Replace nail biting with horsetail herbal capsules

A tried and true way to prevent nail biting is to take horsetail herb capsules. Nail biters seek silicone and this herb supplies it. I am a naughty nail biter from way back (and still do because I am hopeless at taking pills!). However I swear horsetail capsules work and my nails grow like wildfire whenever I remember to take them!

Tomato paste doubles as cheap puree

Tomato paste saves me valuable dollars on buying puree! Whenever a recipe calls for tomato puree, I just use a sachet of tomato paste and then add water to it to make it up to whatever quantity of puree is required. It works as well and tastes just as good. I like to buy the Delmaine concentrated tomato paste, which comes in four little tubs of 70gm each. It is so versatile, and compared to tomato paste takes up far less room in the pantry!

Make inexpensive liquid plant food

I can make hundreds of litres of liquid plant food from just $12 worth of Dynamic Lifter pellets! This will buy a 10kg bag. Just add around four handfuls of pellets to a nine litre bucket of water and let steep for a couple of days, mixing occasionally. When you have a nice 'tea', pour a couple of litres of the liquid, into a nine litre watering can, top up with water and give your garden a drink. Repeat until all the 'tea' is gone, then add more water to the residual at the bottom of the bucket and repeat this process. As the mixture gets weaker, you can use on seedlings, vegetables and more delicate plants such as azaleas and gardenias. The 'weak' mixture can be used as a health tonic or sprayed directly onto the foliage of plants (remember not to spray if the weather is over 20 degrees Celsius, as this will burn the foliage). Once you get to the real weak stuff, simply pour the residual under a tree and water in well.

You can also make hundreds of litres of liquid fertiliser from a 10kg bag of Blood and Bone pellets at an initial cost of approxiamtely $1.20 per kilo. Compared to a litre bottle of liquid plant food (such as Seasol) which costs about $10 and will make just over 300 nine litre buckets (going on the manufacturer's average of 30ml per bucket), your bag will make many hundreds of buckets of first grade solution followed by many more second and third grade 'weak' solutions which are ideal for foliar feeding. A huge saving, which will give you enough fertiliser to last you a whole year or more!

Budgeting for all bills on a low income

I am on a very, very low income, so I budget for every bill and expense. I put away bill money every fortnight and that way I have all my bills covered as they arrive, and we seem to just spend the rest. Last year I decided to pay me as a bill, so every pay day I pay me first, just $50. I now have over $1200 in savings. I can't believe how easy it is; just pay yourself before everyone else. The first couple of pays it was an effort not to touch it, but as soon as I saw it mounting up, I got very excited. I tell myself all the time that money is power. While $1200 is not much to some people, to me it's a fortune. Try it - it empowers you.