As we built our house, we had very little money left and I became obsessed with our budget, planning the menu for the whole week, buying in Aldi (which I love), checking and noting down all the measurements for water, electricity and gas and compared them monthly... I remember my husband annoyed (after about 2 years,) 'cause I was switching off the lights everywhere...oh that was crazy...but it was worth doing. We saved enough to feel safe.

I can not believe people would write such comments to you. Honestly, these types of comments usually come from those who are simply envious yet can not appreciate what they do have and they are always looking for more and comparing themselves to others. They should turn in and look at what they do have or what they can change. My mother-in-law once told me, those people who think it is too much work to bend over and pick up the one cent piece on the ground, are those who struggle the most with all they do have. I scoured sales, bought second hand, resold all my kids’ clothing and baby supplies and refinished my husband’s old childhood bedroom set and that is why we now have a beautiful house. My children found all the parts to LEGO and Playmobil that they no longer play with and sold them for pocket money because we teach them to value things. We all still live this way! You can be very proud for all you do have and don’t let anyone take that from you! Much love from Ulm!

@TourdionInstrumental

3 жыл бұрын

I totally agree! Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We, too, used to be always short on money, but we worked and saved and slowly, we got ahead. A positive attitude and diligence make the difference between those whose hard times are temporary and those who let it limit them--baring health issues or other things that can impede our finances, of course. I hope more people than not find your story inspirational. Good for you and your family! Enjoy what you have worked hard for. :)

I hate when people are being so disrespectful in their comments. You did an amazing job building a new life in Germany with your kids! 🤗Thanks for this video💛

From birth to sice 142 I bought quite everyrhing on Flohmarkt for my daughter. Its even much more healthy because the cloths are already often washed. It was everytime an adventure to go there an pick up things also very nice old childrensbooks.

Well done you made it through together.

We love an honest financially frugal lady ❤️but the eating part out I can really relate to 😒

First of all, I'm thrilled with the content you're posting! 🤩 I come from Serbia and we are moving to Kassel soon. We have a small budget and these tips will come in handy! Thanks a lot! ❤️

Hello Antoinette, Challenges in finances is something everyone copes with. Some handle it with dignity, others don't. Thank you for sharing. Waves from Vermont, USA.

Hallo Antoinette, danke für dieses Video! Liebe Grüße aus Düsseldorf.

1st, I am so sorry people are jealous of your families success. 2nd great resources.

This is so helpful! And I just love the story of how you and your hubby started, and how you’ve learned to save and spend less. I’ll use these tips when we get to Germany!

Thanks for sharing your story!! It's so much appreciated that you're being honest about life. Good reminder that you always have to work for it if you want to achieve something.

Aesthetics and creativity is a talent only artists have. You do. It makes life beautiful.

Dear Antoinette u are not small, u are concentrated, love ure channel....HIGH FIVE for Rob, when a Lady is talking so full with love to u after i believe 11 years of marrige . u must be a great guy( and i saw the table u made for her)

Thank you for sharing your tips and story about your financial journey! I can't believe people would message you in such a rude manner. So happy for you and your family

Great suggestions! This is such an important topic to be talking about right now, I really enjoyed the video!

I love buying second hand clothes. I have got really good bargains over the years

Love your stories with every tip! Thanks Antoinette

Hello Antoinette, good evening! Who is so ridiculous and disrespectful to write comments like that? Who is able after watching some videos to tell what somebody had to do in his/her life. You left your country for your love, you traveled thousands of miles in a total different country with another language and culture. You managed all these things with two kids, the third is coming. That's amazing, i have so much respect for you and what you accomplished and still taking the time to share your experiences and thoughts is so lovely, I appreciate that so much ❤️. It's one of the best channels on KZread, i absolutely love to listen to your stories. Please stay safe and take care of you and your family. Thanks 👍

@AntoinetteEmily

3 жыл бұрын

I appreciate your support and encouragement so much! Thank you 🙏🏼

Thank you so much for talking about your family's struggles in such an unabashed way! It's very encouraging for someone who is currently going through lean times. I live in the US and absolutely love Aldi and what I refer to as their "German efficiency"!

Freue mich immer wieder Sie und Ihre Kinder hier zu sehen und zu hören ! Die Art und Weise wie Sie hier Themen besprechen zeugt für mich von Weisheit, Respekt und Herzenswärme. Wünsche Ihnen und Ihrer Familie alles Gute auf Ihrem weiteren Lebensweg in diesem Land

LOVED IT!!! Been through a very similar situation and indeed so much learned! This process also helped me realize how little one can survive on and still be happy

Lovely video. Thank you for these helpful tips!

