didn't look rusty. We called that the Christmas tree
17:29
Speaker 3: that year. Another time she got a branch and stuck
17:32
Speaker 3: it in an old terra cotta pot and filled it
17:35
Speaker 3: full of plaster of Paris. Like it was literally just
17:38
Speaker 3: a branch, no leaves, nothing, filled it full of plaster
17:40
Speaker 3: of Paris and then spray painted the whole thing and
17:42
Speaker 3: we put our decorations on that that year. There's been
17:45
Speaker 3: another time where she literally like made one out of
17:48
Speaker 3: I can't even remember what it was. I think it
17:50
Speaker 3: looked like a basket, but it wasn't because she'd made it.
17:53
Speaker 3: It was wild anyway, my mum.
17:54
Speaker 2: She's so crafty, is jewe.
17:56
Speaker 3: Judy is the queen of craft and I really appreciate it.
18:00
Speaker 3: I lack the creativity she possesses, but I've seen people
18:03
Speaker 3: get really creative with their house plants, like just use
18:06
Speaker 3: your fiddle leaf feet, Oh for sure, put some decorations
18:09
Speaker 3: on that, and various other house plants are obviously going
18:11
Speaker 3: to work really well. I reckon a bird of Paradise
18:14
Speaker 3: would look absolutely chic with a few decorations hanging off it.
18:17
Speaker 2: They are a festive plant, that's for sure.
18:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. But I don't think everyone needs a Christmas
18:22
Speaker 3: tree that's shaped like a Christmas tree. It's more about
18:25
Speaker 3: the vibe and coming together. And I also think it's
18:27
Speaker 3: kind of a talking point. If you found a really
18:29
Speaker 3: big branch out on a walk one day and said,
18:31
Speaker 3: I dragged that all the way home and it became
18:33
Speaker 3: my Christmas tree. Like I just really like that because
18:36
Speaker 3: it's just making the most of the things that we
18:38
Speaker 3: have around us. I mean when I say drag a
18:41
Speaker 3: branch home, I don't mean steal it from somebody else's
18:43
Speaker 3: front yard. But maybe have a think about how you
18:47
Speaker 3: could be creative this Christmas. Because if having a real
18:49
Speaker 3: tree isn't for you, you could probably find something that's alternative.
18:53
Speaker 3: But if you do want to buy a plastic one,
18:55
Speaker 3: I genuinely would consider buying a more expensive, better quality
18:59
Speaker 3: one that you'll for years, or that you could sell
19:02
Speaker 3: on eBay or something after if your preferences change or
19:05
Speaker 3: you decide later on that you do want a real tree,
19:08
Speaker 3: because I know the Christmas tree that I have I
19:10
Speaker 3: actually bought on eBay ages ago because it was on
19:14
Speaker 3: sale and I couldn't afford the real one. I think
19:15
Speaker 3: it was like a David Jones tree or something, and
19:18
Speaker 3: someone had bought it and I bought it after Christmas
19:20
Speaker 3: and had to wait an entire year before being able
19:22
Speaker 3: to use it. But I reckon, gee, if I chucked
19:25
Speaker 3: that on eBay today, it would still sell because she's
19:28
Speaker 3: in good condition. I'm telling you right now.
19:30
Speaker 2: Well, that's what we love about Christmas trees is they're timeless,
19:33
Speaker 2: especially the plastic ones. They're not going anywhere.
19:36
Speaker 3: I still love her. She's not going on eBay anytime soon.
19:39
Speaker 3: But if you're looking for a tree, maybe you could
19:40
Speaker 3: find one the same way I did.
19:41
Speaker 2: Stunning. Let's go for a break. Let's go to a break.
19:43
Speaker 3: What do you reckon?
19:44
Speaker 2: Let's do it.
19:44
Speaker 3: See you on the other side, guys, Vickid.
19:47
Speaker 2: Food is the next piece of this stunning puzzle. What
19:52
Speaker 2: are your suggestions for keeping costs down on that front?
19:55
Speaker 2: I feel like it probably is the most expensive element
19:58
Speaker 2: that we're going to be faced with.
