My health insurer saved me hundreds on travel cover

I have saved $400 on my travel insurance, thanks to my health insurer! I’m going to Europe for six weeks and know the importance of travel insurance. I have a credit card that offers complimentary health insurance, but the underwriter has changed and now NO pre-existing condition is covered. I’ve had a few accidents and illnesses that their previous underwriter covered previously; but the new underwriter said No to ANY pre-existing injury, even if it was healed and needed no further treatment or medication. So I had to independently take out cover for $620 for the six weeks I’m away. In an attempt to offset the cost, I phoned my existing HEALTH insurance. After talking with them, I have suspended my insurance for the time I’m away, and a few weeks when I’m back in Australia, which is two months in total. This has saved me $400 for two months, therefore reducing the cost of my travel insurance to only $220. My annual credit card fee is $150, so I will be cancelling that as well, as it no longer is worth the money if I am not eligible for cover with their travel insurance. So all up, a saving of $150 plus $400 adds up to $550 in total. No small amount and will certainly help fund my travels!

'Gentle reminder' can lead to a lifetime of saving

Often all it takes is the smallest reminder to make a huge difference. Having just turned 65 and now "eligible" to retire, I am not ready to do so either physically, emotionally or socially. I'm also frequently with younger people, who don't necessarily have the same basic foundation of budgeting that I was brought up with. With that in mind, I have taken to carrying around a subtle reminder of the cost of living which not only works for me, but will hopefully rub off on those around me.

My card wallet has a 'sticker' reminder, which says "$20? Is it worth one hour of work?" It's small and discreet, but effective! It also serves as a talking point when I am out and about with some of the younger ones and buying coffee or lunch. It's simple to make the label on the computer or by hand, then clear tape to the card wallet. Here's to some improved lifestyle options as I age further!

Time-saving tips for working mums

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!

Sometimes we all have to just make do!

At 12 years old, my daughter is already helping our family save money on snacks using her Simple Savings skills! With five children in the house, we do a big shop just once a month and are careful to make our food and treats last until the next shop. Recently we were nearing the end of the month and getting low on food. I arrived home one day to find my daughter baking biscuits. 'They're Doos!' she told me. 'You always said if there was nothing in the cupboard, we had to make do, so I made Doos!'

The name has stuck in our house and now whenever we have 'nothing' in the house for lunch boxes, snacks or afternoon tea, she just makes a batch of 'Doos' using whatever she can find in the pantry to 'make do' with. She is proving to be very inventive with her recipes and is turning out to be a real baker. She'll turn out simple but delicious treats such as honey joys, choc chip biscuits, Anzac biscuits, pikelets and pancakes in no time at all! She really has shown that you can make something from almost anything in the pantry and would be wonderful at the $21 Challenge! Here is the recipe for her latest creation, called 'Sort of Scones!'

1 cup oats
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
125g butter
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Mix all ingredients together, then roll into balls and place on a greased baking tray. Bake in a moderate oven (around 180C) for 10 minutes.

I couldn't be prouder of my daughter's efforts to help us save money and keep everyone well fed. Whenever we think our parenting has a lot to be desired, it's moments like this which prove we have to be doing something right - good things do rub off too!