Recent Hints
Lower price promise saved on a new cistern
I saved an easy $40 recently on a new cistern by price shopping between competitors! I first checked the prices at both Bunnings and Mitre 10 and found the latter to be the dearer option. Seeing as they promise to better the lower price on the same item, I showed them the proof of the cheaper Bunnings price. They did indeed hold true to their promise and charged me another 15% less than the lower Bunnings price!
By: Anna ReadRe-use butcher's paper to save on paper towel
Instead of buying expensive paper towel, which doesn't seem to last in our household, we use the butcher's paper that is wrapped around purchases such as deli products to clean out oily pots and pans. This saves us money, as well as a heap of paper towel, landfill space and our precious trees!
By: Akiko YoshimotoHottest Hints
A platter from 'nothing'
This hint was a saviour during our last $21 Challenge.
The girls were looking for lunch and complained there was nothing to eat, so I found a large plastic platter and put the following treats on it:
A leftover BBQ sausage, thinly sliced
Two slices of leftover bread, buttered and cut into quarters
A diced kiwifruit
Four strawberries
A small piece of cheese, diced
1/4 tin corn kernels in a lettuce leaf
A muffin, cut in quarters
Four leftover chicken nuggets, cut in halves
A dob of cream cheese with a little corn relish mixed in
Four cucumber slices
Four cherry tomatoes
One Vita Wheat, halved
I gave the girls and myself a saucer each, plus a cocktail fork and everything was eaten and enjoyed. Now we often have 'platter parties' for meals and snacks. A novel way to serve up a meal when you have 'nothing' to eat!
By: Mona 37 responses in the members' forumThe real cost of spending
I have turned my love of a good bargain into something far more valuable! Whenever I am tempted to buy something I could possibly do without, I first calculate how much we would save by paying that money into our mortgage instead. For example, I recently saw a new dress on sale for $49.99 - a bargain, right? However, I paid a quick visit to a mortgage calculator website and discovered that if I didn't buy the dress and put that money onto our mortgage instead, it would take a whole month off the loan term and save us $334.39c in interest. In other words, my 'bargain' dress would really cost me over $300!
Looking at my purchases this way has become a really easy and effective way to curb my spending habit. Now I carry a piece of paper in my wallet with various prices on and I can see how much I would really be spending. It's amazing how much stronger my willpower becomes when I check my piece of paper before buying something and find out what its real cost is!
By: Mandy Cooney 116 responses in the members' forumReceive a Free Newsletter