School holidays are more affordable with the help of the $21 Challenge! Money seems to slip away so effortlessly while out having fun with my teenage kids. Budgeting is something I am trying to teach them about but it is hard to make it relevant sometimes. Then I had a great idea that would make them pro-active with the weekly budget over the holidays, without me being a 'budget nag'.

It is the $21 Challenge week, with a twist. THEY have to go and log all the food in the freezer and pantry, and make up the meal plan for the week. Then all the money THEY save us for the week can go towards some guilt-free fun. It's a great incentive and my kids are learning important household skills.

My husband is self-employed and over Christmas and New Year we were waiting on a payment that had been due in November. I had not done any shopping for over a month, and we felt like there was nothing in our pantry, especially my five kids who repeatedly moaned ' there's nothing in here!’

Of course, that wasn't the case. It's amazing what you have stashed away in containers or hiding at the back of each shelf. On a closer inspection, we found dried beans and lentils, flour, sugar, cous cous, rice and lots of other bits and pieces.

We managed to feed our family of seven on the 'nothing' in our pantry for another two weeks. We are lucky enough to keep chickens, and have a very basic vegetable garden, so all I really needed to purchase was milk. We made pancakes, pikelets and scones, and even a chocolate cake with the cocoa we found - these snacks kept the kids, and hubby, very happy!

We survived until our very overdue payment finally arrived. We have now decided that we will eat the cupboard clean every month, as this encourages us to save money by using what we already have and by not allowing things to go out of date.

As part of my $21 Challenge to use all the food in the pantry, I have set up a 'use up soon' basket containing items getting close to their use-by date. This way, I will remember to use things before I have to throw them out.

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.

I have read heaps about menu planning but found it all just so overwhelming. Choosing a menu for a whole month seemed like a lot of hard work but I have found a way to help even the most disorganised person.

Starting on the first day of a new month, and using a calendar or diary, write down what you have for dinner each night of the month. You will soon see what meals you eat on a regular basis. You can then transfer this information to the next month in your calendar or diary, and there is your monthly menu plan!

Our family is living proof that with a sensible outlook and good, honest hard work anything is possible. Our 'ugly duckling' house has gone from being the worst house to the best house in the street. Unfortunately the cost of renovating and extending it cut into our interior design budget. However we discovered that we could still furnish our dream home beautifully on a reduced budget by settling for second hand items.

For example, our curtains are fully lined and are gorgeous! One window was not a standard size and the quote for its curtains alone was $1500. Instead I found a perfect set at the op shop to fit our huge window for only $40! We have now finished the curtaining for a total cost of $250, saving us $5,000 on the original quotes. We have also bought stunning soft furnishings such as cushions, throws and floor rugs, again from op shops. Furniture we have picked up either second hand, from op shops or passed on from family. We have painted and scrubbed these pieces and now have a very up to date 'beach/country chic' look, all for little cost. The house is now finished and it looks stunning inside and out. We have Edwardian steamer chairs outside on the balcony bought for $2.00 each from the op shop. What a bargain! Our friends and family are amazed.

We now go to op shops first for all of our clothes. Our teenage kids really appreciate their 'brand name' bargains, such as polo shirts for $8 where the normal price would be $100 and many other items. I recently bought my husband a brand new dinner suit on "half price day" for $7.50! When you buy from op shops you pay cash - no credit card debt for us!

Every spare cent goes into paying off our mortgage and the house is almost paid off. We have worked hard doing a lot of building and landscaping work ourselves, as well as the interior, to save money. We live like kings but our outgoings are carefully calculated. We have taught our kids the benefits of hard work, and sensible spending. We are very proud of our lifestyle and the happiness it has brought us.

When I separated from my husband and was left with three children, I had no income apart from the pension. Food was getting very scarce, so I had to become creative. Every second week I drove to Flemington fruit and vegetable markets in Sydney (about closing time when most food is the cheapest), bought food by the boxes, and spent the whole day processing it. I made vegetable lasagnes, which I would freeze, all sorts of sauces, vegetable selections for stir frying and steaming, mango ice blocks (pureed mango only) and so on. We would use the most perishable fruit and vegetables the first week and the others later. Eventually we started to have an overabundance of food.

Then I told a few friends of my system, and very soon I was running a little co-op. I started to go to the markets every week and buy a greater variety of food. I got my fruit and vegies free and could also split up my petrol bill for the week amongst participants of the co-op. They got their food much cheaper than in the shop, and I got my food and petrol free.

Apart from that we had the freshest food, with fresh fruit or vegetable juices every day. Out the window went fizzy drinks and any convenience foods. It is now about 14 years since we started to eat like this, and we don't even have a family doctor, because we hardly ever get sick. How much we saved on medicines I cannot even begin to calculate.

When I see the new ads on television for Watties 'NEW HOMESTYLE MASHED POTATOES' for the microwave, I just about laugh myself of the couch. I have used this system for many years, for a fraction of the price! Using an ice cream scoop, put single servings on your baking tray and freeze. To remove, gently twist the baking tray and they will 'pop' off. Place the required number of servings in one of those 'recycled' plastic bags that all us Simple Savers have stashed away and place in freezer. When they are required there's no need to defrost, just put them in the microwave (covered) and 'zap' for one minute per scoop. My kids love them with an egg for breakfast! Quick, very low cost, no nasty preservatives and yummy. Not to mention a lot more convenient than going to the supermarket and spending your hard earned dollars on more prepackaged junk you and your family don't need. Enjoy!

I make these Cheesy Ham and Corn muffins, which are delicious and at only $0.44 each to make, give me and my family something tasty, cheap and healthy in our lunchboxes. They are yummy cold, or heated up in the microwave.

Makes 12

Ingredients:
1 x 310g can of corn (reserve can for measuring)
½ cup reduced fat milk (1/2 ‘can’)
2 eggs
2 cups of self raising flour - I use wholemeal (2 ‘cans’)
Pinch of salt
2 cups reduced fat grated Australian cheese (2 ‘cans’)
2 slices ham, cut into strips
2 teaspoons English mustard

Method:

Whisk together corn, milk and eggs in a large bowl until combined. Add remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into non-stick ½ cup muffin tray.
Bake at 200c for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Last Christmas, instead of buying everyone gifts, I bought some small gift boxes for $2.00 each at cheap stores and baked mini puddings and mini rum balls (I made heaps from one recipe), which I put in the boxes. I then tied them with a length of curling ribbon to make them look attractive. Everyone loved the goodies inside, and the maximum cost was $20 for at least six boxes.

I will definitely be doing this again this year. It will probably become a tradition - and why not?