For just $10 I've finally discovered soft skin. I had always suffered from dry skin and, over the years, had spent a fortune on moisturisers in every price range. I never really found anything that I could put on at night which left my skin soft and moist in the morning. It seemed my skin was always thirsty. Then I read in Vogue magazine, about a woman who used Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream as a facial mask. She also suffered from dry skin and her dermatologist had advised her to do this. Having nothing to lose, I decided to give it a go myself. It costs well under $10 and is available at Priceline and in most supermarkets. I chose the fragrance-free one and can honestly say it is the best moisturiser I have ever used. I use it every day under make-up and my skin looks 'dewy' all day long. I apply more in the evening before bed and my skin feels lovely in the morning. I even apply it thickly as a mask sometimes, with great results - and it beats a facial in terms of how my skin feels the next day. So if you have dry or mature skin - give it a try. It is also amazing on dry feet - it really is a miracle! It's amazing to think of how many dollars I will save from now on on my new, simple skincare product!

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!

This super basic mince recipe saves me up to $100 a month on takeaways, thanks to the convenience of having meals already 'half made'.

All you need are:
2kg minced beef
2 cups of red lentils
2 tbsp of vegetable stock powder, or four vegetable stock cubes
1 tsp dried garlic granules
1 dsp dried onion flakes
4 cups of water.

Place all the ingredients into a crockpot and cook on high for two hours, stirring every 30 minutes. It should be thick, aromatic and an unattractive brown colour (don't let this worry you!).

One batch costs just $13 to make and is enough to serve as a base for seven meals for our family (two children and two adults). This saves heaps of money and time too. I usually freeze the mince in margarine tubs, as that seems to be the right amount for one meal for our family.

The meals I made are:

1. Piemaker pies.
   Allow one heaped tablespoon of basic mince per pie. Pour the mince into a small saucepan and add a large spoonful of gravy powder, or a dessertspoon of cornflour and some Vegemite for colour. Heat and stir until thickened. Spoon into pastry cases and cook in the piemaker.

2. Mexican enchiladas.
   I use Mountain Bread or make my own crepes. Lay the bread or crepes in u-shapes in a large baking dish. Mix the mince with an equal amount of tinned or home-made refried beans. Spread the mixture in a sausage shape down the middle of each crepe, fold each side of the crepe over, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 180C until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve on a bed of rice, topped with natural yoghurt and some salsa.

3. Stuffed capsicums.
   Halve enough capsicums for half or one per person. Spoon the mince straight into the capsicums, top with some mashed potato, pumpkin or sweet potato. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 40 mins at 180C. Kids love these as the capsicum sweetens when baked.

4. Baked spuds with topping.
   Allow one potato of appropriate size per person. Cook in the microwave according to manufacturer's instructions. Split a cross in the top and pile filling into the opening. Top with natural yoghurt or sour cream and chopped, sauteed bacon. Allow one large tablespoon of filling per potato. Mix the filling with one tin of baked beans and heat in a small saucepan before pouring on to the potatoes.

5. Spring rolls.
   Mix about four tablespoons of mince mixture with a packet of cooked and cooled Two Minute Noodles, some shredded carrot, and 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice. Using filo pastry sheets or spring roll wrappers, fold a small handful of filling into each spring roll. Spray liberally with cooking spray and bake at 180C for 20-30 mins.

6. Greek pasta bake (Pastito).
   Heat a container of mince mixture with a 400g tin of peeled tomatoes. Cook enough macaroni for your family and drain well. Mix with the meat mixture and spoon into a large baking dish and top with your favourite white sauce or cheese sauce. Sprinkle on some grated cheese and bake for 40 minutes at 200C.

7. Shepherds pie.
   Add any vegetables of your choice to the mince mixture. Place into a baking dish and top with mashed potato, pumpkin or sweet potato then bake until heated and the potato browns.

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.

After reading every newsletter on this fantastic website, I decided to make changes to our household budget.