20:00
Speaker 3: Always the most expensive element. Yeah, food and alcohol. Alcohol
20:04
Speaker 3: always adds up, especially if you're expected to take a
20:07
Speaker 3: bottle of wine to every single event you go to.
20:09
Speaker 3: And then I don't mean to sound selfish when I'm
20:11
Speaker 3: saying this, because I'm absolutely not meaning it to be selfish.
20:14
Speaker 3: If it's a gift, obviously you're gonna leave it there.
20:16
Speaker 3: But if you're just buying booze to take to a
20:19
Speaker 3: party like Sage, where you go to a barbecue, you
20:21
Speaker 3: go out in the backyard and you chuck your booze
20:23
Speaker 3: into the ski with everybody else's and then you leave.
20:26
Speaker 3: Most of us don't pick up the booze to go
20:28
Speaker 3: home with you.
20:29
Speaker 2: No, I feel like you can't.
20:31
Speaker 3: Then it's like left at the person's house. Yeah. I
20:33
Speaker 3: just I feel like it's a social faux pas to
20:37
Speaker 3: take things home that you brought to somebody else's house.
20:40
Speaker 3: I'm not saying you can't. I'm not saying you shouldn't.
20:42
Speaker 2: I just oh, for sure, for sure you can't. You
20:44
Speaker 2: just can't, like you can, but you can't.
20:48
Speaker 3: So I just I feel like that adds up right, Yep.
20:50
Speaker 3: But as I said earlier, ask people to bring stuff.
20:54
Speaker 3: Ask people to bring a plate. G We touched on
20:56
Speaker 3: this in our twelve Saves of Christmas episode expects you
21:00
Speaker 3: to whip up a three course meal for twenty different people.
21:04
Speaker 3: So ask that everybody brings a little something that they
21:06
Speaker 3: can plunk on the table when they arrive, something that
21:09
Speaker 3: my family does as well. I feel like my family's
21:11
Speaker 3: going to listen to this episode, if they even still
21:13
Speaker 3: listen to my podcast, are they going to listen to
21:16
Speaker 3: this episode and be like Vase, stop talking about us
21:18
Speaker 3: like we are done, Stop sharing everything about our Christmas.
21:21
Speaker 3: We don't like you talking about us, But on Steve's
21:24
Speaker 3: side of the family, we always pick a theme and
21:27
Speaker 3: I love it. So a couple of years ago, we
21:30
Speaker 3: had Mexican Christmas where everyone got given a dish that
21:33
Speaker 3: they had to bring, so like we had on Trey,
21:35
Speaker 3: somebody else had Maine, someone had sides, but they all
21:38
Speaker 3: had to be Mexican themed, and I thought that was
21:40
Speaker 3: really fun. So why not that's fun pick a theme
21:43
Speaker 3: for Christmas. Why do we have to be traditional about it?
21:46
Speaker 3: Because then we can go all, right, well, this year
21:48
Speaker 3: we're going South American and we bring different things that
21:52
Speaker 3: ultimately are all going to go together because they're from
21:55
Speaker 3: a very similar cuisine. So that worked really well. Also, yeah,
21:59
Speaker 3: Cole's magazine, What about them? I'm obsessed with them? Have
22:02
Speaker 3: you seen the recipes they give you? Have you seen
22:05
Speaker 3: how good they are? They actually are full of epic recipes.
22:08
Speaker 3: They are free at checkout, Like this isn't sponsored by Colds.
22:11
Speaker 3: I've never even spoken to the team at Cols, but
22:14
Speaker 3: oh my gosh, their Christmas magazines are so good and free,
22:19
Speaker 3: and every time I flip through them, I'm.
22:20
Speaker 2: Like oofed, oofed.
22:22
Speaker 3: I love that, Like it makes me want to cook
22:25
Speaker 3: so if you're a bit stumped of what to bring
22:27
Speaker 3: to Christmas, next time you're at the checkout. I don't
22:29
Speaker 3: know if Foolis do it. Surely they do something similar,
22:32
Speaker 3: Yeah they would, they would. But next time you're at
22:34
Speaker 3: the checkout, have a bit of a peruse, see if
22:36
Speaker 3: the free maga is there, because I guarantee it's got
22:39
Speaker 3: a better trifle recipe than your nanosgy.
22:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is a hot tip. That's a hot tip.
22:44
Speaker 2: You know. I only realized quite recently that like the
22:47
Speaker 2: reason that Coles produce those magazines is so that you
22:50
Speaker 2: buy the brands in the store. Like the brands would
22:53
Speaker 2: definitely pay to be in that magazine.
22:55
Speaker 3: Right, that makes sense, really, I just thought they did it.
22:58
Speaker 2: They're not just like Christmas about like.
23:02
Speaker 3: Roast chickens, Okay.
23:06
Speaker 2: Running along like cheese.
23:09
Speaker 3: Let's move away from coals because do you know who
23:11
Speaker 3: our favorites are, obviously because we've worked with them before.
23:14
Speaker 3: But we're also like massive stance of Audi Eldie. Yeah,
23:18
Speaker 3: Audi cheese platters. If you're going somewhere, put your twenty
23:21
Speaker 3: five dollar limit on yourself, go make an Audi cheese platter. Again,
23:26
Speaker 3: not sponsored, just good, but they do make cheese and
23:30
Speaker 3: stuff like that so much more affordable. And I feel
23:33
Speaker 3: like cheese platters or charcuterie boards as they're called, are
23:37
Speaker 3: really expensive to put together. And I always feel a
23:40
Speaker 3: bit of a pang when people are like, oh, they
23:43
Speaker 3: could you just bring like a cheese platter or something.
23:45
Speaker 3: You're like, oh, that's expensive.
23:47
Speaker 2: Wah yeah, oh for sure, so annoying.
23:50
Speaker 3: But if you go to Audi, you can whack one
23:53
Speaker 3: together for much cheaper, and I feel like that's a
23:55
Speaker 3: money win and it's quality.
23:57
Speaker 2: It is quality.
23:58
Speaker 3: How many brand shout outs are getting given in this episode?
24:01
Speaker 2: Gee, that's true, mate, you should have partnered you should
24:03
Speaker 2: have partnered up.
24:04
Speaker 3: They're not paying us for this. We're just very generous
24:06
Speaker 3: this festive season.
24:07
Speaker 2: Let's move on to booze now, Vikiita, you did hint
24:10
Speaker 2: earlier that that is maybe as expensive as food, if
24:13
Speaker 2: not more. How do we make this more economical?
24:16
Speaker 3: I at this time, I feel like there's a few
24:19
Speaker 3: cheeky tips and tricks here. One of them is cocktails,
24:22
Speaker 3: and I know that that sounds more expensive. But if
24:26
Speaker 3: you make up a big batch, so say you're making sangria,
24:29
Speaker 3: you can do this. You can use a cheaper alcohol,
24:32
Speaker 3: and it tends to go further than just a bottle
24:34
Speaker 3: of wine. Yeah, so if you've been asked to bring something,
24:37
Speaker 3: you can make up a cheeky vat is that the
24:39
Speaker 3: right word of like sangria or like my watermelon margaritas,
24:44
Speaker 3: which I know I talk about a lot, but that's
24:46
Speaker 3: because when I'm entertaining, or usually do like a cocktail,
24:50
Speaker 3: because it's actually more economical to feed everybody that comes
24:54
Speaker 3: to my house a watermelon than it is to feed
24:57
Speaker 3: them straight to kuiler. I'm telling you that right now.
25:00
Speaker 3: But also you can just use the cheapest ticula because
25:03
Speaker 3: it's like, watermelon is ninety percent sugar anyway, so you
25:06
Speaker 3: can't actually taste it as much as you could taste
25:09
Speaker 3: it if you were like drinking just a mixer like
25:11
Speaker 3: a gin and tonic or something where you're kind of like, oh,
25:14
Speaker 3: I may as well buy the nicer gin, because like,
25:16
Speaker 3: you can taste it. Right, I'm not saying that that's
25:18
Speaker 3: a good thing. Obviously, we all should probably be considering
25:21
Speaker 3: cutting down our booze intake because it's better for us,
25:25
Speaker 3: but we could also if we are still drinking and
25:28
Speaker 3: we are thinking about what we can take g you're not.