Thank you for sharing and this is good to talk about, and it is rude to just assume that some a rich and don’t understand struggling, some can live on almost nothing and use the money, creativity and the possibilities that comes around in a good way, and some have a lot, but don’t handle the money aspect that well. Great job, and thank you for your transparency 😊🙏🏼 Love from Johanne, Norway

I live in a tiny village somewhere between Kitzingen, Schweinfurt and Würzburg. Rent for my big apartment is probably as much as for a small room in Würzburg. My hallway is bigger than many students' rooms in Würzburg. So yes, you can save rent money by not living in large towns or cities.

What an excellent video, great advice!!! Here in the USA, Aldi and Lidl are getting more popular.

Thanks for you open words. Affording the rent is realy a big deal in germany. We moved only 20 km south and saved so almost the half of it.

thanks for your honesty

Tena Koe😊 Thank you for this candid talk. I can relate to so much of what you said. Such great tips. You really do learn the tricks of stretchy meals, upcycling furniture and making clothes last (I can also get away in the kids section of kmart and still look great 🤭💕😊 Tae noa ki te wa o muri💕

Hi, i feel you so good. I'm in same place this time n already doing the things u said. Ha ha. It's nice you saying this openly. Greetings from Hamburg 😊

@AntoinetteEmily

3 жыл бұрын

Hang in there, things will get better. Sending you a big virtual hug 🤗

@peterkoller3761

3 жыл бұрын

keep going and stay on track! living below ones means is the only way an average person can build wealth.

I use Kleider and MamiKreisel ☺️ Great tips 🌻

Please make a part 2! I would love to learn more about how to save money.

I remember my childhood, me and my twin brother were the happiest kids there could be... It was only years after that I realised how limited my parents resources were at that time! I guess having twins stretched the budget even farther... We always had nice food, but some recipes strangely vanished from our menu after a few years... I only found out later that it was because the ingredients were... well... extremely cheap and nothing you'd want if you could afford better. Like canned chicken, or government produced cold war emergency supplies whose best before date was nearly gone... My mom made the best meals from those ingredients, I can still remember the taste, and I'd gladly eat it again. Those were in some aspects the best of times!

Good video,and well done!

Thank you for sharing this

Great video! Thank you for sharing your personal struggles with us. Another great way to save money on food is foodsharing. There are probably around 10 different foodsharing stations in my city and if you have your notifications on for that specific group you can get a lot of quality food items like fresh produce, bread, Teilchen/sweet baked goods, canned goods etc. A lot of bakeries sell "old" bread from the day before for a reduced price. We have a great organic bakery near us and their bread keeps for days, so a day old bread still is really good. And if you have a big freezer: buy lots of it and just freeze it.

these tips are great.

Thank you for sharing. You are so tough❤

Some people are just mean or they come off that way without realizing that. Ignore them. You're doing a fabulous job as a mother and a KZreadr.

helpful tips thanks ❤️❤️

Thank you for the tips! We are pretty new here to Germany and could really use these tips you gave. 😁

Hello dear, I just found you in KZread I love your video. As a women I am soooo proud how you save and build your house fantastic, amazing 😉 very happy for you. I am planning to move to Germany from 🇨🇦 to start my own business age of late 40 build my retirement. I love the four seasons in Germany.

I am also pretty small (1,63 m) and not very curvy so I still wear kids' clothes size 164 if I like the look of them :D

Go to aldi. DO reward sites. Dollar tree stores and thrift stores.

👏

Your Story remember me to the Song: "stand by your man".

Tena koe Sister, Please pass my love to Rob and your three children. I love getting to know your story and learning about the people of Germany. I feel a lot of respect and thoughtfulness from the country you are in and it helps me heal some of my deepest pain and sorrow, to see a nation of such consciousness and transcendance, respect, goodness and conservation. I was upset once because you were sick and Rob did not feel able to take time off work to help you. And also when you were interrogated by a German schoolteacher so much she had a terrible affect on you who was in a difficult situation. I know Rob did not stand by you at all at first. But after that he showed aroha and helped you through your dark day. But I understand now that you have a beautiful Polish husband and I appreciate what a wonderful man he is for you. You have navigated life with people who are so unfriendly and processed your culture shock so well, Sister. You don't know me but you are part of us here in New Zealand. I love you Antoinette and also Rob, his precious Polish parents and the Kiwi Polish children. You are very strong, very humble, very friendly and very Kiwi. I feel sure your children will receive the gifts of our New Zealand ways from you. Manaakitanga and Kotahitanga are spreading in the wind here. Te reo is spoken again and diversity is valued highly. We are celebrating Matariki next year. Your children can be so proud of the kindness, friendliness, openness, humility, and the amazing history of sacrifice and the growing peace and tolerance of our people. E tu. Keep on being proud and humble my Sister from the east coast. You are in my heart, e hoa. I have taken a wonderful ride watching your videos. Thankyou. Yes, from the hardest of times, come the warmest memories and many lessons, creativity and wonderful habits. Ata marie. From Wanda, From the Waikato.