I started by rummaging through the cupboard, where I found an insulated plunger coffee mug that my husband and daughter had given me as a gift. The mug had never been used as I found it easier to grab a 'latte to go' on the way to work. I bought a tin of ground coffee beans for $6.65, figuring that this tin, with its plastic lid, could be refilled. I now keep this tin in the fridge at work. So, instead of buying three lattes a week at $3.50 each, I now allow myself one a week or sometimes just one a fortnight.

While buying my latte I would sometimes purchase an English muffin with bacon and egg. I now have muffins in the freezer, bacon rashers trimmed and have perfected the three minute poached egg. The bacon takes one minute in the microwave and the muffin is toasted in no time. If I am in a hurry, I wrap the bacon and egg muffin in a small piece of alfoil and take this to work. So instead of paying $14 per week, or $672 per year, I now buy the ingredients for the equivalent of $1.45 per week, saving just over $600 per year. Wow!

You have no idea of how proud I feel. I have saved so much money and it's thanks to your wonderful site.

I had never considered my lifestyle to be particularly excessive, but when I found myself facing large debts and unable to make headway, I had to take control. Using the methods below, I managed to reduce my debts by $30,000 in twelve months.

Bill paying and budgeting:
I began making regular monthly payments into a savings account - which I called my ‘debt reduction’ fund. At the same time, I started to put weekly amounts in labeled envelopes. These envelopes were to cover all of the regular bills; meaning I no longer came under stress when they were due, and I didn’t need to touch any of the savings in my debt reduction fund.

I began a Christmas tin, paying $20 per week into it. While it may not be ideal to keep large sums of money in the home, for me it was preferable to paying more fees to the bank for opening yet another account.

I clear out my wallet every night and put all my coins in a jar. This alone gives me an extra $50 a month to take to the bank.

Food and grocery shopping:
Instead of takeaway food, I began substituting with one of the following:

Spaghetti (five meals per pack for $1.50) with bolognese sauce (two meals per can - $2.50)
Rice (eight meals per pack - $1.50) and canned chilli-con-carne (two meals for $3.50)
Savings approximately $20 per week.

I make sure I eat either frozen broccoli, cauliflower or peas five nights a week, at a cost of $0.60c per meal. I buy all my steak and meat in bulk and freeze in portions.

I get a box of slightly over ripe tomatoes ($3.00 for 5 kg - on special from the local fruit shop) and boil them (skins on) with onion, salt and pepper and a dash of chilli sauce. This sauce makes even the cheapest steak taste delicious, and is great with chicken too. I freeze the sauce in single portions.

Chicken drumsticks are cheap and often on special. All you need to do is roll them in flour and cook on an oven tray until golden. A quick, moist and tasty meal (two drumsticks per person) for less than $1.00.

Potato chips at $3.50 per bag are both expensive and very unhealthy. A cheaper option is to cut a $1.50 loaf of Lavash bread into triangles, dust with paprika or lemon pepper (spraying with a little oil to coat) and cook in oven until golden and crunchy. Add the home-made tomato sauce as a dip and save another $2.00 - $3.00.

I am self employed and work a minimum of 70 hours per week. It would be so easy to succumb to fast food when I am tired, but to curb the temptation I make a large lasagna (without pasta) or a salmon and rice bake; both meals with plenty of vegetables and freeze in portions. All I need to do when I get home is zap in the microwave and eat, and have my own tasty, balanced fast food meal (15 minutes to defrost and cook). Each batch I make gives me eight meals for each recipe, and as they have some of the same ingredients, it is easy to make both at once.

My recipes are delicious and low fat and I am happy to share them if anyone would like them. They cost only around $2.00 per complete meal and all use fresh vegetables.

I make my own burgers by buying mince, making thin patties and grilling, then freeze cooked, in portions. They cook super fast from the freezer with two minutes in the microwave. A quick, low fat hamburger with lettuce tomato and beetroot - $1.50 a hamburger. You can add some zapped frozen home-made tomato sauce for a really tasty treat.