25:31
Speaker 3: We're fans of La Mule.
25:32
Speaker 2: Oh we've shared a couple of glasses once or twice,
25:34
Speaker 2: haven't we ever?
25:35
Speaker 3: The stunning, stunning rose from Audi and they also have
25:40
Speaker 3: a whole selection of other boos that is arguably very
25:42
Speaker 3: affordable and very delicious. And for the people who have
25:45
Speaker 3: messaged me being like, oh, I'd never buy Aldi wine,
25:48
Speaker 3: yes you should. They win awards, they win literal awards
25:52
Speaker 3: like Le Mule rose is one of the only roses
25:55
Speaker 3: I like, and I'm not a rose drinker, so.
25:56
Speaker 2: I feel like that says a lot that Yeah, exactly right.
26:00
Speaker 2: So I had this little ideav tell me if you
26:03
Speaker 2: think it's a good eat, all right, what is it?
26:04
Speaker 2: So you ask everyone to bring with them their own
26:08
Speaker 2: ingredients for a different style of cocktail. So, for example,
26:12
Speaker 2: you could be on the watermelon mark, so you bring
26:13
Speaker 2: your watermelon and cheap to killer. I'll be on the
26:16
Speaker 2: pina coladas, so I'll buy the pineapple.
26:19
Speaker 3: I love a good peanut colada, precisely.
26:22
Speaker 2: And then we've got variety and it's fun. Everyone has
26:26
Speaker 2: a little turn at the bar making their version of
26:28
Speaker 2: the drink. Like that's fun, right, I actually share the
26:31
Speaker 2: costs around.
26:32
Speaker 3: Yeah. I also think that at Christmas time, if you're
26:35
Speaker 3: going to go out for a meal, we should be
26:38
Speaker 3: trying to find places that do be way out.
26:40
Speaker 2: That's a good idea.
26:41
Speaker 3: So like, if you're going to go out for dinner,
26:43
Speaker 3: let's find the type place that lets you take a
26:46
Speaker 3: bottle of wine with you. That's a money win because
26:48
Speaker 3: you can just take lamule one, just take it from.
26:51
Speaker 2: Out it it goes where you go.
26:54
Speaker 3: Let's move on to gifts, George, because I feel like
26:57
Speaker 3: we are starting to sound like stinges. It's probably because
26:59
Speaker 3: we are, like, I just don't want to give that
27:02
Speaker 3: idea out too often, you.
27:03
Speaker 2: Know, agreed, agreed, okay V. So what would you say
27:06
Speaker 2: are the best ways of keeping the costs down when
27:09
Speaker 2: it comes to gifts?
27:10
Speaker 3: Okay? I have written down two ideas here. The first
27:13
Speaker 3: is one you have heard from me before, and the
27:16
Speaker 3: reason I'm telling you again is because I know you
27:18
Speaker 3: haven't done anything about it. G Organize a KK. Obviously,
27:22
Speaker 3: buying for everybody is going to add up, so I
27:25
Speaker 3: suggest using a KK to keep the prices down. So
27:28
Speaker 3: if you've got like a Christmas party coming up and
27:30
Speaker 3: you're like, oh my gosh, I'm going to this big
27:32
Speaker 3: friend Christmas party like everybody's buying everybody gifts, or I'm
27:36
Speaker 3: going to my family's place for Christmas. Float the idea
27:39
Speaker 3: and group chat and be like, hey, should we do
27:41
Speaker 3: KK this year? There are literal websites that do it
27:44
Speaker 3: for free and allocate it all out so you don't
27:47
Speaker 3: even have to do the hard work of matching people.
27:50
Speaker 3: It'll keep the costs down. You will be more sustainable
27:52
Speaker 3: in your gifting because one you're buying one thing, but
27:54
Speaker 3: two you're now spending slightly more on a better quality present,
27:58
Speaker 3: but you're still saving money, which we like, and obviously
28:02
Speaker 3: at Christmas time, saving money is priority from me.
28:05
Speaker 2: Obviously, definitely, definitely.
