We no longer spend up to $5.00 on a birthday card. Now we spend $0.15c at the very most!

All we do is take a photo of the family holding up a sign that reads 'Happy Birthday'. I have had a pile of them printed off and we simply write a personalised message on the back of each photo.

This great idea can be used on any occasion, including Christmas. So say cheese and save bread!

I have come up with a simple yet super effective way of making sure I never waste any more money on clutter! I'm a sucker for buying toys for my children. Consequently I am now drowning in broken toys, clutter and debt. But now when I'm in the department stores and see something on special or think, 'my girls would love that', I open up my bag and get out my deterrent! I look at the photos I have taken of my lounge covered in toys and clutter and remember that not am I only saving money by not buying more, I am also saving the planet - and my sanity! Works every time!

Here is a hint that has saved our family time, money and arguments, not to mention countless wasted scraps of paper. This year we purchased a large diary for family use, labelled it 'Bench-top Notes' and sat it on our bench. In this diary we write notes to each other that in the past, would have been on scrap pieces of paper that would often be missed or mislaid. Anything from appointment reminders, details of missed phone calls, housework or instructions for our teenage boys, or just simple but personal notes to each other such as 'Hi sweetie, have a great day, I love you, see you at 5.30!' and so on! It has tidied up our bench-top, kept us all organised and an added bonus is that we can look back on our entries for confirmation of bills being paid, appointments kept or cancelled with the reason why and smile at the little love notes to and from each other. This diary cost about $12 but it now contains the priceless and lifetime memories of our 'Bench-top Notes'.

For many people juggling work, family and study, time is the most important saving they can make. I work four days a week, have a three-year-old and studied part-time for a diploma for a year. I got by with these time-saving tips:

1. Lowering my expectations for the house. I don't need a spotless house, but a tidy and lived-in home.

2. Doing my housework little and often, rather than spending huge amounts of time tidying up. I do things like:

- put my little one's daycare bag together for the next day as soon as we get home in the afternoon.
- cook my lunches (pasta and sauce, muffins and so on) once a week and freeze them.
- put my lunch box together from the freezer in the evening.
- clean the toilet by putting a teaspoon of Napisan in it each night. It soaks overnight and the bowl is clean with the next flush.
- do laundry when enough for a load accumulates so we don't have a sudden clothes drought, then an avalanche of laundry to do and put away.

3. Exercising on a stationary bike in front of the TV in the evenings after my little one is in bed.

4. Programming our DVD recorder once a week (Sundays when we get the new TV guide) so I don't miss my favourite shows.

5. Filling cereal bowls with water if I am rushing and have to leave the breakfast things. This makes them easier to clean later and stops ants.

6. Trying not to double handle things. Rubbish goes straight in the bin, meat is put in meal size portions in plastic bags and frozen as soon as it gets home, magazine subscriptions go straight to magazine rack when they arrive in mail.

7. Leaving rooms better than when I arrived, so the need to tidy doesn't build up. It only takes five minutes to put laundry from the floor to the hamper, make the bed, wipe a bench, replenish the toilet paper.

8. Recruiting my little one to help - she's only three but she can put dirty dishes in the sink, put toys away in her room, dirty clothes in the hamper.

9. Shopping for groceries by myself in the evening so hubby can watch his TV shows in peace and I am not tempted to go to other stores as only the supermarket is open. Also many things are marked down at that time.

10. Trying to do three things for myself that make me feel happy each day, like listen to podcasts while I do the housework.

11. Writing the shopping list progressively through the week so I can pick it up and go when it's time to do groceries.

12. Storing the bedding in storage containers under each bed so it's quick to make the bed, especially when changing my little one's wet sheets in the middle of the night.

13. Shopping for presents at sales during the year (online or in stores) so I don't need to go to crowded stores during the Christmas rush.

14. Not beating myself up if I find lifestyle changes tricky at first - I am afterall human!

Over the past four years I have been fighting my way out of debt. I was left with a large amount of debt when my marriage ended and it seemed I would never find a way out, working nights to support myself and five children and trying to reduce the debt in some way. Then, instead of just reading Simple Savings I began implementing as much of it as I could. Along the way I found that things I previously thought were impossible are just every day now!