I have my entire shopping list saved on my computer as an Excel spreadsheet and have the prices for each item entered. When I want something, I just enter the quantity (the spreadsheet automatically adds the total each time I input an amount) and know beforehand how much the whole bill will cost. I then look at the total and question whether I really need an item, or just want it!

By doing this, I also know when the supermarket adds a few cents (far more regularly than many people realise - usually 20% - 50% of items weekly, from upwards of $0.03c to $0.40c). I buy regular goods on special (enough for three months supply) and choose generic brands for things like tissues and toilet paper (1,000 sheets of this is the same price as 250 sheets name brand)! I also know when a special is really a special and when it isn’t, which is quite often. I take a calculator shopping and work out the best buy in quantity. Bigger is not always cheaper, and it really is good advice to never shop hungry. I have my weekly grocery budget and any savings go into the account.

I used to buy my lunch and a drink for around $8.00 each day. Now I make my own lunch each day - sandwich, fruit and a large bottle of lemon cordial. Otherwise I take a bowl of Country Ladle soup and a roll. One can gives me two meals for just $1.25 each, with my $0.60c roll. It is healthy, fills me up and saves me $6.00 a day - another $30 a week in my savings account.

There are always two large bottles of lemon cordial made up in my fridge. I only keep fizzy drink for times when I am expecting guests. I put bottles or cans in an hour prior to their arrival. If it is not normally there, I don't drink it. It costs $0.10c for a glass of healthy water based drink, as compared to $1.00 for unhealthy sugar based drinks - what would you rather have?

I save $10 a month on washing powder by reducing the amount I use each load by half.
You know by now where that extra $10 saving goes!
I am always organized for birthday and Christmas gift wrapping - I buy one bolt of wide, colourful paper (from Cello paper) for between $50 - $100 every 15 years. Based on usually giving 40 presents each year, instead of having to buy 40 sheets of gift paper at around $2.50 each, my bulk buying gives me an extra $100 a year in my savings account.

Reducing phone bills:
I now save $70 per month on my previous average mobile phone bill, simply by not making calls on impulse, and calling on a land line wherever possible. That extra $70 a month goes in the savings account. I also reduced by home phone bill by $210 per month once I realized where all the charges were going - on checking my email every time I dialed up. Now I only connect to the Internet once a day and that $210 each month goes into the savings account.

Entertainment:
My entertainment habits have also changed. Instead of paying $50 a time on the pokies, whenever I get the urge now, I put $50 into a tin for my next visit to the bank - it saves $100 - $150 from being frittered away each month. To keep control of my alcohol consumption, I would line empty bottles on my kitchen window sill and clear weekly. Doing this, you see it daily and unconsciously count the value - plus, do you want the neighbours to see how much you drink?? This saves me another $50 a month for my account. Instead of opening a can, now when I get home I have a really large lemon cordial. Then if I still feel like a drink, at least I have taken the edge off the need to relax and I will only have one every few days.

One last golden rule - put away $50 per month for ‘mad money’ - just for you to use for something special.

I paid off $30 000 in one year by using these exact tips and many more. The relief is amazing and now I save the same way.

[Shane's recipes are in the cooking section of the Savings Vault.]

[To view or download Shane's Excel Shopping spreadsheet follow the link below.]

http://www.simplesavings.com.au/resources/shopping_checklist.xls

Here's how to lose weight and save!

A couple of years ago I joined Weight Watchers and went to four meetings. Joining was free from a coupon in a magazine but the meetings cost something like $15.95 each. I couldn't get motivated!

A few weeks ago, as I was bucketing the bath water into the toilet cistern to save water (a tip from Simple Savings), I realised that I am doing the exact same thing that Weight Watchers meetings could not motivate me to do. At WW the main things they encourage you to do are to eat 10% less at meals (this also helps the budget at shopping time) and to exercise more (this comes from carting water between the bath and the toilet and using the rain water tank to water the vegie patch and so on).