28:07
Speaker 3: The second one controversial controversial in what way because it's
28:11
Speaker 3: about regifting, So okay, so bear with me. Gee, I
28:16
Speaker 3: feel like this is like controversial, not controversial. If you've
28:20
Speaker 3: been getting around and having a few Christmas parties or
28:22
Speaker 3: having a few people over for drinks, or doing a
28:25
Speaker 3: lot of festive things this year, more than likely your
28:28
Speaker 3: friends or family have brought bottles of booze or flowers
28:32
Speaker 3: or chocolates as a thank you for hosting, which is stunning.
28:35
Speaker 3: I love it, but don't be afraid to regift those
28:38
Speaker 3: items if you've got other events like the next day
28:40
Speaker 3: that you might be attending, because it's better for the
28:43
Speaker 3: environment and it saves you. And I feel like, and
28:46
Speaker 3: this might be again another controversial opinion, Gee, when somebody
28:49
Speaker 3: gifts you something, it's like the thought and the actual action.
28:54
Speaker 3: From my perspective, it's not necessarily about the item having
28:59
Speaker 3: a lasting presence in your life. And I know that
29:01
Speaker 3: that's probably not the way everybody else thinks. But the
29:04
Speaker 3: item has served its purpose when it was gifted to you.
29:08
Speaker 3: So say I gave you like a jewelry box, ge
29:11
Speaker 3: and I was like, hey, gee, here's this jewelry box.
29:13
Speaker 3: You unwrap, You're like, well, v thank you so much.
29:16
Speaker 3: That gift has served its purpose. Like you felt valued,
29:20
Speaker 3: You felt like you were thought of, You knew I
29:22
Speaker 3: picked that just for you. So that gift, according to Victoria,
29:27
Speaker 3: has served the purpose that it was intended to. Like
29:30
Speaker 3: I gifted you something, you felt really nice about it.
29:34
Speaker 3: Then take a step back and George, you're looking at it,
29:36
Speaker 3: going wow, really beautiful jewelry box. I already have a
29:39
Speaker 3: jewelry box. I don't need another jewelry box. Yes it's beautiful,
29:43
Speaker 3: but that gift has actually served its purpose. I don't
29:46
Speaker 3: think I would ever be mad if I found out
29:49
Speaker 3: that somebody regifted something. Yes, it might be you going
29:52
Speaker 3: far out of bloody hate this present. I'm going to
29:55
Speaker 3: gift it to somebody else. But I would like to
29:57
Speaker 3: think of it in a bit of a reframed way
30:00
Speaker 3: where you liked that present enough to not donate it
30:02
Speaker 3: to charity because it was bad and you just needed
30:05
Speaker 3: to get rid of it because you'd never gift it
30:07
Speaker 3: to a friend or family member. But you were like, wow,
30:09
Speaker 3: I have a jewelry box. Here's this beautiful one that
30:12
Speaker 3: I think my friend Jessica would adore. Like, I just
30:14
Speaker 3: feel like that served its purpose and it's okay to
30:17
Speaker 3: regift things. I know that not everybody is going to
30:20
Speaker 3: be with me on that, but I just think it's
30:22
Speaker 3: more sustainable. I think it's a really smart thing to do.
30:24
Speaker 3: And I also just feel like when we give gifts,
30:27
Speaker 3: it's not so Georgia King has the jewelry box forever,
30:31
Speaker 3: if that makes sense.
30:33
Speaker 2: What happened though, V, So you I gave you the
30:36
Speaker 2: jewelry box, No, I gave you a box. So okay, sorry,
30:41
Speaker 2: you gave me the jewelry box. I was like, oh,
30:43
Speaker 2: not to my taste, but you know he will love this. Yes,
30:46
Speaker 2: Merry Christmas. Huge. You go to Jess's house and you're like, heyes,
30:50
Speaker 2: oh god, oh I've seen that before. Oh God, that's
30:54
Speaker 2: the jelly box I have. George, Then you think I'm
30:56
Speaker 2: a rooty patuity.
30:58
Speaker 3: I mean, you've actually got to be smart about it.