Everything learned during hard times will come in handy when saving up towards larger "Wants" - concentrating on the "Needs" and putting the "Wants" on an often-reviewed list (including alternatives) is my way to stay within budget and still live comfortably.

it s not about the fancy packaging ,it s about merge they sell

My sister-in-law she is German, she is always buying second hand clothes for their children; nothing wrong with that. She saved the money for her kids and they’re future.

Kaufmarkt is also a good one.

🥰

@AntoinetteEmily

3 жыл бұрын

Love you my friend! 😘

Hallo Antoinette! Gratuliere zum neuen Haus! Und noch was: Leute, die ihren Neid zur Schau stellen, nur weil ihr durch Fleiß und Zusammenhalten ein Haus bauen konntet, sollten dir am ... vorbeigehen! Neid muss man sich verdienen, nur MItleid kriegt man geschenkt!

Thanks for your honesty and objectivity in your report here. Indeed this is what many Germans are experiencing too although the public picture is a an entirely different one and pretending "as if any German were rich" and "as if there were incredible wealth in Germany" ... Indeed it's all true that you're saying here especially about the supermarkets in Germany so they're at least the ones by which one can afford a living, as regards food ... What is also true is that rents are incredibly high - and that is probably also one of the reasons why people sometimes even risk getting homeless when they don't have much money ... or are unemployed. Another reason for this may be that jurisprudence maybe de facto unavailable and non accessible because of the costs for many people, it's simply too expensive, and so they cannot get their rents checked by judges and in processes. So very often, even for very low quality flats, you have to pay much beyond the range of the usual range of average prices ("renting mirror" ...) .. "as if it were luxury" who are living in ... while it's the opposite ... Another thing is true as well, that is that a few things can be bought pretty cheap - I personally however I would never buy second-hand because in the end it's not as cheap as one might think ... because very often then one is drawn into buying things that one doesn't really need ... and there are some clothing discounters which are very good. My "trick" is not to buy immediately, but to think it over one or 2 days, - or a few days, - then, when deciding it's really necessary, then I buy it finally ... Another problem with used clothes maybe a problem of infection, for example, you may know that Albert Camus, in his "The pest", describes how that disease emanated and spread from infected clothes and textiles ... And I found out on the internet that this was true, and indeed a true detail of history ... As regards furniture indeed that can be a big problem. I had to live several years without a wardrobe and without a fridge. That's funny I can swear ... Anything one can do is either to save money - even smallest amounts monthly - in order to be able at some point to buy the necessary things one needs - of course cheap, but also that costs money ... Then, there are a few very large companies (mostly the great renowned internet companies in Germany, the few ones that exist - who traditionally are renowned for their great offers, like Quelle etc.) who offer their products regularly, even by instalments, which are bearable on a monthly basis - for example for a fridge. Otherwise if one has a car, one could buy second-hand furniture .. provided he can transport it. ... Otherwise also this possibility would fail (because it would fail at the lack of transport). Another way is to renounce to any transportation cost, and also of course, to any food outside home. Indeed it's true what you're saying here that eating outside home is extremely expensive in Germany, even in "street serving restaurants" (sorry, don't know the word in English, perhaps "takeaway"?). Another thing is to renounce to any sweets. On the other hand, one must consider that even other supplementary products - which are like sweets - Kinderschnitte, or Joghurt, or Quark, also cost money. As a result they are a little bit like sweets but healthy too ... Another way to save money is to only hunt for special offers and the like - even in the case of food, sometimes. There was something else I found on the internet, and which was great, those are recipes from an Italian woman which has been incredibly creative by inventing unexpensive recipes for daily meals..... Otherwise I found out it's always a good solution to have enough toast bread at home - which is not expensive in Germany, perhaps the cheapest one can find at all - and to use this, instead of any regular meal, by just eating "cold" (together with cheese or a sausage, and butter). Of course, this is not always possible ... once in a while one has to eat "warm" ... but I'm only doing this every 3 days or so ... What I also found out is, that a few frozen meals are readily available very cheap in the supermarkets, like the famous and delicious Swiss dish "Rösti" - one of the best one can imagine, and very affordable (even without meat, just "solo" - usually it's eaten together with "Geschnetzeltes" - which is made of veal - to which of course I have to renounce - but the Rösti themselves are good enough ... ) - these are usually in the refrigerators of most supermarkets - well spiced, ready to consume, and above all, cheap ... Otherwise also the ready-made Sauce Bolognese - which is also conservable for a long time - and which can be bought in larger quantities, and used at any moment, and especially, it's not expensive ... when buying a no name product ... Or ... something else. One might not think of it, but spinach can be ideally mixed with noodles (Spaghetti)... Especially the frozen version (frozen in quarters ... I guess the same probably exists in America ...) ... which is very cheap, and at the same time well spiced, cooked in cream, and frozen ... Or, it can be used as a coverage for self made pizzas ... So these things can be kept a long time, provided your fridge is working ... and those are very good meals. Any other thing may be expensive, - even in terms of food, - especially fresh merchandise (like vegetables and fruit). So usually it's cheaper to resort to (partially) ready-made food (like frozen spinach, frozen potato dishes) ... also because it's conservable ... Another thing that might quench hunger is rice ... together with sugar, milk and canned fruit ... And also, of course to avoid any unusual supplementary expense, like for example unreflected purchases for example, even in the case of food, lemonade that is too expensive or whatever ... thus things that, at first sight might appear "normal" ... So I would almost never buy an expensive lemonade ... So this "austerity regime" has to be applied always and ever without restriction.... otherwise one cannot get through the month. It is sometimes even the question of a few euros to get through the last week of the month ... Another point that has to be planned beforehand every month is ... to always have a reserve for food electricity and the like, and to keep that away from the other expenses. So that usually requires - at least for me - a meticulous calculation at the beginning of the month ... with money pre-assigned for certain sectors ... before one has even spent anything. Because, usually, if one just spends the money - even just a little - one often sees, even for buying a few merchandises, a lot of money goes away ... and there is nothing left but for food ... because, when just buying "what one needs" - or indeed for "daily meals" -, this may often result in some desasters ... and one has to take account of this "pre-assigned" money (assigned by oneself). That's all for now but those are my ideas for saving money ... and to get through the month at all ...