Two of my children have now left home and are independent and I have three daughters still living with me. I have found new ways to feed them and where once they would have baulked if I offered them home-made soup after school, they now eat it with relish. A home-made frappe was dessert last night and they were happy and satisfied with that. Fruit jellies, home-made scrolls and calzone along with the batch of cake and muffins or bikkies I make are average snacks and lunches. School lunch today was home-made soup with home-made pizza scrolls. It certainly took a while to change their views from believing that everything had to be store bought and chips were the afternoon snack.

I am now debt free and have savings - something I never thought I would have! Bulk toilet paper, bulk washing powder, skim milk powder, and bulk meat buys at a discount butcher and fruit from the growers has saved me a small fortune.

I recently moved in with my partner to his home with the girls and together we have been able to make more and more changes which once would have not been thought possible but with small steps we have cut out television unless it is a special documentary or one of the two shows per week we deem suitable. The girls now play outside or garden, or read and do homework after school instead of being glued to the 'box' and they haven't asked to play Nintendo for weeks now. Water or weak cordial is the staple drink, with the occasional juice for a treat.

I am now a stay at home mum and as long as I can feed this family, pay for petrol in my car and keep the girls clothed for under $500 per fortnight it will stay that way. I am working hard to make sure these dreams come true.

In reality there is no sacrifice - you just need to know what you want and aim for it every day.

I live with my husband and 4 year old twin boys in a unit and we discovered Simple Savings at a time that was very difficult in the life of our family. I wanted to share a bit of our journey that led to saving money and an improvement of our quality of life.

When I discovered Simple Savings my husband was a self employed contractor who was in between jobs and our income became more limited as I work part time and we have many fixed expenses including a large mortgage and preschool fees.

We were feeling very stressed emotionally as well and finding daily living difficult to manage. I pored over the Savings Vault and found a wealth of information so assist us in reducing our expenses. As we were feeling quite vulnerable and finding change a struggle we picked one tip a week to research or implement and we started with the simplest first so we could experience enough success to motivate us to continue.

So the first week my husband put his razor in a small glass of olive oil (to prevent rust and make the blade last longer). Then we replaced our fabric softner with 1/4 cup of vinegar and put vinegar in a pump spray pack to clean our benches. We also used vinegar to clean our floors. As we "succeeded" we began to feel better about life as we were exercising the control we could to improve our situation and it felt creative.

We also:

Researched car/house/contents insurance for the best deal

Started to shop at Aldi regularly, knowing from other Simple Savings users which were the best value products

We found a wholesale butcher (Elvy's Wholesale Meats 2/19 Norman St, Peakhurst tel: 9153 6656)

We started cleaning our dishwasher with citric acid

We gave homemade gingerbread houses and biscuits as Christmas gifts

Our children made gift wrap (painted and glittered) from a roll of butchers paper bought for $10 at IKEA which is very personal and inexpensive.

We joined 3 different DVD clubs and got a free month from each before cancelling which gave us great free entertainment over the Christmas months.

We found websites for children's activites, and a recipe for homemade playdoh that we love and have given to other children as gifts.

We also bought $8 worth of alphabet and flower beads and bracelet elastic from The Reject Shop and made 13 name bracelets for preschool teachers and friends. My boys really knew the joy of giving something that they had helped choose and make. The recipients were joyous at the personal nature of the gift.

I now make my own bath products for our family and for gifts from the recipes and websites reccommended by Simple Savings subscribers.

We are adding to our life routine regularly and we are loving our life. This week I have taken my first week of unpaid leave from work to be with my cherubs during the school holidays and it is such a priceless and precious gift.

I really appreciate the invaluable life tools that I have gained from your website and value sharing this way of life with my children. And I encourage the overwhelmed to add one tip a week to your life...they all add up to big change.

I use a simple principle every day, which helps me save money in all areas of my life. I try to reduce my use or consumption of what I normally do by 10%. The rewards are enormous. For example, if you spend $200 a week on groceries, try reducing it by $20 over 52 weeks and straight away you have $1040 extra in your pocket. You and your family won't even notice the difference, as it equates to less than $3.00 a day!