31:00
Speaker 3: I think that it just gets a bit savage if
31:03
Speaker 3: you're regifting things because you genuinely don't like them, you've
31:06
Speaker 3: got to go all right, like, why would I givet
31:08
Speaker 3: a present I don't like to somebody else? Like that
31:10
Speaker 3: just seems a bit rude from my perspective. But I'm
31:14
Speaker 3: very much about a gift serving a purpose. So if
31:17
Speaker 3: I gave you a jewelry box and you already had one,
31:19
Speaker 3: gifting it to somebody else I don't think is offensive
31:22
Speaker 3: in the slightest. But I think it's all about the
31:25
Speaker 3: semantics of it as well, Like you wouldn't be like, hey,
31:27
Speaker 3: they thanks, I use that as a present for someone else.
31:30
Speaker 3: I think you've just got to have a little bit
31:31
Speaker 3: of nous. And obviously at some point George I'm going
31:35
Speaker 3: to go to Jess's house, so probably not the perfect
31:38
Speaker 3: person to regift that too, but a friend that I
31:41
Speaker 3: don't know, I'm none the wiser. It served a purpose
31:44
Speaker 3: for me. I felt really good giving you a gift,
31:47
Speaker 3: and it served a purpose for you. You didn't have
31:50
Speaker 3: to purchase a gift, right.
31:52
Speaker 2: Brilliant win, A controversial the perfect place to leave it today.
31:56
Speaker 3: I'll see myself out. If anybody's offended by that, look,
31:59
Speaker 3: I get it, But I just genuinely think when people
32:01
Speaker 3: give gifts, it's about the thought that counts. It's not
32:04
Speaker 3: about the item being in somebody else's possession forever. And
32:08
Speaker 3: how do we Yeah, anyway, I'm gonna wrap it there.
32:11
Speaker 3: We are done. What do you reckon? George?
32:13
Speaker 2: We are done? We are done? I do. I would
32:15
Speaker 2: love to hear from our community though, to see how
32:17
Speaker 2: they keep the costs down when it comes to entertaining
32:20
Speaker 2: at Christmas time as well. So I'm thinking maybe i'll
32:22
Speaker 2: pop a little little thread in the group today. I'll
32:25
Speaker 2: make a note of that, so to make sure that
32:27
Speaker 2: I don't forget.
32:28
Speaker 3: Please do also, can you ask them about regifting? Can
32:30
Speaker 3: you just put a sneaky tell us your worst regifting story.
32:34
Speaker 2: Worst ree giftings. Oh yeah, I reckon there.
32:36
Speaker 3: Worst reegifting story. I just feel like that will go off. Anyway,
32:40
Speaker 3: we are done here. I'm about to see myself out
32:43
Speaker 3: because apparently my opinions I'm probably not that kosher. So
32:47
Speaker 3: see you next week, guys. But just before we head off,
32:50
Speaker 3: we'd like to acknowledge and pay respect to Australia's Aboriginal
32:53
Speaker 3: and tourist rate islander people's. They're the traditional custodians of
32:57
Speaker 3: the lands, the waterways and the skies all cross Australia.
33:01
Speaker 3: We thank you for sharing at the caring for the
33:03
Speaker 3: land on which we are able to learn. We pay
33:06
Speaker 3: respects to elders past and present, and we share our
33:08
Speaker 3: friendship and our kindness.
33:10
Speaker 2: And remember, guys, the advice shared on She's on the
33:13
Speaker 2: Money is general in nature and does not consider your
33:16
Speaker 2: individual circumstances. She's on the Money exists purely for educational
33:20
Speaker 2: purposes and should not be relied upon to make an
33:23
Speaker 2: investment or a financial decision, and we promise Victoria Divine
33:27
Speaker 2: is an authorized representative of Austonia Pacific Funds Management Proprietary
33:31
Speaker 2: Limited a BN three four one three two four three six,
33:35
Speaker 2: oh no, sorry four six three When will she get
33:38
Speaker 2: it right? Four six, three two five seven AFOSL three
33:41
Speaker 2: three nine one five one. And Merry Christmas everyone.
33:45
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, Merry Christmas. But also see reading that out.
33:49
Speaker 3: How many watermelon mugs have you had? We'll see ourselves
33:54
Speaker 3: out all right, Bye guy, bye?
34:00
Speaker 1: Do you know