Going vegetarian has saved all round

Going vegetarian has been a great move for me in every way. For me, it was an ethical decision as I no longer wanted to eat animals but as an added bonus I have found it saves a lot of money. Pasta sauces don't need meat; beans and lentils are just as tasty and filling and cost a fraction of the price of meat. These days I make all kinds of delicious vegetarian dishes such as pasta bakes quickly and easily, for less than $1!

Full strength DIY 'Dettol' spray for just 2c a bottle!

A little supermarket research led me to making a huge saving on keeping germs at bay! When my two young children had a gastro bug, I needed anti-bacterial spray to clean up and stop the spread of germs, which vinegar didn't touch. The cheapest anti-bacterial spray I could find was Dettol anti-bacterial spray which cost $4.20 for 500ml. On reading the active ingredients it said it contained Benzalkonium Chloride 0.095%. Then, I saw that a bottle of Coles brand disinfectant was $1.40 for two litres. I read the ingredients and saw Benzalkonium Chloride 1%. The instructions said to dilute it in a ratio of 1:20, or 30ml to 600ml water. So I bought that one, made up the solution and put it in an old spray bottle I already had. It worked just as well and cost just over 2c per spray bottle of prepared solution, compared to $4.20 for the Dettol spray! While Coles brand disinfectant says it can only be used on “floors, walls, bathroom and toilet areas”, not in kitchen areas like the Dettol spray, for me these were the only areas that I needed to disinfect and worked a treat!

Professional rug cleaning - at the carwash!

I save over $300 every time I clean my rugs with this ingenious tip! About 12 months ago I bought three large rugs at a garage sale. They were marked, but mainly from day to day use. I figured even if I had to pay for them to be cleaned, it would still work out much cheaper than buying them new. Was I in for a shock when I rung around to get prices! To get just ONE of my average room sized carpets cleaned it was going to cost me around $100. Apparently they are harder to clean than a regular carpet, hence the hefty price. I was very disappointed and felt like I had just wasted the $110 I had spent on my 'bargain' rugs. I thought surely there had to be a better way - and there was! I rolled up one of the rugs and went down to the local do-it-yourself car wash. I hosed the dirt off the ground and then laid the rug down. Using the pressure spray on the soap cycle, I sprayed the rug, then used the rinse cycle to clean it all off! It was so easy; the high pressure made very light work of all the marks and left no soap behind. Best of all, it cost me less then $10 - a saving of $270 for all three rugs! The rugs dried in a day in the sun and they came up like new. My friends have all started doing this too and one of them swears that her rugs come up better then they did when she was paying to have them done professionally. It gets rid of all smells and marks right down to the backing. I wash my rugs every couple of months as I have three dogs and two young kids and this has saved me a whopping $1620 to date!

Healthy eating for less

I have finally convinced my three daughters that eating a healthy lunch, including sandwiches with salad, is not only good for them but tastes great too. However, soon after changing their lunch habits, I found that this method was taking a large chunk out of our budget.

Being a working mum, it was easier to stop at the supermarket on the way home and buy pre-packed salad ingredients, but I soon discovered it was adding around $55 to the weekly budget. Plus, buying cold meat to match everyone's tastes added another $40 per week. I decided it was time to cut down. After doing some homework looking for the best prices and quality, I now purchase a bag of carrots, a couple of fresh beetroot, some fresh bean sprouts and cucumbers and a variety of lettuce. I noticed that by purchasing these items late on Sunday afternoon, I can pick them up even cheaper.

I grate my own carrot, beetroot and cucumber, throw in the bean sprouts and store in the fridge in an airtight container. I tear up the lettuce leaves and mix together in a plastic shopping bag and store in the vegetable crisper where they stay fresh and crunchy all week. My salad ingredients now cost less than $10 per week and they last longer. Throw in a small portion of sundried tomatoes for my hubby and I add approx another $1.50 to my total.

Instead of buying cold meat from the supermarket deli, I now purchase a couple of extra chicken breast fillets from my Asian butchery for around $4.00; this is cheaper than ALDI or any other local fresh meat source. I cook and shred the chicken myself while tinned salmon and tuna add extra variety; a $0.69c tin of tuna covers two lunches when added to salad. I purchase mince when it is on special and make a large batch of meatballs, which are frozen and used over a period of weeks as another filling alternative. Another favourite is home cooked corn beef; rather than putting the leftovers in the fridge, I slice it thinly and freeze for another filling choice.

My three girls are now involved in the Sunday afternoon preparations. Whilst my eldest daughter is madly grating the salad items, I tear up the lettuce and my younger daughters have great fun mixing the meatball ingredients and rolling them ready to cook.

Our family of five is still eating yummy healthy lunches but for $70 to $75 a week less than before!
We also have the added bonus of spending time together while we prepare and my daughters are learning new skills too.