Sorry you got those crappy comments. I'm happy for you and your family now that you have a nice, new house.

Great that Aldi was so good for your budget. Some years back, I made a list of the items I usually buy for my family and found out,that Aldi would actually only save me about 2-3€ per shopping. So for me, it didn‘t really work...although I heard from many people that it worked for them. I don‘t know, what‘s so different about our household.😅 Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.

@swanpride

3 жыл бұрын

Aldi is really good for the basics, though the prices don't differ that much from discounter to discounter, but it really does make a difference compared to Real, Edeka aso. (though if you stick to the no name products Edeka doesn't have to be THAT expensive). And you need to know what their best offers are...ie they have apples which are considered "second rate" for no other reason than that they don't look perfectly beautiful. Cheap and extremely tasty. Their Potatoes are also pretty good, as are their tomatoes. Otherwise fresh produce can be problematic at Aldi, though, especially if it is one of the older shops which doesn't have a cooling section. At least in my area, Lidl is the way better choice for fresh fruits and vegetables...they have a bigger selection and always great special offers. It's btw also a matter of paying attention to special offers in general. Part of the reason why we cook seasonal is because it is simply cheaper, and we have figured out a long time ago what needs to be bought the moment one sees it, even you don't need it immediately. Nothing against Real and Edeka, btw, they are good if you need stuff which isn't quite as every day fare. Baking products for example, though Penny is pretty good in those, too. They even have the cheap pudding pulver for chocolate pudding...Aldi and lidl for some reason has only vanille in cheap and you would have to buy the overly expensive Dr. Oetker for chocolate.

@claudiab.878

3 жыл бұрын

Kurz auf deutsch, weil schneller: vor ca 5 Jahren habe ich eine Liste aufgestellt mit den 50 von uns meistgekauften Produkten und habe die entsprechen Preise von Aödi und Hit in die entsprechenden Spalten eingetragen und jeweils addiert. Dabei hatte ich halt nur insgesamt eine Differenz von 2-3€. Wenn ich dann noch bedenke, trotzdem zusätzlich noch zu Hit etc fahren zu müssen, weil der Aldi nicht alles anbietet, was ich brauche, lohnt die Rechnung für uns jedenfalls leider nicht.

