July Budget Shopping Guide

This month’s theme was budget, whether it means saving money (like these budget recipes) or saving time (the best exercise move to do). As always, our monthly themed shopping guide is filled with our favorite budget themed finds.

 

1. NOMU Classic Filled Spice Rack, R640 from NOMU

 

We love our spices! They’re the best was to take the same ingredients and turn them into completely different tasting dishes. They’re also, in our opinion, one of the most important ingredients you have in your kitchen – especially if you want to cook healthier on a budget, as they turn simple ingredients into delicious meals.
This Classic Filled Spice Rack from NOMU gives you every spice you need (and the ones we used most often). It’s filled with the basics – ginger, paprika, origanum, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, coriander and whole bay leaves. These spices come in 9 gorgeous reusable glass jars and in a nifty storage rack.

Get it here

 

GIVEAWAY! We’re giving away ONE NOMU Classic Filled Spice Rack, plus the all new NOMU unsweetened hot cocoa drink Enter here

 

2. Nike+ Training Club App, Free on the App Store

 

After trying 30+ fitness apps, we can confidently say the Nike+ Training app is the best value. It’s free (no purchases needed) and has over 150 workouts which range from 5 minutes to over an hour. You can opt for equipment workouts or if all you have is a bit of empty floor, there are plenty no equipment workouts too. Each workout has instructional videos, making it easy to follow along.
We’ve been using it for years and have yet to get bored of the workouts.

Get it here

 

3. Vivolicious Intensity Sports Bra, R599 at Spree

 

This is a classic style, no fuss sports bra from Vivolicious. It has flat seams, so you won’t chafe, and we can testify to that. We’ve worn it for gym workouts as well as speed runs and long slow runs. It shines as a running bra, that’s both supportive and comfy. Possibly our favourite feature and why it’s on this list, is because it doubles as a swimming crop, which is perfect for Summer when all you want to do is jump in the pool right after a run. As with all Vivolicious clothing, it comes in a variety of prints.

Get it here

 

4. Health Connection Rolled Oats, R49 for 1kg at Faithful to Nature

 

Oats are one of our most used grains. We use them for warm oat bowls, overnight oat jars and in many of our cookie and bar recipes. We also very rarely buy oat flour, but rather grind oats into flour whenever a recipe calls for oat flour.

When it comes to grains, especially ones that are gluten free, oats are the best budget buy and can be used in a lot of recipes.

 

Get it here ps. Faithful to Nature is running a buy 2 get 1 free offer, so now’s a great time to stock up

 

5. Pomodrone, free on the app store

 

Pomodrone is a very simple app that uses a tried and tested time management technique created by Francesco Cirillo. It works on the premise that if you combine relatively short periods of uninterrupted and focused work with frequent breaks you can maximise the amount of time you remain focused and your overall productivity.

The system works on 4 short 25 minute work spurts with 5 minute breaks in between. Once you’ve finished 4 cycles, you get a longer 20 minute break.

The app is a simple timer. You pick which cycle you are doing and press play. It’s a great app to help you budget your time better and be more productive during working time.

Get it here 

 

6. Fitkey, R645 per month at Fitkey

 

If you need variety in your fitness routine, a Fitkey membership is the most cost effective way to switch up your workout routine daily. A monthly membership gets you into a whole range of different fitness studios from Sweat100 to Crossfit to Pilates to Ballet.

We’ve been using Fitkey all month and will be sharing more details this week, so sign up to our newsletter here for that story and see if Fitkey is for you!

Get it here

 

7. Definitive Water, Counter-top Filtration System, R1 250 at Faithful to Nature

 

If you drink mostly bottled water, this system will help you stop that. Not only is this more environmentally friendly (plastic is the top pollutant in the world), it’ll also save you money in the long run.

It’s easy to install and can be disconnected instantly, so you don’t have to worry about moving it from tap to tap. It’s the most economical water filtration system and uses a silver impregnated ceramic filter cartridge with a granular activated carbon core to filter out of bacteria and fine sediment, chlorine and other harmful chemicals and contaminants commonly found in municipal tap water.

Once you have this you can then get some Consol water bottles to fill up and keep refrigerated for on the go hydration.

Get it here

 

8. Eye Supply Contact Lenses available at Eye Supply

 

If you wear contact lenses, you know how often they need to be replaced, and there’s nothing worse than having scratchy lenses and realising you have no more new ones left.

 

We’ve been using Eye Supply for a while to get our contact lenses. It’s a lot more convenient than schlepping to an optometrist. The ordering process is simple, it’s delivered within a few days and delivery is free. Once you’ve purchased once you can also reorder with one click instead of having to start from scratch.

Order here

 

9. Hey Gorgeous 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner, R145 from Faithful to Nature

 

We raved about this 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner in our Natural Beauty Guide – it is the best 2-in-1 we’ve ever used and has a great citrus smell. It’ll also cut your shower time in half and makes a great travel cosmetic. It’s a completely natural product that is vegan, cruelty-free and has no chemicals

It also acts as a hair mask, just leave it on for 3-5 minutes before rinsing to let it penetrate deeper and leave your locks softer – which has become our preferred method of using it for ultra-soft waves.

Get it here

 

10. Budget Tool from Old Mutual, Free here

 

When it comes to budgeting, it’s safe to say budgeting our money is an area most of us struggle with. Creating a budget is a great and necessary concept but what happens when you don’t know where to start?
Old mutual have provided a really neat and simple excel spreadsheet which you can download for free on their website. They have set up vast categories and built in formulas so that when you input your numbers the simple sheet will work for you without you having to sweat the calculations.

Download it here

 

11. EasyEquities, from R100 at Easy Equities

 

And while we’re talking money, it’s not good enough to just live in the now. What about tomorrow? What about giving your money a chance to grow so it’s there for you when unexpected costs crop up or it’s time to live your dreams?
EasyEquities is the budget way to start investing because it allows you to interact with the stock exchange with as little as R100 by making use of fractional investing. Fractional investing means you can buy parts of a share instead of having to wait till you have enough money to buy full shares and making the whole process seem a lot less scary.

Find out more here.