Dairy-free oat milk for 26c per litre

I make dairy-free milk for my allergic daughter for just 26c per litre! I make oat milk at home, and it tastes just like the shop-bought version that we used to buy on special for $2 per litre. I also use it in desserts, baking and cereal, even though I’m not dairy-free. It’s even cheaper than prepared powdered cow’s milk, which I recently priced at 80c per litre!

Here is the recipe (costed out using Coles home brand ingredients) -

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats 120g (22c)

4 cups water

1 tsp brown sugar (2c) - optional

1 tsp sunflower oil (2c)

Method:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender for one minute

2. Strain through a muslin or a nut milk bag (I use old muslin baby swaddles).

3. Store in the fridge for up to five days.

My husband and I eat other dairy products and my daughter still has two cups of calcium-fortified, shop-bought, non-dairy milk per day as a drink, but we now use at least three litres less of shop-bought milk per week, working out to a saving of over $300 per year!

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!

$3900 saved for two days work!

Renovations need not cost the earth. We just bought our first home and it had a hideous old kitchen with brown contact, broken stove elements and musty cupboards that had seen better days. We wanted a new kitchen but it was going to cost $4000. It was money we didn't have, so I used my brain instead and renovated our entire kitchen for under $100.

I bought:
Two bottles of oven cleaner at $3.99.
One second hand element from the dump for FREE!
Two tins of paint from Kmart for $17.99 and $36.99
Curtains that were faulty and discounted to $20 for two pairs.

I stripped off all the contact, cleaned the cupboards and painted the inside with flat acrylic paint. They are now white and clean inside. Then I cleaned the oven and fitted the element from the dump. It looks great. Now the oven will do us until we get that mortgage out of the way! I then removed the cupboard doors and gave them a coat of enamel paint. I took the door handles off, cleaned them with oven cleaner and refitted them - they came up like brand new! Finally I hung my bargain curtains and my new fresh, white kitchen looks lovely.

My husband was very impressed. All it took me was two days work and $82.96 of supplies. Best of all,I saved $3900 on a new kitchen.

Ask for the gift that keeps on giving

I am a young woman on a single income, paying off my homeloan. I know the amazing financial savings that are possible when you make extra payments of any size on a large loan. However, because I am on a low annual income I often find it very hard to find any spare cash after all the bills have been paid.

So for birthdays and Christmas, when my friends and family are seeking ideas for gifts to give me, instead of asking for things I don't really need, I ask them to deposit the amount that they would have spent on a gift straight on to my homeloan. I am very close with my friends and family and they understand my financial situation. They are only too happy to help me get ahead and hopefully one day own my own home. It is a gift that keeps giving and one I truly appreciate. I read recently that for every extra $1.00 you are able to pay against the principal of your homeloan you will save $2.00 in return and take years off your loan. The understanding and generosity of my friends will help save me tens of thousands in interest over the years.