@swanpride

3 жыл бұрын

@@claudiab.878 Ich wollte dir das ja auch nicht absprechen. Aber das rechnung lohnt sich halt, denn diese 2 bis 3 Euro, die können einen Riesenunterschied machen, wenn man nicht so viel Geld hat. Dann fährt man auch gar nicht zu Hit, denn alles, was Aldi nicht hat, das fällt eigentlich schon unter die Kategorie "Luxus". Wenn du wirklich einfach nur satt werden willst, dann hat Aldi (und andere Discounter) alles, was du brauchst. Im übrigen ist meine Technik, immer nur zu einem Discounter zu fahren, dort alles zu kaufen was ich brauche, und wenn ich was "Spezielles" brauche, das an einem anderen Tag zu erledigen.

I'm stumped by all those people throwing out high quality furniture made from solid wood and metal to replace them with modern pressboard and plastic constructions. Good for me of course so no complains. The spell checker of my browser does not know "pressboard", but this site: dict.leo.org/englisch-deutsch/Pressspan has it as the first entry. Do I really have to use a three word description instead? My tip for great "wardrobes": get cheap industrial shelves from a home improvement store, then hide their drab optics behind a curtain. The curtain provides an immense potential of colours and patterns. Thus it can be made to fit any style of interior design. Those shelves also tend to offer huge flexibility in width and height and are very sturdy. This also allows large "wardrobes" in smaller rooms where normal larger wardrobes would feel dominating and oppressive. The curtain is just more low key.

@frae5

3 жыл бұрын

Good idea, but that, unfortunately, doesn't work. I've tried it out myself, and there are certain reasons why there are wardrobes, ...- in the development of any civilized country - (and not just shelves for that purpose) ... Usually clothes will slip over the shelves, it's usually only the walls of the wardrobe that will hold them together ... So if you try out only this you will have very bad surprises ... It may be a makeshift but not more than this ... What is more, textiles/ clothes weigh more (in summary, on one shelf) thsn one might expect. That means that shelves - if they are not sufficient for the purpose, will bow and become hollow ... and will not hold the clothes. As for the assumption that there are people "who are throwing their furniture away", I guess you have by far wrong assumptions of society, I think that is a serious error to believe this. In my view, the shops that are selling second-hand furniture mostly do it because those goods are apparently given to second-hand shops because either their owners are dead (of the furniture of course - not of the second-hand shops ...) - or because they have been submitted to a sequestration, or because house owners just held them back ... and sold it, that way, to second-hand furniture shops. So it's more, in my view, the misfortune of certain people that is being taken advantage of ... What is more, that furniture in second-hand shops is mostly not is mostly not if an "exquisite taste' - or apparently expensive - i.e. not by people paying attention to this - but just average furniture - that obviously were the only possession of those ... who possessed it before. So usually this is not the clientele who is prone to buy new furniture at any moment in their life, or every other year ... but because the relation of possession has been interrupted for some reasons (among others, death of their owners, referral to a nursing home and so on ... so, in most cases, it's the loss of a whole life ... no one would usually get rid of such furniture voluntarily ... but only under forcing circumstances).

When does your restaurant open? Count me in.

I am also very small, I am 1,5 m tall and my pants are asize 8 uk size, my shoe size is like a 3 uk

Esp w kids grow fast y not buy on sale or 2nd hand. Only thing would not buy 2nd hand underwear socks

I can't believe a person of your integrity would get snarky comments. Oh well. Good advice all around. I'm still trying to forget my destitute days. Take Care.

Haters gonna hate. Don't bother with them. :-)

Neat cool ur hubby good cook

U didnt have that idea that move back to NZ during the hard time??? Is the life easier there? Weather is better there?

It's good to hear that the time and efford you invested paid off in the end. I was never in that situation, but I am kind of thrifty by nature...it's basically what my mother taught me. I would never throw away the stem of a brokoli. I mean, I am glad that I can afford to buy som "luxury food" whenever I am in the mood, but if you cook from the scratch, seasonal and are not wasteful with what you got, it makes a huge difference.

