From nail biter to nail care teacher - tips that work

I was a nail biter from a very young age. Now, I teach others how they can have beautiful nails, without spending a fortune. All you need is a little basic nail care. Soak your nails in oil for 10 minutes each day for one month. Whatever oil is in the kitchen pantry will do. Massage each nail in a circular motion (not back and forth) with the ball of the thumb. After the first month, this treatment is only needed once a month .

The next step is to treat nails weekly for the next six weeks . Cleanse them with a nail polish remover, again starting at the end of the nail bed and working down the nail to the tip. From here on, apply a simple protective barrier nail polish every day. In the beginning, the nail polish builds up as you are learning - do not worry or be concerned about that - just only do the nails once a week. Every week also file and buff the nails. Only do this once per week, as one can over process the nails (just as you can do with skin and so on).

I have ended up teaching nails care for 20 years and all of my clients who have followed handling correctly as well as the process are the proud owners of beautiful nails and hands!

Make every cake of soap last twice as long

To make a cake of soap last twice as long, simply paint the top or bottom with some PVA wood glue and let dry. Doing this means only one side of the soap dissolves, enabling the cake to last double the time. I paint the top side of the cakes of soap when we bring them home. Sometimes my granddaughter even glues a pretty picture to the side!

$13 mince mix makes base for 7 meals

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.

'10% less' rule saves money and planet

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.