If you apply this principle to all areas of your life - petrol, electricity, phone calls and so on, the savings are huge even though the sacrifice is not even felt. It not only saves money but also the planet by reducing your overall consumption. Once I achieve this 10% reduction, I do it all over again! Every quarter after the electricity bill comes in, I then set myself the 10% goal anew to keep myself on track and to challenge myself to reduce further. This means the $180 grocery bill then reduces by a further $18 a week and so it goes on. I have done this only to a point where it is comfortable and achievable. Because it is baby steps it is easy and fun and not painful! We have saved hundreds, if not thousands, in the last year or two and are not feeling so pressured by the mortgage rate rises. Best of all is that we haven't noticed any difference to our lifestyle.

A novel idea to help my Mum save on new ceiling fans has led to some fantastic and unexpected long-term savings! After being quoted a whopping $160 per unit (pensioner rate) to get ceiling fans installed, we took matters into our own hands and placed an advertisement on local notice boards. It read: 'Experienced licensed electrician required to install three ceiling fans. I would like to trade the costs by doing your washing and ironing for one month.’

Within a few days, Mum had received several enquiries and selected a nice, young single guy who needed a 'mother's touch' to some of his clothes - a lot of stain removal and buttons re-sewn. He installed the fans and dropped and picked the clothes up from her place on a weekly basis. To our surprise we learned he also had connections to plumbers and gardeners and she was soon able to have her bathroom wall retiled in exchange for scrubbing out an oven and re-organising a food pantry for a couple that were having a baby soon.

It didn’t stop there! Before long she was taking up hems, sewing on buttons and doing basic mending in exchange for garden maintenance and mowing lawns. These guys are ripping up old items from homes every day with their trades so these days they even search around to find her the cheapest - or even free - items if she needs them, as well as providing an oven door and dials on her heater for free. They often come across things that others could use but end up in the tip instead.

As a pensioner, Mum has time on her hands and is very experienced in household chores but has a limited income. This trade of skills and services means she can now carry out tasks within her ability and has made some fantastic friends. Her place looks amazing and is she even happy to do babysitting for the families. In turn they really appreciate having a cuddly grandmother figure around. She has a new purpose and a whole new social network too - in fact she looks 10 years younger!

Simple Savings has become a way of life. I don't have to think about saving or spending now - it just comes naturally. In the past five and a half years, we have managed to pay a whopping $150,000 (principal) plus interest off our mortgage and still live happily and comfortably. This is all due to Simple Savings.

My husband and I have three young children and our combined income is only average, ranging between $50,000 - $70,000 per year. Readers may think 'I could never do that, I would have to go without too much' or 'that's impossible', but this is not true. We don't go without; in fact we feel we do pretty well! I cannot name just one single thing that has helped us to achieve this and still be happy - it is a multitude of tips and hints, all of which can be found on your site. I have always been a Simple Saver, so for me this was not hard, but my husband found not being able to spend money willy-nilly difficult at first. These days, I am proud to say he thinks before he spends and at times even proudly tells me of his smart purchase or why he didn't purchase!

I could go on and on giving examples on how to do what we have done, where we saved money and how we used it more wisely, but that would make a book and to be honest all people have to do is log on to your site, it's all there. Focus on your goals, walk hand in hand with Simple Savings and your dreams can come true.

I was renting for nearly three years on a medium salary and really just living day by day. I decided that I wanted to get out of the renting cycle, so thought I would become educated financially. I started reading the 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki series of books and immediately I saw there was no way out unless I changed my psychological views dramatically and acted on them.

I started a savings plan by setting up three bank accounts - one for daily spending (which gave me a small amount of easily accessed money), one for bills (which I used to pay credit cards and so on) and one for long term savings (through ING Direct) which was only to be touched for large goal purchases.

I requested my employer split my pay 30% in the daily and 70% in the bills accounts. Once the 30% ran out, I just sacrificed a bit more and went without the usual luxuries until the next pay. I soon found that I would spread the money out for longer until I hardly ever ran out. At the end of each month (or whenever the deadly credit cards had been paid), whatever balance was left in the bills account was transferred to my savings account.

I am happy to say that after three years, I have managed to save nearly $25,000 for a deposit for my new home, whilst accumulating 5.25% interest!