I am now losing about half a kilogram a week without even trying and I'm not paying $16 to do it. In fact, I'm making other savings as well - our last water bill was $40 less than that for the same time last year.

What has also happened for me in the last few months is that while saving money I have also become better at time management - planning meals for a month and shopping with a list have cut out a lot of unnecessary trips to the shops (not to mention the extra expense). I have cut $60 from my husband's spending money by supplying his lunch every day, along with some soft drink, a large bottle of water and a snack. He is happy because he still has a small amount of 'sanity money' in his pocket to splurge with every week.

My food budget absorbed this when I switched from a lot of brand name products to BI-LO brand products - I save from as little as $0.10c per item up to a couple of dollars per item. The biggest savings I make come from bulk buying - last month BI-LO had five kilograms of potatoes for $5.00, but when I went to the greengrocers they had them at $6.00 for a 20 kilo bag. These lasted for about a month and I couldn't bring myself to go to the fish and chip shop when I had 15 kilograms of 'free' potatoes in the pantry, so we had home-made wedges instead, saving another $6.00.

The excitement of saving money has also inspired me to do the things that I don't enjoy so much, such as mending and ironing, and I am gradually working my way through every room and cupboard, taking inventory of what can be used and how best to use it in a way that will save me money. I never thought I would actually look forward to going through years of accumulated junk! By organising my house, I am becoming a 'cleanie' and leaving the old 'messy' me behind - and I am enjoying every minute of it!

Slash your washing powder costs by using a tablespoon of washing powder in your machine instead of a scoop. It works just as well! My sister was learning about budgeting and the speaker mentioned that you could get the same wash results by using one flat tablespoon of washing powder as you could if you used a whole scoop. I decided to test this theory and found that even with a full load of washing this proved to be true. I buy a top brand washing powder that costs around $10 per two kilo box and it contains around 148 tablespoons. I used to go through a two kilo box of powder every four to six weeks when I was using a scoop. Generally I do a load of washing every second day, so using one tablespoon per wash, my box of washing powder should now last me nearly 10 months! Just changing this small habit will save me $90 every 10 months on washing powder!

Skint but stylish. That's how I like to think of my lifestyle, because it is such fun to live on the smell of an oily rag without anyone else knowing! Eighteen months ago, although in recovery from depression, I found myself many thousands of dollars in debt and with several accounts having been sent to collection agencies. I was also 31kg overweight and at risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. The excess weight (not to mention the stress!) was also making my arthritis worse. I was no longer able to work in my former profession and, as I was in my early sixties, I wasn't able to find other work and was on Centrelink (Social Security) benefits. I have since been transferred to the Age Pension. I knew I had to make some drastic changes, and pretty darn quickly too! I had just a few things going for me:

• My Visa card was a debit, not credit, card.

• My account was with a credit union, rather than a bank, and fees are much less.

• I was knowledgeable about nutrition.

• I was willing to face unpalatable facts about myself and make lifestyle changes.

With this small armoury, I prepared to do battle! The first thing I did was to sit down with all the paperwork, and list all the accounts, personal loans and the total. I nearly had a heart attack right there and then, but with the information, I was able to draw up a projected payments schedule. I contacted all the collection agencies and told them how much I proposed to pay each fortnight until all were paid. I did the same with private lenders. Nobody turned my proposal down; it really is true that, if you get in contact and show willingness, most lenders will give you time to pay. They would rather have their money than you in jail!

Step 2 was to organise payment of my electricity account by direct debit from my pension - what you never have, you never miss. Once the phone bill was paid off and reconnected, I did the same with that too. In all, my debt reduction program was going to be about $200 per fortnight, or roughly 34% of my pension and Centrelink allowances. Since my rent costs another 34%, the remaining 32% had to stretch to cover food, cleaning materials, clothing, pharmacy costs over the pharmacy allowance, fares for trips outside walking distance, presents, postage, life insurance and credit union fees (direct debit from my credit union account), occasional small charitable donations and the occasional small treat.