In Austria, willhaben.at (like craig´s list) is a god send! when I renovated my house, I bought a lot of building materials there - saved me about 25.000 Euros. and the paving stones I needed/wanted for my driveway and around the house I picked out of the rubble at land fills - an occasional bottle of wine for the caterpillar drivers there, and they even gave me a phone call when they got a new delivery, dumped it separately and spread it out so I could pick the cobbles out more easily after work. the granite cobbles I got from there over the course of a year and a half would have cost me about 12.000 Euros if I had had to buy them! I do a lot of clothes shopping on flea markets - e.g. almost brand new top brand t-shirts for no more than 5 Euros/piece! For women 2nd hand clothes shopping is even easier, cos women usually don´t wear their clothes out liek men do, but go for newer stuff more often and give a way perfectly good stuff for almost nothing. And you can save a lot of money on cars, if you don´t get carried away by emotions and the will to show off, but soberly treat them as what they are: nothing more than tools to get you from A to B safely.

That’s how you dot it. Kudos for you and yours. I don’t know if they have the app : Next Door. You pick you city.state and town. Free or sell & other community. There’s also A Facebook group called FreeCycle. It can be tricky to find. All stuff must be free to give or get! The.n there’s Groups to join on Fb. EG. Napa Bargains. Once I left home,ALL my house supplies and clothes came from Thrift Stores or free. As I saved money I’d replace a pice of furniture with something new. Same with kitchen utensils and pots pans & dishes. I also Sew,so I make my own curtains and aprons. Yes I’m a man. So many American young ppl won’t use Thrift store stuff. It’s a shame.

McDonald's is expensive in Germany? 🤔

@AntoinetteEmily

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely more expensive than in NZ anyway.

@windhelmguard5295

3 жыл бұрын

thing is that most food places close at 10pm, mc stays open until midnight, so people who come from the late shift (which ends at 10pm) looking for food have to chose between mc or the gas station, the gas station is stupid expensive however, so MC has a secure customer base in late shift working single men, nothing can take that away from them, so they can drive the prises as high as they want, as long as it's cheaper than the gas station, people will come.

@KristinaKk_xx120

3 жыл бұрын

YES

@swanpride

3 жыл бұрын

Eating out is always more expensive than cooking yourself, no matter what and where.

@KristinaKk_xx120

3 жыл бұрын

@@swanpride That's very true! A lot of people assume McDonalds is a cheap meal (at least in the US it is) but in Germany it's almost equivalent to eating a whole meal at a restaurant. I think 20 McNuggets cost around 9/10€!

Before I watch further: your previous videos seemed to be technically better. In this video, the camera looks at you from above instead of into your face; the sound has some of a hallway effect; and the automatic white balance goes crazy. It seems to be focusing at the white candle behind you, changing wall colors randomly. While I can resolve the video problems (move the camera so it points to your nose, and do a manual white balance towards the wall and fix it), I can't resolve the sound issue. I don't think you need a better microphone; there must be some software settings.

@barbsmart7373

3 жыл бұрын

Eisi Kater, Tena koe. I never noticed any of that stuff. I did not notice the candle, or anything crazy or problematic. I just see my Kiwi sister, being herself and sharing so much with us that nothing distracts me. I would be interested to know if anyone else noticed anything from your list of imperfections. In New Zealand we have a young, humble, down to earth mother who is running our country and is shining a light of peace, respect and compassion on the world. In Germany we have Antoinette, mother of three and devoted wife, negotiating a pandemic, residual culture shock and unfriendly people, and who spends time and energy saving money. I would like to really thank my Sister for finding the time around her very busy husband, two young children and then yet to be born third child... to create this video and all her videos we enjoy so much. Kia ora.

I grew up on a farm and being cheap was normal, today I make my own beer, wine, bread and more. The wife likes cheese, yogurt and quark.

Interesting. When I've watched your videos, I've literally thought to myself, "It's so fun to watch her enjoying her new life. You can tell that she hasn't always had a priviliged life, because she shows so much appreciation for the smallest things." You have a certain "rags to riches" quality that doesn't exist in people who have never struggled financially. My nieces are about your age, and have always had excessive wealth. They are very sweet, kind, compassionate, and intelligent. But they have a certain naivety that doesn't exist in you. They simply can't understand what it is like to make dinner out of a carrot, a celery stalk, half a bag of pasta, and a $2 bottle of wine. But because of that, they have never appreciated a $50 restaurant meal - or even a $200 meal. That is just a normal day in their life. There's nothing wrong with that of course. There's nothing wrong with buying what you can afford. The difference is - you will always appreciate the $50 meal, because it will forever be compared to the carrot and pasta meal. It will always remind you of how far you've come, and that's an amazing thing!

Was nützt es Geld zu sparen, wenn Vater Staat es dir sowieso wieder weg nimmt!