Step 3 was to go on to a sensible eating program (not a fad diet) that would help me to lose weight, bring my blood glucose and serum cholesterol levels into the normal range. A low GI, high carbohydrate, moderate protein, low-fat pattern fitted the bill in all respects. The challenge was: could I do it on $50-$75 per fortnight? The answer is yes! I make my own wholemeal bread, soups, skim milk yoghurt and lots of interesting dishes from many countries, based on grains and vegetable proteins, and stock up on tinned oily fish for essential fatty acids when on special. I have red meat and poultry only once or twice a fortnight and the rest of the time my proteins are derived from legumes, eggs and low-fat cheeses. It's just as well that I like oats! I drink two litres of water a day and make my own herbal teas from homegrown herbs. I don't buy soft drinks and buy leaf tea rather than tea bags, as it's better value per unit serving. I find whole fruit better all round than juice as a rule.

Step 4 was to get mobile! I walk, because I can't afford gym membership, and walking can be done by those who can't jog. Being out in the open air blows away the blues too. Having won a free pedometer, I wear it and try to reach 10,000 paces a day. I also started a vegetable garden and this saves me money where it counts, on vegetables, as well as being another source of fresh air and exercise.

Is it working? Is it what! In the last financial year I paid off $5000 in debts on the pension alone, and am on track to achieve the same amount this financial year. I lost 13kg in the same period - a nice, sustainable rate. My blood glucose level is normal, my serum cholesterol almost so, although because of familial hypercholesteraemia, I need some medication to help with that. I am continuing to lose weight slowly but surely and have much more endurance and less pain. My GP is nearly as stoked as I am. I take care of my clothes, believing that 'well-pressed is well-dressed', so my appearance doesn't give me away either. Occasionally I earn a little money from magazine contributions and this usually goes towards seeds or something else for the garden, but occasionally I restock the pantry with staples. I make my own cleaning products with such simple substances as vinegar, bi-carb of soda, washing soda crystals, soap scraps, eucalyptus oil and - wait for it - Worcestershire sauce (cleans brass and copper a treat, and one nearly always has it handy). I turn my appliances (apart from the fridge) off at the wall when not in use and have noticed a difference in my power usage. All my incandescent light bulbs have been replaced with long-life fluorescent ones, and by crafty use of acrylic-lined curtains I keep my house cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I pile on the clothing layers in winter and wear cool clothing in summer. If I'm watching TV in the winter, I cover my legs with a woollen rug and put on another cardigan if necessary, rather than turn up the heater.

Because I can't afford much for presents, I give of myself. A nice present is a 'book of vouchers', made attractively and containing such redeemable coupons as: 'This voucher is good for two hours' ironing... or an evening's baby-sitting... or... whatever!' Very few people say no to home-made goodies either. It makes me feel truly wealthy to give someone a loaf of bread still warm and fragrant from the oven, or a jar of chutney.

I have discovered that reversing my old way of shopping is much easier on my pension! Previously I always used to menu plan first, then go to the shops and walk up and down the aisles getting the things on my list (plus plenty that wasn't)! However once we retired I soon realised this was no longer working. I was spending more than we could afford at the supermarket and greengrocer. I needed to find a better way - and I found one!

These days, I do my menu planning and shopping the other way round. I go to the supermarket once a week and buy whatever is marked down. For example, this week I found Wagyu sausages down from $6.95 to $3 for six. That's enough to make three meals for the two of us! I also bought 4kg of chicken breasts marked down to $5.99 a kilo. I can mince some for lasagne, chop some for curries, cut strips for sate or just poach some for sandwiches. Either way I will get at least at least 20 meals for the $45 I spent!

The same goes for the greengrocer. Instead of planning what I was going to buy in advance I now only buy what he has outside in boxes on special. I pick out the best deals, then come home and menu plan around what I have bought. I am finding this so much better on the wallet and would encourage anyone to give it a go!